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

Anti-austerity campaign

There is a story in today's Sunday Herald that highlights UNISON Scotland's ongoing campaign against austerity and the impact it is having on Scotland. It describes some of the methods we are using to promote that campaign in the coming months.

However, the newspaper has spun this into an initiative aimed at attacking Labour. It is nothing of the sort.

In fact the campaign starts by highlighting the differences between Labour's spending plans and those of the Tories as analysed by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies. This shows a £43bn difference in the two plans. While the Barnett consequentials of that difference is difficult to precisely calculate, the Tory plans will clearly result in massive cuts to services and the jobs of UNISON members in Scotland.

While this campaign is not intended to direct members on how to vote in the General Election, the idea that it is being targeted at Labour candidates is nothing short of absurd. It will be up to all parties to explain to our members their position on austerity and they will make their own decision on how to cast their vote.

UNISON’s response to the Scottish Government’s Sustainability and Seven Day Services Interim Taskforce Report

Friday 6 March 2015

UNISON welcomes interim report from the Scottish Government’s Taskforce for Sustainability and Seven Day Services. This taskforce is considering how we provide round the clock care for patients who need it the most, with a genuinely seven day service for acutely ill patients.

The taskforce met for the first time in April 2014 and this interim report (released today) provides us with an update on the work undertaken to date and suggests the next steps.

Matt McLaughlin, UNISON Scotland regional organiser said:

"We welcome this report and the commitment to work with UNISON.

"Our members are committed to providing patients with the best most comprehensive services we can.

"UNISON members already work 7 days and this programme should compliment and support our staff in doing this.

"The final recommendations need to be underpinned by detailed workforce planning, training and employment of new staff.

"This also needs to recognise existing staff contracts."


ends

Note for editorUNISON is the biggest trade union in Scotland, and the biggest in trade union the NHS

UNISON report says that ‘mental health staff are working under increasing stress’

More than 8 in 10 (84%) of mental health staff say that their workload has increased, more than 7 in 10 (76%) say they have experienced cuts, with the quality of patient services in decline, in the last three years.

Those are the findings of a new report into working in Scotland’s Mental Health Services, by public services union UNISON. The report See Us was compiled by the trade union who represent workers in all the sectors which deliver services in mental health – the NHS, councils and the third sector.

The trade union has been doing survey work across its members who work in Mental Health and 84% reported that they had increases in their workload in the last three years. 76% of staff report cut backs in their workplaces in the last 3 years. Meaning staff spend less time with each patient.

Staff said that cuts in mental health services often go under the radar. They report that ‘it is difficult to recruit and retain staff and  jobs do not get refilled’ and that ‘staff are leaving and not being replaced, or if replaced their position is downgraded’ and that there is a freeze on vacant posts for both nursing and social care, and jobs get re-graded and advertised at a lower levels to save money.

Dave Watson, UNISON Scotland head of bargaining and campaigns, said  ‘This report should serve as a warning. Mental health services remain the invisible part of the NHS. Yet one in four of us will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.  Wherever and whoever we asked, whether it was a Psychiatric Nurse on a hospital ward, or a Mental Health Officer working for a council – they told the same story of workload increasing but resources being cut and time with each patient going down. Staff are stressed because they don’t feel that they are giving patients the service that they deserve or doing the work they are capable of’

Dave Watson continued, ‘there has been fantastic work by the See Me campaign in recent years to raise the visibility and status of those with mental health issues. Today the staff are saying See Us – and if we do that, and take their concerns on board , we’ll have better more effective services for everyone.’

Quotes from mental health staff include:

“(We) are subjected to regular staff shortages and high stress.” – Community Psychiatric Nurse

“I was off  work related stress for three months last year due to trying to do three people's jobs to statutory deadlines and not succeeding.”  - Mental Health Officer

“Increased stress levels as just don't have enough time to meet all deadlines. Also spending more and more time on non patient related activities.” - Deputy Charge Nurse

“There is an increase in the paperwork for statistical purposes.” – Registered Mental Nurse

“Higher caseloads with fewer staff leads to higher stress and people being incompletely treated reducing job satisfaction and increasing frustration.” – Occupational Therapist

Notes to Editor

·         UNISON is the largest trade union in NHS Scotland. We represent mental health staff in NHS, voluntary and private sectors

·          The full report can be read here http://unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/SeeUs_MentalHealthStaffSurvey_March2015.pdf

·         This report is the result of work carried out by UNISON Scotland amongst our members who work delivering Scotland’s mental health services; acute wards, in the community, working for the NHS, Local Authorities and the Third Sector. It aims to give expression to the concerns they have in their working life and for the services they provide. 

For further information contact

·         Danny Phillips, UNISON Scotland, communications officer 0141 342 2877 / 07944 644 110

·         Dave Watson, UNISON Scotland, head of bargaining and campaigns 0141 342 2840 / 07958 122409

New Scotland in UNISON online now

March's Scotland in UNISON is now online: Stories on Council Cuts; Jane Carolan on Women Demanding Change; Mike Kirby on UNISON and the General Election; Comhairle Living Wage; Gordon McKay on Mental Health Nurse Freeze; Conduct pack for Nurses; Stornoway Jobs Saved; STUC Party Conference Lobbies; Skills Devt Pensions; Communications Awards and much more in this edition. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/siu/index.html

Aberdeenshire cuts impact 'devastating' says UNISON

Aberdeenshire UNISON has warned that the council’s planned cuts over the next five years will hit jobs and services hard and will continue to have a devastating impact on the quality of life in Aberdeenshire, especially for our most vulnerable.

The branch has called on Aberdeenshire councillors to minimise job losses and to keep their commitment to no compulsory redundancies and to maintain services to the most vulnerable.

Branch Secretary Inez Teece said, “We recognise that the council is in a difficult position, especially with the continued council tax freeze and we would urge the Scottish Government to reconsider this as we have shown that it only benefits the better off.

UNISON wins Comhairle living wage backdating

UNISON’s Western Isles Local Government Branch has welcomed the Comhairle’s recent agreement to backdate payment of the National Living Wage to its lowest-earning staff to April 2013.

Back in November the Comhairle, following an intensive campaign by UNISON, agreed to pay the Living Wage for 2014 exclusive of Distant Islands Allowance. However, the council disagreed with the union over its obligation to also back-date living wage payments to April 2013 – which UNISON maintained had already been agreed as part of a national pay award.

UNISON Branch Secretary, Alison MacCorquodale (pictured) said: “UNISON welcomes the Comhairle’s agreement to finally back-date payment of the Living Wage to April 2013. We pushed the Comhairle hard to sort this out before Christmas, but they appeared to be burying their heads in the sand!”

UNISON intervention ensures 27 jobs retained at Stornoway call-handling centre

Friday 13 February 2015

UNISON, the public-sector trade union, has helped to ensure the retention of 27 jobs at the Consumer Advice Direct (CAD) call-handling centre in Stornoway after members were issued with redundancy notices early in the New Year.

Flora Somerville, UNISON Branch Organiser, met recently with local politicians and senior management from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) - which currently contracts-out the delivery of the consumer advisory service to CAD. 

Flora said: “We understand that following our intervention, a further one-year contract is being negotiated which safeguards our members’ jobs for twelve months whilst consideration is given to the longer-term.

"There was the additional risk that under a new contract, CAD would opt not to continue in Stornoway and that jobs would transfer to Glasgow.

"We have however received assurances from CAS that they are fully committed to keeping the Stornoway call centre in operation.”

Letters dated 1 January 2015 had been issued to all staff advising them that CAD “decided to make them redundant” with effect from 31 March 2015.

UNISON, Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Outer Hebrides Parliamentary representatives have since been in discussions with CAS about their intentions for the Stornoway call-centre.

Located at Gleann Seileach, Stornoway, Citizens Advice Direct handles consumer calls from all over Scotland and deals with hundreds of enquires each day.

HIE originally invested over £400,000 in the call-centre, taking the view that the company would expand in future.

UNISON Scotland & the General Election

Mike Kirby, Scottish Secretary: 'During the election campaign we will strive to keep UNISON policies and objectives fore and centre of the political debate. UNISON priorities of an end to Tory austerity, fair employment and trade union rights, pay and public services... by challenging all political parties on what they will do for our people.'

#Showthelove... Ask First Minister to act on climate change

Love is in the air this week...love for everything that climate change threatens.

And Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) is asking us all to tell First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that we believe a new global climate deal must be agreed at United Nations talks in Paris in December this year.

In the new Show the Love campaign, members and supporters of SCCS members across Scotland, including UNISON, are contacting the First Minister with a simple message:

Please ensure we deliver on Scotland's world-leading climate commitments and make sure Scotland plays a proactive role in striving for an ambitious global deal in Paris in December.

You can take part by email from the SCCS website , remembering to write into the email some of the things you love that are under threat if we don't make the switch to a low carbon economy.

UNISON Scotland Communications Awards results

The judges this year were Danny Phillips, Communications Officer, Jane Carolan NEC and John Stevenson, Chair of the committee. They found the awards enormously difficult to judge.

So difficult that the judges couldn’t agree and for some categories we had to go to that thing we don’t tend to do much in Scotland – A vote!

This was because the difference between the entries was so close with different bits appealing to different judges for different reasons.

It’s a long way of saying all of the entries had really strong points and no one should be disappointed at losing out.

So a good starting place is to congratulate all the entrants for the work they do – especially when we know so much communications work is done in activists’ own time.

Recovery... well sort of.

 

We have recovered from the Financial crisis. Yes we have – it’s official. Well sort of, we currently have employment levels back at 2008 levels - 73%. 

 

Whoopee, let’s celebrate, let joy be unconfined amongst the masses pop the champagne corks and...ehh hang on. If we have recovered why are so many of us so much worse off?  

Well the reason is that while jobs numbers have recovered – wages haven’t. For most of us this is easily verifiable by checking the bank balance a couple of days after we’ve been paid and seeing what is left after the bills have come off. For anyone entertaining the idea that “It must just be me” – it’s not. The Institute of Fiscal Studies have just published a study of Earnings since the recession and it’s as cheery a read as you’d expect.

 

While this isn’t a happy picture for anyone – it is more severe for some sections of the workforce than others. Specifically young people have suffered most

 

There are a number of reasons for this decline in the value of wages. Frozen or almost frozen pay is probably the most obvious. But it’s far from being the only one. We’ve also seen a increase in part time contracts and zero hour contracts “under employment” in the jargon of economists.

Now it doesn’t have to be like this. Part of the reason for underemployment is a shortage of demand in the economy. This could be tackled through a policy of wage led growth. 

Investment in public services  could and should be an important part of this. With the promise of more  austerity at  UK level and tax cutting obsessed Government at Scottish level, this isn’t exactly the current agenda.

So you'll forgive us for not being exactly celebratory...but employment figures like this aren't the occasion for cracking open the champagne more like a can of Tesco value lager.

'Stop dumping on waste management staff' says UNISON Scotland

Fri 23 Jan 2015

UNISON Scotland conducted surveys amongst staff working in waste management across Scotland’s local authorities. The results revealed a workforce under pressure facing increasing targets and declining budgets.  

In a report Dumped On – Working in Scotland’s Waste Management Servicesthe union details the experience and expectations of a workforce trying do their job in an a constantly changing environment. 

Waste management has become a more demanding task in recent years as demands for more and more complex recycling have been put on staff at the same time as budgets have been put under pressure.  These burdens are set to increase as targets for more waste to be recycled or reused are going up and council budgets are being squeezed still further.

UNISON Scotland Head of Bargaining and Campaigns Dave Watson said:

“The job is treating rubbish – It shouldn’t mean getting rubbish treatment. Councils and the  Scottish Government should start realising that. They can’t expect staff to meet more stringent targets when they are being cut back.

“ Waste management staff are vital for both environmental Health and the health of the environment . Every political party claims they want to increase recycling rates and is signed up to the idea of a Zero Waste Scotland. They need to be prepared to put their money where litter is.

“The aim is that more waste is reused and recycled rather than put in landfill – well if Councils and Government want less waste – they are going to have to invest in more people to make that happen. They can’t expect to get ever more complex demands from a  reducing and overstretched workforce

ENDS

Notes for Editors

The report Dumped on: working in Scotland’s waste management services can be found at:
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/
DumpedOn_WasteManagementStaffSurvey_Jan2015.pdf

Union offers safety advice to staff following hospital sexual assaults

Thursday 15 January 2015

NHS union UNISON Scotland is advising staff to be more vigilant than normal after two separate incidents of sexual assault at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) in recent weeks.

The union has also contacted employers demanding that specific advice about personal safety and relevant details are shared with local staff to ensure that they are aware of the issue and can take reasonable steps to ensure their safety.

Branch Secretary Cathy Miller said, “we have been in touch with the employers demanded extra security be put in place; that staff are given some basic information to help them stay safe at work and that local managers are pro active around staff safety when taking decisions.”

 “In the absence of any formal advice to staff UNISON felt it was important that we let our members know that we are aware of the issue and are pressing for action. We would urge staff to be extra vigilant; where possible to travel to and from work with colleagues (and not alone); to report any suspicious behaviour to your line manager and local security and if appropriate to record any specific concerns about safety in the datex system.”

The message being given by UNISON to staff in the GRI is;

 The chance of you becoming a victim of this kind of crime are relatively low – even in the current circumstance. Police Scotland advise that there are a number of simple steps you can take to further reduce the risk to yourself.

What general steps can I take?

• Plan your journey.
• Tell someone when and where you’re going and when to expect you to get there.
• Carry a mobile phone and make sure it’s charged.
• Be aware of your surroundings and look confident about where you are going.
• Avoid listening to personal stereos which can make you less aware of what’s happening around you.
• Personal attack alarms are good to have – makes sure you carry it in your hand so you can use it immediately. Choose a type which continues to sound if you activate and then drop it.
• DON’T carry weapons or items such as pepper spray – this is illegal.

How do I stay safe on foot?

• When out walking, always attempt to walk facing the traffic so that a car cannot pull up behind you.
• If you think someone is following you, check by safely crossing to the other side of the street - cross more than once if necessary. If the person behind you crosses also and you believe that your suspicions are confirmed, stay to main, busy routes until you get to the first safe place and contact the police. Avoid using a phone box in the street as this gives the person following you an opportunity to trap you.
• If you regularly go jogging or cycling, try to vary your route and the time you go. Stick to well-lit, preferably busy, roads with pavements and avoid wooded areas.
• Don't take short-cuts through dark alleyways, parks or waste ground

Please pass this advice on to your colleagues across GRI.

Scrap plans for new women’s prison, urges UNISON Scotland

Tuesday 13 January 2015

UNISON Scotland, the public services union with many members working in Criminal Justice services has urged the Scottish Government to scrap their plans to build a new Women’s prison.

The union has written to Justice Secretary Michael Matheson saying that a tendering exercise for the construction of a new jail near Greenock should be halted.

The plans go against expert opinion and are at odds with the Scottish Government’s declared policy of reducing the number of women in prison. A new prison of this size is also against the recommendations of the Commission on Women’s Offending.

Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convener of UNISON Scotland, and Chair of the union’s Social work Issues Group said: 

“Prison is a very expensive way of not solving problems. Committing large sums of money to expanding prison capacity is to spend money on failure.

"Far better than spending some £60m on a new institution, with associated running costs, would be investment in the services which can help tackle the root causes of women’s offending – poverty, substance and alcohol misuse, mental health problems, histories of domestic and sexual abuse.

"Spending which attempts to tackle with these represents a far better use of public resource in a time of acute pressures on public spending."

ENDS 

Note to editors: UNISON ebrief on Women Offenders

http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/
e-briefing_WomenOffenders_Jan2015.pdf

Protecting Public Services

UNISON, Scotland’s public service union tells MSPs that Scotland's public services are living through a lost decade as a consequence of austerity economics and we can do more to protect public services.

 

Tomorrow (Tuesday 13 January 2015) the Scottish Parliament will debate protecting public services. UNISON Scotland's briefing to MSP's draws from our recent report 'Austerity Economics Don't Add Up', which charts the impact austerity economics is having on Scotland’s public services and the staff who deliver them.

 

In addition, UNISON has identified some common themes for MSPs from recent UNISON surveys of public service staff. They flag up consequences that are not often recognised including:

 

• The impact of cuts on service delivery and in particular on the most vulnerable in our communities. Social care is a particular concern with a race to the bottom in provision.
• Corners are being cut to give the impression that services are being maintained. Whether its food sampling, inspections, hospital cleaning or the time elderly people are allocated for basic care.
• Core infrastructure is collapsing while staff patch and mend. Sticking plasters won’t last forever.
• Preventative work is being abandoned as staff focus on the basic statutory functions.
• Moving staff around to manage one crisis after another. ‘Keeping the plates spinning’ is a very common comment from staff.
• Growing levels of stress and related health issues. A particular challenge for what is becoming an ageing workforce due to recruitment freezes.
• Delayering of structures results in quite junior staff having to take decisions, without adequate support from more senior and experienced staff.
• Cuts in support staff and administration results in front line staff having to spend more time on paperwork - exacerbated by outdated or inadequate IT systems.
• Increased aggression and violence from service users, frustrated by service cuts and delays.

 

UNISON Scotland’s Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, Dave Watson said:

“The overwhelming response from staff is that it’s bad now, but they believe it’s going to get worse. This is happening at a time when public service wages have been slashed in real terms placing significant personal pressures on staff.”

 

“We urge MSP's to recognise that there is a better way. Of course the driving force for austerity comes from the UK coalition government, but Holyrood doesn’t always make good choices. What is needed is the political will to challenge the view that austerity is necessary and to put in place better policies that deliver for all our communities.”

 

Notes to editor

 

1.    UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union. The MSP Briefing can be viewed here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/MSPe-briefing_PublicServices_Jan2015.pdf 

2.    Our report 'Austerity Economics Don't Add Up' can be viewed here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/AusterityEconomics_Oct2014.pdf

3.    Examples of the occupational surveys can be viewed on our Public Works page: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/index.html

 

For more information contact:

 ·         Dave Watson, UNISON’s head of bargaining and campaigns, 0141 342 2840 or 07958122409