Surgery equipment delays - members working round clock to keep up their end of the system

13 March 2013

From The Herald - report by Helen McArdle

PATIENTS whose operations were delayed after surgeons raised fears about dirty and damaged surgical tools could be waiting weeks before their procedures go ahead.

 

The Herald revealed yesterday that patients due to undergo treatment including hip and knee replacements at the orthopaedics unit in Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow last month had operations postponed.

The delay came after concerns were raised over the safety of surgical tools coming from the health board's centralised decontamination facility.

 

....

Matt McLaughlin, the regional organiser for Unison, which represents health workers in Glasgow, said staff at the unit were struggling with a "pressure cooker" environment.

Mr McLaughlin said: "It's a high-pressure environment made worse by the pressure on NHSGGC to get operations done quickly.

"Some of the equipment is in constant use and the pressure to turn around the equipment at very short notice is incredible.

"The vast majority of kit is provided free from contaminants and our members are working round the clock to keep up their end of the system."

....

Full report at The Herald here

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UNISON supports WWF's Earth Hour 2013, Saturday 23 March 8.30pm

12 March 2013

UNISON Scotland supports WWF's Earth Hour 2013. Saturday 23 March 8.30pm

It’s not just about an hour of darkness...


it’s about a brighter future.

At 8.30pm on 23 March hundreds of millions of people will turn off their lights for one hour, on the same night, all across the world in a huge, symbolic show of support for action on climate change and for a more sustainable future.

It’s always a memorable and spectacular event with cities, communities and landmarks across the globe going dark for the hour.

More information from WWF here This toolkit was used last year by UNISON branches and has good ideas that are still relevant this year.

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#JoinUNISON - 388% rise in bids for financial help to UNISON's welfare charity

12 March 2013

Nurses, home care assistants, school cleaners and teaching assistants are among the UNISON members struggling with rising fuel bills and turning to the union for help. 

The union has seen a massive 388% increase in requests for financial assistance, as the effect of the Government’s three year pay freeze bites deeper into household incomes.

More than half of applicants for a fuel grant (56.6%) had sacrificed food to keep warm, while 69% had cut back on clothing and 80% on leisure. The survey also revealed that 77.7% avoid putting the heating on, while 54.6% only heated the room they were in.

A very worrying finding was that nearly a third reported that the health of someone in the household suffered as a result. Asthma and bronchitis were the top consequences – including for those with young children - but cancer, diabetes, MS and arthritis sufferers were also affected by cold. One person revealed that their son with cerebral palsy was confined to a wheelchair and therefore unable to move around to keep warm.

Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON said:

“It is heartbreaking to read some of the stories behind these requests for help. Never in all my years in the union have I seen so many members struggling so hard just to keep warm and to put food on the table. It has been a long hard winter this year and it is disgraceful - heating or eating should not have to be a choice in the UK in 2013.

“The fact that nearly 30% of those surveyed are on prohibitively expensive pre-payment meters, speaks volumes about the dire state of their family finances. And is it any wonder when public service workers have been stuck on a three year pay freeze, while prices just keep on going up?

“It is time the Government invested in the future of the country for the benefit of all. We need investment in infrastructure, in building much needed homes, as well as putting money back into people’s pockets, to get them spending and stimulating their local economy.”

The union is also calling for concrete policies to stem the flow of people falling into the despair of fuel poverty. A nationwide programme of measures to insulate homes and provide energy efficient central heating systems would help domestic consumers and create jobs says UNISON.

UNISON’s welfare fund – There for you – offers advice and support as well as financial assistance for members and their families. It receives applications from members for help with debt, housing and fuel, as well as the cost of school uniforms.

The charity used to pay for wellbeing breaks for low paid families, but since the coalition took office these have been cancelled to allow the fund to cope with the massive rise in demand for help with basics such as fuel and housing, emergency financial aid and the rising demand for help with debt.

See the news release on UNISON UK website, including comments from members surveyed.

UNISON - Essential cover if you work in public services #JoinUNISON
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Fear of triple dip recession close to reality - UNISON

12 March 2013

Commenting on the news that the UK economy contracted further than expected at the end of 2012 Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:

“Last week even the Office for Budget Responsibility – set up by this Coalition Government - confirmed that Cameron’s cuts agenda was holding back economic growth. 

“Today’s figures continue to demonstrate that the Prime Minister must put the interests of the country first and initiate a programme of public spending to get the economy working again and avoid a triple-dip recession made in Downing Street.

“Next week’s Budget should be used to outline a bold strategy for jobs and growth. We know that public service jobs have been cut too far too fast – lift the threat of unemployment and people will start buying again – boosting manufacturing. Give public sector workers a decent pay rise and more money will flow through to local shops and businesses, helping our beleaguered high streets.

Ends

UNISON UK news release

http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2994

 

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#JoinUNISON UNISON - essential cover wherever you work

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary.

11 March 2013

Today UNISON launches its major new recruitment campaign on television and on social media with one key message:

Join UNISON - essential cover wherever you work.

With 1.3 million members UNISON is already a union to reckon with - but there are still hundreds of thousands of public service workers out there who don't yet have the essential cover that UNISON provides.

These are hard working people who feel they have little or no defence against the government's attack on their jobs. They are in the eye of the storm. What keeps them awake at night is worrying about losing their jobs and how they can continue to live with a pay freeze that has lasted over three years.

We want them to turn to us for help, support and essential cover wherever they work. We will stand with them and help them be strong in these tough times.

UNISON is a powerful union and we will only get stronger, so join us today and get essential cover wherever you work.

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#JoinUNISON Trade union membership pays dividends for UNISON members around Scotland

Monday 11 March 2013

UNISON said today that a Living Wage deal at one of Scotland’s biggest universities is the latest success in the union winning hundreds of thousands of pounds for members.

Low paid staff at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) are celebrating the decision to start paying the Living Wage of £7.45 per hour.

Today’s news is the latest in a series of recent successes for the public services union,  including on equal pay, other Living Wage agreements and nearly £1/2 million in personal injury settlements in the last three months.

There have also been numerous local branch successes such as £200,000 in back pay for catering workers in South Lanarkshire and millions of pounds in unpaid wages due to nursing and other staff in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Keith Galbraith, Branch Secretary at UWS, said: “We are very pleased the university agreed after we campaigned for the Living Wage. 

“This will mainly benefit catering and cleaning staff and some library workers.  It is excellent news for our members who work hard in contributing to the excellent student experience at UWS.” 

Mike Kirby, UNISON Scottish Secretary, said today: “We congratulate our branch at the University of the West of Scotland for this latest success.

“The Living Wage is a key part of UNISON’s bargaining strategy and each win like this helps low paid staff at a time when they really need it.

“Across the UK people are worried about their jobs. In Scotland we’ve lost 57,000 public sector jobs since the start of the Coalition Government’s austerity measures. 

“Our members know that when public services are under unprecedented attack from Government, they need their union to stand up for them.

“We are today (Monday) launching a recruitment campaign highlighting that UNISON is essential cover when people are worrying about jobs and the impact of the cuts on their pay and conditions.”

UNISON branch successes include at South Lanarkshire Council where investigations after a member noticed problems with her pay found that 500 catering workers had lost out on an average two days pay per year for six years.

The total amount of back pay could be more than £200,000.

Branch Vice-Chair Tony Slaven said, “Members had queried the calculation before but it was only once UNISON took up the case that progress was made.

“Members from all over the council have been calling us to look into their own situation.  We ‘re delighted to have been able to get members the money they are due for the days they worked.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing 160,000 members working in public services in Scotland.

2. UNISON’s other recent successes are featured in news releases on our website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/index.html 

3. UNISON’s recruitment campaign is being backed up by TV and newspaper advertising and a range of digital activity. The TV ad is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3BT_A_8A8I&feature=youtu.be  

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#IWDjoinaunion STUC: A woman’s place is in her union

8 March 2013

To mark International Women’s Day, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is calling on all its affiliated unions to highlight the work that they do to protect women’s rights in the workplace.

Women are facing changes in equality laws, pregnancy discrimination, reduced hours, and losses of childcare services in every local area. Applications for flexible working are not being considered, provisions for good health and safety at work are under-resourced, and training and education opportunities have been reduced.

Agnes Tolmie UNITE, STUC President, said

‘Trade unions have an essential role to play in speaking up for, and negotiating on behalf of, women at work.

Problems that appear to be individual can often be resolved through collective bargaining.

Our shop stewards and workplace reps bring a wealth of experience and speak up daily for women’s rights.

Our message for International Women’s Day is ‘A woman’s place is in her union’ and we look forward to working alongside all those who are committed to the fight for equality’

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – TIME TO TURN THE TIDE FOR UK WOMEN

8 March 2013

The government should use International Women’s Day as an opportunity to start undoing the damage its austerity measures have had on women in the UK, UNISON said today.

The social and economic position of women in the UK has been dramatically eroded since the coalition came into power, and UNISON said it was time for the tide to turn.

Through its own education services, UNISON has been working hard to help people develop the skills to make them stand out in the workforce, and this has had a significant impact on a number of its women members.

The free Return to Learn scheme is designed to help workers develop their skills and boost confidence in key areas including writing; investigating and research; analysing and problem solving; and working with numbers. This, and the union’s unique Women’s Lives course are changing the lives of workers – male and female – in their thousands.

Nearly 15,000 UNISON members have benefited from its learning programmes since April 2012, including nearly 5,000 learners at further education level, and nearly 1,400 CPD learners. Return to Learn and Women’s Lives have been helping people enhance their skills and learning for 25 years.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:“This International Women’s Day the government should be turning its attention to undoing the enormous damage they’ve done to women’s lives since they came into power.

“Women have borne the brunt of the government’s austerity measures: they’ve been hit hardest by recession, by government benefit cuts and, thanks to this government’s ideology-driven attacks to our public services, have seen record unemployment.

“It’s time for the tide to turn; let’s celebrate the enormous achievements made by women every day, but let’s do so knowing that there is so much more than can be done in the UK to improve the lives of women. This starts with the government, and it must act now.”


Dawn Wilson, a retired Homecare Assistant, took both the Return to Learn and Women’s Lives courses in her early 50’s, and said they gave her to confidence to get back into learning. She is currently undertaking both a creative writing, and a digital photo-editing course through the University of the Third Age. She said:
“My main motivation for getting back into education was to be able to write my life story for my grandchildren. So much has changed in my lifetime; they can’t grasp that when I was young we didn’t have a phone, let alone a mobile! But there is so much more to it; the UNISON courses gave me the confidence to keep learning and prevented me from being isolated. I’m still making new friends, which is important after the loss of my husband.

“Teaching was so much more formal when I was at school; you were basically frightened of your teachers, and you felt like you were in education, but not being taught. When I heard about the Return to Learn and Women’s Lives courses, I thought ‘go for it’. The tutors were brilliant and, unlike when I was at school, were really supportive, and patient, and understanding of any difficulties you might have. So were the other women on my course; four of us still meet once a month for a coffee, or to go to the theatre. They’ve been supportive personally, as well as in education.

“After the UNISON courses I went on to do an NVQ; using what I learned to help organise my coursework, and the best way carry out case studies.

“UNISON’s courses helped in my work, too. The biggest thing is confidence. When you have meetings with work, you feel like you can speak up, and that what you’re going to say is appropriate. The courses helped me to think out of the box, and to be confident enough to give a different view if everyone around the table is fixed on something that seems wrong to you.

“The women I met at UNISON were a lifesaver for me. They were not pushy – the courses are not recruiting shop stewards, they’re about improving your life, and building your confidence. I would definitely recommend them.”

See this press release on the UNISON UK website
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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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Don't treat Scotland's colleges and support staff like Cinderella, UNISON tells MSPs

7 March 2013
Scotland’s college support staff union UNISON will today (Thursday 7 March) demand that our colleges should be properly funded and call on the Scottish Government to stop treating Further Education as a Cinderella service.

A postcard petition representing the 1,300 jobs which have been lost in FE as a result of recent cuts will be delivered to Scottish ministers, pointing out that short terms cuts mean long term damage to our economy and some of our neediest communities and people.

UNISON activists will lobby MSPs in the Parliament and a meeting will be held in Committee Room 1 at 2.45PM hosted by Neil Findlay MSP.

Chris Greenshields, chair of UNISON’s Further Education Committee, will say:

"Scotland can no longer sit by and let our colleges be turned into a Cinderella service by another year of savage cuts. We urgently need the Scottish government to explain to us how they are planning to protect jobs and services for our students in the wake of more rounds of job cuts.

"Services are being decimated even before the predicted job losses as a result of mergers and no-one at the Scottish Government is asking why.

"Our college staff and students deserve better. Support staff provide invaluable services which enable our students to prosper after they take their first steps into education. Without these essential services many college students will fail to progress and millions of pounds of public money will be wasted.

"College students need support services more than most as many are taking their first steps into education.

"College staff and students are no Cinderellas. We deserve to go to the education ball on a fair equal and properly funded basis."

·         There will be opportunities for pictures of Cinderella and the postcard petition at 1pm outside the Scottish Parliament




ends



Notes for editors:

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing 160,000 members working mainly in the public sector in Scotland and represents a range of staff delivering important services in further and higher education.

2. Already more than 1,300 jobs have been lost from Scotland's vital FE colleges in the 18 months or so before Education Secretary Mike Russell announced that he wanted a further £50 million of savings as a result of mergers.

3. In written and oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee on the Post-16 Education Bill on 5 February, UNISON argued that Russell's cuts  "will have a catastrophic effect on the key services our members provide to our students. We cannot continue to cut while the sector deals with the biggest changes in over 20 years."
UNISON's full written evidence to the Committee can be found on our website here:
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/Post16Education_EvidencetoSPEducation+CultureCttee_Jan2013.pdf 


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Scottish Ministers told time is right to act against tax dodging companies

7 March 2013

UNISON Scotland will today (Thursday) urge the Scottish Government to respond to overwhelming public outrage about tax dodging companies.

The public services union wants Ministers to use their forthcoming Procurement Reform Bill to ban firms involved in tax dodging from winning public contracts.

Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, will tell a Holyrood conference on Sustainable Procurement that the time is right to legislate and that there is considerable cross party support for the principle.

Also, a recent Christian Aid public opinion survey found that 80% are angry about firms not paying their fair share of tax and a third are boycotting companies over it.

Dave said: “There is enormous public anger over companies that don’t pay their fair share of tax. The timing of this Bill is perfect for the Scottish Government to respond.

“We are suggesting that the Bill should send out a very clear message. As Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said, ‘Taxpayers’ money should not be funding tax dodgers.’”

The Edinburgh conference, organised by Holyrood Magazine, is to hear about a range of ways in which procurement can be used as a lever for social, economic and environmental benefits, including to support the Living Wage, to support local economies and sustainable development and to contribute to climate change emissions reduction targets.

Dave Watson is speaking at the event, on promoting best practice, including the Scottish Living Wage.

He said: “At a time of massive public spending cuts it is outrageous that some £120 billion of tax is not being collected. The UK Government should be doing more with stronger anti-tax-avoidance legislation, more tax staff and greater transparency in company accounts.

“The Scottish Government can encourage companies to change their ways through procurement.”

ENDS

1. Danny Alexander made the comment quoted above in September 2012 at the Liberal Democrat party conference.
2. The conference website is http://sustainableprocurement.holyrood.com/
3. UNISON’s Procurement Reform Bill Consultation response is online at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/
ProcurementReformBill_Response_Nov2012.pdf
4. A number of European cities/regions are already acting against companies that use tax havens.
www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/helsinki-boycotts-tax-havens/
5. Richard Murphy, of Tax Research UK, and adviser to the Tax Justice Network, says that legislation in England, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, provides councils there with ways to argue for this that would not breach EU procurement rules. This would include councils being able to demonstrate that a large company paying tax would benefit the community through funding for better education, roads etc. This would allow them to choose a tender on the basis of which company pays tax or not.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2012/10/23/
the-october-taxcast-from-the-tax-justice-network/

UNISON believes the Procurement Reform Bill could use a similar approach.
6. This Early Day Motion has received support from Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrat Scottish MPs www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-12/2399
7. Transport Scotland said last week that companies involved in tax avoidance may be barred from competing to maintain the new Forth Road Bridge.
8. UNISON Scotland is a member of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland which has raised concerns that the Procurement Reform Bill will not be strong enough on sustainability and ensuring procurement policy contributes to climate change emissions reduction targets www.stopclimatechaos.org/sites/default/files/sccs-proc-cons-resp-final-web_2.pdf

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New police service set to fail on Best Value if no progress on modern police teams

6 March 2013

Scotland’s new police service is set to fall significantly behind England & Wales in best practice for modern policing, failing its Best Value duty.

That is the warning today from UNISON as a new report revealed that the numbers of police staff in Scotland have fallen by 11%, with further job losses predicted, while police officer numbers are maintained.

The report shows clear benefits in having a modern balanced police team but Scotland is instead cutting police staff and using police officers to backfill their posts at great cost.

Currently police staff make up 24% of all police personnel but predicted cuts in moving to a national police service could reduce that to 18%, in comparison to almost double that at 34% in England & Wales.

George McIrvine, Secretary of UNISON Police Staff Scotland, said: “We welcome this report in showing how important it is that the new force gets it right on police staff. They are getting it very wrong just now and could fail their Best Value duty without a change of direction.

“We have said all along that we need a modern balanced police team with the right people doing the right jobs for a better safer Scotland. The Scottish Government should resource the new police service to provide that and abandon their policy of maintaining police officer numbers at 17,234, which forces all the cuts onto police staff.”

Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining & Campaigns, will present an updated Stewart report on police civilianisation commissioned by UNISON Scotland at the Scottish Parliament this evening. (Wednesday)

He said: “Police staff do an incredibly important job in roles from corporate and admin support to functions such as intelligence, crime prevention, custody and detention and scenes of crime officers.

“It makes no financial sense to have police officers backfilling these posts. There are many police functions where properly qualified civilian personnel are simply the most effective way to deliver the full range of routine, complex and specialised functions that are central to modern day police forces.”

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald MSP welcomed the report, saying:

“This report clearly indicates that civilian police staff are paying the price for the SNP’s reckless approach to setting up a single police service.

“Hundreds of trained and experienced civilian workers have already lost their jobs, with thousands more redundancies expected after the launch of Police Scotland on April1. As the report states, the only option Police Scotland has to fill these gaps is to use police officers to backfill roles usually carried out by police staff.

“Our communities don’t want to see police officers spending their time working in offices, control rooms and custody suites when they could be out on the streets fighting crime. The civilianisation of police in Scotland has always been a valuable tool in supporting police officers, but the SNP’s approach is destroying this delicate balance.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The Civilianisation of Police in Scotland Updated Stewart Report will be available online for the 6pm event tonight  www.unison-scotland.org.uk/police/CivilianisationofPolice_UpdateMar2013.pdf
2. Documents giving UNISON’s analysis of the police reform process and our ongoing campaign for a balanced, modern police force – rather than cutting thousands of police staff jobs – are available on our website: For more information see UNISON’s police pages www.unison-scotland.org.uk/police/index.html
3. The event in the Scottish Parliament is hosted by Lewis Macdonald MSP.
4. Section 37 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 places a Best Value duty on the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland.

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Hugo Chavez is mourned in Scotland as well as Venezuela - SVSC

6 March 2013

Scottish Venezuela Solidarity Campaign News release - circulated by UNISON Scotland, which supports SVSC

People in Scotland with a commitment to social justice will mourn the death of Hugo Chavez says the Scottish Venezuela Solidarity Campaign.

Matthew Crighton, Secretary of the Scottish Venezuela Solidarity Campaign said today, “Chavez was a great leader for the people of Venezuela, with a practical commitment to improving the lives of its people and in particular the millions who had been left to a life of poverty by previous regimes.

"The sheer scope of the imaginative programmes he led forward is extraordinary - for universal healthcare, literacy, food sovereignty, land reform, electoral democracy, environmental protection, racial and gender equality, the rights of indigenous people and industrial democracy, for example.”

Matthew continued “To carry these forward he had to confront the malign influence which the USA had extended over the entire continent of South America and had instead forged an alliance for progress with neighbouring countries.

"No wonder this brought upon him the opprobrium of the USA government and its allies in this country. Instead of listening to the untruths they tried to spread about him, increasing numbers of people in Scotland have been looking to Chavez and Latin America for lessons to apply to their own predicaments.”

Some of these were heard at the Learning from Latin America conference SVSC held last December in Glasgow, at which Sandra Whyte MSP told us, as an observer of the 2012 Presidential elections, of the impeccable organisation, the very impressive turnout, and above all the massive enthusiasm in Venezuela for the re-election of Hugo Chavez – sadly the last of the many elections which he won democratically in the teeth of a local and international media dominated by his enemies.

In summing up Chavez, Matthew said “He was a great man and our thoughts and solidarity go out to his family and the people of Venezuela.”

Scottish Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

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UNISON to ballot members on local government pay offer

Date: Fri 1 March 2013

UNISON Scotland is to ballot its local government members on a final pay offer from councils.

Branch delegates will meet in Glasgow next month (15 March) to decide on any recommendation on the 1% offer from COSLA, before a full postal ballot takes place.

Dougie Black, Joint Trade Union Side Secretary, said the local government unions had wanted to negotiate to have the offer improved, but that the employers had made it clear this was their final offer.

It has two parts – a 1% increase for all staff and a Scottish Local Government Living Wage, set at £7.50 per hour. The offer is for a single year, applicable from 1 April 2013.

Dougie said: “We welcome the fact that the employers have finally gone some way to addressing low pay by the introduction of a Living Wage. This has been a key component of our pay claims for the last few years.

“However, we are disappointed at the level of the offer at 1%. This has to be seen in the context of local government workers only having seen pay increase by 0.65% over the last three years, while many other public sector workers earning under £21,000 have received an annual payment of £250. And of course the cost of living has gone up, with big energy and food price increases.”

UNISON is also concerned that COSLA has not promised to uprate the Living Wage annually, leaving this up to individual councils. The union will continue to pursue this.

For further information please contact:Dougie Black, UNISON's Regional Organiser, on 07958 121 851
Stephanie Herd, Chair of Local Government Committee, 07989 544162
Malcolm Burns, Communications Officer, 0141 342 2877 or 07876 566 978
Fiona Montgomery, Communications Officer, 0141 342 2877 or 07508 877 000

Notes to editors:

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing 160,000 members working in the public sector in Scotland - including all of Scotland's local authiroties.

2.More information about the Local Government Pay Campaign 2013 is on our website at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/localgovt/pay2013/

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UNISON calls for new devolved powers to create a Fairer Scotland

Thu 28 Feb 2013

UNISON today launched a set of policy proposals calling for fresh powers, including pensions and income tax, to be devolved to Scotland.

The union’s ‘Fairer Scotland and devolution’ document opens up a debate which has so far focused on fiscal issues and argues that new devolved powers for the Scottish parliament are essential to create a Fairer Scotland and improve the lives of working people.

UNISON Scotland says a range of fresh powers should be devolved: public sector pensions, health and safety, labour market regulation and broadcasting – as well as stronger fiscal powers, including all of income tax revenue.

The focus for UNISON of decisions about which powers to devolve and which to leave at UK level is social change and the creation of a more equal society.

Lilian Macer, Convener of UNISON Scotland said: “Our union hasn’t made a decision about which option to back in the referendum - but we are intent on putting public services and the people who provide them at the centre of the debate.”

In common with much of the trade union movement, UNISON has not as yet taken a stance on the referendum itself. Instead the union has challenged all parties to the debate to explain how their preferred option will match UNISON’s priorities laid out in the previously published document ‘A Fairer Scotland’.

Today’s publication marks a development of longstanding UNISON principles in relation to devolving power to the lowest practical level, and includes devolution below the Scottish Parliament, with a stronger statutory footing for local authorities.

Mike Kirby, UNISON Scottish Secretary said: “We have always been strong supporters of devolution - and supporters of strong devolution. As political campaigns and parties are discussing more powers for the Parliament we want to make sure we are part of this debate.

“Our concern isn’t with constitutional mechanics. Our aim is to create a fairer and more equal Scotland. The referendum debate so far has focused on fiscal matters. These fresh new powers which we are calling for should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament and used – along with the many existing powers it already has –  to improve the lives of working people.”  

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Ministers called to Parliament to explain climate change plan deemed ‘not credible’

27 Feb 2013 news release from Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. Ministers in Parl 27, 28 Feb and 6 March.

In an unprecedented move, six Scottish Government Ministers [1] have been called to Parliament to explain their plans to reduce Scotland’s emissions - plans which the diverse Stop Climate Chaos coalition has branded ‘not credible’.

Four Parliamentary Committees are currently scrutinising the draft Low Carbon Scotland: Report on Proposals and Policies 2013-2027 [3].  The document could be the blueprint for how Government will ensure that its legally binding targets to reduce emissions, as set out in the Scottish Climate Change Act of 2009, can be met.  This is particularly important given that the first emissions target set under that Act was missed and with emissions from housing and transport higher now than they were in 1990.

The Committees have already heard from a range of stakeholders, most of whom have expressed concern about the credibility of the plan.  Professor Pete Smith, a renowned climate scientist from Aberdeen University and one of the authors of the global Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, dismissed some of the Government’s proposals for reducing emissions as ‘wishful thinking’[3]. 

Tom Ballantine, Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said:

“...The Parliament came together in 2009 to unanimously vote through the Scottish Climate Change Act.  We look forward to the Parliamentary Committees again working together to recommend that Ministers up their game over the coming weeks and come forward with a revised plan of which we can all be proud.” 

[1] Keith Brown MSP (27/02/13), Margaret Burgess MSP (27/02/13), Paul Wheelhouse MSP (27/02/13), Richard Lochhead MSP (28/02/13), Fergus Ewing MSP (06/03/13), Derek MacKay MSP (27/02/13)

See the full news release on the SCCS site here

SCCS evidence to the Committees is here

Contact your MSPs to get the climate action plan improved. Information here

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Rise in fuel poverty linked to higher prices

27 Feb 2013

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today accused the government of doing “precious little” to help the millions of people trapped by fuel poverty.

On the day that Centrica announced a rise in profits to £606m for its residential arm, the union is calling for urgent action to stem the flow of people falling into the despair of fuel poverty.

Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:

“The rise in fuel poverty is a blight on this country with hundreds and thousands of people joining the growing numbers now spending more than 10% of household income on energy costs. Without action we are sleepwalking into very cold and dark future.

“The high cost of fuel has made ‘heat or eat’ a dilemma for many families and it is a scandal that 1.6m million children are living in fuel poverty in the UK. Shareholders and directors should not be creaming profits from British Gas and adding to the numbers of consumers struggling with their bills.

“The Government is doing precious little to address this problem. They need to pursue positive and concrete policies to stem the flow of people falling into the despair of fuel poverty. We want a nationwide programme of measures to insulate homes and provide energy efficient central heating systems for domestic consumers.

“This would help counter rising energy costs as well as providing a much needed economic boost by creating thousands of jobs. “ The union is calling on the government to plan for the future with a coherent energy policy that keeps the lights on for all consumers at an affordable price.

Notes to Editors

UNISON represents thousands of members working in the energy industry. We also operate a charity ‘there for you’ that is dealing with members who are suffering fuel poverty.


See this release on the UNISON UK website
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DEREGULATION NOT AN OPTION FOR MEAT INDUSTRY

27 Feb 2013

A presentation at the Food Standards Agency to explore ways to ‘tackle the burden’ of EU legislation is wholly inappropriate in the wake of the meat crisis, UNISON said today.

The UK’s largest union said that stronger, tighter regulation was needed to restore consumer confidence in the meat industry and protect the health of the public.

Ben Priestley, UNISON national officer said:

“Given the ongoing horsemeat scandal, it is wholly inappropriate that discussions on how to ‘reduce the burden’ of EU legislation should be taking place at the FSA. Regulation is not a burden; it is there to protect the consumer, and to keep the public safe.

“This latest scandal to hit the meat industry is evidence enough that what we need is more, stronger legislation – including a daily inspection regime – in place to ensure that a scandal on this scale cannot be allowed to happen again.”

UNISON has hit out against the light-touch regulation that has persisted since the mid-2000s, and has called for: The reintroduction of daily official inspections of all licensed meat cutting plants and cold storage facilities to ensure public health and consumer confidence. The testing of horses killed in the UK for the drug BUTE, and for the dangerous parasite, ‘Trichinela Spiralis’. A permanent move away from ‘light-touch regulation’, including the inspection – official or independent – of food manufacturing premises.

ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS

The presentation ‘How to get what you want in EU negotiations’, from the Better Regulation Executive Europe Team, will tomorrow (28/02/13) address the FSA on ‘how departments can influence EU legislation’, and discuss how they can ‘support the FSA to minimise the burdens of EU legislation’.

See this release on the UNISON UK website

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Lies, damn lies and pension statistics

The Daily Telegraph ran a story on public service pensions yesterday that appears to be based on data provided by the Scottish Conservatives. Sadly, it is financially illiterate.

Firstly, it conflates the pension costs of cutting swathes of local government staff with normal pension costs. If overall pension costs have risen from £700m to £1.03bn and £300m of that is redundancy related - then the simple maths tells you that underlying pension costs have not risen at all. That is correct, because the standard contribution rate has actually fallen since the new scheme was introduced in 2009. Not least because pensioners have had their indexing cut from RPI to CPI. That alone will cost pensioners, but save the scheme at least 15%.

The £300m is as a direct consequence of losing 34,500 jobs in local government and other aggregate pension costs will increase because many of those are drawing pensions rather than working. This is driven by the UK ConDem cuts. In other words it is the direct consequence of Conservative policy. Money that would have been better spent on services and jobs rather than damaging the local economy.

Secondly, we have the fatuous claim that the ratio of pension costs to Council Tax income is rising. That is true of any spending because there has been a Council Tax freeze. This is the worst type of statistical manipulation for political purposes.

The facts are that the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme was renegotiated in 2009. It included a cost sharing agreement that reacts to underlying increases in the cost of pensions. That would be working now had it not been for the intervention of the UK government through their Public Service Pensions Bill. That means we have to start all over again and renegotiate the scheme with no benefit to scheme members or the taxpayer. If the total cost of pensions is increasing, that is almost entirely down to Conservative polices.

Major cuts in food safety and environmental health are putting the public at risk

Tue 26 Feb 2013

UNISON Scotland warned today that new figures and staff surveys show cuts to local council environmental health departments and to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are putting public health at risk.

Council responses to Freedom of Information requests and the results of two surveys of UNISON members confirm the union’s warnings about the impact of cuts on food safety, public health and health and safety.

One member working on food safety in an environmental health department said: “We have not submitted any samples for food in ten months!”

The total number of qualified Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) employed by 30 of Scotland’s 32 councils*, has gone down by 13% between 2008/9 (519) and 20011/12 (450). There has been an even bigger drop in other staff carrying out an enforcement role in environmental health departments. (507 down to 423 in the same period. 17% **)

UNISON, which also represents meat inspectors, revealed last week that the number of inspectors has more than halved in Scotland since 2003, down from 170 to 75 – a shocking statistic in the light of the current horsemeat scandal.

In a new survey of environmental health staff and meat inspectors, 56% said that their team has seen “major” cuts, with a further 10% describing cuts as “severe”, and more than 95% expecting further cutbacks and job losses in the next couple of years.

One commented: “A further loss of posts and a reduction of the food related sampling budget are expected.” Another said: “There are far too few staff for the amounts of food premises and other additional jobs required to be carried out by EHOs."

Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, said: “We know from what our members tell us that the headline figure of staff cuts, news that food sampling has gone down, and concerns about the future of the meat inspection service only tell part of a very disturbing story.

“Councils are under immense financial pressures with the worst of the so-called austerity cuts still to come. The impact of cuts so far is not necessarily visible to the public unless something goes wrong, as has happened with the crisis over horsemeat.

“But our members can see departments depleted, with the loss of experienced staff, ‘lighter touch’ regulation, fewer proactive inspections, preventive and educational work, with other essential services, as well as food safety - particularly health and safety - being cut back drastically. It is not scaremongering to say that this is a very worrying picture and many staff are under incredible pressure.

“We don’t believe this level of reduced service and increased risk is what the public wants. Councillors, the Scottish Government and the UK Government have to think again about the potential disaster waiting to happen with further cuts, unless proper funding is put into these vital services. They literally can and do make a life and death difference IF they are resourced properly.”

The responses to the FOI request showed a mixed picture for the number of food safety, public health and health and safety inspections, reflecting some recent changes to inspection regimes, with an emphasis on higher risk premises and often no visits to low risk premises. However, it is hard to compare figures over time or between councils as some include different types of inspections in the totals for each category. Health and safety inspections have fallen by 7% since 2009/10.

Alex Gordon, UNISON vice convener for environmental health and trading standards at Glasgow city council, said: “The cuts have led to a deterioration in the depth of the inspection visits, even if the paper trail shows the number of inspections are being kept up. They are not as thorough inspections as was possible with higher staffing levels. You want officers in food hygiene premises telling them how to avoid a Wishaw butcher scenario, not coming in to investigate after it has happened.”

*Two councils, Dumfries & Galloway and Highland, provided incomplete data.

**This is from the total for 29 councils as Scottish Borders also did not provide this data.

ENDS

Further quotes from our members’ surveys are below:

“The FSA, following on the heels of DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), is heavily biased in favour of industry at the expense of the consumer.”

“Qualified EHOs in my council are now doing ALL their own admin work due to reduction in Admin/Clerical staff. This has reduced ability to do the job by 30-40%.”

“The food safety inspection numbers have fallen mainly due to the implementation of the cross contamination guidance. This means more time being spent with higher risk premises ensuring they reach compliance but no time at all with the lower risk premises."

“This sounds sensible but for a large number of ‘lower risk’ businesses this lack of attention will see them increase in the risk they pose to public health. That is when we will have to pick up the pieces and try and get back to a structured inspection programme.”

“The number of health and safety inspections is extraordinarily lower than it used to be - driven largely by the Government's 'Better regulation' agenda.”

“The almost complete withdrawal from any real health and safety work is leaving the country's workforce wide open to injury and occupational ill health. We all know that that costs a vast sum in terms of lost worker hours to the employer, the health service and the individual.

“Short term financial gains are being made at the expense of significant future cost. We need to view investing in health and safety as a means of investing in the future economy of the country.”

“I have major fears about the changes to health and safety inspections having inspected a lot of businesses in the last 7 years. About 75% of them did not have risk assessments or any awareness of the need to do them. Most knew nothing about accident reporting regulations.”

“We regulate not just food and health and safety but animal welfare, tattooists, air quality, contaminated land, housing disrepair, landlord registration, regulation of houses in multiple occupation, pest control, infectious disease control and public nuisance amongst other things. With reduced staff most time is now spent in focusing on higher risk business activity. That is not to say the rest is low risk! We will be unable to spend time with businesses helping them comply with regulation and so will become more reliant on formal action such as notices or court action. This has been shown not to secure long term change in business behavior – education achieves that.

“I have spent time with parents whose child has been desperately ill with Ecoli poisoning. It is awful and preventable. We can help prevent this and other tragic things happening. But this will become less and less often. A rise in public health related illness and injury will happen. But possibly more gradually than most think. Un-noticed maybe. But it will happen.”

For information please contact:Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, 07958 122 409
Fiona Montgomery, Communications Officer, 0141 342 2877 or 07508 877 000
Malcolm Burns, Communications Officer, 0141 342 2877 or 07876 566 978

Notes to editors:

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing 160,000 members working in the public sector in Scotland.

2. UNISON carried out two separate surveys of environmental health staff, one last summer and another snapshot survey in February 2013.

3. Bargaining Briefing number 31 covering the information reported here is on the website: Briefing 31: Bargaining - Cuts in Food Safety and Environmental Health Feb 2013

4. A report by UNISON ‘The Damage’, covering environmental health services in the whole of the UK was published earlier this month. www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/21256.pdf 

A similar report on trading standards is at www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/21254.pdf

5. Figures from the Food Standards Agency show a fall in food samples taken by councils from more than 16,000 in 2008-09 to 10,200 in 2011-12.

6. Last month Audit Scotland raised concerns about food safety staffing and training levels and a loss of expertise www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/2013/janfeb/3101.htm

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