In the driving seat – meet Alan Grey, your new president

TUC – Ed Balls spells out Labour’s position on pay

• Occupational health cuts• Schools revolution• 2013 education courses

profilewww.prospect.org.uk • Issue 5 – Oct-Nov 2012

union for professionals

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Profile

2 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

GENERAL SECRETARY DESIGNATE

Deregulation is not an industrial strategyWhen I’m asked what sort of people Prospect members are, I usually focus on their preference for measured debate based on evidence. And in that regard these are challenging times.

The novel government notion that our national economic fortunes will be improved by allowing employees to surrender their employment rights in return for some company shares seems to me a solution in search of a problem.

We could consign this to the bin marked ‘confer-ence bravado’ if it had not been preceded by several consultations designed to further limit compensa-tion for unfair dismissal, including the introduction of ‘protected conversations’ for which read “chats about you leaving, that you won’t be able to quote in court.”

A consistent response to these initiatives, not just from trade unions but also employers and business commentators, is that they address a problem that does not exist and they miss what matters in improving economic performance. Not only do they lack credible evidence, they betray a workplace vision which assumes there is a parity of voice or bargaining power between employer and employee that does not reflect reality.

This is not where we need to be. I acknowledge that some unions, fixated on strike ballots and the law, allow the media to fashion our voice as being only about opposition. In fact unions like Prospect, who deal in evidence with the membership expertise to back it up, can challenge those ideas.

We have something far more compelling to say about what a productive modern workplace should look like and the role of regulation and employment law in making that happen.

I believe that a workplace where well-framed regulation ensures standards are met, particu-larly in relation to safety, where employment law provides a proportionate deterrent to bad practice, and where workforces are trained and developed, has a far greater chance of producing imaginative, innovative and sought-after products and services that are globally competitive.

We need a debate that moves on from the ‘evidence absent’ approach adopted by ministers, where public service employment and reform are based on false comparisons with the private sector. And we want the UK economy to be respected for more than its ability to drive profit through cost cutting, before someone turns the lights off.

The recent analysis from Ofgem, the energy regulator, about declining profit margins on genera-tion is yet another warning of the need for govern-ment to ensure the lights stay on through market reforms that deliver a balanced energy policy, one which meets future demand and environmental targets. The energy sector is one of the few areas of the economy ready to offer long-term high quality employment – provided government acts.

Much better that government attends to this issue, to industrial strategy and to our broader infrastructure needs, than wasting time on ways to deregulate the employment relationship and devising ever more ways to dismiss employees on the cheap.

Mike Clancy

Unions like Prospect have

something compelling to

say about what a productive

modern workplace

should look like

This issue of Profile has an insert from Talent Retention Solution for anyone seeking a new position in advanced engineering and manufacturing

PAUL CARTER

IN THIS ISSUE ...4 MEASURING INFLATION

Big changes to the RPI and CPI cost of living indices

6 MARCHING FOR CHANGE Two members opposed to austerity explain why they will be demonstrating on October 20

7 PENSIONS IN CRISIS Thousands face hardship as two more pensions schemes go under the cosh

15 SCHOOLS UPHEAVAL The future is fragmenting for education professionals in Prospect’s newest group

16 MEET ALAN GREY, PRESIDENT Prospect’s new leader looks to the future and sees hope for the union in difficult times

22 HOW JAMIE LOOKS AFTER YOUR SAFETY Prospect’s aircraft engineers are fighting to maintain professional standards and air safety

26 LEARNING PROGRAMME Your chance to book a place on one of Prospect’s 2013 courses for active members and reps

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 3

COLD CLIMATE CASTS A CHILL ON ANTARCTIC JOBSPROSPECT WARNED last month that 18 specialist jobs are under threat at the British Antarctic Survey, while its owner is proposing a merger with the National Oceanography Centre.

Government spending cuts have forced the Natural Environment Research Council to:

● seek 18 volunteers for redundancy and cut support to save £3m a year at BAS, to cope with a ‘flat-cash’ settlement of £42m a year

● consult on merger with a view to reducing capital expenditure on research ships and other large infrastructure items for marine and polar research.

“It’s a tragedy that such highly-trained scientists will lose their jobs,” said Prospect national secretary Tony Bell. While NERC had undertaken that key areas of BAS

science would not stop, capacity would diminish.“In the areas being run down, it will be difficult to

attract funding and rebuild vital work. There will also be a personal impact on staff affected and people left behind.”

Members feared the merger proposals represented a fait accompli, despite no evidence they would save money. “They are also worried about the impact on their ability to deliver key global weather and sea system science. They want to see the figures and for NERC to be open about all options for the future.”

Former US vice-president Al Gore and environmen-talist Tony Juniper are among politicians and scien-tists who have expressed alarm about the impact on climate science.

PUBLIC SECTOR PAY PRESSURE MOUNTSHALF OF Prospect’s branches in the public sector are prepared to take industrial action over pay – and the rest are waiting to receive offers before deciding how to react.

That was the feedback from branches delivered to the union’s civil service sector at their meeting in September.

Almost all public sector branches have lodged claims in line with the sector’s policy of seeking a 2012 increase of at least 1.2 per cent and long-term reforms to the current pay system.

Branches are at differing points in the pay round, with some still labouring under a pay freeze, and others now under the 1 per cent pay cap. Some areas have succeeded in negotiating contractual progres-sion, while others have been refused yet again.

No proposals have been received for regional pay though that does not mean they will not emerge later. There has, however, been an encouraging upturn in the number of equal pay reviews.

Particular problems have been reported in the Ministry of Defence (see page 13), the Met Office, the Highways Agency, the Intellectual Property Office, the House of Commons and the Vehicle Operator Services Agency, among others.

To gain a clear picture of the pressures under which members are working, the executive will this month survey all members in the sector with questions on their personal situation, industrial action and other campaign options.

The sector is also developing a new pay network for branches and a special issue of Public Eye newsletter will be published later this month.

Worker health warning as HSE cuts take holdPROSPECT LAST month exposed the frightening scale of cutbacks to ill-health prevention at the Health and Safety Executive. The union publi-cised findings showing there are now only three occupational physicians left in HSE and 18 occupa-tional health inspectors, down from 60 of each in the early 1990s.

Yet more than 2 million British people suffer some form of occupational ill health, with an estimated 12,000 to 18,000 deaths a year caused by exposure to workplace hazards.

Prospect head of research Sue Ferns highlighted the cuts during the health and safety debate at TUC conference in Brighton (story, page 11).

Prospect revealed that: ● HSE’s corporate medical

unit is so depleted that it can no longer provide basic cover on occupational health advice and prevention or provide a leadership role to the OH community

● HSE now has only five specialist radiation inspectors, falling to four later this year, to cope with around 120,000 employers who work with ionising radiation in the UK

● HSE has withdrawn from proactive radiation inspection to save costs, though there are 280

deaths a year from occupational exposure to radon and widespread non-compliance with the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999.

Ferns said: “These cuts are occurring just as the government proposes to emasculate employers’ obligation to report occupational health absences from diseases such as mesothelioma, skin cancer, carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury.”

The union warned that 90 per cent of occupa-tional health inspections will cease because of plans to abolish the recording of time lost at work under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.

The Department for Work and Pensions is consulting on removing reports of such absences unless the exposure relates to a biological agent at the workplace.

Ferns said: “That would remove the bulk of the intelligence guiding the work of hygiene and occupational health inspectors. It would also deprive lay health and safety reps of information essential for them to monitor workplace health.”

Overall, staffing figures at HSE have dropped from 3,702 in April 2010 to 2,889 in June 2012.

‘90% of occupational health inspections will cease because of plans to abolish the recording of time lost at work’

■■ There■are■now■only■three■occupational■physicians■in■HSE■and■18■occupational■health■inspectors,■down■from■60■of■each■in■the■early■1990s

Too much austerity, too few jobs, no growth.

Before it’s too late, make your voice heard for a Future that Works on Saturday 20 October. Support the TUC marches and rallies in London, Glasgow and Belfast. Go to www.prospect.org.uk/B4ITS2L8 for transport and march details.

■ Members on the march – page 6

■ RSS Ernest Shackleton tied up against the sea ice on the Brunt ice shelf in Antarctica

CHRIS GILBERT/WW

W.PHOTO.ANTARCTICA.AC.UK

NEWSProfile

4 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

Labour moves to support civil service pay review bodyAN INTERVENTION at TUC confertence by Prospect’s president last month opened the door to a major change in Labour party policy on public sector pay.

During a question-and-answer session with delegates, shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Alan Grey he was sympathetic to the idea of setting up a pay review body for the civil service, along the lines of the current bodies for doctors and dentists, senior civil servants and other public sector workers.

But Balls confirmed that Labour had no intention of abolishing controls on public sector pay in the current economic environment.

Earlier, Alan Grey told Balls that civil service pay was “in desperate need of reform”.

He pointed to Ed Balls’ action as education secretary in the last government when he set up a negotiating body for school support staff, and asked if Balls would support a pay review body for the civil service.

Balls answered that he could not “make up policy on the hoof” but said he had always supported the review bodies. They helped ensure fairness for public sector workers and avoid “a race to the bottom” on pay.

“My instinct is to expand the remit of the pay review bodies,” he declared.

Afterwards, Alan Grey said Prospect would press Labour ministers to understand the impor-tance of injecting fairness and independence into the current arbitrary mechanisms for determining civil service pay.

In his TUC speech, Balls warned delegates that a future Labour government would have to continue with policies of pay restraint in order to avoid declaring compulsory redundancies across the public sector.

He defended Labour councils who were following that policy, calling it “the right choice”. The current government’s wider failure on the economy made that a necessity, he argued.

“We have always said that we put jobs first. I

know it is hard but we want things to be done in a fair way.

“We must be honest with the British people that under Labour, there would have been cuts, and that – on spending, pay and pensions – there will be disappointments and difficult decisions from which we will not flinch.”

Balls criticised the government for under-mining the independent review bodies by pursuing an agenda for regional and local pay bargaining, “which will set hospital against hospital, school against school and be both unfair and cost us more.”

In tough fiscal times, government should set out long-term reforms to unlock long-term investment, tackle insecurity and invest in skills – “the only route to long-term prosperity.”

KEY INFLATION MEASURES ARE SET FOR A SHAKE-UP

Jonathan Green, research officer for pay and public services, reports

CHANGES TO the main two headline measures of inflation are likely to be made early in 2013 which will affect the savings, pensions and welfare benefits of millions of people.

The Office for National Statistics is recommending the adoption of a new measure for the Consumer Prices Index which will include housing costs. And the National Statistician has announced a consultation on the method of calculating the Retail Prices Index that could reduce the headline rate by up

to 0.9 per cent. Differences between

the CPI and RPI have been of concern for many years. On average there is a 0.5 -1 per cent gap between the two headline rates. ONS was asked to suggest ways to reduce this difference, but its proposals are controversial.

Incorporating housing costs into CPI is not straightforward.

Those owning a home may have significant costs such as mortgage interest payments and depreciation. But a home can also be seen as an asset, which may gain in value depending on movements in home and land values.

Because it is difficult to separate these two elements ONS recommended an approach called ‘rental equiv-alence’. This measures the price an owner occupier would need to pay to rent their own

home, based on rents paid for equivalent rented properties in the private sector.

Prospect’s submission to the ONS consultation was critical of this approach because in our view the rental and homeowners’ markets are significantly different.

We preferred an inflation measure that would relate directly to actual movements in homeowner costs. However, our concerns were rejected and the new measure is likely to come into force from February 2013.

The second consultation is even more contentious. The formulae used in CPI and RPI to calculate the average movement in prices for some categories of goods and services are different.

As a result, RPI tends to be higher than CPI – known as the ‘formula effect’. The effect is particularly exaggerated for

some categories of goods such as clothing and footwear.

The consultation is focused on changing the way RPI is calculated. Any change has to be agreed by both the Bank of England and the chancellor because of the effect on index-linked gilts. If RPI is reduced this could reduce interest payments on government-held debt by up

to £2bn a year.

But any change will also

be felt by Prospect members.

RPI is the main index used for

wage bargaining and some

benefits and pensions still

use RPI for uprating.

So the difference between

CPI and RPI may be reduced,

but not the controversy.

STEFANO CAGNONIPICTURES: STEFANO CAGNONI

The difference between CPI and RPI may be reduced, but not the controversy

■■ Alan■Grey■questions■shadow■chancellor■Ed■Balls■at■this■year’s■TUC■in■Brighton

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 5

Government ‘must act now on defence industrial base’PROSPECT HAS called on the government to spell out its indus-trial policy for defence after the proposed £38bn merger between BAE Systems and EADS, the European aerospace giant, fell apart in October.

Mike Clancy, general secretary designate of Prospect, said: “This decision changes nothing, but it raises profound questions for the future of the defence sector and the UK’s industrial base, which has been shown by this merger to be in crisis.

“Thousands of skilled jobs

have been lost at BAE over the last two years and we fear the loss of thousands more if BAE cannot expand its order book into new markets.”

Ministers should spell out what plans they have to use the skills and expertise embodied in BAE to enhance the UK’s manufacturing capacity, he said.

“The UK needs more manufac-turing capacity, not less, and where government is the prime customer we cannot continue to operate in a policy vacuum.”

Defence contractors like BAE,

which employs more than 35,000 staff in the UK, have been under immense pressure because of cutbacks in government spending on defence.

Clancy warned that the loss of any more skilled staff from the defence industry “will be bad for the individuals affected, bad for local communities and bad for the long-term health of the UK’s defence infrastructure.”

Prospect represents over 600 engineers and specialists at BAE. The merger would have created a combined workforce of 225,000.

END OF THE ROAD FOR UNION CREDIT CARDSTHE BANK of Scotland is withdrawing from credit card arrangements with partner organisations. As a result, agree-ments between Prospect, other unions and the Bank will end on November 26.

The bank will write to members on October 26 to advise them of the position and future arrangements.

The only difference for members is that their card will no longer be inscribed with ‘Prospect’ or ‘Connect’. There will be no changes to terms and conditions or credit limits for members.

These cards are held by direct arrangement between individuals and the bank, so Prospect does not know who holds a card and cannot write to them individually.

CHECK YOUR FUEL PRICESAS THE nights grow longer it’s time to check what you pay for your gas and electricity before those nasty winter bills give you a surprise. The easiest way is to use the Prospect energy website (in partnership with Uchange4better). It could save you hundreds of pounds tax-free!

Simply go to www.prospect.uchange4better.co.uk and follow two simple steps to save money. It’s free and very straightforward!

■■ December■2011■–■families■

and■workers’■representatives■

from■BAE■Systems■along■with■MPs■

Alan■Johnson■and■David■Davis,■lobby■David■Cameron■to■consider■reversing■

the■decision■to■close■the■BAE■

Brough■site■with■the■loss■of■

899■jobs

■ Richard Price – from head of research strategy at the British Library to Olympic poet

RICHARD’S SMALL VOICE IS A CLASSIC PROSPECT POEMA POEM chosen to represent Team GB in a cultural Olympiad, described by the poet laureate as “startling and moving”, was written by British Library member Richard Price (right).

Called Hedge Sparrows, it was chosen for Poetry 2012, which brought together poems thought to best reflect the characteristics of each of the 204 competing nations in the London Olympics.

Entries were broadcast on BBC radio over the course of the Olympics, with Richard’s poem read by actor Jim Broadbent.

Richard said he was surprised as he was up against nominations from Blake, Wordsworth, Shakespeare and others, and “because in some ways it is a difficult prose poem, written in one

breathless sentence.“I read it at breakneck speed. As a protest

poem – the creature is protesting. But Jim Broadbent gave it a completely different nuance by reading it slowly, giving it much more of a nostalgic feel.”

Written as the opening poem in a bigger section on birds in his Lucky Day collection, Richard said: “It’s about small voices that collectively come together. It’s a classic Prospect poem. About the issue of how we come together to make decisions and to express the good things in life as well as fights.”

Small World, his fourth collection in 30 years, is available from publishers Carcanet in November.

Hedge Sparrows by Richard PriceYou don’t see many hedges these days, and the hedges you do see they’re not that thorny, it’s a shame, and when I say hedge I’m not talking about a row of twigs between two lines of rusty barbed wire, or more likely just a big prairie where there were whole cities of hedges not fifty years ago, a big desert more like, and I mean thick hedges, with trees nearby for a bit of shade and a field not a road not too far off so you can nip out for an insect or two when you or the youngsters feel like a snack, a whole hedgerow system, as it says in the book, and seven out of ten sparrows say the same, and that’s an underestimate, we want a place you can feel safe in again, we’re social animals, we want our social life back, and the sooner the better, because in a good hedge you can always talk things over, make decisions, have a laugh if you want to, sing, even with a voice like mine!

MARK THOM

AS / REX FEATURES

NEWS

FAMED AVIATION BRAND PASSES INTO HISTORYAs 2012 draws near to a close so does a chapter in British civil airline history and a milestone in the life of the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers, writes Keith Rogers

ALAE branch members, who merged with Prospect in 2009, know that the name British Midland, aka British Midland Airways and bmi, will be consigned to the archives when it is absorbed into British Airways.

How many people can recall British Eagle Airways, British United Airways, Caledonian Airways – later to become British Caledonian Airways (BCaL) when it merged with BUA – Dan-Air, Laker Airways, Air UK and more? Some of these famous names have passed into history but a few had the same fate as bmi – absorption into BA.

British Midland started life in 1938 as Air Schools Ltd, seeking contracts to train pilots for the war effort. In 1947 Derby Aviation was formed and its various aviation-related activities led

to commercial flights. In 1963, when East Midlands airport opened, Derby Aviation moved in and changed its name to British Midland Airways. The rest is history.

In 1992, British Midland became the first company to enter a collective bargaining agreement with ALAE. We took over this vital role for engineering staff from AEEU (now UNITE). For the past 20 years we have had a successful relationship with BMA/bmi despite the hurdles put in our way by the company and the industry. We drew on this experience in our successful bids for recognition as the union of choice for engineering staff at EasyJet and Flybe in 2007.

So sadly, as we oversee the closure of bmi, we are also about to lose our oldest company agreement. To all those affected we wish good luck and hope that as one door closes, another opens.

■ The annual general meeting of ALAE branch will be on November 10 from 1pm at Flaxman House, Gogmore Lane, Chertsey, Surrey. Nominations open to all ALAE members until November 1 for positions on the executive committee, branch vice-chair and secretary. Contact Bridget Lauder on 01932 577055 or email alae@alae.org for nomination forms.

WHY WE WILL MARCH ON OCTOBER 20Two Prospect members spell out why the TUC demonstration for A Future that Works matters to them

‘We want a bright future for our children’THREE GENERATIONS of Lloyd Collier’s family are marching with him on October 20 – his dad David, his wife Wendy, and their children Daniel (nearly 12) and Jessica (eight).

“We’re an ordinary family,” he says. “We live in a three-bedroom semi in a small village and run one car. We both work full-time in the public sector and earn average salaries.”

Lloyd is Prospect branch secretary at Diamond Light Source, the world-leading synchrotron facility housed at Harwell. He says the family has been affected in many ways by the government’s policies. Wendy and he have had to

endure a two-year pay freeze, followed by a 1 per cent pay cap for two more years.

“We’ve lost tax credits and will be hit by the freeze on child benefit. We are subject to all the changes to public sector pensions, including increased contribution rates.

“Childcare costs have gone up and the holiday club has closed due to lack of funding. Prices continue to rise, particularly fuel. It’s a constant battle to keep the food bill within budget.”

Yet, says Lloyd, re-financing to reduce outgoings is not an option as banks seem less inclined to lend in hard times.

As for holidays, in two years

they’ve had a free week in a friend’s caravan and a midweek break at a budget hotel. “We rarely go out and we’ve stripped the birthday and Christmas budgets to the bone.”

Naturally as parents they want a bright future for their children – a good education and a decent job.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to create the right economic environment. But we watch the news every day and see that its policies are choking off economic growth.”

■■ Lloyd■is■one■of■eight■members■featured■in■a■Prospect■video■on■the■march■–■see■www.prospect.org.uk

‘Broken promises upset me most’FREELANCE TELECOMS profes-sional Tony Cox is angry about the government’s attacks on pensions.

He is chair of the Royal Statistical Society’s RPI/CPI user group, formed because of concerns about the government’s decision to use the Consumer Prices Index rather than the Retail Prices Index to uprate pensions and benefits.

He is also Prospect branch secretary for Connect Greater London and East Essex.

“RPI is generally higher than CPI so it’s clear the government was doing this to save money,” he says. “This is reinforced by the fact that it still uses RPI for other things – for example to calculate the increase in rail fares every year (RPI + 3 per cent) and to charge students

to repay their loans. It is very hypocritical.”

Tens of thousands of workers in BT’s defined contri-bution schemes are being hit by the CPI switch, despite repeated written assurances that RPI would be the index. “It’s the broken promise aspect that upsets me most,” he says.

“For people on benefits it’s

critical to be compensated for the rise in inflation, and it affects everybody’s state pension.”

Tony sees many other good reasons for workers to come on October 20: “There’s the economy, the jobs market, the fact that salaries are held down. You can’t get loans or mortgages. It affects everybody.”

Profile

6 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

ROGERASKEWPHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UK

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 7

INCOME THREAT TO THOUSANDS AS CLOSURE LOOMSA MAJOR nuclear industry pension scheme may be wound up, threat-ening the income of thousands of pensioners and staff.

In August, trustees of the AEA Technology scheme warned members: “It is likely that the scheme will wind up and be unable to continue to pay members’ benefits in full.”

The problem is the employ-er’s inability to close the reported £168m deficit within a satisfactory timescale, as it has grown disproportionately large compared to AEAT’s expected future profits.

The likely – but not certain – outcome is that the company will be sold and the scheme put into the pension protection fund, which would pay benefits to members according to the law.

When AEAT was privatised in 1996, there were over 3,000 active members of the scheme. By 2008, after changes in government funding and several sell-offs, the number of active members had dropped to a few hundred.

Coupled with the spiralling liabilities of most defined benefit schemes, this left the company with an enormous pension obliga-tion and a dwindling income stream to support it.

Prospect negotiator Richard Tabbner said: “The current situation is extremely concerning for current employees of AEAT and the 3,000 members of the scheme.

“We will work with the company to protect jobs through any future sale and are helping current and former employees to understand the potential impact

on their pension.” One significant issue is

that scheme members are now working or retired across a wide range of Prospect branches.

Because the union’s member-ship system does not identify members by pension scheme

some members may not receive the regular updates issued by Prospect.

Tabbner urged all AEAT scheme members in Prospect, particularly pensioners, to make contact to ensure they are included in communications.

To date, Prospect has issued three newsletters to members and held meetings in Harwell, Winfrith and Risley. Further meetings will be held to help members plan for the impact on their retirement income, with support from Prospect’s pensions officer and financial advisors.

Accrual shock stuns membersIN A new setback for staff, QinetiQ has announced that it intends to close its defined benefit pension scheme to future accrual. The defence research company launched a 60-day consulta-tion in October.

Prospect national secretary, David Luxton said the news was a major blow to 2,200 scheme members. “If this proposal goes ahead it will have a signifi-cant impact on the financial plans of many individuals and families.”

But because the union is in the midst of a re-recognition battle with the company, it is not party to the consultation even though Prospect played a major role in changes agreed in 2008 to sustain the scheme, including a risk-sharing agreement.

QinetiQ says the scheme must close because “the debt of future pay-outs continues to swell.”

But Prospect says there are short-term factors that have affected the

asset value of the scheme, particularly the impact of quantitative easing on the rate of gilt yields.

Luxton said the purpose of the 2008 reforms was to help manage the

risks associated with running the scheme. “We are very disap-pointed that because of de-recognition no attempt was made by the company to engage in construc-tive discussion over how costs could be managed so the scheme does not have to close.”

To help members participate in the consultation, Prospect is organising membership meetings to provide background information on the scheme. But the company will not allow meetings to be held on site.

“Prospect is keen to engage with the company to agree a solution that does not require complete closure. At the same time we are keen to explore the scope for improvements to the group personal pension,” said Luxton.

PROSPECT STILL IN DISPUTE AS BILL STARTS JOURNEY THROUGH PARLIAMENTTHE GOVERNMENT last month published its Public Service Pensions Bill to enact changes negotiated with unions.

It ran into an immediate storm of protest from Prospect and unions that have not signed up to the government’s terms. They challenged the cash savings

claimed by ministers.The bill covers the key

elements negotiated for the civil service, including the move to a career average scheme, the link between normal pension age and state pension age, and the cap on employer contributions.

Treasury secretary

Danny Alexander claimed the changes would save £65bn over the next 50 years. In fact, nobody knows how much the changes will save, since the government postponed the valuation of the civil service scheme due in 2010.

Dai Hudd, deputy general secretary, stressed that

Prospect remained in dispute over pensions. “Although the final package of reforms was accepted by members, we made it abundantly clear to ministers at the time that the contributions increases being imposed between now and 2015 had nothing to do with pensions reform,” he said.

“The 3.2 per cent increase in pensions payments represents a crude tax on our members on top of the wage freeze and the 1 per cent pay cap. We wrote to the minister in March setting out our position and Prospect remains in dispute until this issue is settled.”

P E N S I O N S I N C R I S I S

■ Tabbner – AEAT scheme members in Prospect, particularly pensioners, should get in touch to ensure they receive union communications

■■ Luxton■–■Prospect■keen■to■engage■with■company.■Above,■QinetiQ■members■at■a■meeting■in■2010

JOANNE O’BRIEN

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NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 9

WINTER’S COMING ... SO BUCKLE UP SAFELY WITH CSMA CLUB

‘Belt and braces’ approach as Jersey members combat port privatisationMEMBERS IN Jersey have secured a delay over controversial plans to turn the island’s harbours and airport into a States-owned company, seen as the first step towards privatisation. But they fear the proposals could still be voted through.

Last month Prospect’s branch, the Jersey Civil Service Association, wrote to every States member to object to plans for the incorporation of the Ports of Jersey.

In a joint policy statement by Prospect and Unite, the unions warned that:

● the proposal no longer requests a decision ‘in principle,’ raising questions over the opportunity to scrutinise the plans or progress at a later date

● previous incorporations, such as Jersey Telecom and Jersey Post, have had a detrimental effect on staff terms and conditions

● there is no credible business case to back the claims of substantive gains after incorporation.

Tom Quinn, JCSA executive officer said: “Our members firmly believe that public assets such as the Ports of Jersey should remain publicly owned as it will be the people of Jersey who pick up the bill if these proposals fail.”

Kevin McAlonan, Prospect negotiator added: “We urge States members to view these proposals with caution and to consider public concern over the ownership of such important strategic assets. After all there isn’t another port or airport on the island which the public can use instead.

“Moreover the States are being asked to commit around £1.8m on preparations for incorpo-ration when the business case does not stand up. If a financial institution was approached for funds on this basis it would throw the application out.”

While the States delayed a decision last month the unions fear this may be a temporary reprieve. In the meantime McAlonan has written to the economic affairs scrutiny panel, in charge of reviewing ministerial decisions, after it questioned the minister for economic develop-

ment at a hearing.In separate talks, McAlonan has supplied the

civil service and the Ports of Jersey with a set of draft outsourcing principles, to form the basis for long-term protection of staff if the outsourcing operation gets the green light.

“It’s a belt and braces approach but that is vital as Jersey is outside the European Union and therefore TUPE arrangements do not apply. If we can reach agreement we are hopeful these princi-ples would be adopted for all future outsourcing.”

■■ McAlonan■–■strategic■assets ■■ Jersey’s■harbour■and■marina■have■become■hot■topics■on■the■island

■■ Quinn■–■people■will■pay■the■bill

ROB CURRIE/JERSEY EVENING POST

Winter is just around the corner – and for motorists it’s time to think about getting their cars prepared for the challenges ahead.

It’s too early for the Met Office to forecast how severe conditions may get in the UK, but if the past two years are any indication, drivers could be in for a bumpy ride.

Snowfall and ice aren’t the only concerns; it’s the state of the roads themselves. The combination of two severe winters and a washout summer have caused record numbers of potholes.

These holes have led drivers to lodge thousands of compensation claims against councils in the past two years for damage wreaked on their cars. According to road rescue organisation Britannia Rescue, over 1.1 million drivers have broken down as a result of neglected roads and 10 per cent of drivers have

swerved to avoid a pothole and nearly had an accident.

The survey also found that three quarters of motorists believe road surfaces are now in a worse state than they were five years ago. 50 per cent said they are much worse.

But the problem isn’t going to get better any time soon. Government cutbacks mean that local authorities are struggling to maintain their roads. Just £65m is available for the road maintenance departments of 434 UK councils, despite £5.7bn being taken by DVLA in licence fees and taxes each year.

So it really is vital that your motor is winter ready, and you have breakdown cover if it’s your car that comes a cropper this winter.

CSMA Club has been offering peace of mind to members out on the road for nearly 90 years. Join the motoring association today and

you will enjoy great savings with their partners who will help you get road-fit for winter, including:

Britannia Rescue – breakdown cover LV= Frizzell – car insurance Car care plan – car warranty Halfords Auto Centre – car servicing + MOTs Black Circles – tyresMotor legal expenses insurance

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now, you will be entered into a draw to win a new Vauxhall Corsa, worth over £14,000 – see back cover. For details, visit csmaclub.co.uk/prospect or call 0800 856 7711.

TUC 2012Profile

10 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

Squeeze driving unions towards industrial action, Clancy warnsTHE TUC should co-ordinate efforts by unions to break the squeeze on pay and challenge the government’s disastrous auster-ity policies, conference agreed.

Cuts, austerity and contin-ued pay freezes had created an economic landscape that was both unfair and made no contribution to growth, said Mike Clancy, the union’s general secre-tary designate. He was second-ing a motion on pay and public service reform.

The government did have a labour market policy, said Clancy. “It is simply ‘equality of misery’ - this is the workplace reality of ‘all in it together’.”

Ministers had contrived the idea that public servants were cosseted and a drag on efficiency, and pensions, take-home pay and work had been placed under unrelenting pressure. This was a “befuddled, muddled and failed economic prescription.”

There was a positive agenda for public service reform, said Clancy – but it has to be based on quality and values, not blunt cost-cutting.

“If the government wants a battle, they will get it,” he warned.

Although Prospect preferred to avoid industrial action, it was making preparations and would act if necessary.

“Our members are closer to that ‘Yes’ box on the ballot form. It is a last resort, but they are closer to it.”

Government policy and proposals for regional pay not only penalised the poorest workers but professionals, too.

Independent research for Prospect and the FDA had shown specialist median pay lagging 21-33 per cent behind comparable

private sector roles.On jobs, Clancy said that

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude’s civil service reform plan espoused further cuts and outsourcing.

“It promotes expansion of the ineffective shared services model. And it ducks the central question about the purpose of the civil service.

“It appears the job cuts target will be achieved by using a discredited performance assess-ment system that will penalise people who don’t get on with their manager.

“This is despite the latest evidence that the key – and growing – challenge facing public sector employers is to recruit and retain skilled managers and professional staff.”

The lack of any real plan was highlighted by a recent public accounts committee report, and the comment of a Conservative member that “although depart-ments have moved quickly to reduce staff numbers, few appear to be giving thought to how they are going to operate permanently with a lower number of staff.”

The motion was moved by Unison and supported by FDA and PCS. It called on the general council to:

● campaign against regional pay ● promote a living wage ● stress the consequences of

the government’s ‘disastrous’ economic policy

● co-ordinate strike actiona-gainst austerity policies that penalise workers in both the private and public sectors

● ensure an effective skills strategy underpins delivery of high-quality public services

● promote a positive vision of public service provision.

CALLS FOR a general strike against the austerity policies of the government were rejected by Prospect follow-ing heated debate at TUC.

After 600 delegates carried a motion from the Prison Officers’ Association urging unions to mount campaigns and consider the “practicalities of a general strike”, general secretary Paul Noon (right) said: “This was congress rhetoric, not the reality of

defending members against government policy.

“The way to change policies and governments is at the ballot box and not by industrial action. Our members would not support a general strike and I don’t believe the majority of trade unionists would do either.”

In the debate, the POA’s Stephen Gillan urged a robust response to govern-ment attacks on working

people and the most vulner-able in society. He cited job losses, child poverty, food banks, the Beecroft report, pay freezes, dismantling public services, youth unemployment and the higher state pension age.

Gillan said the motion did not commit unions to a general strike, only to considering its practicalities.

Leading opposition to the strike call, Noon said the motion was “a distraction”

from the great work the TUC was doing in the Future That Works campaign. This had won support from dele-gates in an earlier motion that committed unions to co-ordinate strike action against austerity policies.

“A general strike does not reflect the reality of where we are, either as a union or a movement. That’s not to say we won’t support industrial action where appropriate and

Private and public sector workers alike are threatened by government policy on pay, jobs, health and safety and the world of work, delegates agreed in Brighton

Noon tells TUC general strike call will not be supported

Clancy: “Public service reform has to be based on quality and values, not blunt cost-cutting”PICTURES:

STEFANO CAGNONI

TUC 2012 Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 11

where we have a legitimate trade dispute.

“Far from making our enemies and opponents tremble in their shoes, a call like this will be seen as a welcome stick to beat us with – a diversion from their failings.”

Unions representing teachers (NASUWT), airline pilots (BALPA), univer-sity lecturers (ATL) and shop workers (USDAW) backed Prospect.

They warned that a general strike would not be supported by the great majority of private sector workers, who are not in a union; would provoke government to pass new anti-union laws; and presented huge practical difficulties to organise.

Mary Bousted (ATL) argued that George Osborne had been booed at the Paralympics. Just as unions were gaining the ear of the

public “we go and change the message.”

John Hannett (USDAW) said the strike call would fall flat when the real challenge was to educate members about the failings of govern-ment policy. “A general strike does not reflect the mood of the country or of working people.”

But the combined vote of the TUC’s big guns ensured the motion was carried.

Prospect: We must grow membership in the private sectorDELEGATES BACKED a Prospect motion calling on unions to address the challenge of extending membership and influence in the private sector.

The motion stressed there was no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution and that agile responses to changes in the economy and employment patterns were key.

Mover Denise McGuire (above), Prospect’s vice-presi-dent, said membership figures told a stark story, with a fall from 11 million 30 years ago to 6.4 million today.

“In the private sector fewer than one in five are covered by collective bargaining and membership density is just over 14 per cent.”

However, these levels were uneven – lowest were construc-tion, communications, manu-facturing, sales and customer service, with part-time workers also losing out, “as always.”

Young people tended to have their first experi-ence of work in a union-free environment.

They were more internet savvy and usually expected to

get free information and advice.One union in the

Netherlands had given up trying to recruit people under 30, instead providing a website and Q&As on the world of work paid for by advertising and sponsored by MTV – “no collec-tive spirit, no common values – not even a union logo.”

Private sector workers were more likely to seek help from Citizen’s Advice Bureaux, friends, colleagues, solicitors or the internet before approach-ing a union. “We’ve got to change that.”

In her sector, communica-tions, members were facing union-busting attempts, outsourcing and offshoring.

Colleagues coerced into signing personal contracts had been relieved when Prospect won back collective bargaining.

“Let’s go for growth – more people, more young people, more people active in their unions,” McGuire concluded.

Delegates from Unite, USDAW, Community, the Society of Radiographers, Unison and GMB also spoke in favour.

Safety cuts bring shame on government“THE ATTACK on health and safety is particularly aggressive, led by the prime minister himself against all the evidence – and there’s plenty of it,” Prospect head of research Sue Ferns (below) told conference.

She was speaking on a composite motion moved by UCATT calling for a “vigorous political, public and industrial campaign against the weakening of health and safety laws.”

Ferns said deregulation was central to the govern-ment’s agenda for the public sector. The Health and Safety Executive had been subject to a 25 per cent spending cut, and required to reduce proactive inspec-tions for high-hazard sectors by a third.

There had been four reviews of health and safety regulation in the last seven years, including two under the current government – by Lord Young in 2010, and Professor Ragnar Löfstedt in 2011.

Löfstedt had concluded that HSE provided a vital service and that health and safety law was fit for purpose. The government had accepted his findings, yet David Cameron had launched his public attack on the “health and safety monster.”

No wonder Professor Löfstedt later expressed concern that his report could be ‘misused’ for political purposes.

Two key facts were that most small-to-medium enterprises can expect to see a health and safety inspector once every 15 years, yet the average lifespan of a small business is just seven years

■ HSE now has only three occupational health doctors and 18 occupational health inspectors (story, page 3).

CALL FOR ACTION ON CLEAN COALPROSPECT backed a motion stressing the vital role of coal for the UK’s energy mix and the need for government to support clean coal technology and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Mover Chris Kitchen, from the mineworkers’ union, said indigenous coal was vital for security of supply and to prevent reliance on imports for the UK’s energy needs.

In support, Prospect deputy vice-president Craig Marshall (right), who works for EDF Energy, said CCS represented the only viable future for coal and gas stations.

After the collapse of the Longannet demonstration programme last year, the government had announced a long-awaited CCS competition, he added. “Prospect emphasises that CCS must be integrated with electricity market reform. Market uncertainty remains a key barrier to invest-ment across energy industries.

“The £13m to be invested in a new CCS research centre is a useful first step and needs to be followed up by commit-ment to a publicly-funded long-term R&D programme.”

He stressed that support for coal must be part of a balanced energy policy. After more than a decade of consultation, early decisions were needed to deliver invest-ment. The energy bill, due to start its parlia-mentary progress this autumn, would be key to achieving this.

A strong, TUC campaign was needed, he said. “There is no room for failure or delay.”

FEARS OVER FRACKING AND INCINERATORSDELEGATES EXPRESSED concern at the development of two new energy sources: extraction of natural gas through ‘fracking’, and waste incineration.

The motion questioned the environmental sustainability of both sources and said fracking should be condemned unless

proven harmless for people and the environment.

In a general council statement, Prospect general secretary Paul Noon recognised these concerns but also acknowl-edged the economic opportuni-ties created by fracking. He stressed that the motion did

not preclude support for the gas supply industry as a whole.

“In broad terms, Congress policy supports investment in a sustainable, low-carbon energy mix, involving a balance of renewable energy, coal and gas and new nuclear power, and other new forms of energy supply.”

Noon tells TUC general strike call will not be supported

TUC 2012Profile

12 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

Broadband: it can’t be left to the marketLESLIE MANASSEH (below) intervened in the debate on digital media to explain to Congress how the government’s approach to the roll-out of fast broad-band was “strong on rhetoric but weak on delivery.”

Prospect’s deputy general secretary said that ministers had failed to invest sufficiently and had loaded the responsibility for delivering much of the “best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015” onto local authorities. Too often they had neither the resources nor the expertise to do it, notably in rural areas.

“It’s time to treat a fast broadband network as a key national asset, whose building cannot simply be left to the market alone,” said Manasseh.

“It would be money well-spent on an infrastruc-ture which we know will drive economic growth.”

In rural areas – some 80 per cent of the UK’s landmass – there is little commer-cial reason for private companies to meet the capital costs of building a network, he said.

The House of Lords had recently described the government’s approach as based on a flawed prospectus, creating the spectre of a widening digital divide. It urged universal coverage by a fundamental strategic asset and key utility – “I could not agree more.”

Manasseh called for “the right mix of public investment and regulation if we are to avoid becoming a nation divided into the connected and the disconnected – a difference which will be deter-mined by postcode.”

GOLD BADGE AWARD FOR PAUL NOON AS HE RETIRESAFTER 11 years on the TUC general council, Paul Noon was presented with the Gold Badge of Congress at the end of conference.

Thanking Paul Kenny, TUC president, for the award, Paul – who retires at the end of the year – said it was an honour to be presented with it by his own general secretary. He had been a member of GMB and before that APEX, for 38 years.

His own father – “he will be watching this online today” – had been active

in the former civil service union CPSA, and it was only natural he should join the union and become active when he started in the service.

Paul’s paternal grandfather had been a postman in Crewe and a lifelong member of the postal workers’ union; while his maternal grandfather worked at Crewe railway works as a member of the National Union of Railwaymen.

“I have always been grateful for the example they set me, an example I have tried to live up to.”

Moments of irritation on the general council had been more than offset by the highlights. He recalled once dancing the salsa until daybreak in a nightclub in Bogota with the general secretary-elect of the TUC, among others.

Paul thanked Prospect and “all the lay representatives and full-time officers who have worked so hard with me to make Prospect a genuinely cross-sectoral, growing, professional trade union, providing the best possible services to members individually and collectively.”

Equality protection ‘snatched away’IN A civilised country everyone should have the right to achieve their full potential, Sue Stelfox (inset) told conference.

The Prospect delegate was seconding a call for the TUC to defend hard-won equality rights and the Equality and Human Rights Commission against the attacks now being mounted by the government.

In particular, its proposals to remove the provisions of the 2010 Equality Act protect-ing individuals against third party harassment, to limit the powers of employment tribunals and removing the right of employees to require employers to conduct statutory

discrimination questionnaires.“The government is using the

argument that those rights are ‘red tape’ to water them down,” Stelfox warned conference.

Many of the protections now enjoyed by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members had only recently been gained, she pointed out.

“Now we face the threat of having those protections snatched away.”

The Equality Act had set in place a range of protections

against discrimination, at and outside of work. It also brought together the different equality bodies and provided assistance to equality strands that were not previously covered.

All those provisions were now being dismantled. “EHRC has had its budget cut and its teeth pulled.”

The motion, calling on the TUC to raise awareness of the impact of these changes on access to justice, was carried unanimously.

■■ Law■at■work■–■page 25

Air industry needs investment right nowPROSPECT AND the airline pilots’ union joined forces to call for a new aviation strategy for the UK.

New jobs in infrastructure, manufac-turing, tourism and high-tech engineering were at stake, said the motion from Balpa. Both unions argued it was essential to develop a long-term strategy “with the utmost speed.”

Seconding, Prospect’s Dai Hudd (left) said aviation was a crucial UK industry today and would be in the future. But pressing issues of investment and capacity had to be addressed.

He warned that simple opposition to increases in capacity was not an environ-mentally prudent option, pointing to the CO2 emissions caused by aircraft stacked

in congested airspace.The government’s latest review

of runway capacity should look at all potential impacts and take the views of all stakeholders, including trade unions, said Hudd.

Most important, the timetable should follow the evidence and not be decided by political priorities.

■ Paul Noon receives the TUC award from Paul Kenny (right)

■ Prospect’s delegation votes

in Brighton

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 13

PROSPECT HAS ROOM INSIDE FOR EVERYONETHIS BUS in Castletown, Isle of Man, is part of a campaign to raise the union’s profile on the island. The idea is to prompt people not in a union to start thinking about joining, said negotiator Angela Moffatt.

“We have to try to raise awareness of unions generally and let people know that anyone in the Isle of Man can join Prospect. The bus is one way of letting people see we are out there and supports the work we are doing to raise our profile using social media.

“It is definitely working. We are fielding lots of enquiries, and seeing membership across our branches steady and grow. That’s a great result in the current climate and strengthens the union for all our members, wherever they work.”

The bus will carry the advertisement for six months.

Pay: Hammond goes from freeze to cutsPROSPECT HAS condemned a decision to cut the pay of civilian staff in the Ministry of Defence and warned that the impact on morale will affect services to the front line.

Without any consultation, defence secretary Philip Hammond announced in September that he was cutting performance pay by a third – £10m, meaning an actual pay cut for the majority of staff in addition to the pay freeze.

Non-consolidated perfor-mance pay is paid to most MOD staff. Last year, 2.7 per cent of the pay bill was distributed in awards ranging from £360 to £5,635, depending on grade and performance.

The money is an integral part of the specialist pay bill and was built up over years as cash was moved out of basic, pensionable pay into a cheaper, non-consol-idated pot. The cost in 2012 was to be £30m – just 0.1 per cent of

the defence budget.Prospect national secretary

Steve Jary said: “Even from a management perspective, this is sheer madness.

“The MOD has shed around 15,000 staff over the last 18 months. Those who remain have kept the department afloat

while supporting operations in Afghanistan. The government has been testing their commit-ment, now Hammond has shattered that loyalty.”

Prospect and the other defence unions warned Jon Thompson, MOD’s new permanent secretary, that the cut would destroy morale.

Jary said: “We believe the government’s action amounts to theft of members’ pay. You can’t expect to cut people’s pay and for them to continue to go the extra mile.”

He added that MOD had been promising a new deal for its ‘survivors’ – civilians who had not left during the current four-year programme to cut over a third of staff.

“It sounds as though the defence secretary will be letting them down. I fear a reaction.”

Hammond has refused to meet with unions to justify his decision.

VODAFONE RIDES ROUGHSHOD OVER STAFFPROSPECT HAS called on Vodafone to come clean over its redundancy plans after it emerged that the company is using a legal loophole to shed staff with little or no warning.

In recent months 80 employees in Networks, Cornerstone and Technology have been targeted for dismissal. By law, where a company recognises a union it is required to conduct a 30-day consultation if it is axing more than 20 staff.

Senior organiser Caroline Hemmington said: “Vodafone is using the fact that it does not recognise a union to try to by-pass accepted practice and make people redundant via the back door.

“By issuing compromise agree-ments it is seeking to dodge its legal responsibilities, which exist to ensure people are treated fairly.

“We have even heard reports that vacant posts will be re-advertised at a lower rate. If true, these are cost-cutting measures dressed up to sound like redundancy, especially if there are no clear selection criteria.”

Uncertainty over new Wales body for the environmentCONTROVERSIAL PLANS to create a single environment body for Wales have moved a step closer with the appointment of a chair and chief executive for the new body by the Welsh government.

The organisation will unite the functions of the Countryside Council for Wales, the Environment Agency Wales and Forestry Commission Wales from April 2013. About 170 Prospect members will be affected.

A second consultation on the single body, which finished as Profile went to press, highlighted several issues that have still to be resolved, including:

● cross-border issues and monitoring

● regulation, enforcement and prosecution

● statutory planning and reporting

● emergency response, including the transfer of powers under the Control of Major Accidents and Hazards Regulations

● trading schemes and producer responsibility.

The business case for the single body was examined by the Wales Assembly’s

environment and sustainability committee, which reported in May (see http://bit.ly/wales_env_body_case).

It said: “The detail of how many of the concerns raised by stakeholders will be met is as yet unknown … Consequently, we cannot yet be confident that mechanisms will be in place to mitigate the risks and

concerns that have been raised.”Prospect Wales negotiator Gareth

Howells said: “The union’s key priority is to protect our members’ terms and conditions in the new body. There are currently uncer-tainties about the pension arrangements and we are monitoring the situation closely.”

■■ Jary■–■government’s■action■amounts■to■theft■of■members’■pay

■ The Countryside Council for Wales champions the environment and aims to make landscapes a valued part of everyone’s life

CCW

Profile

14 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

Scottish pay policy mimics UK curbMEMBERS WORKING for the Scottish government have voted overwhelmingly to reject this year’s pay offer. In a ballot, voting was 332 to 25 against the offer imposed in August, which amounted to a pay freeze.

The result was revealed days after the Scottish government announced its pay policy for 2013-14 – a pay curb of 1 per cent, matching UK government policy.

Describing the policy as a mixed bag, given that it allows for pay progression and so improves on the UK position, national secretary Alan Denney said it still amounted to a reduction in living standards for members when inflation is running at 2.5 per cent.

Branch secretary David Avery noted that increases in pension contributions for 2013 are likely to mirror those for 2012, and this “will once again mean a net pay cut for most staff.”

Other points in the policy include retaining the threshold of £21,000 for the £250 increase for low-paid staff – effectively decreasing the value of the award when inflation is taken into account – and a further freeze on discretionary elements of senior civil service pay.

However Avery pointed to some positive elements:

● renewed commitment to the Scottish living wage

● some discretion over

long-term pay problems and inequalities

● progression will be decoupled from cost of living increases.

But he cautioned that the government’s continued guarantee against compulsory redundan-cies is again tied to ‘additional workforce flexibilities’, though what these are is not stated.

KEY INDICATORS %Average earnings (inc bonuses, year to Jul) 1.5

Average earnings (exc bonuses, year to Jul) 1.9

Private sector (inc bonuses, year to Jul) 1.8

Private sector (exc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.1

Public sector (inc bonuses, year to Jul) 1.2

Public sector (exc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.1

Retail Price Index (year to Aug) 2.9

Consumer Price Index (year to Aug) 2.5

Economy speeding into triple trouble THIS YEAR in the media we’ve had debates about regional pay, top pay, the public sector pay freeze and, during the Olympics, compensating increases for additional work. All of these are aspects of what’s happening to pay in the UK, but only tell a partial story – not always supported by the evidence.

The truth is rather more compli-cated, summed up by the Incomes Data Services’ image of a ‘multi-speed economic picture’. This works in at least three ways.

First, differences■in■the■■pay■round■by■sector. According to IDS, the average headline increase across the economy is running at 2.4 per cent. Pay freezes are recorded in 12 per cent of cases, balanced neatly by the 12 per cent who reach settlements at 4 per cent or above. The largest concentrations of these higher end increases are in automotive engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and rail transport. The main recipients of pay freezes are the public and voluntary sectors, and the construction industry.

In Prospect areas, the private sector average for the last 12 months is a bit better – 2.75 per cent compared with just 0.93 per cent in the public sector but 3.68 per cent in the energy sector. Higher increases in energy in part reflect the incidence of multi-year deals previously concluded against a background of higher inflation. But they are also influenced by problems in recruiting and retaining skilled staff such as project managers and specialist engineers. Longer-term skill shortages and gaps are anticipated across a wide range of companies.

Second is the changing■picture■on■bonus■payments. Since the recession began they have become a very important part of private sector remuneration. Bonus payments for the whole economy in 2011-12 totalled £37bn, up 3 per cent on the previous year. The finance and insurance sector accounted for £13bn – 36 per cent of all bonuses paid – despite accounting for just 4 per cent of employees. Across the private sector the average bonus was £1,700 compared with £12,000 in finance and insurance, though this average is skewed in favour of payments to senior executives.

While they still account for the lion’s share, bonuses in the finance sector are actually lower this year. Professional,

scientific, technical, information and communications sectors, all core to Prospect’s membership profile, were areas of bonus growth in the last year.

Third, the share■of■the■nation’s■wealth■going■to■wages■has■fallen and this squeeze has been felt most sharply by middle and low earners. TUC analysis dating back to 1980 shows that if wages had grown in line with the economy since 1980, and if the

gap between the very highest paid and the rest had not increased, the average worker would now be getting £33,000 a year instead of £26,000. The TUC states that this £7,000 ‘wages grab’ was a prime cause of the

crash since excess profits and bonuses went into the finance system rather than new investment, and workers deprived of proper pay borrowed to make up the difference.

As Prospect argued at the time, the government’s emphasis on the ratio between top and lowest public sector pay largely misses the point, since it is in the private sector that the gaps between top pay and the rest are largest and growing. The High Pay Commission showed in 2011 that executive pay in the FTSE 100 rose on average by 49 per cent compared with just 2.7 per cent for the average employee.

Prospect is not opposed in principle to bonus payments or to just rewards for the best contributors. But all the evidence is that the overwhelming focus on finance bonuses and the escalation in top pay are neither good for the economy nor fair for the majority of people.

Long-term pay trends are hurting the incomes of middle earners, says Sue Ferns

STEFANO CAGNONI

In 2011 executive pay in the FTS… 100 rose on average by 49% compared with

just 2.7% for the average employee

■■ Scottish■public■servants■demonstrate■against■government■pension■plans■in■Edinburgh

PAYDOUGLAS ROBERTSON

MALCOLM

COCHRANE

STEFANO CAGNONI

■■ Avery■–■positive■elements

■■ Denney■–■mixed■bag

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 15

EDUCATION

Our children’s world is changingThe government’s hasty drive to impose change spells trouble for England’s schools, students and education professionals, says Nick Wright

WITHOUT CONSULTATION, the government this autumn laid down a dramatic new approach to the English school curriculum and examinations. In truth, it was just one change among many made in recent months.

Schools – under pressure from central government – are already migrating to new funding arrangements and either opting to become academies or, in one controversial case, being given no choice as the Department for Education strengthens its powers of direction and direct control.

While this education revolution gathers speed, parents, faith groups and businesses are being encouraged and, initially at least, generously funded to set up ‘free schools’ where national guidance, curriculum and pay agreements are dispensed with and the secretary of state’s powers replace local support and services.

This centralising drive took a bizarre turn in September when DfE imposed a 15 per cent cut in space provision for new school builds and banned ‘curvy’ architectural designs.

Does this matter? There are deep worries that, with all this fragmentation, the traditional role of local authorities in the delivery of education, and in particular their supportive relationship with schools, is being eroded.

Underlying this anxiety are the damaging funding cuts that, alongside the powerful central-ising drive by education secretary Michael Gove, are weakening local authority support for school improvement and student success.

There are still more cuts to come. Aspect group secretary John Chowcat told Prospect’s conference

earlier this year that key education and children’s services are under pressure, from school improve-ment and youth provision to early years support, where government grant aid has been reduced.

To cap it all, we have now learnt that the new English Baccalaureate Certificate is to be introduced without being fully piloted. This surprise change of rules by the exams regulator caught teachers and exam boards on the hop as Ofqual abandoned its pledge that all major exam changes would be properly piloted in advance of implementation.

The new EBCs, which are to replace GCSEs in English, science and maths within two years, will

be rolled out without the kind of trial and evalu-ation that rigorous piloting can ensure. A sharp contrast to the decade-long trials that preceded the introduction of GCSEs.

Gove’s reforms mean surprise changes for students: coursework is to end in many GCSE subjects and England’s innovative tiered system, whereby exam papers are set at two levels according to student ability, is to go.

There are real worries that this piecemeal ‘shoot from the hip’ approach means that the present generation of children will face unneces-sary uncertainty and upheaval at a critical point in their young lives.

One example is the way in which the 2012

Early Intervention Grant – which replaced earlier funding streams for support services for the most disadvantaged children and families – is now also expected to cover the cost of expanding free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds.

Britain already lags behind the best-performing countries in the educational league tables, and one important reason is our fragmented and underfunded early years sector.

In the Finnish education system – the best performing in the world – each local authority decides on a local model for a comprehensive system of free pre-primary education, opting either for family daycare centres or school-based centres. The key is all-round social development and an emphasis on play.

In Britain, the latest ministerial reshuffle means free market advocate Elizabeth Truss now has the childcare brief. Truss argues for a private agency model for childminders in place of the existing system and wants to relax the rules on how many children can be cared for by each childminder.

Childminders themselves are up in arms, given their long battle to raise standards, and the National Childminding Association’s campaign to keep childminders regulated and inspected under the national Early Years Foundation Stage has attracted thousands of supporters.

The Aspect group is pressing for renewal of the ‘middle tier’ of the education service and – as the lead organisation in the Children’s Services Professionals Network – is challenging DfE officials to answer worries that government proposals will severely weaken local authority support for schools.

Chowcat said: “Local accountability and swift, responsive local services are the key to sustained school improvement and strong standards to safeguard children. When we battle to protect the middle tier we are trying to preserve and enhance generations of professional expertise, embodied in teams of experienced professionals who know their localities intimately.”

ASPECT – PROSPECT’S EDUCATION PROFESSIONALSEarlier this year Prospect was joined by 4,000 professionals from the former Aspect union, working in school improvement, children’s services and social care. Its members work across a broad range of sectors serving the interests of children and young people, including the public, private, faith, voluntary and community sectors. Aspect members range from directors and managers of children’s services to school improvement and early years advisers, education welfare officers, heads of Sure Start, Ofsted inspec-tors and early years professionals.

■■ Gove■–■■shooting■

from■the■hip

JUSTIN TALLIS

ASPECT ECEG

DRIVING ASPECIALIST

AGENDA

Prospect is in pole position to spearhead a revival in trade union fortunes after the recession, says Alan Grey, Prospect’s new president

Profile

16 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

PRESIDENT

Why did you want to serve a second term as president?

When I stood down as president in 2006 it was after spending six years on the presidential team, progressing through the deputy vice-president and vice-president positions, just like serving an apprenticeship. Protocol dictated that I then stood down to allow the VP to move up. I felt that I was leaving the post I had been trained to do. Based on my experience on the presidential team and seeing how other unions operated, I formed the view that Prospect would benefit from more consistent lay leadership. When the opportunity arose two years later to stand again for the presidential team, as none of the national executive committee at the time were able to take on the role, I stood for election on a platform of allowing those in the team to progress as expected but, on reaching president, I would look to stand for more than the two years and subject myself to the democratic process on that basis.

What’s different about the Prospect environment this time around?

From one aspect it is remarkably similar. During my last stint on the presidential team Prospect was created from the merger of IPMS and EMA. During my current tenure Prospect has expanded further with the transfers in of Connect, ALAE and Aspect. This probably reflects the more difficult operating environment that trade unions now face. But it also demonstrates how Prospect is still the union of choice for sister unions looking for partner-ship in a progressive and forward-thinking union.

What’s the biggest challenge facing the union?

Sustainability! A combination of reduced subscriptions income because of the drop in membership, coupled with the increase in costs of delivering a service to members – transport, postage, staff costs, etc – means that it is an on-going challenge to maintain the level of service we currently provide within an ever-reducing cost envelope. The solution, obviously, is to expand that cost envelope through improving our recruitment of new members and our retention of existing members, while driving down costs where possible. The NEC is very much focused on both those issues and is encouraging branches to do the same.

What does Prospect do well?

Prospect is very much a members’ union and very clearly reflects the views of its members. Whether engaging with government ministers and employers or debating with trade union fora, the message promoted by Prospect is based not just on national conference policy but on a clear understanding of where our members are coming from and what their collective aspira-tions are. This understanding is developed through having an effective democratic hierarchy of branches, groups and sectors, and an NEC which represents the entire union membership.

What could Prospect do better?

I believe we need to build a more inclusive approach to how we deliver direct support to

members. By that I mean ensuring all of those involved in doing so – local representatives, negotiating staff and organisers – operate as a team, with defined roles yes, and with a clear understanding of where they each fit in but with some flexibility between the roles to ensure what needs doing can be better prioritised from that combined resource. I am talking about areas like personal support, improving the visibility of Prospect through campaigning and membership

recruitment. We cannot afford to let stovepiping of roles diminish the level of support we provide or prevent the development of the multitude of talented representatives and officials we rely on.

Does the present government pose a threat to trade unions?

Very much so. The recent creation of the Trade Union Reform Group and the focus of other lobbying groups like the Taxpayers Alliance on trade union facility time and union democracy clearly shows how the government agenda is to attack trade unions and use these organisa-tions and the right-wing press to demonise them. As a civil servant of some 40 years I have seen how those tactics can successfully soften up the general public before the actual attacks take place. After all the press criticism, the public is less inclined to be sympathetic to ‘molly-coddled’ civil servants with their ‘gold-plated’ pensions. Similarly, the government has used those groups to do the same ahead of its attacks on facility time.

Prospect is campaigning for a maximum turnout on October 20 from both public and private sector members. Do you have a message for them?

Yes. The march last spring was very much an ‘I was there’ moment that will live with me for a

long time. It was great to be part of a strong, loud voice conveying such an important message and I implore all members to share that experience, to take this opportunity to swell the ranks of the marchers on October 20 and send a clear message that this country not just wants but needs a future that works, investing in both the public and private sectors before it really is too late.

At a time of recession, what single issue matters most to members?

Job security, clearly. In the current climate of uncertainty which pervades all sectors and

industries, members feel the threat of redundancy in the short to medium term and probably do not see much hope for the longer term either. They will struggle

to reach a position of confidence unless the economy recovers from this period of stagnation and there is a period of real sustained growth.

How would you raise the union’s appeal to young people starting out at work?

I think young people want to join a union for the 21st century, one that recognises that, while workplace issues are important and effective interaction with an employer is crucial, we live in a global economy. A young person’s union should be able to think globally. The support of young people for the ’Make Poverty History’ campaign clearly showed that they will engage with campaign groups and unions that can see the bigger picture and are prepared to campaign for fairness and justice. Prospect needs to demon-strate more clearly that we have an international footprint and that we have shared goals with, and provide active support to, similarly-minded NGOs and charities. I believe young people will respect that and appreciate that unions are not just about industrial strife, as painted in the media, but fairness and justice locally, nationally and internationally.

Like other unions, Prospect has lost members in 2012. Should Prospect focus on organising in greenfield sites or expand in existing areas of membership?

I believe Prospect should only focus on green-field sites when we are content that our infill recruitment in current employment areas is at

Directly saving a life receives status

but designing and building the life-

saving medical equipment doesn’t

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 17

PRESIDENT

■■ Alan■outside■TUC■2010,■handing■out■flyers■promoting■Prospect’s■fringe■meeting■on■behalf■of■UK■defence■jobs

PICTURES: STEFANO CAGNONI

WITH OVER 600 people attending TUC Congress in Brighton, before the event I felt sure I would make new friends and learn about the issues facing union members around the country and abroad.

What a great opportunity! I wanted to seize the chance to attend a high-profile event with senior officers and other lay reps in Prospect although, as a first-time delegate, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was hoping to hear more about the external strategic influences on the trade union movement, in particular I was looking forward to hearing the speeches and fierce debates that would follow.

I’d heard positive mutterings about the many and varied fringe events, so I was determined to attend at least one of these.

Lastly, I wanted to capitalise on the social aspects by getting to know everyone better in the Prospect delegation.

Late but busyThe journey to Brighton was a real challenge. TUC was held on the same weekend as a bikers’ convention and driving there with precious cargo (Prospect’s president, no less!) was teeth chattering! Thankfully, Alan Grey came armed with midget gems, so we chewed hard while negoti-ating the heavy traffic. Having driven conservatively for much of the journey, I offered to fly us there in my Honda Civic Type R Mugen 200, but Alan was having none of it – spoilsport!

Despite allowing plenty of time for the journey, we arrived 15 minutes late for the delegation pre-meeting. Tut-tut! Parking facilities were dreadful, but the hotel itself was comfortable. The fact that we missed lunch en-route was quickly behind us

and we settled into conference business.

The next few days were a whirlwind of information in which I learned more about the TUC itself, other unions and the issues exercising us all. Some things stood out, including the super music provided by several bands, the rousing speeches made by union leaders, the reception hosted by Prospect’s solicitors, RJW, and the relaxed (but profes-sional) way in which Paul Kenny, TUC president, approached conference proceedings.

Highlight No 1 was the very moving speech given by the Colombian trade unionist, Carmen Mayusa, general secretary of the Anthoc health workers’ union. She had been subjected to the most horrific human rights abuses, most of her family having been killed in pursuit of their beliefs.

Highlight No 2 was watching Alan Grey do a sterling job of questioning shadow chancellor Ed Balls about whether a Labour government would introduce a civil service pay review body. Some of Ed’s answers to delegates’ questions were decidedly off piste but, to his credit, he held his nerve and is a good orator.

No 3 was the debate on a general strike. This topic attracted the most debate and, I’m pleased to say, was vigorously opposed by Prospect’s general secretary, Paul Noon, and some other delega-tions but, disappointingly, was carried by conference. I wondered where the last of the midget gems were at this point!

Lastly, the fringe event on ‘Outsourcing and the Impact on Employment Relations’ was very interesting. I attended because this is a hot topic in MOD, with a ministerial decision looming on whether to change Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) to a Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) organisation.

Debra Cadman, HR director at Capgemini, gave an informative (and surprising) brief that gave me a modicum of confidence that private enterprises do try to look after their staff and are positive about pro-active trade union engagement.

Advice to new delegatesQuite simply, make the most of TUC by getting to know your own delegation, listen to the debates and attend the fringe events and stalls. Volunteer to go and when you get there (remembering your midget gems for the journey), play hard and work even harder. This was a real highlight of my union career!

the optimum level and membership density across the union is suffi-ciently high to provide a sustainable structure. In the meantime, a balance has to be struck between allocating resource to greenfield recruitment initiatives, with a degree of certainty that it will bear fruit, and the drive to increase membership density across the union.

What does the coalition of specialists in Prospect have in common?

Lack of recognition within wider society. In many western European countries a doctorate in engineering or science is held in similar esteem to medical doctors. Despite Britain’s engineers and scientists being at the forefront of an industrial revolu-tion which galvanised the world this has never been transmitted into recognition for the worth of those specialists to society. Directly saving a life receives appropriate status but designing and building the medical equipment that allows that life to be saved doesn’t. Prospect is at the forefront of trying to achieve such recognition and we have to maintain the momentum on that.

What initiative would you most like to see Prospect take over the next two years?

I would have said let’s take the opportunity of a new general secretary coming in to look at what we do, how we do it and how we publicise it, both internally and externally. Such a review would help to identify where our priorities lie and allow Prospect to up our game where we need to and allocate the required resources. I would have said that – but it’s already happening, Mike Clancy has agreed with the NEC to jointly implement such a review and the review is currently underway. Representatives and members should see emerging outcomes early in 2013.

What would you like to achieve by the end of your term?

I would hope to have worked alongside Mike Clancy through his first term in office and provided the union with consistent leadership as we looked to a future that is both challenging and exciting. Prospect is in a strong position within the trade union movement to be at the forefront of a revival in trade union fortunes after the recession, when niche industries should prosper and specialists will be in demand. We need to develop a higher profile and clear message that Prospect is a progressive trade union, willing to work collaboratively with members, employers and governments in driving a specialist agenda.

Profile

18 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

TUC 2012

From bikers and bands to Balls and GOCOs

First-time delegate Angela Burgess enjoyed a whirlwind of experiences at this year’s TUC

■■ Above,■Prospect■delegates■line■up■on■the■TUC■platform.■Missing■–■Heather■Phillips,■Bob■King■and■Bob■Digweed

PICTURES: STEFANO CAGNONI

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 19

EQUALITY

Hard-won rights against discrimination at work are

being dismantled in a series of legal manoeuvres by the government, says Leslie Manasseh

●● the●power●of●tribunals●to●make●recommendations●to●employers●to●minimise●the●risk●to●others●once●an●employer●has●been●found●to●discriminate●against●an●employee.

Each●of●these●measures●provides●vital●rights●and●protections●for●employees.

Questionnaires and fishing tripsTake●statutory●questionnaires.●They●are●certainly●the●most●effective●and●often●the●only●way●for●an●employee●to●find●out●whether●they●have●suffered●discrimination.●Employers●have●to●provide●a●range●of●informa-tion●which●enables●the●individual●to●compare●their●treatment●with●

others.●In●most●cases●these●responses●determine●whether●or●not●individuals●have●a●case.●So●the●repeal●of●this●provision●will●at●a●stroke●deny●them●the●most●critical●means●to●make●a●claim.●When●so●much●discrimination●is●covert,●lurking●behind●closed●doors●and●within●opaque●procedures,●this●is●a●major●setback.

The●ostensible●reason●is●that●such●questionnaires●are●time-consuming●and●used●as●‘fishing●trips’.●Our●response●is●that●employers●should●account●for●their●actions●and●if●they●have●nothing●to●hide,●they●have●nothing●to●fear●from●answering●questions.

Under●the●third●party●harassment●provision,●employers●must●take●reasonable●steps●to●protect●their●employees●from●harassment●by●service●users●or●customers.●The●government●believes●that●employers●cannot●regulate●the●behaviour●of●third●parties●so●this●is●an●unworkable●requirement.●Our●view●is●that●employers●have●a●number●of●options,●such●as●

prominent●notices●for●the●public;●ensuring●employees●at●risk●are●accompanied;●and●raising●the●matter●directly●with●the●third●party●concerned.

Currently,●tribunals●can●make●recommendations●as●to●how●employers●should●change●their●policies●or●procedures●to●avoid●

discrimination.●They●can●only●do●so●after●having●heard●and●ruled●on●a●case●which●highlighted●shortcomings.●The●government●claims●this●power●is●rarely●used●and●so●is●unnecessary.●Our●argument●is●that●since●it●is●rarely●used●it●cannot●be●a●burden●and●the●government●should●support●efforts●to●assist●employers●to●improve●their●employment●practices.

None●of●the●government’s●arguments●is●convincing.●In●truth●their●motive●is●entirely●ideological●and●driven●by●the●specious●claim●that●burdens●on●business●are●at●the●root●of●economic●failure.●The●idea●that●having●to●complete●a●questionnaire,●or●amend●say,●a●recruitment●and●promotion●procedure,●cause●the●economy●to●shrink●and●the●deficit●to●grow●would●be●ludicrous●if●it●weren’t●so●serious.

The●government●is●clutching●at●straws●to●avoid●facing●up●to●its●own●failures.●Unfortunately●it●is●our●rights●at●work●which●suffer●in●the●process.

Turning back the clock on equality at workLONG●EXPERIENCE●has●taught●us●that●left●to●chance●or●to●employers●alone,●equality●in●the●workplace●will●not●be●achieved.

That’s●why●the●Equal●Pay●Act●was●introduced●over●40●years●ago●and●why●there●are●laws●which●bar●discrimination●on●grounds●of●race,●gender,●disability●and●sexual●orientation,●amongst●others.●A●good●deal●of●progress●has●been●made,●but●much●is●still●to●be●done.●That’s●because●laws●and●regulation●in●themselves●are●not●enough.●The●right●not●to●be●discriminated●against●needs●to●be●enforced●via●vigilant●and●active●trade●unions●on●the●ground.

The●Equality●Act●2010●enshrines●most●of●these●rights●and●brings●together●various●laws●which●addressed●particular●equality●strands,●such●as●disability●and●race.●However,●the●government●seems●intent●on●diluting●the●act●and●repealing●some●of●its●key●provisions.●

Inevitably,●equality●legislation●seeks●to●ensure●that●employers●conduct●their●business●in●a●way●which●does●not●put●any●group●of●people●at●a●disadvantage.

Much●of●the●debate●around●this●issue●stems●from●the●MacPherson●report●into●the●murder●of●Stephen●Lawrence●which●highlighted●the●existence●of●‘institutional●racism’●–●“the●collective●failure●of●an●organisation●to●provide●an●appropriate●and●professional●service●to●people●because●of●their●colour,●culture,●or●ethnic●origin.”

In●order●to●address●the●issue●of●collective●failure,●organisations●must●hold●themselves●up●to●a●mirror●and●put●in●place●provisions●and●mechanisms●which●ensure●that●discrimination●does●not●occur.●For●example,●this●concept●is●the●origin●of●the●public●sector●equality●duty●which●requires●public●bodies●proactively●to●promote●equality.●While●this●duty●was●never●extended●to●the●private●sector,●the●best●employers●sought●to●apply●the●same●spirit,●if●not●the●letter.

‘Burdens on business’But●this●government●has●an●obsession●with●deregulation●and●removing●so-called●burdens●on●business.●Rights●at●work●are●considered●to●be●such●burdens●and●are●under●threat.●This●is●the●motive●behind●the●review●and●planned●repeal●of●a●number●of●provisions●within●the●Equality●Act.

Interestingly,●the●government●sought●to●consult●on●this●issue●via●its●Red●Tape●Challenge●on●Equalities.●Despite●the●fact●the●7,000●responses●were●overwhelmingly●in●support●of●the●Act,●the●government●intends●to●repeal●three●vital●elements:

●● the●right●of●an●individual●to●serve●a●statutory●questionnaire●on●their●employer●if●they●believe●they●have●suffered●discrimination

●● the●liability●of●employers●for●third●party●harassment●of●their●employees●where●they●knew●of●it●but●failed●to●take●steps●to●prevent●it

JACKY CHAMPAN

When so much discrimination is

covert, lurking behind closed doors and within

opaque procedures, this is a major setback

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OLYMPICS

THE SPECIALIST work of Ministry of Defence Police in support of the armed forces and navy during the Olympics this summer was captured by their photographer Paul Kemp, a Prospect member for 35 years.

The games were the force’s largest-ever deployment outside the MOD estate and also involved mutual support to other police services.

Paul is one of 300 civilians who work with the 3,500 MDP officers, of whom 150 were deployed to help out with the Olympics.

Among the more arresting images taken by Paul were photographs (above) of the MDP providing security for six surface-to-air missile sites set up to defend the games from airborne terrorist attack.

The Lexington building, a former Bryant and May factory in Bow, and the Fred Wigg Tower in Waltham Forest hosted the Starstreak high velocity missile system, while larger Rapier missiles were based at Blackheath Common, William Girling reservoir, Shooters Hill and Barn Hill.

Paul also snapped MDP officers protecting sites at Tobacco Dock in east London, where 2,500 armed forces were accommodated, and Hainault in Essex, where feeding stations for the army and G4S were rigged up. Dog handlers and specialist search teams were also provided by MDP.

Paul’s busy Olympic schedule included trips to Weymouth harbour to photograph MDP’s marine fleet as it supported the navy’s security arrange-ments during the sailing events. He also pictured

MDP launches patrolling the Thames, quick-response motorbikes and much more.

The photos were commissioned for historical purposes, briefings and publications.

Paul was one of the very first people to qualify as a civil service photographer when he became an apprentice at the Central Office of Information 37 years ago, aged 17. He then moved to MOD, progressing to MDP. “It’s been a fascinating job,” he says – in his career he has been posted as far afield as Brunei, Canada, Kosovo and Jordan.

So did he get to watch any Olympic events? “The closest I got was standing on top of Lexington tower – one of the missile sites overlooking the Olympic stadium!”

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 21

SHOOTING FOR GOLD

Paul Kemp’s photographs provide an inside record of the Olympic achievements

of the Ministry of Defence Police

■■ Assistant■chief■constable■Robert■Chidley■is■briefed■by■Port■of■London■Authority■staff

■■ The■MDP■launch■Endeavour■on■patrol■about■HMS■Ocean■berthed■at■Greenwich

■■ Armed■police■on■Olympic■duty■guard■ground-based■missiles■at■Barn■Hill,■Epping■Forest

PICTURES: CROWN COPYRIGHT

FEATUREProfile

22 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

MEMBER PROFILE

“CALL ME A FLYING SPANNER,” he jokes. But that cheerful self-deprecation belies the responsibility shouldered by aircraft engineer Jamie and colleagues, as they ensure Flybe flights take off and land safely at Southampton airport, 364 days a year.

It’s a role laden with checks and counter-checks, but Jamie Campbell welcomes them all, not least because each job, no matter how small, can be tracked back to the individual engineer and the slightest oversight can have devastating consequences.

That is why, he says, work undertaken by the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers – a branch of Prospect since merger in 2009 – to resist pressure to scrap the aircraft engineer’s licence is vital.

This cost-cutting measure is sought by some airlines and would remove oversight by the Civil Aviation Authority. At present, the CAA legislates how much experience a person has to have and conducts regular audits of the licence renewal requirement.

“For instance, to sign off a plane I have to have a licence and company approval. To get that approval I must spend time in a classroom learning each type of aircraft and pass the necessary exams. Then I have to demonstrate sufficient practical experience on that aircraft before they’ll let me sign off any technical maintenance.”

Despite 26 years as an engineer in the Royal Air Force, Jamie had to take exams on civilian planes. He spent almost a year working as a contractor to gain stamped evidence of the required experience in his logbook.

As a B1 or heavy engineer with an avionics extension he

can undertake most jobs, bar specialist tests and inspec-tions of avionics equipment. Any work on flight controls or engines has to be counter-checked and signed off by a second licensed engineer.

Jamie is adamant that any diminution of this system of cross-checks would be a retrograde step – see panel, right.

That threat is just one of many issues being dealt with by the union. For when not looking after the 70-plus planes that fly daily in and out of Southampton, Jamie is the Prospect rep for Flybe engineers at Southampton, Gatwick and Charles de Gaulle airports.

Each airport requires engineers to produce different certification when bringing tools on site. Jamie’s certification may cover another BAA site such as Heathrow, but he needs separate certification if called to work at Charles de Gaulle or Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

The job itself is largely dictated by whether he is on day or night shift. Day shifts start with a 5.30am hand-over to review and sign off work from the previous night and flag up on-going problems. During the day the onus is on ‘fire-fighting’ – anything from adjusting a pilot’s chair to assessing possible damage from a bird strike. Careful but speedy resolution of problems is essential to avoid financial penalties for delay.

Staff have to ensure the parts and paperwork needed to cover that evening’s ‘night-stops’ have been shipped in – right down to the numbered stickers used to seal a plane after work is done, which the boarding flight crew check against the record in each plane’s technical log.

Other duties include ensuring data from the flight deck WEB International development

has come of age on Prospect’s website, reports Lynn StephensonProspect’s Bargaining for International Development project has been running for over three years. In that time, it has helped to raise members’ awareness of ethical procurement and corporate social responsibility, and to get

these issues on the bargaining agenda with their employers.

Already 48 members have signed up to become development advocates in their own workplace.

We’ve been looking at how the website can support this important strand of Prospect’s work, and are revamping the international development pages in the ‘news and campaigns’ area of the site. Here’s what you’ll find:

ACTIVE CAMPAIGNS

• Playfair 2012• Robin Hood tax • Vision Aid

PROSPECT PROJECTS

Information about various fundraising and practical initiatives we’ve been involved with, from flood mitigation in Cambodia to an education project in Kenya.

KEY INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

CSR, ethical procurement, the millennium development goals, violations of trade union rights.

RESOURCES

A range of downloadable resources, including our members’ guide to the millenium development goals and our negotiators’ guide to corporate social responsibility.

Ethical procurement and corporate social responsibility

The flying spanner

His contribution to making your flight safe may be invisible. But without Jamie Campbell you

would never hear the words ‘ready

for take-off’

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 23

MEMBER PROFILE

FAREWELL, MY LOVELY

It’s not every day that government ministers speak fondly of trade union leaders. But Charles Hendry replied in effusive mode to Paul Noon after he was relieved of his duties as energy minister last month. “There cannot be a sector which is more endlessly fascinating, inspiring and so central to our long-term needs as a nation,” he wrote. “Nor can there be one with such inspiring leaders and it has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with you.” Hendry particularly valued being able to work constructively with trades unions, “who have been so supportive of much of the work we have been doing – I felt that sent a very strong message to investors.” In turn, Paul paid him the ultimate compliment: “People on all sides of the energy industry have always appreciated the depth of your knowledge and mastery of your brief, not always a feature of ministers of any administration.”

EVERTON STAYS ON TOP

It’s well known that Brendan Barber, who retires as TUC general secretary at the end of the year, is a staunch backer of Everton FC. But that wouldn’t change the balance of support on the general council, the movement’s top body, said Paul Kenny, TUC president, at this year’s conference in Brighton. “Brendan may be standing down but he will be replaced by Prospect’s Mike Clancy – an even more staunch Evertonian,” he told delegates at the end of Congress.

BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Hats off – or should that be hats on – to Graham Russell, chief executive of the Better Regulation Delivery Office. In a recent blog on the website of the business department, highlighting Prospect’s 40at40 initiative for the Health and Safety Executive, Russell said: “Not everything gets the publicity it deserves, particularly when it’s about regulatory inspectors contributing to business growth as well as ensuring protection. So when I saw this article on the website of Prospect, I thought it could do with a wider airing.”

MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Last month Prospect’s negotiator for football referees, Alan Leighton, responded to some vile abuse on Twitter aimed at referee Mark Halsey after a Liverpool v Manchester United game. Alan attracted nationwide attention when he said such remarks were ‘beneath contempt’ and unacceptable. After Daily Mail Online quoted his words in their story on the incident, Alan

was surprised to find himself in the firing line when he was labelled a ‘pleb’ in comments by one irate fan – a title Alan said he would wear as a badge of honour.

CONNECT FOUR

National officer for the Connect sector Steve Donnelly appeared on a BBC4 quiz show last month, ironically called ‘Only Connect’ (pictured above left with his team and host Victoria Coren). However, rather than being about comms connections, the quiz is about connecting things – be it words, numbers,

pictures or pieces of music. Team names are meant to convey a link between team members, and ‘Trenchermen’ signified that Steve’s team enjoy eating good food. Steve says his moment of glory was scoring maximum points in round one based on knowing all about the Miss World 1973 contest. Their low point was the ‘wall’ round in which they were stumped by words they didn’t know came from TV show

TOWIE: “I knew the meaning of vajazzle, but didn’t know the origin; my teammates had never heard of it, and I didn’t consider pre-watershed TV a good time to educate them!”

IT’S NOT PERSONAL...

A furore erupted at TUC conference when T-shirts went on sale outside the Brighton Centre suggesting that trade unionists would dance on the grave of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber described the remarks as ‘tasteless and totally inappropriate’ and Dai Hudd, Prospect’s deputy general secretary, told The Guardian that calling on people to dance on her grave was ‘nonsense’ and ‘infantile.’ He said there was no need to personalise the issue when her policies and legacy gave people more than enough fuel for anger. “That era made us a nastier nation,” he said, adding: “She might get her own back and be buried at sea.”

PROMISES, PROMISES

“Our forests will stay in public hands. We will not sell the public forest estate.” That was the government’s promise in July 2012. But by September, the government was refusing to rule out using the private finance initiative for the future funding of the public forest estate. So, government would retain long-term ownership (technically), but new forest operators could do what they like for the next 30 years. Hmmm.

UNiON

recorders is downloaded and sent to Flybe’s headquarters to gain information such as whether a heavy landing or severe turbulence merit investigation.

Most maintenance work is completed during the night shift. It starts with another hand-over before the super-visor allocates planes to teams of engineers. Normally four engineers each cover two planes a night.

“The aircraft are met at the night stop and the crew debriefed in case they have any problems suitable for deferral until the evening, and the technical log is handed over.

“Briefing is imperative as a problem in the tech log might just say ‘auto-pilot disengaged’. But it’s not until you speak to the crew that you can establish when it happened or what they were doing at the time. You need to know to determine what component caused the problem in the first place.”

The handover also covers mundane reports, like stolen seat belts or life preservers through to broken reading lights or opened first aid kits. Large or small, every job is checked, noted and logged, and that’s just as Jamie believes it should stay.

AFFILIATIONS ANDNETWORKS

Information about the international organisations Prospect is involved with.

BLOG

Almost 200 of you have signed up to our international development network, receiving news and information from Prospect’s co-ordinator Bev Hall. We’ve set up a blog for Bev to make it easier for her to keep

you up-to-date. We’ve also embedded a

news feed from LabourStart, the solidarity and campaigning website of the international trade union movement.

We hope these changes will make the website a useful resource for members who are interested in international development issues. Let us know what you think, or if you’ve got suggestions for other ways we can support this work, just email us at webmaster@prospect.org.uk

THE LEVEL of personal accountability demanded of aircraft engineers is very real, as a recent case monitored by ALAE shows.

A ground engineer allegedly left a switch on the flight deck on manual rather than automatic, following inspec-tion of a service door on a Boeing 737 flying from Greece to Cyprus. This meant the aircraft failed to pressurise correctly and crashed, killing all 121 people on board.

“Even though the crew were also responsible for checking the switch before take-off and should have been alerted by two further warnings, the fact the engineer signed off the job meant he faces manslaughter charges,” says Jamie.

The case is also a sobering reminder of the need to follow every safety procedure – even if some seem irksome or downright comical. Milk is a case in point.

When industry-wide restrictions on taking liquids into airports were imposed, Flybe staff at Southampton came to an agreement with the airport over nominated ‘milk monitors’ who were allowed to bring milk on site to make tea.

“The Department for Transport then ruled that milk had to be sourced from a recognised company – in our case the airline caterers at the far end of the airport.” And there were further arguments over the status of yogurt...

■■ It’s■hands■on■in■the■cockpit,■as■Jamie■makes■final■safety■checks

PICTURES: PAUL CARTER

WW

W.ANDYSHORTPHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UK

Health and safety, strikes, specialists, BAE, HorizonPROSPECT’S INTERVENTIONS at September’s TUC in Brighton – on strikes, health and safety and the private sector – gained good coverage this year.

General secretary Paul Noon was interviewed on Radio West Midlands opposing a general strike, and his views were reported by the Press Association, Times, FT, Guardian, Independent, Morning Star and many regionals.

General secretary designate Mike Clancy told Radio Wales that Prospect did support co-ordinated industrial action in the public sector, picked up by the Manchester Evening News, Western Mail and Newcastle Journal. Labour Research covered Prospect’s motion on recruiting in the private sector, and head of research Sue Ferns wrote about it on the TUC Stronger Unions website.

Prospect’s revelations about cuts to occupational health inspectors were covered by the Daily Mirror, PA, Morning Star, Labour Research, the safety press and some regionals. In the Guardian, Clancy questioned government plans to slash red tape and the Independent, Newcastle Journal and health and safety press also quoted negotiator Mike Macdonald. The FT and various H&S websites cited Prospect’s worries about cost recovery.

Sue Ferns blogged on civil service careers and the issue of specialists v generalists for the Guardian’s Public Leaders Network, and deputy general secretary Dai Hudd blogged on what a civil service skills audit should look like. Hudd also wrote an article for Civil Service World about special-ists. A letter from pensions officer Neil Walsh was published in the FT,

pointing out that the OBR’s projec-tions show the public service pensions changes will save money.

Prospect’s fears about jobs at BAE in the event of merger with EADS were covered in the Guardian, Glasgow Herald, Evening Times, Chester Leader and Lancashire

Evening Post. The Scottish Daily

Express, Sunday Herald and Union News printed Prospect’s objections to the move of MOD staff working for NATO from Glasgow to Bristol.

Clancy’s call for the government to act over Ofgem’s prediction of an energy shortfall was reported on the BBC website, in the Independent, Express.co.uk, Dailystar.co.uk, Dailymail.co.uk, thesun.co.uk, MSN and PA, as well as several regionals.

On nuclear, the Times and Lancashire Evening Post reported the views of

national secretary Mike Graham on the twists and turns over the future of the Horizon new-build consortium. Cumbrian papers quoted him on the consequences of delaying the search for a nuclear repository.

Redundancies at Vodafone received coverage in Mobile News and the local Newbury press, and the closure of O2’s defined benefit scheme in Professional Pensions.

Football inevitably attracted reports by dozens of nationals and regionals for national secretary Alan Leighton’s condemnation of abusive tweets to referee Mark Halsey.

Motor Transport had an article about the privatisation of VOSA testing facilities, quoting Helen Stevens. Negotiator Andy Bye told the Yorkshire Post there ought to be an inquiry over contracts awarded to a curator’s husband at the National Railway Museum.

Mike Sparham is a negotiator on the heritage, law and energy pitch at Prospect’s headquarters, LondonDescribe yourself in four words.Socialist, loyal, stubborn, sparky.What do you like or dislike about members?

I like the fact they are members of a trade union.Which aspects of trade unionism particularly appeal to you?Collective action and supporting workers’ rights around the world.Would the grass be greener for you somewhere else?The grass is never greener and why would I want to go somewhere else?Do you have any hidden talents?I have not found any.What is your most embarrassing moment?Many years ago, unaware that the Civil Service Appeal Board had recently moved, I took a member to the wrong building for his appeal hearing. Luckily, he won his appeal.What or who gets you rattled?Racism; and intolerance of other peoples’ life choices.What’s on your iPod?Dusty Springfield to Lady Gaga.What’s your favourite book?Ragged Trousered Philanthropist because it made me think; and any Ruth Rendell novel because of the strength of her characters.Prada or Primark, Monsoon or M&S?No Prada or Monsoon where I live but we do have Next and River Island.How are you beating 20 per cent VAT?By voting for a party committed to reducing it.What would you like to change most about the world?To eliminate the obscene differences in wealth.What would you do if you were invisible for the day?Sit in a management meeting to learn their strategy against us.

MEET

TEAM

n A useful example of co-operation between publicly-owned industries is the action of Lord Robens,

chairman of the National Coal Board, in calling a special press conference recently to support the CEGB’s proposal to build a 2,000 MW power station at Ratcliffe-on-Sea. Lord Robens appealed to those who opposed the new station to look beyond any small personal disadvantage and consider the general advantage of the British people as a whole. He added a warning that refusal of consent for Ratcliffe might result in a cut-back in production plans for the east Midlands – Britain’s most prosperous and booming coalfield. In turn, that could mean higher coal costs – and higher electricity charges – for the whole country. Ratcliffe power station would consume coal representing the employment of 10,000 men. It would, in effect, be the biggest employer of labour they were ever likely to get in the east Midlands. 10,000 men and their families with pay packets to spend in the area.Electrical Power Engineer, October 1962

n The general secretary at conference seemed hostile to the Common Market. The membership has not been asked for

its view; I suggest that it is strongly pro-Market. Civil services in continental countries have been disrupted by war and politics and are probably inferior to ours. Although we are starting late, there should be opportunities for British civil servants to move into a wider field, to serve 200 million people instead of 50 million. It is in our widest interest that Britain becomes a leader, not a camp-follower, in the Community if we join.State Service, October 1962

1962BAE SYSTEM

S

JOHN FURLONG

■n Prospect’s■concerns■about■

the■furure■of■jobs■at■BAE■were■

widely■reported

Prospect stories that

have appeared in media

across the country in

recent weeks

Profile

24 n Oct-Nov 5/12

ROUND-UP

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 25

LAW AT WORK

PAY RATES OF INTERNS

I have been offered a position as an intern working in a private research company. I will be paid expenses, but nothing else. Is this right?

If you are actually doing work yourself, as opposed to simply work shadowing someone else, you are entitled to be paid at least the national minimum wage. This is currently £6.19 per hour for workers 21 and over, and £4.98 for workers aged 18-20. In some areas Prospect has negoti-ated better rates of pay for interns, so do check the position with your Prospect officer. While interns may not have the full range of statutory employment rights they will often be covered by many legal rights in addition to the NMW, including: limits on working long hours, paid holidays, and equal treatment under the Equality Act. For more information on your rights

as an intern see Prospect’s Employment Law Briefing available on the website at http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2012/01076

RIGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED

I work in a small private company that does not recognise Prospect. I have raised a grievance over my pay level and have been asked to attend a hearing to discuss it. I told my manager that I wanted to bring my Prospect union representative and she said that they did not have unions in the company, and didn’t want them!

Whether or not the company formally recognises a trade union, they must allow you to be accompanied by a union representative at the hearing. Under the law you are entitled to be accompanied by either a union representative or a colleague. The representative is not able to answer questions put directly to you,

but they do have the right to address the manager and to sum up the case on your behalf. If your chosen representative is not available at the time set for the hearing, the employer must agree to postpone it, as long as you can propose an alterna-tive date within five working days. The law also says that workers must not be dismissed or subjected to any detriment for seeking to assert their right to be accompanied. Contact your Prospect repre-sentative for advice on raising this with your manager.

These■are■brief■answers■to■the■issues■raised■and■should■not■be■taken■as■a■definitive■outline■of■the■law.■In■all■cases■you■should■seek■advice■from■your■Prospect■full-time■officer.

■■ Follow■Prospect■legal■officers■on■Twitter■@LegalProspect■for■up-to-date■news■and■information■on■workers’■rights■and■employment■law

Marion Scovell answers your questions about the world of work

LegalEase

The intention is that making a settlement proposal to an employee to leave their employment will no longer be admissible for citing in unfair dismissal cases

Light touch or free rein for employers?Government attacks on unfair dismissal rights are intended to make it easier to sack people, says Alison Humphry IN MAY 2010, the government committed itself to review employment laws for “employers and employees, to ensure they maximise flexibility for both parties while protecting fairness and providing the competitive environment required for enterprise to thrive.”

While admitting that the UK regulatory framework is already “lighter than most”, it seems that this is not enough for our current legisla-tors. They are now also consulting on increasing the use of settlement agreements to terminate employment; and to slash the maximum compen-sation award for unfair dismissal claims.

The government is open about wanting these measures to reduce the number of claims made to employment tribunals overall. But will they? Perhaps – but almost certainly at the expense of vulnerable workers.

The intention behind a planned substantial reduction in the maximum award for unfair dismissal to £25,000 is self-evident. But why does the government want to do this? The consultation document points out that most awards hover at around £6,000 and would not be affected.

This presents a few logical difficulties. First, what is the point of reform if it will not make much difference in practice? Second, with the prospect of tribunal fees of up to £1,200 for making a claim, it will only be rational to pursue higher-value claims.

Third, and perhaps most important, assessment of compensation is already subject to rigorous analysis by a judge, based on the actual and likely loss to an individual, taking into account a number of factors which might reduce compensation.

If compensation is high, it is because the person has been unable to find new work after being unfairly dismissed on more than procedural grounds. That person is in a very unfortunate financial position and has sustained considerable loss because of their employer’s wrongful action. So why is the employer the one who needs protecting?

The proposed use of settlement agreements sounds tame by comparison. But what is the real implication here? The intention is that making

a settlement proposal to an employee to leave their employment will no longer be admissible for citing in unfair dismissal cases.

Effectively an employee will not be able to use such a proposal as grounds for constructive dismissal or to argue that their employer had already made their mind up – even though this will clearly be the case.

We all know that off the record discussions do occur from time to time and can be helpful. But there is a difference between being in dispute with your employer and reaching a settlement, perhaps

with union assistance on a without-prejudice basis; and being approached, without warning or process, with a proposal to give you the sack.

In this case, how can your employment prospects be anything except dead in the water? This proposal is likely to result in internal proce-dures becoming little more than whitewashing exercises unless they are effectively and asser-tively enforced by employees and their unions.

Both of these proposed ‘reforms’ make it more likely that we will see employees bring an increased number of discrimination claims, which tend to be longer, more complicated and more expensive for employers.

There is no cap on compensation for unfair dismissal claims and any ban on admissibility of settlement agreements will not apply in discrimination cases.

As a claim of statutory employment rights, unfair dismissal was designed as a robust, relatively simple way of determining dismissal disputes in front of an employment tribunal.

With the raising of the service requirement, the loss of lay members in unfair dismissal hearings, higher tribunal fees and substantial cuts to the basic award, it is hard to say that it is fit for that purpose.

Yes, the changes will make it easier to sack people – but is that what we need at a time of high unemployment?

Alison Humphry is an employment solicitor at Prospect solicitors Russell Jones & Walker, part of Slater & Gordon Lawyers. For advice on the issues raised in this article, contact the legal helpline on 0800 328 7987.

It is more likely that we will see an increased number of

discrimination claims, which tend to be longer, more complicated

and more expensive for employers

Profile

26 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

EDUCATION

Wendi HarrisonWENDI HARRISON, who died in August, transformed the IPMS education programme for members before the union became part of Prospect.

In 10 years as training and devel-opment officer she took the union’s programme of six courses and by the time she left in 2002 had increased it to 36.

Her professional touch persuaded more than 500 reps and members to attend each year and she succeeded in getting many of the courses accred-ited through the Open University Validation Service for a certificate of higher education.

For her last three years Wendi also headed the union’s recruitment effort, where she succeeded in turning round the steady decline in the union’s membership during the 1990s.

Wendi originally came to IPCS, the predecessor union to IPMS, in 1976. Fresh from working in Coventry as a Unison rep, she became a negotiator for the UK Atomic Energy Authority pitch, as well as the Home Office and the first civil service body to be priva-tised, The Radiochemical Centre, later to become Amersham International.

She moved on to the agriculture pitch in 1980 where for years she campaigned hard against cutbacks in research, and started the tradition of taking a union stand to the Royal Show. After negotiating down the number of units of redundancy in the Agricultural and Food Research Council from 149 to 80, she took over the heritage pitch and all the research councils, followed by stints at the Department of Transport and the Property Services Agency.

Wendi did a spell as training officer for the Council of Civil Service Unions before returning to IPMS in 1992 to take over the union’s training brief. She leaves behind her husband, Roger.

PROSPECT EDUCATION PROGRAMME JAN-JUL 2013Essential skills for union volunteers London 15–16 January New Prospect House

Helping and advising people at work Birmingham 17 January City Centre TBA

Handling cases in your workplace London 21–22 January New Prospect House

Introduction to health and safety London 28–29 January New Prospect HouseHandling cases in your workplace: harassment and bullying Birmingham 12–13 February NASUWT Hillscourt

Negotiating with employers Manchester 19–20 February City Centre TBAEqual opportunities and diversity taster London 6 March New Prospect House

Helping and advising people at work Wimbledon 12 March Prospect Office

Essential skills for union volunteers Gloucester 19–20 March Hallmark Hotel

Union learning representatives stages 1 and 2 London 09–10 April New Prospect House

Tackling discrimination at work Eastbourne 10–11 April Eastbourne Centre

Handling cases in your workplace Edinburgh 23–24 April City Centre TBA

Advanced negotiating skills London 30 April–1 May New Prospect House

Helping and advising people at work Edinburgh 8 May City Centre TBA

Essential skills for union volunteers Birmingham 14–15 May NASUWT Hillscourt

Negotiating with employers Cardiff 4–5 June City Centre TBA

Presentation skills Wimbledon 11–12 June Prospect Office

Introduction to employment law Eastbourne 11–12 June Eastbourne CentreHandling cases in your workplace: harassment and bullying Eastbourne 11–12 June Eastbourne Centre

Introduction to health and safety London 18–19 June New Prospect House

Union learning representatives stage 3 London 20 June New Prospect House

Handling cases in your workplace Birmingham 3–4 July NASUWT Hillscourt

Essential skills for union volunteers Eastbourne 9–10 July Eastbourne Centre

On course for learning2013 is just around the corner – and you are invited to enrol for next year’s exciting programme of Prospect courses

THE UNION’S education programme will kick off in January with three courses that are ideal for beginners - Essential Skills for Volunteers, Helping and Advising

People at Work, and an Introduction to Health and Safety.

Like all the courses, they are free to members, travel and subsistence costs are reimbursed by Prospect and most members and reps are entitled to paid time off from work to attend.

Many of our courses are exter-nally validated as continuous professional development by the CPD Certification Service, so you will be picking up skills that can

help you in your career as well as your union activity.

In addition to the table below, two taster courses are ready to roll in November: Tackling Discrimination at Work on November 21-22 and an Equal Opportunities and Diversity taster on November 6. Both of these courses are being held in Manchester, but please check the Prospect website for availability.

Paul Casey, learning services officer, said: “It has been all change at learning services during the summer. We said farewell to Rodney Wheeler who had been LS coordi-nator since 2007 and who has now moved to a new role in the research and specialist services team.

“We have welcomed Lorraine Holt to the team. Lorraine works in Prospect’s Connect sector office at Wimbledon and now looks after all aspects of training course administration.”

Lorraine can be contacted on 020 8971 6038 or you can email her at learning.services@prospect.org.uk Details of courses and how to apply can be found at the Prospect website: www.prospect.org.uk/education

■ If you are thinking of applying for funding for a branch or regional training event and plan on deliv-ering it before the end of 2012, please get in touch with Learning Services before you complete the funding application form.

JONATHAN EELES

■ Picking up tips for a new career at Prospect’s CareerPlus workshop last October

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 27

RETIRED MEMBERS

TOUGH TIMES AT THE PENSIONERS’ PARLIAMENTMinisters were not exactly flavour of the month, writes Mike Moriarty

THE NATIONAL Pensioners’ Convention, a trade union-inspired lobby group that speaks on behalf of 11 million pensioners, held its twentieth Pensioners’ Parliament in Blackpool this summer.

Given the current economic background, it is no surprise that attendance, which had peaked at 2,000 pensioners in previous years, was down to 1,200 this year, many of them self-funded.

Historically, Blackpool council gave use of the Winter

Gardens for free, but this year it charged £6,000.

The conference used to be preceded by a march led by a jazz band from the North Pier to the Winter Gardens, but the police wanted £800 to escort the pensioners across the main road.

So the route (top right) was changed to negate the

need for a police escort.The highlight of the confer-

ence was scheduled to be an audience with Paul Burstow, the care services minister.

However, on the Friday before he cancelled, as he was “scheduled to answer a question in the House.”

His place at the confer-ence was taken by a cabbage

which became a running joke through the conference by asking the ‘minister/cabbage’ (above) for his thoughts.

You just can’t get an answer from these coalition members!

The opening rally included a scathing attack on the government’s reorganisa-tion of the NHS by Dr Jacky

Davis, co-chair of the National Health Service Consultants Association.

Other topics we debated included fair pensions for all, fuel poverty, concessionary travel and pensioners in rural communities, the future of social care, housing for an older population and where next for the NHS.

Sign tax-grab petition, RMG urgesGerald Perks, RMG president, reports on the national committee meeting in SeptemberTHE MEETING opened with a minute’s silence in memory of Ted Edwards, the first president of the RMG, who died recently. The committee thanked Robbie Ridoutt for his excellent obituary in August’s Profile summarising Ted’s involvement as a lay rep in Prospect and its predecessor union, both as a working and retired member.

The many problems facing the union were highlighted by general secretary designate Mike Clancy, the main issue being the loss of members due to government cutbacks, which is likely to produce a budget deficit. To counter the impact, the national executive has agreed to establish a number of strategic working groups who will report back in December.

Reports on external meetings attended by national committee members were consid-ered, particularly from the National Pensioners Convention, including a delegate’s report from the pensioners parliament held in Blackpool (see above). An e-petition on the restora-tion of age-related tax allowances currently has 68,000 signatories, still short of the 100,000 required to instigate a parliamen-tary debate. The petition can be found at

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31778.Members were advised that Prospect’s present

membership stood at 119,508, of whom 22,769 were retired members.

The previous NEC endorsed the establishment of a working group to review the proposition that retired members should have a card vote at national conference. The new NEC has agreed its composition and the first meeting will be in November. The NEC also agreed the composition of its standing committees.

The national committee agreed Action Taken for the 2012 ADC, which will now be circulated to areas.

A discussion was held on the viability of a newsletter for retired members. Issues of content, format and affordability will continue to be discussed at future meetings. Clearly, the more members who can receive information via email, the more viable a newsletter.

It was brought to members’ attention that one of the qualifying factors for a disabled person’s railcard is to be registered deaf or to use a hearing aid. The savings are substantial compared to a normal senior railcard. Full details at www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk

The next committee meeting will be on January 24.

■ The conference was attended on behalf of Prospect by four members of the retired members group national committee (l to r): Mike Moriarty, Arthur Bavister, Ann Hedgecock and Peter Gilroy

■■ Retired■members■from■the■north-east■area■enjoyed■a■tour■of■the■former■C■A■Parsons■works■of■Siemens■Energy■Fossil,■Newcastle,■after■a■meeting■earlier■this■year.■It■gave■an■insight■into■the■work■currently■carried■out■by■Siemens■on■steam■turbines■and■wind■generators

RETIRED AND working Prospect members joined the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs festival in July behind the union banner

Profile

28 ■ Oct–Nov 5/12

RETIRING SOON?DON’T FORGET that you can stay in touch with Prospect – and former colleagues – by joining the retired members group when you retire. In fact any member is eligible for life retired membership when they reach age 55. For details email membership@prospect.org.uk or call 01932 577007.

RETIRED MEMBERS

MEETINGSEAST ANGLIA

Annual general meeting November 21. Email Les Nicholls (secretary) to confirm attend-ance at lesrnicholls@live.co.uk or call 01473 281389. For members in postcodes EN, NR, IP, PE, CB, CO, CM, RM, SS and IG.

EAST MIDLANDSAnnual general meeting 11am, November 20, Prospect Midlands office, Unit 4, Midland Court, Central Park, Leicester Road, Lutterworth (junction 20 M1), tel 01455 555200. Tea and coffee 10.30 am and light lunch provided. Contact Tony Beech on 01283 585622 or tony_margy@btinternet.com. For members in postcodes CV, DE, LE, LN, NG, NN. All members welcome, but only members in these postcodes can vote.

LONDON CENTRALAnnual general meeting 11am November 8, New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN. Contact Dave Bernard (secretary) on 020 8669 0642 or at dajf.bernard@btinternet.com for catering. For members in postcodes BR, CR, E, EC, HA, KT, N, NW, SE, SM, SW, TW, UB, W and WC.

NORTH-EASTAnnual general meeting, 1.30pm, October 25, North Biddick & District Social Club, Washington NE38 8AJ. Guest speaker Mike Clancy, general secretary designate. Contact Peter Gilroy (secretary) on 01670 354613 or at pm.gilroy@sky.com. For members in postcodes NE, DH, SR, DL and TS.

NORTH-WESTAnnual general meeting 10.30am, November 1, County Hotel, Carnforth. Speaker David Luxton, Prospect national secretary for south-east. Contact Mike Duncalf (secretary) on 01524 732128. For members in postcodes CA, LA, BB, PR and FY.

SCOTLAND NORTHNext meeting November 28, Station Hotel, 78 Guild Street, Aberdeen AB11 6GN. Arrive at 12.30pm for lunch. Meeting starts 2.45 pm, finishing no later than 4.30pm. Guest speaker Charles Harvey, Prospect head of communications. Contact Gordon Davidson (secretary) on 01358 720825 or email gordon.g.davidson@btinternet.com. For members in postcodes HS, ZE, KW, IV, AB, PH, DD, FK (postcode 7 et seq), PA (postcode 20 et seq) KY.

SCOTLAND SOUTHAnnual general meeting 2.00pm, November 13, Mash Room, Teacher Building, 14 St Enoch Square, Glasgow G14 4DB. Guest speaker tba. Contact Cath Mitchell (secretary) on 07779 189015 or email cmitchell4@

btinternet.com. Join email list by contacting Cath or Prospect membership. For members in postcodes G, KA, ML, EH, TD, DG, FK 1-6 and PA 1-19.

SOUTH-EAST ENGLANDAnnual general meeting 1.00pm, 15 November, Castle Room, Angel Leisure Centre, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1SF. Refreshments provided. Speaker David Luxton, Prospect national secretary. To assist catering, contact Derick Jackson (secretary) on 01474 814541 or email d.jackson123@btinternet.com. For members in postcodes BN, TN, CT, DA, ME and RH.

SOUTH-EAST MIDLANDSAnnual general meeting 2pm for 2.30pm start, October 30, Friends Meeting House, 12 Southdown Road, Harpenden AL5 1PD. Lunch at Silver Cup pub across the common or Harpenden Arms (200 yards), restaurants nearby. Trains can be met at Harpenden station by arrangement. For info call Stuart Stearn (secretary) on 01727 837004 or Peter Welbank (chair) on 01582 763634. For members in postcodes AL, HP, LU, MK, SG and WD.

SOUTHERNAnnual general meeting 11.00am, October 25, Lyme Regis Guildhall. Contact Bob Milner (secretary) on 01202 296553. For members in postcodes BH, DT and TA.

SOUTH-WEST MIDLANDSAnnual general meeting 1.30pm, October 24, Spitfire Project, Enstone Airfield, OX7 4NP. Opportunity to see Spitfires being built or even buy one! Numbers must be known in advance. Contact Terry Clift (secretary) on 01235 526042. For members in OX and GL postcodes, other members most welcome.

THAMES VALLEYAnnual general meeting November 28, Reading International Solidarity Centre, London Road, Reading. Tea and coffee from 10.00 am. Buffet to follow. Guest speaker Geraldine O’Connell, Prospect national secretary. Contact Elenor Hutcheson on 01344 305405 or email nellhutch@yahoo.com for details. All members welcome but only members in postcodes GU, RG and SL may vote.

WALESAnnual general meeting 1100 am, November 9, National Waterfront Museum, Oystermouth Road, Swansea SA1 3RD. Lunch provided. Confirm attendance to Prospect Wales office at Landore Court, 51 Charles Street, Cardiff CF10 2GD, call 029 2066 7770 or email wales@prospect.org.uk. For members in postcodes SY, SA, LD, CF and NP.

JULY 17–SEPTEMBER 27Prospect regrets to announce the deaths of the following members, notified to headquarters between August 14 and September 27, 2012Mr B I Austin 26/07/12 Central Networks – WestMr G Bailey 26/09/12 Central Networks – WestMr R E Baldwin 25/09/12 South West Midlands Retired Members GroupDr D J Barbara 31/07/12 University of WarwickMr W T Barlas 12/09/12 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr W H Beresford 31/08/12 Western Power DistributionMr A T Blunt 25/09/12 Wales Retired Members GroupMr J F Bridger 06/09/12 Ministry of DefenceMr E J Brunger 26/09/12 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr T Burns 04/09/12 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr J M Caley 18/07/12 Isle of Man Government Officers’ AssociationMr P Calvocoressi 07/09/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr M B Cartmail 20/09/12 E.On UKMr P R Child 13/09/12 InnogyMr P J Codd 30/08/12 Hydrographic OfficeMr S Collick 17/07/12 Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeMr J A P Collings 17/07/12 South West Retired Members GroupMr G Connah 10/09/12 Western Power DistributionMr R P Common 24/07/12 South East England Retired Members GroupDr R F Cook 28/08/12 National GridMr L J Cornwell 01/08/12 Office for National StatisticsMr E Cowpe 25/07/12 InnogyMr K M Crook 25/07/12 E.On UKMr R N Davis 30/08/12 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupDr D J A Dear 05/09/12 West Midlands Retired Members GroupMr R O Denham 25/07/12 InnogyMr M Dickson 14/09/12 National Air Traffic ServicesMr J F Dixon 30/08/12 National GridMr S M Ellsworth 02/08/12 Ordnance SurveyMr W N Elwood 13/08/12 EDF SeeboardMr D T Evans 01/08/12 CMMDI Retired Members GroupMr W H Farrow 31/08/12 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr R Faulkner 28/08/12 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr D W Fitzmaurice 31/07/12 Ministry of DefenceMr A Fletcher 09/08/12 Ministry of DefenceMr N Foskett 07/08/12 North West/North Wales Regional BranchMr R S Fraser 08/08/12 EDF EnergyMr B W Gibbons 20/09/12 E.On UKMr W A Grieves 31/08/12 Scottish PowerMr G Hall 11/09/12 Yorkshire Electricity BoardMr N V Hartshorne 11/09/12 Central Networks – WestMr E W R Hindle 24/08/12 Scottish PowerMr J F Hodson 28/08/12 North West Retired Members GroupMiss E Holdham 27/09/12 Midlands RegionalMr J F Howard 26/09/12 Central Networks – EastDr I D James 14/08/12 Natural Environment Research CouncilMr G Johns 05/09/12 Ministry of DefenceMr J J Kay 10/08/12 Wales Retired Members GroupMr M Keates 30/08/12 Ministry of DefenceMr C G Kilby 26/09/12 East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr C R King 08/08/12 Ministry of DefenceMr W S Lawrie 29/08/12 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr E J McCarthy 01/08/12 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr J M McCarthy 28/08/12 Highways AgencyMrs M J G McGhin 20/08/12 Highlands and Islands AirportsDr P McIntyre 24/07/12 National Physical LaboratoryMiss D McNicholas 22/08/12 Electricity North WestMr T J Miles 25/07/12 RWE npowerMr R G Nevell 19/09/12 Health and Safety ExecutiveMr J Nicol 25/07/12 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr J Ormondroyd 26/09/12 Central Networks – EastMr S A Osborne 04/09/12 Government Officers’ AssociationMr J Parker 29/08/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr R Parker 17/07/12 E.On UKMr R C Payne 13/08/12 London Central Retired Members GroupDr G Picton Davies 21/09/12 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr D J Porter 06/08/12 Ordnance SurveyMr R D Potter 26/09/12 Audit CommissionMrs B E Powell 03/09/12 Family membershipMr P Prenderville 24/09/12 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr R D Prickett 04/09/12 National GridMr A W Rooke 26/09/12 South East England Retired Members GroupMr H J S Sands 22/08/12 InnogyMr N Sherwood 19/07/12 Fleet SupportMr A Smith 20/08/12 EDF SeeboardMr C P Smith 20/07/12 Southern Retired Members GroupMr K Smith 08/08/12 Scottish Natural HeritageMr L G Smith 19/07/12 South West Retired Members GroupMr A H Staerck 28/08/12 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr R A Stanley 04/09/12 Yorkshire Electricity BoardMr D B Steed 26/07/12 Western Power DistributionMr E W Stevens 18/09/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr A K Symes 05/09/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr K J Twaits 28/08/12 South East England Retired Members GroupMr N Venables 05/09/12 E.On UKMs D Wallace 26/09/12 National TrustMr R W Westbrook 10/09/12 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr N B Whittingham 06/08/12 EDF SeeboardMr J S Wilkinson 29/08/12 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr F E Wiltshire 31/07/12 Innogy

STEFANO CAGNONI

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LETTERSProfile

30 ■ Oct-Nov 5/12

OUR REPS DO GOOD AND DESERVE RECOGNITIONQuite rightly, union reps are

heralded as the epitome of the so-called big society. Building our volunteer base is key to an effective workplace presence and hence the strength of the union. As a rep and now president of the National Trust branch, I understand this only too well.

Interestingly, as Europe’s largest environmental charity, the National Trust also relies heavily on volunteers.

As someone who in their day job has responsibility for

the recruitment and retention of volunteers, I know that the quality and quantity of work done by our organisation would simply not be realised without their contribution. Our volunteers are also among our greatest advocates and supporters.

In short, the cost benefit to the Trust of the volunteer contribution is beyond measure. In order to attract and retain those volunteers, and crucially to attract the right calibre of volunteer, we now have a number of non-monetary incentives.

Trade unionism, taken collectively, is the largest voluntary movement in the UK. Yet in Prospect there is little consistent recognition of our volunteers.

The small cost of recognising reps would soon be recovered 100-fold. For instance, how about a special photo ID identifying the individual as a Prospect representative to give the rep a sense of worth, maybe an enamel badge? Or money-off vouchers at Christmas for products (TU-recognised organisations only of course)

and I’m not talking about CSMA Club or cheaper car insurance from Liverpool Victoria. I mean vouchers to be used on Amazon or in real shops.

The difference this would make, psychologically, would help to retain and motivate our front line reps and improve our profile. Such tokens add gravitas and legitimacy to the rep’s role. When introduced at the National Trust, small things like this made a huge difference. I am sure a similar approach by Prospect would reap similar rewards.

■ Paul Stewart, Belfast

Safe pensions? Don’t believe a word of itTo add to Dave Marsay’s letter (ViewPoint 4/12) regarding pensions, it can be even worse! When the hapless employees of the UK Atomic Energy Authority were shoved out onto the AEA Technology ‘lifeboat’ by government diktat, their pensions went into the new company scheme which they were told was safe (ha-ha).

There was even a government-appointed actuary who was supposed to be looking after their interests.

Twice, this scheme was ‘plundered’ to fund redundancies.

Now the company is all but bust and there is a massive pension deficit, existing and deferred members face a very uncertain future. Meanwhile, the architects of this demise have all gone off with golden nest eggs.

Look out all those government or quasi-government employees who are threatened with ‘privatisation’ – don’t believe the propaganda.

■ Grahame Murphy, Chaddleworth, Berkshire

What on earth happened to ‘fraternal support’ and the union brotherhood?

Saving on postage puts mail workers out of a job and makes the financial position of Royal Mail even worse than it is now. Saving on paper – ie printing – risks cutting print workers’ jobs, although I do recognise the environmental aspect is a strong argument here.

So has Prospect adopted the ‘every man for himself’ attitude beloved of the right-wing of this country?

■ Ian Cullis, Sevenoaks (sent by email)

Not an engineer’s jobThe letter from Frank Seymour in Profile 4/12 said he had seen an engineer fixing brackets for a unit on an air conditioning system. Even if he was working off a scaffold with full personal protection equipment and safety harness, this is not the sort of work an engineer should be doing in any country – even Spain. While I would not disagree with the point your contributor was making, he should not describe the person fixing the bracket as an engineer. The engineer may have designed the bracket, specified the fixing arrangement or managed the installation

Credit where credit’s dueYour report on 40 years since the Robens report gives too much credit to that report for the 1974 Health and Safety Act.

Robens had serious weaknesses in some respects. But the-then secretary of state for employment took wider advice and the 1974 Act was much better than it otherwise would have been!

That secretary of state was Michael Foot who was never given proper credit for his interventions over the 1974 Act.

■ Brian Stevens, Eastbourne

Well, just fancy thatThe UK government uses RPI inflation rates to review rail price increases (RPI + 3 per cent) but CPI when negotiating civil service pay rises and pensions. As we know, RPI is always higher than CPI. Double standards? Definitely.

■ Martin MacIntyre, Guernsey

Roar of the paper tigerOn page 4 of Profile 4/12 we are encouraged to switch over to eProfile. This, we are told, will save on paper and postage and helps keeps our subs down.

ACROSS1 Demon allowed it to be implied though not

expressed (8)6 Promise to put penny next to unfinished book

(6)9 Gail moved, having heart of gold, or another

lady (6)10 Golfer discovered far below the surface (8)11 Maim with cosh damaging masculine pride (8)12 See English royal house (4)14 Only hard water in fairness (7)16 Express disapproval although in favour of trial

(7)18 The laic arrangement that’s morally correct (7)19 Enliven an Ulster companion (7)21 May leading lady enter tribe? (4)22 Number said to grapple on the rugby field with

feeling using this (8)25 Skilled worker’s motor about to be reversed (8)26 United Kingdom held back with delay in the

Middle East (6)27 Entire number bid for (3,3)28 Supporter found at base of column (8)

CrossOct-Nov2012

DOWN2 One of the spies of the underworld? (4)3 Some spectacular variety of young insect (5)4 Tails removed from three identical fish during

dance (3-3-3)5 Key office worker (6)6 Sweltering in river with exposure (5)7 Yes, comet’s flying round self-contained

community (9)8 Greet noisy eccentric with benevolence (10)13 Slightly crazy taking a meal break (3,2,5)15 Train line diverted for third anniversary (9)17 How pillager searched thoroughly? (9)20 Open a French cloak (6)22 Handle some of the theatre attractions (5)23 Fifty sheep in East Sussex (5)24 Singer takes up most of sofa (4)

■ Solution to appear in the next issueAnswers Aug-Sep 2012 – ACROSS: 1 Shopsoiled 7 Mark 9 Rollneck 10 Struck 11 Custody 12 Captive 14 Scabbard 15 Rare 17 Wall 18 Latitude 21 Inspect 23 Open-air 25 Cluedo 26 Idolater 27 Paid 28 Take to task.DOWN: 2 Hook up 3 Political 4 Overdub 5 Luke 6 Disband 7 Merit 8 Recovery 13 Party 15 Redundant 16 Magnolia 18 Lockout 19 Topcoat 20 Biceps 22 Plead 24 Risk

Letters should be sent by email to profile@prospect.

org.uk, via fax on 020 7902 6665 or by post for the attention of the editor,

New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1

7NN. Emails preferred. Letters may be shortened

for reasons of space.

PrizeLetter of the month receives a £10

book token

LETTERS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/12 ■ 31

ProfileINDEX – Oct-Nov 20127 AEA Technology pensions

16-18 Alan Grey presidential interview

18 Angela Burgess TUC report

5 BAE merger

3 British Antarctic Survey merger

6 British Midland closure

7 Casefile

9 CSMA Club

15 Education policy changes

19 Equality Act cutbacks

24 Fifty years ago

24 In the News

14 Indicators

26 Industrial relations law changes

13 Isle of Man bus advert

9 Jersey ports privatisation

4 Labour party pay policy

25 LegalEase

24 Meet Mike Sparham

13 MOD performance pay cut

14 National pay trends

3 Occupational health cuts

21 Olympic photographer

5 Olympic poem

27 Pensioners’ parliament

22 Profile Jamie Campbell

5 Prospect credit card

26 Prospect education courses 2013

3 Public service pay

7 Public service pensions bill

7 QinetiQ pension scheme closure

28 Retired members

27 RMG committee report

4 RPI/CPI index review

14 Scottish government pay 2013

12 TUC: aviation strategy

11 TUC: clean coal plea

12 TUC: digital media

12 TUC: equality protection

11 TUC: fracking and incineration

10 TUC: general strike call

10 TUC: industrial action warning

6 TUC: October 20 marches

12 TUC: Paul Noon award

11 TUC: private sector union membership

11 TUC: safety cuts warning

5 Uchange4better

23 UnionEyes

13 Vodafone job cuts

13 Wales environmental body

22 WebWise

26 Wendi Harrison

contract, but he would not have also done the work!

■ Andy Brown, Gloucester

Breeder reactor would solve storage issueIn ViewPoint 4/12, Barrie Skelcher refers to the closure of the Sellafield plant, after a decade of failure.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is now considering a feasility study by GE Hitachi for the first sodium-cooled Prism reactor which could dispose of 100 tons of plutonium through fuel manufacture in five years, while generating 600 MW of low-carbon electricity.

The Prism design is based on a much smaller breeder reactor built 30 years ago in the US. Plutonium oxide is mixed with uranium oxide and made into fuel bundles which are placed in the sodium-cooled reactor.

Fission occurs with higher energy neutrons and all the isotopes of plutonium are fissioned.

After the fuel is spent, the waste product is safer than the form it is stored in today, less liable to be used for weapons and more easily stored. The very high radiation dose becomes self-protecting; what’s left would be put into a storage facility and then into geological disposal.

■ Frank Melford, Ambleside

It’s only economic senseDid David Wallis study the subject before claiming nuclear generation cannot be ramped down (ViewPoint 4/12)?

The DTI’s ‘Future of Nuclear Power’ (p51) quoted the cost of running combined cycle gas turbine stations. It put this at about 70 per cent of the cost per kWh sold, not including final CO2 waste disposal, which is likely to be expensive. For nuclear, the figure is about 10 per cent, which did include waste disposal.

So when generation is cut back as load falls, economics dictates that fossil burn is first to go. However, supply security demands that under-loaded generation can accept the unexpected loss of a major item, without blackouts.

When that requires throttling back the nukes, that’s what is done.

■ Bill Hyde, Offham, Kent

Energy minister’s failureVacillating Ed Davey has succumbed to the over-funded lobbyists and foreign

wind farm manufacturers to provide jobs for central Europe and overseas energy companies. If wind turbines are required, they should be built in Britain.

Ridiculously, Britain will now cut wind farm subsidies by 10 per cent – not the 25 per cent demanded by the Treasury. The total annual subsidy for wind farms now exceeds £1bn and is constantly escalating, adding to Britain’s borrowing as unemployment grows.

Our government should be introducing parliamentary bills to ensure the funding, development and construction of nuclear and coal power stations and the Severn River Barrage to ensure Britain has a secure national grid supply at all times. This is essential to compensate for fluctuating wind forces and maintain the correct voltage and frequency, necessary to enable wind turbines to provide any public supply.

The government’s latest Energy Bill is a failure. Britain’s national electricity supply is far too important to be left to chance or private businesses – especially if they are foreign-owned. Our national security and lifestyle demand national control to ensure a guaranteed electricity supply.

■ John Riddington, Broadstone, Dorset

Not the Olympic spirit?In Profile 4/12 you rightly emphasised the extra effort put in by many Prospect members, both at work and as unpaid volunteers, to make the Olympics a success. It is sad to note that some negotiators in other unions seemed intent to take the opportunity to get extra wages for their members just in case they had to work a bit harder for a couple of weeks.

Shame on them for not entering into the right spirit for the good of the nation. Many artists and performers worked for a nominal £1 instead.

■ Edward Chase, Hants

Not to mention UKPNRe Prospect’s Olympics (Profile 4/12), it is worth noting that although EDF Energy certainly carried out the capital work to provide the power supplies to the

Olympic Park, they sold all their network to UK Power Networks in October 2010. So EDF were actually reduced to reading the meter and charging accordingly in the Olympic period.

It is no surprise to realise that it was the same front line staff who were operating and maintaining the power plant, even if they wore different corporate clothing, not helped by redundancies among design back-up staff earlier in the year.

■ Graham Potter, Guildford, Surrey

Olympic championsRe Prospect’s Olympics (Profile 4/12), Atkins was the official engineering design services provider for the games, and provided the overall delivery management as well as specific work such as the ‘cleaning’ of 5m tons of contaminated soil from the Olympic park.

■ Martin Elliott, Guildford, Surrey

Right royal errorThe short piece on page 23 of Profile 4/12 entitled ‘Yes to being rich’ is a warning to all that despite activating your spellchecker, you still need to make sure the words that appear are those you intended. It would appear that your correspondent’s online dictionary did not contain the name of the ancient Lydian King – Croesus.

■ Arwel Barrett, Bootle, Merseyside

Positive voteI vividly remember the conference when Pete Davies had the Yes and No printed on the agenda (UnionEyes 4/12) – I am pretty sure it was Torquay in 1991. Keep up the good work!

■ Jim Squires, Lincoln

Problem solvedMy solution to the pension problem, for anyone seeking a contributory scheme, is to throw open parliament’s scheme to the general public. It is clearly defined, reliable, and suitable for long or short-term employment.

■ Harold Fletcher, Glasgow

BMI takeover is ticket to nowhere for the retiredI have been in aviation for the last 35 years, 25 of them working for BMI, and was a very early member of the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers. After I retired from BMI we moved to Florida, which was not a problem as we had travel concessions for life, so we could visit family at any time.

This year BA purchased BMI and has cancelled all BMI retired staff travel concessions. If BMI had remained in operation then retired staff would keep their staff travel, and if I had worked for BA for 25 years I would have their staff travel benefits for life. But put the two

companies together and we get nothing, that’s the bit I don’t understand.

Now I am living in Florida with children and grandchildren in the UK I don’t know when if ever I will get to see them.

■ Barry Potts, Florida, USA

MindMazeSolution Aug-Sep12Solution: SURRENDER

Mind Oct-Nov12Which number should be next in the following sequence?

6, 14, 20, 22, 24, ?■ Solution to appear in the next issue

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