Green UNISON Day 20 Sept - solidarity with school climate strikers

On 20 September hundreds of thousands of young people will take part in the latest of the climate strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg, the Finnish school student who decided to strike in protest at the lack of action and urgency by governments on climate change.

Several of these school student climate strikes have taken place this year in Scotland with protests organised in George Square in Glasgow and at Holyrood in Edinburgh. However the 20 September strike breaks new ground following Greta’s call for adults to join them. This has sometimes been expressed as a call for a general strike but some people have called on companies to also support the action.

Members of UNISON in Scotland have been active on climate change issues for some years, initiating the national union’s campaign for pension funds to divest from fossil fuels and setting up a Green Network for activists to come together to discuss how to take the issues up in the union and with employers. Last year, they organised a Green UNISON Day where branches held activities to raise awareness of the issues.

This year, the Green UNISON Day coincides with the 20 September Climate Strike Day and is a real opportunity for branches and activists to make the issue a priority for our members and our employers.

Due to our draconian anti-trade union laws UNISON and other trade unions are unable to call for strike action. However there is nothing to prevent workers taking annual leave or flexi-leave on the day to join school students marching in the streets to demand action.

Green UNISON Day creates opportunities for a wide range of activities which will demonstrate not only solidarity with young people taking action across the world but also practical steps to get union members and employers working to address the real climate emergency that confronts us all.

Scottish UNISON Branches are already making plans and these include:

·         Lunch time gatherings, meetings and lobbies.

·         Inviting school strikers to address workplace or branch meetings. UNISON’s Glasgow City  Branch have gone further and after inviting a school climate striker to speak to the branch have given financial assistance and asked other Glasgow branches to do likewise.

·         Calling on members to show support for the strikers using solidarity posters and pledges.

·         Promoting the day by publicising it to members in advance and in particular briefing members in schools on the Climate Strike movement, encouraging them to be supportive of school students taking action

·         Taking actions in support of UNISON’s campaign for Pension Funds to divest from fossil fuels, writing to Pension Fund Committees and Boards and local Councillors

·         Planting trees as symbolic of the need to restore forests

·         Publicising UNISON policy on Councils taking a lead on renewable energy by setting up Municipal Energy Companies to generate and locally distribute electricity

·         Calling on employers to declare a Climate Emergency and for Councils to work with UNISON and other unions, public sector bodies, employers and communities to devise plans within six months to address the emergency.

The past few weeks of extreme weather with record high temperatures followed by days of torrential rain disrupting train and road travel, threatening infrastructure like dams, has illustrated that climate change has already arrived and that the climate emergency that Greta and others have been protesting about is already here.

It is working people and the poor who will suffer most. Faced to live and work in increasingly difficult environments, prices of travel and food increasing, public service money to be diverted to repair and protect bridges, rail tracks and roads from weather damage, will force us all to pay for the climate crisis just as we paid for the banking crisis. Whilst the rich can afford their air-conditioning and moving to areas away from flood risks, working people will continue to suffer when temperatures soar and be given sandbags when flood waters rise.

UNISON branches participating in the Green UNISON Day, supporting the school strikers and demanding action from employers and governments are showing a lead to other trade unions.

Stephen Smellie, Depute Convener, UNISON Scotland.

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Cutting libraries will increase poverty and inequality, says UNISON Scotland

Date: Saturday 6 February 2016

On National Libraries Day (6 February 2016), UNISON is warning that more local government cuts will have a drastic impact on libraries across Scotland, decreasing opportunities for all, and increasing poverty and inequality.  

Library services have been undergoing massive change, yet staff numbers have been going down, buildings are closing, opening hours are reducing and services are being cut. 

UNISON recent report, ‘Read it and weep’  raised the concerns of library staff across Scotland  who are simultaneously being expected to expand services while coping with front line cuts.  The report is based on qualitative research from UNISON members working across Scotland’s libraries, highlighting the impact of the cuts.

UNISON also recently highlighted cuts to school libraries, in a submission to the Scottish parliament petitions committee.  UNISON uncovered evidence of a consistent pattern of school library services being a soft target to meet budget cuts. School libraries are vital for young people’s learning and have a central role in equipping our younger people from disadvantaged backgrounds for the digital age; recent research has shown that  children struggle to discriminate between facts, fiction and paid for product placement online. Libraries are especially useful to children with no access to internet at home.

Gray Allan, UNISON Scotland libraries spokesperson said, 

‘Cutting library budgets is another way of entrenching inequalities. Libraries are a way that poorer families get access to the same breadth of reading materials as everyone else. And libraries are so much more than books. They provide information services for people of all backgrounds, they organise kids clubs and hubs for older people, computer terminals for those with no access to the internet can use to find job vacancies. And the support of skilled librarians to help you find the information you need.

'Fully resourced libraries support education, the economy and play an important role in bringing equality.  Despite knowing this we have allowed community and school libraries to be run down to skeleton services across Scotland. They are seen as a soft touch and we need to stand up for libraries and the work they do to tackle poverty and inequality.’

END

Notes: 
- UNISON is the biggest trade union in Scotland, and represents librarians in the community, schools, further education and higher education and in the NHS

- UNISON has made a submission in support of School Libraries Petition PE 1581 to the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee Dec 2015 : 
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/
ScotParlPetitionPE1581SchoolLibraries_UNISONEvidence_Dec2015.pdf

- UNISON report 'Read it and Weep' Sept 2015: 
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/
ReadItandWeep_LibrariesStaffSurvey_Sep2015.pdf

Cuts in school libraries include North and South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, East Ayrshire 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.

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.

Zero tolerance, training and involving staff are key to dealing with violence in schools

#ulgc15 Local Government Conference heard the problems of challenging behaviour in schools from the front line as two Scotland delegates brought their experience to the debate.

Glasgow City’s Sylvia Haughney, a support for learning instructor for 34 years, told delegates: “Staff in mainstream school may find it hard to understand that when an ASN colleague has been slapped six times during the course of the day or kicked 10 times the next day, that somehow this can be normal despite it being entirely unacceptable.”

Susan Kennedy, speaking for the Service Groups Executive, quoted one school support worker with almost ten years experience told us that they would leave the profession if they had another job to go to “I have been physically assaulted twice to the point where I ended up in hospital and was forced to take time off work, and other colleagues have ended up in similar situations. Not only is this damaging to staff morale, but it is incredibly disruptive to pupils and constantly affects their ability to learn."

Arbitrary freeze on teacher numbers – bad for our members, bad for our children

#uLGC15 North Lanarkshire’s John Mooney brought a Scottish perspective to the debate on organising in schools as Local Government delegates backed a range of measures to support recruitment in schools and campaigning of school issues.

John slammed the Scottish Government’s insistence on an arbitrary freeze on teacher numbers. He warned, “This ill thought out, non scientific, arbitrary freeze on teaching numbers brought in by Scottish Government leaves our members in schools bearing the brunt of cuts which will detrimentally impact on our children’s education.

“Our members, mainly low paid women, are vital to ensuring that children get the support in schools that they need. We have a responsibility to them and to our children to make sure they are organised and their voice can be heard.”

John called for everyone to get behind the motion in our branches and to recruit, organise and campaign for school support staff.

Glasgow City Council intransigence forces 1000 pupil support assistants out on strike

Wed 30 Oct 2013

The strike is a last resort action by the city’s pupil support assistants (PSAs) following the forcing of new responsibilities for child healthcare tasks on them without agreement. 

Glasgow City Council are expecting PSAs to undertake specialist health care tasks and administration of medicines in addition to their core duties of supporting the delivery of education.

This represents a significant extension of the PSA’s role and responsibility - one that they do not wish to undertake. This however is not recognised by Glasgow City Council who describe the monitoring and administration of care for pupils with asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and anaphylactic shock as ‘low level tasks’.

UNISON argues that these new roles and responsibilities should be assigned to a higher grade post than that held currently held by PSAs.

There has been no offer of increased pay for all PSAs, instructors or care staff for the administration of medicines.

PSAs are currently paid an annual salary of £11,800.

Some PSAs are being asked to deliver what the council describe as ‘higher level tasks’ 

These include: blood glucose monitoring, injections, gastronomy tube/peg feeding, tracheostomy care including suction, catheterisation and catheter care. UNISON believes that these are tasks which should be delivered by professional healthcare workers.

Carol Ball of Glasgow City UNISON said:
“Our concern is with child welfare. PSAs took their job to deliver education, not healthcare. Despite council claims PSAs are not receiving proper training to carry out what are medical procedures.

“And the Council can’t have it both ways, if PSAs have been trained and have the skills and responsibility of delivering these complex needs then the case for keeping them on the lowest level of pay collapses.

“We want the best possible support provided to Glasgow’s children so we are urging the council to actually negotiate with us rather than schedule meeting where they say nothing while spreading misinformation to parents who are quite rightly concerned for their children’s wellbeing."

ends

Information for editors:PSAs will be picketing to spread awareness of the dispute outside many city primary schools from 08:00 on Thursday 31 October 2013.

There will be pickets from 08:00 at a number of the Additional Support for Learning schools including:
Broomlea Primary School, 65 Stonyhurst Street, G22 5AX
Hazelwood Primary, 50 Dumbreck Court Glasgow, Glasgow City G41 5DQ

There will be a mass lobby of Glasgow City Council by PSAs at 12:00 George Square

Careers website ‘no substitute for face-to-face guidance’ - UNISON

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Presentation of new research: What’s the evidence? Comparing the impact of career websites and other career support’ 
Tuesday 18 June - Scottish Parliament

Members of UNISON’s Scottish careers branch today (Tuesday 18 June) told MSPs that websites like My World of Work – which all Scottish school pupils are now expected to rely on for careers advice - are “no substitute for face-to-face guidance”. UNISON is calling for Skills Development Scotland to raise the profile of the face-to-face service provided by careers advisers.

Independent research into the effect of careers websites commissioned from the University of Edinburgh has found that My World of Work – known as MyWoW – was valued by pupils and teachers, but that it has “limited impact on pupils’ careers management skills”. In fact, the researchers say, “it is clear from the focus groups and open-ended survey comments that pupils, irrespective of their level of family support or attainment, would like face-to-face contact with careers advisers as well as access to websites.” 

Derek Cheyne, secretary of UNISON’s Skills Development Scotland branch said:
“This research shows that while careers websites are of value, they are no substitute for expert face-to-face guidance. Young people face the worst jobs crisis in recent times and they need the best possible support to help them move from school to rewarding careers.”

The chief executive of SDS, Damien Yeates, recently told the Times Educational Supplement Scotland that ‘any student who really feels they would like face-to-face advice should get it’. However, the Edinburgh research states: “It is evident, too, that pupils need to be more fully informed about the role of a careers adviser and about access arrangements.”

James Corry, chair of the union’s Non-Departmental Public Bodies sector committee, said:
“This research confirms what we as professionals in the careers service already know – that face-to-face sessions are vital for pupils. It is clear that SDS needs to raise the profile of the face-to-face service provided by our advisers – and that the promotion of face-to-face advice needs to be properly resourced.”

The research was presented to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament at an information and discussion meeting today Tuesday 18 June, hosted by Neil Findlay, Deputy Convener of the Education and Culture Committee.

ENDS

 

Notes to editors:

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest public services trade union representing 160,000 members working in the public sector in Scotland – including staff providing key careers services in Skills Development Scotland.

2. ‘What’s the evidence? Comparing the impact of career websites and other career support’ by Cathy Howieson and Sheila Semple, Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh, will be published on Tuesday 18 June as CES Briefing Number 63, 2013

From the Briefing introduction:
“UK governments expect career websites to fulfil a central role in career information, advice and guidance. In Scotland, Skills Development Scotland's input in schools is now based on the expectation that all pupils will use its website My World of Work (MyWoW) and many may not need individual contact with a careers adviser. Career websites have the potential to make a valuable contribution but currently little is know about their effectiveness and impact. This Briefing outlines the findings from a study that examined the comparative impact of career websites such as MyWoW.”

Findings from the study include:

• Pupils and teachers valued MyWoW but as part of provision that includes face-to-face support, including from a careers adviser, for the majority of pupils.
• Compared with other sources of career support, MyWoW had a limited impact on pupils’ careers management skills as did the PlanitPlus website.
• Clinic sessions with a career adviser, discussion with teachers and use of the school careers library each had a substantial impact on pupils’ career management skills.

3. A Briefing from the study was presented to an information and discussion meeting in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 18 June at 1pm.

4. The study was funded by UNISON and builds on earlier research commissioned by SDS. The full research report is available from 15 July 2013 athttp://www.ces.ed.ac.uk/UNISON/FinalREport.pdf

The briefing is available on UNISON Scotland’s website from Tuesday 18 June
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/ndpb/sds/
CareersWebsites_CESBriefing63_June2013.pdf

International School Meals Day - UNISON calls for free sustainable meals in all schools

Date: Fri 8 March 2013

A goal for International School Meals Day should be that all school children can have free healthy, fresh meals, prepared and sourced locally where possible, UNISON said today.

The public services union welcomed the first day to promote healthy school meals and awareness of hunger and poverty issues addressed through school meals.

But UNISON says recent scares around horse meat have highlighted that not enough is being done to ensure our children have quality meals.

Stephanie Herd, Chair of the Local Government Committee, called for UNISON’s Food for Good Charter to be adopted in all schools and across the public sector.

She said: “It is important to recognise the excellent work that goes on in schools across the country to provide nutritional meals that encourage young people to eat healthily.

“However, we believe that all children should receive free school meals and that our Food for Good Charter offers ways to deal with some of the issues that have arisen following recent food scares.

“It calls for sustainable food, locally sourced, using fair trade where possible, with consideration given to less meat-intensive diets and excellence in procurement and staff training and conditions.

“The Charter gives an excellent framework for providing healthy meals that can also be a major contributor to improving health and tackling childhood obesity.”

ENDS


Notes to Editors
1.    UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing 160,000 members working in public services in Scotland including school meals staff.

2.    March 8 2013 is the first international school meals day www.internationalschoolmealsday.com/about/

3.    UNISON Scotland’s Food for Good Charter is here www.unison-scotland.org.uk/foodforgood/FFGA4recr.pdf


4.    The Charter states:

Food for Good Charter for the public sector
1. Sustainability: Food should be fresh, prepared locally and sourced locally where possible. Mains-fed water coolers should be provided, minimising the use of bottled water. Public bodies should produce annual reports giving clear 'global footprint' type information on all aspects of their food use, including e.g. % of fresh, local food, progress on waste minimisation and recycling etc.

2. Health: Universal free school meals should be recognised and adopted as a major contributor to improving health and tackling childhood obesity. The aim for all public sector catering should be to give a daily option of an organic/ethically produced main meal, ideally locally sourced. Vending machines on school/hospital premises should be used for healthy alternatives, not junk/fast food.

3. Social Justice: Fair trade food should be used where possible, with targets of 50% by 2010 where relevant fair trade products are available. Decisions about menu options should give consideration to providing less meat-intensive diets, with more fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables and sustainable fish. Animal welfare must be prioritised, with an aim for animal produce of using only recognised farm assured schemes or organic schemes by 2015.

4. Excellence: All food must meet quality nutritional standards, monitored by relevant regulators. This involves excellence in procurement and in staff training and conditions. The top priority must be the contribution of food to health and wellbeing, with recognition of the folly of previous policies that pursued Compulsory Competitive Tendering, privatisation, PFI and outsourcing - cutting standards and employment conditions, increasing the use of cook-chill and cook-freeze food, and allowing 'fast' and junk food in schools and hospitals. The public must have access to clear relevant information about food, including via labelling and annual reports.

5. Skills: Quality training and proper pay and employment conditions for the sector, including training in environmental factors as part of 'green workplaces'. Lessons for young people in primary and secondary schools about the food chain, sustainability and preparation of healthy meals. Public awareness campaigns on healthy diets, tied in with support to local food co-operatives and similar initiatives to improve access to quality food for the most vulnerable.


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School children with health needs are at risk and guidance must be updated urgently

30 Nov 2012

UNISON said today that a disturbing new survey showing school children with health needs are being put at risk backs our call to the Scottish Government for urgent action to update guidance and improve training and support for staff.

UNISON and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are jointly calling for action to protect children and young people with health needs in schools. A survey of school support staff and school nurses for UNISON and the RCN reveals a worrying picture.

Despite many examples of good practice, a growing number of children with increasingly complex health needs are being put at risk as staff are being pressurised into caring for them without enough training, supervision and support.

As teachers’ contracts do not include giving or supervising medicines, the responsibility often falls onto school support staff. More than one in four (28%) of support staff say that they do not feel comfortable or competent to give pupils medicines, or to support their health needs. This can include tube feeding, airway suctioning, tracheostomy care and catheterisation. Full details of the UK-wide survey are in the news release below.

UNISON is about to conduct a more detailed survey in Scotland covering the administration of medicines and medical procedures in educational establishments, and has recently raised the issues with Scottish Education Secretary Mike Russell.

Carol Ball, chair of the union’s Education Issues group, said: “We met with Mr Russell and pointed out that the main guidance on this is considerably out of date, going back to 2001. Indeed this was highlighted in last month’s report by the Scottish Children’s Commissioner Tam Baillie on a Freedom of Information survey of Scottish councils about the administration of medicine in schools.

“The Scottish Government must act urgently to protect children and update the guidance, ensuring proper training and support for all staff involved. Otherwise, as UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis warned today, this situation is a tragedy waiting to happen.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1.       UNISON represents a range of staff providing medical and health care support in educational establishments, some of whom will be designated as school nurses, but including many other support staff.

2.       Full details of the survey announced today are in the news release below.

 UNISON UK news release, with survey details, is here

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UNISON wins landmark equal pay ruling in Edinburgh

 Date: Thu 20 May 2010

Thousands of low paid council workers took a step closer to equal pay today thanks to a landmark decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

While many manual workers, such as cleaners, cooks and carers, have already received compensation, previous decisions of the EAT removed the right to compensation from thousands of administrators, clerical workers, learning assistants and library staff.

In the absence of a proper explanation for the pay differences between women and men, local authorities developed a technical argument that women and men only deserved equal pay if they were based at the same premises, or had the same pay and conditions - this argument has now failed.

UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
“I am delighted that UNISON has opened up this route to justice for so many of our members. There is now no place for employers to run or hide.

“UNISON’s equal pay campaign has defeated every contrived defence their lawyers have hidden behind.
“This charade has gone on too long. We want full compensation for all our members and that money must be paid now.”

One of UNISON’s largest group of winners from the decision are classroom assistants, many of whom earn as little as £10,000 a year.

Elaine North, a UNISON claimant from Dumfries, said:
“I was devastated when the court said I wasn’t entitled to equal pay. My colleagues do one-to-one education work with learning-disabled kids and while we love them it is such hard work.

“No harm to refuse collectors and gardeners, but fair pay is long overdue for us. We’ve worked hard for this.”

Jackie Gilchrist, who chairs the UNISON campaign for Fair Pay, said:
“This is a magnificent decision for us. Our pay has been formally investigated by the EOC and still the employers refuse to recognise the value of our jobs.

“We have gathered so much evidence about the demands of learning support work, but the courts have refused to look at it until now. They’ve got some reading to catch up on, I can tell you.

“There’s only one conclusion to reach at the end – our wages are going up.”

UNISON estimates that this Edinburgh decision will affect up to 70,000 workers across the UK and, while claim values will vary from person to person, some will exceed £30,000

Ends

 Notes to editors:

1. With over 40,000 live claims UNISON is the UK’s leading provider of legal assistance on equal pay issues.

2. In the UNISON test case of Dumfries & Galloway Council v North & Others, the EAT in Scotland accepted the employer argument that equal pay claims could only succeed if women and men shared common terms and conditions, or were working at the same premises. Given the way that the work of women and men is segregated this was a major barrier to justice for tens of thousands of women.

3. UNISON is pursuing the same issue for 1,400 women in Edinburgh and, in the Edinburgh appeal decision, Lady Smith of Scotland’s Court of Session and the EAT took the highly unusual step or revisiting and reversing her previous decision.

4. The transcript can be downloaded or read in full at
http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/Public/Upload/
UKEATS000209BI(Revised)EDINCCvMsWilkinsonothersFINAL.doc


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Tories' privatisation agenda out of touch: UNISON

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Publicly funded hospitals and schools are still vote clinchers, and the Tories' privatisation agenda is out of touch with voters, according to a survey conducted for UNISON.

Despite worries about the economy, how the Government runs our hospitals is still at the top of people’s lists in deciding how to vote at the next general election. The results of the survey show the Tories latest plans for the public services are out of touch with public opinion. Their so-called “reform” of public services is nothing but thinly-disguised “privatisation”.

In an Ipsos MORI survey conducted for UNISON, 96% say the NHS will be an important factor in deciding how they vote at the next general election. This compares to the economy (important for 93%), crime (92%), public services (85%), schools (85%) and Britain’s relationship with Europe (70%).

The NHS is highly prized by the public with 76% believing it is crucial to British society and “we must do everything to maintain it”. Only 22% think that it “was a great project, but we probably can’t maintain it in its current form”.

Three-quarters of the public (75%) believe the NHS should be “run by the public sector to encourage a joined-up service”, with little support (21%) for it to be “run by the private sector to encourage competition” 78% believe that the health service should be run by the Government and public organisations, rather than by private companies and 73% agreed that people who provide health services should be employed by the NHS rather than by private companies.

UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said: “Although the economy is clearly a worry for many people, this polling shows the massive support that our NHS and public services have amongst the public. They don’t want them privatised, there is no appetite for competition in the services nor for profit-chasing. People have shown what we have always argued that most want good local schools and hospitals provide by dedicated public servants.

“The Tories are completely out of kilter with public opinion. Shadow Chancellor Osborne’s claims to have “progressive” ideas are nothing but cheap window-dressing.

“The Government should take note. If it is to have any chance of re-election next year, it must listen to what the people want.”

Ipsos MORI interviewed a sample of 1,001 British adults, plus a booster of 251 public sector workers, all age 18 and over by telephone between 12-14 June 2009. Data are weighted to the profile of the adult population 18+, and include a weight for public vs. private sector workers. The final weighted data indicate that 17% belong to a trade union.

The survey found that public sector workers have similar views to the general population.

Factors which will be important for public sector workers in deciding how to vote in the next general election are: the NHS (important for 96%); the economy (95%); crime (92%); public services (90%); schools (90%); Britain’s relationship with Europe (73%). 77% believe the NHS is crucial to British society; 81% believe it should be run by the public sector to encourage a joined-up service; 86% think that the NHS should be run by the Government not private companies and 79% agree that people providing health services should be employed by the NHS rather than by private companies.

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Schools PPP will cost taxpayers dear, UNISON warns

Date: Wed 17 June 2009


UNISON Scotland today rejected Scottish Government claims that its schools building announcement represents better value for money than previous PFI/PPP projects.

Instead, the union warned that taxpayers will once again be charged massively over the odds for the Scottish Futures Trust continuing with PPP through the so-called Non Profit Distributing (NPD) model.

Dave Watson, UNISON’s Scottish Organiser, said:
“The initial plan for the Scottish Futures Trust was to replace PFI/PPP. Early proposals proved to be merely window-dressing changes, or PFI-lite. Now we are told that the NPD model is to be used for schools building and the SFT chairman Sir Angus Grossart has not ruled out full-blown PFI/PPP.

“Yet research by Edinburgh University this week confirmed UNISON’s argument that NPD maintains most of the flaws of PFI/PPP, and it highlighted rates of return to investors similar to PFI schemes. The Scottish Government is continuing with a policy the SNP criticised for mortgaging future generations to the hilt.”

In today’s Herald newspaper* Mark Hellowell, of Edinburgh University’s Centre for International Public Health Policy, said that NPD was “a relatively minor variation... despite political rhetoric which suggests there has been more substantive change.”

Dave Watson added:
“It is clear to the general public that PFI/PPP has been an immensely costly way to build new schools and hospitals. Supporters have said people understand that if they include replacement carpets every five years and other maintenance costs in their mortgage, then it would cost more.

“But even the most financially illiterate home-buyer recognises that they will be ripped off if they charge those costs to their mortgage. PFI costs are high because it costs more to borrow privately than conventional borrowing.

“At a time of financial crisis, when the UK Government has been forced into bailing out PFI/PPP schemes, the Scottish Government should be using far less costly conventional funding for schools, as it is doing with the new South Glasgow hospitals complex.”

* http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.2514776.0.Trust_unlikely_to_cut_costs_report_finds.php

ENDS

Note for editors:

1. UNISON opposes PFI/PPP for reasons including service quality, costs, accountability and inflexibility.

The union has argued to the Scottish Government and to the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee's inquiry into the funding of capital investment projects that five simple steps would provide an immediate alternative to PPP/PFI.

They include: a review of existing contracts, with 'buyouts' where that benefits the taxpayer; Scottish government grants for new capital projects, irrespective of the method of procurement; health boards should be given Prudential Borrowing powers; staff should be excluded from transfer and the PPP staffing protocol should be strengthened.

The Calman Commission’s recommendation that the Scottish Government should have borrowing powers for capital investment would also allow the SNP’s original plan for the SFT to proceed, without using PFI/PPP.

2. Further UNISON Scotland PFI information is at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/comms/pfi.html

3. UNISON’s report ‘Putting the Public Back into PFI’ was published on 15 June. http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=1450

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