Courses coming up

Please find below a list of upcoming training courses where we still have availability. If you have any activists who are interested in attending any of these courses please arrange for the booking form to be completed and then forward to activisteducationscotland@unison.co.uk or post to Activist Education (Scotland), UNISON, 53 Shore Street, Inverness, IV1 1NF as soon as possible:-


• Employment Law Discrimination – 24 August – Glasgow
This course is open to experienced stewards and Branch Officers. Covers all aspects of potential discrimination as defined by Equality legislation.

July Scotland in UNISON now online

Conference reports; Education plan: Support staff role ignored; FE ballot and Pride report.

The union’s briefing on the Scottish Government Education Plan: says: “…the absence of any recognition of the wider education team is very disappointing. It also warns of plans to to remove schools from local democratic control. Please note: The print version of this issue referred to school staff as ‘non-teaching’ staff. This terminology is not supported by UNISON members in schools and we apologise for the error.

Plus FE pay ballot and Pride report and coverage of all the main UNISON speakers at UNISON National Delegate Conference and Local Government Conference in Brighton.

#BOTW16 UNISON Scotland training weekend under way

Convener Lilian Macer visits a Welfare Officer session at UNISON Scotland's annual new branch officer training weekend in Glasgow.

STUC to back Palestinian students

#STUC16 The STUC will seek talks with Scottish Universities Support Palestinian Students (SUSPS) with a view to giving active support to a revised initiative and encourage unions to back the project financially and in any other ways possible.

The Edinburgh TUC motion reminded delegates that last year’s Congress in Ayr gave a generous welcome to the first recipient of a SUSPS award who is from Gaza.

Time for inclusive education and an end to homophobia in schools

#STUC16 The STUC backed the TIE (Time for Inclusive Education) campaign which is committed to inclusive education which aims to tackle homophobia and create a safer learning environment for all regardless of sexual orientation, gender or identity.

UNISON Scotland has already donated £1000 such is the importance we attach to this campaign, and UNISON’s Willie Docherty spoke in support.

GIRFEC must not become a tick box exercise – our children deserve better

#STUC16 The STUC condemned cuts to education which so often follow on from council cuts, especially attacks on support staff numbers which damage the learning experiences of our most vulnerable young people and called for action to protect education funding.

Supporting the SSTA motion, UNISON’s Susan Kennedy pointed out that the Scottish Government continues with their commitment to providing ‘free extended childcare’ , free school lunches for vulnerable twos up to Primary 3s and now calling for P6 testing, and asked, “Where is the funding coming from?

Courses coming up with places available

The courses are open to all members and  activists and are at no cost to the Branch  in addition UNISON staff and Branch Staff are free to apply also but priority will be given to members.

• Your Skills, Your Future – 1 day Course 14 West Campbell Street, Glasgow -  3rd March 9.30am to 4pm 
• Making the Most of the Internet – 1 day course-  Douglas House, Belford Road, Edinburgh –  10^th March 9.30am to 4pm

Courses coming up with places available!

Please find below a list of upcoming training courses where we still have availability. For more details of the courses below see http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/
education/index.html . Contact your branch to apply for any of these courses.

Organising for Health & Safety (Residential) – Glasgow – Part 1 on 5-7 February & Part 2 on 11-13 March

Covers the role and rights of the safety rep using legislation, building H&S organisations, developing strategies for H&S and risk assessments

·        Organising Stewards – Edinburgh – Part 1 on 23-24 February & Part 2 on 8-10 March

5 day course which must be completed in full. Develop skill knowledge and confidence to enable you to carry out your steward role. Covers organising union in public services, importance of equalities, tackling issues in workplace, working with members, understanding procedures, handling grievances and disciplinaries and the world UNISON works in

·        Organising for Health & Safety – Edinburgh – Part 1 on 2-4 March & Part 2 on 12-13 April

Covers the role and rights of the safety rep using legislation, building H&S organisations, developing strategies for H&S and risk assessments

·        Organising for the Media (Residential) – Glasgow – 4-6 March

Aims to give participants skills, knowledge and understanding of relevant methods to improve level of branch media contact effectively. Covers various media, press, radio and TV and interview exercises

Stand up for school librarians, says UNISON Scotland

Date: Monday 21 December 2015

UNISON Scotland has called on councils and Scottish Government to do more to protect school librarians. UNISON says the evidence is that local councils are seeing school library services as a soft target to meet budget cuts and are cutting school library services across Scotland.

UNISON has made a submission in support of School Libraries Petition PE 1581 to the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee.

UNISON has evidence of cuts in North and South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife and Shetland.

UNISON spokesperson, Simon Macfarlane, said:
'There is a consistent pattern of the school libraries service being a soft target to meet budget cuts. School libraries are not class rooms with books. They are vital for young people’s learning. School librarians have a central role in equipping our young people for the digital age; recent research has shown that children face struggle to discriminate between facts, fiction and paid for product placement online. School librarians are ideally placed to support young people to be more discerning in their use of the internet for research. We shoudl be investing more not less in school librarians. It’s unacceptable that Scottish councils are taking the brunt of the austerity cuts. But we also canot let services like school libraries disappear’

END



NOTES
UNISON is the biggest trade union in local government. We represent education staff including librarians and school librarians

The picture across Scotland varies but there is a consistent pattern of local authorities using the school libraries service as a soft target to meet budget cuts.

LOCAL CUTS INCLUDE: North and South Lanarkshire, East Renfreshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, East and South Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife and Shetland

South Lanarkshire proposals include reducing school library staffing by 15%

North Lanarkshire is now proposing to review the school librarian service for a second time with the reduction of 2 FTE School Library Resource Manager posts. The last review saw all schools with pupil roll under 700 reduce librarian numbers to 0.7 FTE librarian. All new staff now are only employed term time. The Council has also removed the need for library staff to have professional library qualifications.

East Renfrewshire Council is proposing moving from 1 fully qualified librarian from each of its high schools (7) to the FTE of 3.5. The original plans to use senior pupils to staff the library appear to have been dropped due to public opposition.

Glasgow has reduced the school librarian service to 0.5 posts per school.

Renfrewshire now has only 7 librarians across 11 schools.

East Ayrshire has replaced 3 librarians with 3 library assistants. Means 9 secondary schools are now covered by 5 librarians and 4 library assistants.

South Ayrshire has, l replaced a number of librarians with library assistants.

In Dumfries and Galloway when the librarian retired from Dumfries Academy responsibility for the library was given to the Head of English. Lockerbie Academy also currently without a librarian and Annan Academy have reduced the hours to 20 per week

Fife - school librarians who have retired have been replaced with library assistants

Shetland, where the school library service has always been integrated with the public library service, there have been cuts to school library book budgets of 20-30% over the last four years. While staff numbers have remained the same the working hours of staff have been cut from 8 FTE to 5.93 FTE.

New 2016 Course Programme Launched

Following a review of last year's UNISON Scotland training and a survey of local branch requirements for 2016, the Learning and Organising committee has designed a comprehensive and professional development and training programme to meet the needs and demands of our newly elected stewards, workplace representatives and union activists. See full details and download course programmes here

This year's programme has been adapted to take account of a request for more flexibility on the days on which courses are run and has prioritised the courses that our members and activists have identified as their primary priorities.

Places available on TU courses coming up

Apply now via your branch for the following courses that still have places.

· Organising Stewards – Dundee – 25-26 August (part 1) and 13-15 October (part 2)

· Union Learning Reps (ULR) – Glasgow – 31 August – 2 September

· Developing Representation Skills – Edinburgh – 2-3 September
Applicants must have completed Organising Stewards and Further Representation Skills to be eligible to attend this course, which was formerly named Advanced Representation.

· Absence Management & Capability – Edinburgh – 8-9 September

· Equality Reps – Glasgow (residential) – 11-13 September (delegates can attend as a day delegate if they wish)

· Regulatory & Fitness to Practice Cases – Glasgow – 15 September
This event will take the form of 2 briefings. In the morning Sam Oestreicher from the Professional Registration Representation Unit at UNISON Centre will present information on UNISON’s internal protocols for cases such as those going to NMC/SSSC and other regulatory bodies. In the afternoon Thompsons Solicitors will explain their role in taking such cases in Scotland. This is an essential briefing for all Branches with members subject to Regulatory bodies and is open to branch officers and experienced stewards.

· Branch Leadership Module 3, Organising & Bargaining – Edinburgh – 15-16 September
Attendance at one of the key Branch Officer Weekend courses (marked * on pages 15 and 16 of the course programme) is required to be eligible to attend this next stage of the leadership programme.

Further information regarding these courses asnd details on how to apply can be found on the course programme http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/education/courses.html

UNISON launches childcare charter for West Dunbartonshire

Date: Monday 15 June 2015 UNISON has launched a positive 10 point Charter for Early Years services run by West Dunbartonshire Council. Staff feel the quality and value of their interaction with children is being diminished as to date there has been minimal engagement with the workforce or their union UNISON on how the expanded provision is delivered.   The Charter sets out basic principles about how the Council should work with staff to  implement the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase provision of 600 hours free nursery places for all 3 and 4 years olds, and the further expansion to some two year olds coming this August. This is time for a reset and for the council to adopt a genuine partnership approach with UNISON so that we can work together in the best interest of young children and families. Simon Macfarlane, UNISON Regional Organiser today said: "The increase in free childcare provision is a major step forward for young children and their families and UNISON believes this provision is best delivered by local authorities.

UNISON demands Stirling and Clacks councils release elusive report

Date: Wednesday 10 June 2015

UNISON has called for the immediate release of all Ernst & Young documentation relating to the future of social care and education in Clackmannanshire and Stirling Councils.

In particular, UNISON demand the release of a report - by accountants Ernst and Young, commissioned by Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils - which was supposed to be a balanced investigation into the business case for the two councils to share services.

It was proposed that the report would take seven weeks, but it has taken over 30 weeks thus far and has been in the hands of senior council officers of both councils for well over a month.
UNISON believes this is an excessive amount of time to make this report public.

Trade unions, staff and many of the elected members are now asking how objective this report is going to be. The longer it drags on the more suspicious and uneasy the staff are becoming about potential decisions being taken behind closed doors.

Scottish children cannot wait another 15 years for high quality childcare, says UNISON

Monday 1 June 2015

Responding to another Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare Workforce, UNISON has called time on the Scottish Government, demanding they now act to deliver improved childcare and early years education in Scotland.

The report, which has been published today (1 June 2015), was commissioned by the Scottish Government.  

Carol Ball, chair of UNISON Scotland education issues group, said:

 "It’s time for action on childcare and early years. This is the second major review of the early years and childcare workforce in less than ten years and the Commission for Childcare reform has also published its interim findings.

"The recommendations in this report are similar to those in previous reports.

"When a similar childcare and early learning  workforce review was published 2006 UNISON accepted we had to allow time for the private and voluntary sectors to catch up, for example,  to work towards a better qualified workforce.

UNISON demands pay uplift for further education staff

Sun 24 May 2015

UNISON today calls for Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Education, to intervene in national pay negotiations for further education staff, which have all but broken down.

UNISON leaders are astonished at the responses they have recovered from further education employers.

UNISON lodged its pay claim on 3 February 2015.  The union is looking to agree a new pay settlement to commence on 1 April 2015. However, negotiators were astonished when employers said they needed to get the agreement of all 27 college boards before they could progress any talks and they estimate a further delay until at least October 2015.

UNISON has responded that unless employers can return with a something on the table in June 2015 then the union will consider industrial action.

Chris Greenshields, chair of the UNISON Scotland further education committee said:

“National negotiations have become farcical. College bosses say they cannot respond to UNISON’s reasonable claim until October at the earliest.

"Our members, who have delivered significant organisational change and who have suffered big job losses and increased workload, have lost patience. There is a meeting in June and, unless there is a firm proposal, then we are headed for industrial unrest in this key sector."

John Gallacher, UNISON Scottish organiser with responsibility for FE, said:

“The further education employers and Scottish Funding Council are saying there is no money in the sector, yet colleges have a £100 million nest egg hidden in arm's length trusts.

"This is public money and UNISON calls on Angela Constance to get a small part of that very large fund on to the bargaining table to address UNISON’s reasonable pay claim.

"Student attainment in FE is very high thanks to the hard work and commitment of our members.

"It is perfectly reasonable that this should be rewarded.”

ENDS 

Notes for Editors

1. UNISON claim is for £1,000 flat rate with effect from 1 April 2015. This would cost £4.4 million.

2. There are 4,443 FTE support staff in FE Scotland (3,526 FTE Lecturing staff) in 27 colleges.

3. UNISON is the largest trade union in Scotland.

UNISON warning over public services in Stirling and Clacks

Friday 22 May 2015

Council staff have grave concerns about the future of public services in Stirling and Clackmannanshire, says UNISON.

UNISON will present a report to senior managers in both Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils today which raise grave concerns about plans to run Clackmannanshire's education services from Stirling, and Stirling's social care services from Clackmannanshire.

UNISON’s report is based on a survey of 331 staff from both councils. Staff were asked to give their views on what is being called ‘lead council model’ for shared services between Clackmannanshire and Stirling Councils. The proposals being considered would mean that education for both councils would be run by Stirling Council and social care services for both councils would be run by Clackmannanshire Council.

Staff who were surveyed said that these new proposals will result in a ‘poorer service with potential for serious consequences’ that services will ‘continue to deteriorate’ and some staff even suggested that if these plans go ahead it will be an ‘unmitigated disaster’.

Staff also said there will be increased confusion saying, ‘how will you know where to find out if you qualify for a service’; ‘people will be confused over who provides their services’; and ‘they will be confused over where to go if you have any problems’. Staff also said they would be confused about ‘which policies to follow from which council’

Pam Robertson, UNISON secretary for Clackmannanshire branch, said “This report shows that council staff views are clear. They think these proposals will cause confusion for the public, that services will be less accountable to the public, and that local jobs will be lost. Council services are complicated enough to navigate and many of the people we serve are vulnerable and in need of care. They will not cope well with a change like this."

Lorraine Thomson, UNISON Secretary for Stirling local government branch, said: “Our two councils work very well together already. Staff welcome joint working where it improves our services to the public. But we have looked across the world to see where this type of reform has been tried before and the concerns raised by our staff are exactly what has happened elsewhere. It creates confusion, has no accountability, local jobs are lost and it ends up costing council tax payers more for worse quality services.”

Lorraine also said “We want to discuss how we improve all our services by working together, but in this case we just have to persuade elected councillors not to make a bad decision.”

This staff survey report was handed to the Chief Executive Officers of both Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils today, it is also being circulated to all MP's, MSP's and Councillors who represent our constituencies.

END

Notes for editor

1. UNISON is the public service union for the UK. It is the biggest trade union in Scotland and the biggest trade union representing local government staff in both Clackmannanshire and Stirling Councils

2. The full report can be read on UNISON Stirling branch website here:http://www.stirlingunison.co.uk/ 

3. The full report can also be read on UNISON Clackmannanshire Branch website here: http://www.clacksunison.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shared-Services-Survey-Final-Report-May-2015.pdf

4. The report was carried out because UNISON was concerned about the lack of staff engagement that Ernst & Young had undertaken as part of their work on the business case for the Shared Services project. UNISON implemented a full and detailed staff survey to find out what front line staff really thought about the Shared Services project so far, and what their thoughts were for the future.

UNISON courses coming up

There are still places available on the following courses. To apply, get an application form here and contact your branch for approval.

Organising Stewards – Glasgow – 30 June-1 July (part 1); 4-6 August (part 2) – 2 spaces available

Discussion Leaders (residential) – Edinburgh – 3-5 July
This is the first course in the tutor training programme and covers the basics of facilitating discussions together with an introduction to various education methods. The course is open to branch officers and experienced stewards. Although this is a weekend residential course, applicants can attend as a day delegate.

Branch Leadership Module 2, Managing the Branch – Edinburgh – 8 – 9 July. Attendance at one of the key Branch Officer courses (Branch Secretary, Chair, Treasurer, Education Coordinator, Equality Officer, Communications Officer) is required to be eligible to attend this course.

Negotiating Skills – Glasgow – 14-15 July

Further Representation Skills – Glasgow – 22-23 July
This course was formerly Representing Members and is the second course in the new stewards training path (completion of Organising Stewards is required to be eligible to attend). 

ERA Refresher – Edinburgh – 28-29 July
If you have any stewards/branch officers who have not attended any training in the last 5 years, this particular course or Developing Representation Skills or Negotiating Skills are essential to gain reaccreditation under the ERA.

Further information regarding these courses can be found on the course programme http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/education/courses.html

Poorer students are being failed

#STUC15. Too many students in Scotland drop out of full time education due to inadequate financial support.

Speaking on behalf of a motion from the Annual STUC Youth Conference, UNISON Scotland's Ryan Boyle said that ‘students from poorer backgrounds are being failed’

Ryan supported the STUC Youth Conference motion calling for significant investment in further education support, increased grants for the poorest higher education students, a fairer deal for post graduate students, and a fair and co-ordinated funding system incorporating Student Awards Agency Scotland, Education Maintenance Allowance and hardship funds, to ensure students from poor backgrounds are not denied access to education and qualifications.

Tackling poverty to tackle education inequalities

#stuc15 Poverty affects the education and life chances of our children, and delegates condemned the disgrace of one in five Scottish children living in poverty and will campaign for additional resources to tackle educational inequalities, for the full implementation of the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Strategy and for better training for teachers and other school staff on the effects of poverty on children’s ability to learn.

UNISON Scotland launches Childcare Charter

Monday 16 March 2015

UNISON Scotland today (16 March) launched a Childcare Charter. The charter calls for an expansion of paid parental leave and flexible working for parents; and fair pay, training and career paths for childcare workers. UNISON has also called for childcare to be delivered free in the public rather than private sector.

Carol Ball, chair of UNISON’s education issues group said ‘The research is abundantly clear. High quality childcare is hugely beneficial for children, it supports parents and grows the economy. It helps close the gender pay gap, supports women in work and reduces child poverty.

I am calling on all political parties to make childcare a central policy platform for the coming elections and say how they will make the real change that families and childcare workers are calling out for. We need to change work for parents and improve terms and conditions for the childcare workforce, as this will improve the lives of children in Scotland.’

UNISON Scotland Childcare Charter calls for

·         High quality childcare

·         Free childcare provided in the public sector

·         Extension of paid parental leave

·         Improved flexible working

·         More research into what parents want

·         Fair pay for nursery staff

·         Training for nursery staff

·         Preparation time and study leave for nursery staff

·         Career paths for nursery staff

In reality they are abandoning people with mental health issues in the city," she said. "They want GAMH to provide a citywide service, but that will not be possible with the budget suggested. Given the report which says the charity is currently saving the city £11.1m, this raises questions about the council's fiscal competence."In reality they are abandoning people with mental health issues in the city," she said. "They want GAMH to provide a citywide service, but that will not be possible with the budget suggested. Given the report which says the charity is currently saving the city £11.1m, this raises questions about the council's fiscal competence."Notes to Editor

·         UNISON is the largest public services trade union in Europe. We are the largest  trade union in Scotland.

·         You can read UNISON Scotland childcare charter here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/educationissues/UNISONScotlandChildcareCharter_Mar2015.pdf