Local Government Pay – All you need to know.

UNISON (and other unions) submitted our pay claim in January for 2018-19.

WHAT WE ASKED FOR:

The claim was for a flat rate increase of £1500 or 6.5% - whichever was the greater ( based on a 37 hr week and applied after the Scottish Local Government t Living Wage rate has been updated), with a similar percentage increase in allowances.
We are also looking for a commitment to make up for the loss of earnings after years of below inflation rises over the next five years.
(The full details of the claim are here)

It took COSLA over two months to respond.

WHAT THEY ARE OFFERING

COSLA responded to the offer on 26th March proposing;
3% for everyone earning up to £36 500
(They propose raising Scottish Government Living Wage from £8.51per hour - £8.77 per hour. That will provide 3% for those getting that rate.)
2% for everyone earning £36 501- 80, 000
£1600 for those on £80k+
They propose increasing allowances by 3% (except First Aid which will be dealt with separately)

SO WHAT ARE WE DOING?

We 'noted' this offer. We also noted that while COSLA said this was a final offer they were writing to the Scottish government saying that if the government want to provide one lot of workers (there are four bargaining groups, ourselves, craft workers, teachers and Chief Officers) with a better settlement than anyone else. Then the government better come up with the cash to pay for it, COSLA for their part want to give everyone the same increase. (Something we’ve argued for years.)

So we decided we would write to the Scottish government too... asking them to give COSLA enough cash to give everyone a decent raise at the same rate. (The letter is here)...

WHAT NOW?

The joint unions have another meeting with COSLA on the 4th May. We’ll find out then if the Scottish Government are going to front up any more money to councils – but we’ll keep arguing for our claim.
Stay tuned.

No more excuses – time to address Scotland’s housing crisis

#STUC16 The STUC will press the incoming Scottish Government to back Shelter Scotland’s campaign for a radical programme to build more affordable and social rent homes. It will also campaign for such a building programme to create directly employed construction jobs and apprenticeships.

Supporting, UNISON’s Mark Ferguson told delegates that it is a national scandal that estimates show there are over 150,000 applications on housing waiting lists in Scotland – 30% higher than 2004.

Scotland must recognise the poor state of social work, says UNISON

UNISON is calling for political parties to agree to allocate more resources for social work and social care workers. This call is being made on International Federation of Social Workers World Social Work Day (Tuesday 15 March 2016)

The reality for social work workforce in Scotland is they have bigger caseloads, shorter timescales, and greater demands leading to greater risks. Social work simply cannot deliver the quality of services that they are committed to. And social workers are concerned about making mistakes and misjudgements.

Stephen Smellie, UNISON Scotland’s convener of social work committee said, ‘The social work and social care workforce in Scotland is on the edge. Social workers may not know the details of government economic policies but they understand the impact of austerity on the lives of those we support. Frontline social workers deliver care and support to some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland. We see everyday that – whoever is to blame for austerity – it is our service users who are paying the price.’

The pressure to reduce budgets, whilst at the same time trying to protect services, has led to councils salami slicing the workforce, support services, and training budgets. Local services have been asked to take on higher risk cases without additional resources.

Stephen said, ‘Social work managers are being asked to produce more care hours out of existing staff. The voluntary and private sector contractors have been squeezed to deliver more for less. The workforce is getting more tired and stressed out and concern about the risks of errors or misjudgements is greater. Social work is on the edge.’

See our social work pages on our new website

UNISON response to Scottish Government council tax announcement today (2 March)

2 March 2016

Dave Watson, UNISON head of policy and public affairs said,

‘UNISON welcomes any progress on the council tax freeze. However after 8 years we had expected more than tinkering with the present system. This will not ensure that local government is properly funded, nor will it ensure a fair funding for local government. Scotland needs a fundamental review local tax funding for local services and a fairer local tax for Scotland.

UNISON welcomes the end to council tax freeze next year. However we are totally opposed to the 3% cap. Scotland’s councils need to be given back democratic control of their local services.They are democratically accountable to local people and know the needs of people living in their local areas.

Delaying the end of the council tax freeze to next year ensures that the 1000s of job losses and £500m cuts will go ahead this year meaning further damage to our local services and economyt.

The 8 year council tax freeze has meant £3.15bn has been cut from local services and 40,000 jobs have been cut from local government. This has had a devastating effect on local services and our economy.’

END

Notes
UNISON is the biggest union in local government

UNISON contacts
Dave Watson 07958 122 409
Danny Phillips 07944 664110

UNISON lobbying Scottish Parliament for fair funding for local services

Scotland’s largest trade union will lobby the Scottish Parliament on budget day (1pm, Wednesday 24 February 2016) to call for a fair funding settlement for local services.

Local government has taken the brunt of cuts in Scotland. Scottish Government funding is down by 0.8%. Yet funding for local government is down by 4.5%. This is a £500m cut from local services this year. 
The cumulative cost of the council tax freeze is £3.15bn out of local services. Of the 50,000 job cuts in Scotland, 40,000 have been in local government. This budget will mean a further 15,000 job cuts for Scottish council workers. 

UNISON believes these cuts are simply unsustainable.

Mark Ferguson chair of UNISON local government committee said, 

‘It is no secret that UNISON members have been taken aback by the level of cuts forced on to Scottish councils. Our local council services simply cannot sustain this level of cuts. We are already seeing cuts to services for disabled people, older people, education, youth services, school support, libraries, road repairs and much more. 

'We need to look at expanding the funds available and agree a fairer funding settlement for local government. Another £500m cuts and 15,000 more jobs cuts will have a drastic effect on both our local services and economy. It's why we are calling on the Scottish parliament to look at this budget again.’

END

Notes

• UNISON is the public services union. We are the biggest union in local government, and the biggest union in Scotland
• UNISON is joining other public sector trade unions and the STUC in a lobby of the Scottish Parliament on budget day.
• The lobby will be at 1pm outside Scottish Parliament, Wednesday, 24 February 2016. UNISON spokespeople will be available for comment

UNISON Contacts

• Mark Ferguson, chair of local government committee, 07773342570
• Danny Phillips, communications officer, 07944 664 110

UNISON day of action to defend local government services

UNISON Scotland’s largest trade union has been holding a day of action today to campaign against cuts in local services and jobs. UNISON members are holding demonstrations, campaigns and lobbying to call on the UK government and the Scottish Government to use its powers to end austerity.

Local government has taken the brunt of cuts in Scotland. Of the 50,000 job losses in devolved services 40,000 have been in local government and we now expect 15,000 more jobs to go over the next few years.

Mark Ferguson, chair of UNISON local government committee said: "There are another 15,000 job cuts in the pipeline for local government in Scotland. This means more drastic cuts to services for vulnerable people across Scotland.

Dumfries and Galloway UNISON members joined by councillors
against compulsory redundancies

"We are calling on all Councils to give assurances that there will be no compulsory redundancies in Scottish councils. Any council that tries to manage this situation by sacking workers will find themselves facing strike action. We are looking for councillors to stand up for their staff.

"Councils already have contingency plans drawn up to cut hours and close services  across the country. This is despite the fact that the need for these services is greater han ever. The cuts in services will be real cuts. We have reports of services for people with learning disabilities being closed, day centres for older people closing, school support workers being cut leading to poorer education services. These cuts will have a really harmful impact on local communities and especially the most vulnerable.

Three of Edinburgh's Green councillors back the campaign

"It’s also the damage to local economies when so many jobs go. For some communities these job losses will be very difficult to bear. The loss of jobs also means a loss of opportunity for young people seeking a career in local government in the future. We are also concerned about  the stresses on the staff left behind as they try to deliver more services with less resource to go round. The Scottish Government must use all the powers it has and increase funding for local government."

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.

Further cuts to local services not sustainable, says UNISON Scotland

Date: Tuesday 2 February 2016

UNISON Scotland is calling for the Scottish Parliament to use its powers to put more money into local services. By 2020 expenditure on public services will be 12.5% lower in real terms. That is on top of the £2.5bn cuts since 2010.

This next round of cuts will mean at least another 15,000 job cuts for local councils. Of the 50,000 jobs that have been lost in devolved public services, 40,000 have been in councils. 

The need for council services has not disappeared, remaining staff have to take on extra work, and do the best they can to deliver what they can. UNISON has the evidence to show our local services are in crisis and further cuts are simply not sustainable.

Mark Ferguson, chair of the UNISON  local government committee said, "Local government services are vital. They deliver health, education, clean and safe streets, child protection and much more. 

"In short they create a good society and the Scottish government should use every power they have to mitigate the worst effects of UK government austerity. 

"The Scottish Parliament has tax raising powers - they can end the council tax freeze, they can work with councils to refinance PFI schemes or invest pension funds in public works, or do more to follow the recommendations of the Christie Commission and invest in preventative spending as a way of making sustainable savings. 

"The bottom line is they have the powers to protect Scots from the worst of austerity. The need for local services has not gone away, so why should our local services?"

END  
UNISON Contacts 
Dave Watson 07958 122 409
Danny Phillips 07944 664 110

New financial powers could save Scottish councils £50m, says UNISON

Wed 27 Jan 2016 Public services union UNISON has today (Wed 27 January 2016) urged the Scottish Government to push ahead with proposed new financial powers for Scottish councils to relax the rules for borrowing, lending and the repayment of loans.  These proposed changes to Scottish councils' financial powers should now be used for greater flexibility to deal with the funding crisis in Scottish councils. If used effectively it could save Scottish councils upwards of £50million, or save over 1000 jobs.  UNISON called for these ‘long overdue’ changes in their report Combating Austerity (Sept 2015). The report called for a relaxing of the repayment of loans fund regulations, arguing that councils need greater flexibility to mitigate austerity.  The Combating Austerity report explores all options and argues that making full use of flexibility in new borrowing or refinancing, and restructuring existing borrowing could potentially free up significant sums of money, at a time of severe austerity cuts.  Dave Watson, head of UNISON Scotland policy and public affairs said,  ‘These limited changes are very welcome we have been urging the Scottish Government to introduce them for some time. Scottish councils are in real crisis, cutting local services and shedding 1000s of jobs. Giving councils this flexibility could save upwards of £50m and over 1000 jobs. This is not going to solve the problem but is an example of how we need to start thinking to mitigate the worst of austerity and council tax freeze.'  UNISON is now urging the Scottish Government to go further and include new proposals to enable councils to borrow to either make grants to third parties where these grants fund capital expenditure, or for the authority to incur expenditure directly on third party tangible assets; and a new provision for a local authority to be able to borrow to lend to any of its subsidiary bodies where the loan is to be used to finance capital expenditure of the subsidiary. Dave Watson said, ‘Further changes beyond what is now being proposed, could make a real difference and mitigate some of the worst of austerity. Councils could use new types of borrowing to support, for example buyouts of expensive Privtae Finance Intitiative (PFI) contracts or, perhaps, to finance new conventional spending, they could offer health boards an alternative to expensive hub Public Private Partnerships (PPP), PFI, or Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) schemes. We think they could be doing this now. However the Scottish Government should make it explicit in the rules for Scottish councils, so we can encourage innovation and more efficient use of public funds. And vitally, use these rules to save our public services and thousands of local jobs. END Notes for editors  • UNISON is the biggest trade union in Scotland and the biggest union in local government.  • UNISON report Combating Austerity: signposting the ways Scotland could limit some of the damage from Austerity (PDF). Combating Austerity Press release 23 September 2015 here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/2015/sepoct/0923.htm • UNISON summary briefing here:  http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/ e-briefing_RelaxingBorrowingRules4Councils_Jan2016.pdf • The new draft Local Authority (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and on Loans Fund Accounting are set to come into effect, with any changes following the consultation, from 1 April 2016 and statutory guidance can be read here:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2016/9780111031063 • These regulations cover changes to the statutory arrangements for local authority borrowing, lending and the statutory loans fund. They were the subject of a short consultation at the end of 2015.  • UNISON Consultation response to The new draft Local Authority (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 Here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/ LocalAuthorityCapitalFinanceRegs_UNISONResponsetoScotGov_Jan2016.pdf

Sturgeon must act to protect local government services, says UNISON

Date: Tuesday 12 January 2016

UNISON local branches across Scotland are calling on Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, to meet UNISON members to hear about the damage Government policies are having on local government and to discuss the future of local services.

UNISON is the biggest trade union in local government and branch secretaries from across Scotland have written to the First Minister calling on her to intervene. UNISON has real and acute concerns about the state of local government in Scotland, brought on by both UK Government austerity and Scottish Government policy towards local government. 

Douglas Black, UNISON regional organiser for local government in Scotland said: 

"John Swinney’s spending review in December 2015 was met with disbelief by UNISON members. Local Government has borne the brunt of public sector cuts since 2008. Of the 50,000 jobs lost in devolved services, 40,000 have been in local government. And John Swinney’s latest budget means we will see many more cuts in local services and upwards of 10,000 more job losses.

"The situation is serious. Services are being privatised, community based services are stopping, grants to the voluntary sector are being slashed, caring services can provide only minimum client contact time, and we are seeing significant rises in charges for other services such as burials, school meals and leisure pursuits. This cannot continue. The First Minister must meet UNISON members to hear about the real damage being caused and to discuss the future of Scotland’s local services."

END

Notes:UNISON is the public services union, it is the biggest union in Scotland and the biggest union in local government.

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.

People’s Assembly Scotland calls for ‘widespread social movement’ against council cuts

The People’s Assembly Scotland is calling for a widespread campaign to back councillors who abandon ‘austerity denial’, urging them to show ‘political leadership’ in defending local services from Scottish and UK government cuts.

The campaign group, to which UNISON Scotland is affiliated, has issued a pack for unions and community groups with a statement of principles, advice on street stalls and lobbying, and a model letter to councillors.

Phil McGarry, chair of the People’s Assembly Scotland, is calling on councillors to be honest about how cuts are damaging services: “We are calling for councillors to abandon austerity denial and be up front about cuts and the damage they are doing. They should publicly label cuts as ‘this service withdrawn due to austerity’

“We recognise that in order to take a stand, councillors will need broad based support and this initiative aims to build that at grassroots along with trade unions and other progressive bodies.”

ICT should focus on providing better services not cuts, says UNISON report

Date: Monday 30 November 2015

A UNISON Scotland report Disconnected, published today, 30 November 2015, claims that ICT services should focus on better services. The report highlights that ICT systems are all too often seen as a way of providing cheaper rather than improved public services.

This UNISON report is qualitative research of ICT staff across Scotland working across a range of public services. In local government, NHS, housing associations, universities, the police and elsewhere.

It finds that ICT systems are central to all our public services, ICT departments are feeling the brunt of cuts, and many ICT experts are leaving public sector either through redundancies or to find work elsewhere and they not being replaced.

ICT staff say they are not listened to. That morale is low. When they give warnings of problems coming down the line they are ignored. They see big opportunities to improve public services wasted in favour of short term savings to budgets. They feel ICT is too often seen as a way of delivering cuts rather than improving delivery of public services for us all. There is a lack of awareness of the potential of ICT

In common with other public services ICT staff say they are stressed by too much work and not enough people to deliver it. Staff talk of a ‘circle of decline’

Dave Watson, head of UNISON bargaining and campaigns said, ‘ICT is often thought of in terms of the hardware however its success is reliant on ICT staff and their understanding of public services and how we interact with technology. Public services must meet complex needs and ICT has a central role to play in that, it simply needs harnessed properly.’

Dave continued, ‘Public services ICT workers could make a real contribution to improving our public services, if we invested in them to develop their ideas. However employers tend to adapt private sector solutions with big promises to save budgets instead. In fact we are seeing big cuts in ICT staff and their departments, so it is no wonder we see big ICT projects going over budget or failing altogether.’

END

Notes

• Full UNISON report Disconnected:
  http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/
  Disconnected_ICTStaffSurvey_Nov2015.pdf
• UNISON Scotland is the public services union and the biggest union in Scotland. We represent ICT workers in public and community based services across Scotland

Trade union 'no more cuts' demonstrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Trade Unions including UNISON, community groups and anti-cuts organisations are gearing up for twin demonstrations in Edinburgh and Glasgow on October 29 against another ‘savage’ round of council cuts.

The Edinburgh lobby will be from 08.45 to 09.45 on Thursday 29 October at the City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh.

The Glasgow lobby will be from 12 noon on Thursday 29th October at the City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow.

Glasgow faces cuts of £103 million and 3,000 jobs over two years. This follows cuts of £250m and 4,000 jobs lost since 2010, hitting learning disability and mental health services, home care, supported education for children, community work, cleaning, library services and voluntary organisations.

In Edinburgh, where the council’s income has dropped by almost 20 per cent in real terms since 2010, workers face another slashing of £140m with over 2,000 jobs to go.
Unions are calling on the council to declare a “no more cuts” budget.

GLASGOW
UNISON Glasgow branch secretary Brian Smith said:
“Glasgow City Council politicians have a choice – make the Tory cuts or do not. We call on all elected politicians in the city to use all available financial mechanisms to hold-off any further cuts whilst leading a fight to win more money for the city.

The council could use some of its reserves and borrowing powers, supported by the legal financial process of “capitalisation”, to fill the two year £103m hole expected in April 2016. This would allow time and space to build a mass campaign of elected councillors, trade unions, user groups and local communities with the objective of winning more money from the Holyrood and Westminster governments”

EDINBURGH
UNISON Edinburgh branch president John Stevenson said: “Some telling figures expose the human effect of these savage cuts. Edinburgh has around 18,000 employees. Most of them — about 10,000 workers — require protection of vulnerable groups (PVG) clearance to do their jobs. That’s how many provide direct services to children and vulnerable adults. It doesn’t take a genius to spot that those services are at risk.

“The council is being asked to make two years cuts in six months. This could bring unnecessary compulsory redundancies and UNISON will urge its members to take action if that is the case.
John Stevenson also slammed the ‘chaos’ of council reorganisation: “The deadline for voluntary redundancies has passed, yet nobody knows what the new council structures will look like, so how do bosses know where redundancies need to come from? How did workers know whether to seek redundancy? Could they afford to take the chance with the threat of compulsory redundancy on minimum terms? Will the council just structure services around who is left? This chaos has to stop.”

Dave Watson, head of UNISON bargaining and campaigns, said ‘We are calling on Scottish Councils and the Scottish Government to look very seriously at what other options they have to mitigate the impact of UK Government austerity. We fully understand the diffcult position they are in, but they can look at borrowing at record low interest rates, refinancing, using reserves, reforming taxation, and make better use of pension funds. We will ofcourse continue to campaign with them on fighting UK government austerity. However we think there is much more they can do to consider no more cuts budgets’

UNISON is Scotland's largest union. It is the public services union and is the largest union in local government in Scotland.

Local govt members vote to accept two year pay offer

Over 88% of Scottish local government members voting in their pay ballot have accepted a two year offer with a new Living Wage deal. Staff will now get a 1.5% rise from 1 April 2015 and 1% from April 2016.

Importantly, the Scottish Local Government Living Wage of £7.85 per hour will be put in place before the 1.5% rise, making it £7.97 an hour.

And in April 2016, the Living Wage will be increased to the recommended figure of the Living Wage Foundation, again before the 1% rise. There will also be talks on removing the pay points below the Living Wage level.

Negotiators succeeded in getting the initial offer of two years at 1.25% front-loaded to 1.5% in 2015 which is above inflation and slightly increases the value of the 1% in 2016. In August inflation was 0.0% on the Consumer Prices Index and 1.1% on the Retail Prices Index.

A full briefing will go out to UNISON branches tomorrow.

Fine words and ideals no substitute for investment: UNISON inquiry into Scotland’s libraries

Tuesday 8 September 2015

UNISON, the trade union for Scotland’s library staff, has published a report 'Read It and Weep', which outlines the experience of those working in Scotland’s libraries. It raises the concerns and difficulties of staff who are simultaneously being expected to expand services while being in the front line of cuts. 

The report is based on qualitative research from UNISON members working across Scotland’s libraries. The frustration on the part of staff is clear. They are well aware that the services they provide are not as good as they could be and they highlight the impacts that cuts are making. Library services have been undergoing massive change in recent years yet staff numbers have been going down, buildings are closing and opening hours reduced 

Gray Allan, UNISON Falkirk council branch spokesperson (and a librarian), said “There is no shortage of people willing to say libraries are a good thing. But what our libraries need isn’t just fine words and ideals but proper financing and investment. The Scottish Government has endorsed a national strategy for public libraries that talks of libraries being part of a shared civic ambition.

"There isn’t much point in giving every child in Scotland a library card if their local library is being closed or its hours have reduced so much it isn’t accessible. 

" Staff are keen to see their service move forward but that isn’t happening.”

END

UNISON Contact • Danny Phillips, communications officer 0141 342 2877 / 077944 664 110

NotesUNISON Scotland is the public services trade union. We represent library staff across Scotland. UNISON is the biggest trade union in Scotland.
The full report can be read here: 
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/
ReadItandWeep_LibrariesStaffSurvey_Sep2015.pdf

Local government pay offer made - ballot from 2 September

UNISON and the other SJC trade unions have been in negotiations with the Scottish Employers for a number of months on the issue of pay. We submitted a claim in November last year, the headline of which was an increase of £1 per hour. Unfortunately we were unable to convince the employers to make a flat rate increase in this pay round. It was also the case that the employers were prepared to offer an increased ‘pot of money’ if the trade unions were able to agree to a two year pay settlement. That being the case the final offer from the employers is as follows;

· A pay agreement which covers the period from 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2017

· 2015 -2016. As of 1st April 2015, the Scottish Local Government Living Wage of £7.85ph will be applied, following which there will be an increase of 1.5% on all spinal column points. This would achieve a Scottish Local Government Living Wage of £7.97ph

· 2016 – 2017. As of 1st April 2016, the Living Wage will be increased to the recommended figure of the Living Wage Foundation, following which there will be an increase of 1% on all spinal column points.

· A commitment from the employers to examine the feasibility of a ‘flat rate’ settlement in future pay rounds subject to the trade unions making such a claim.

The Scottish Local Government Committee have carefully considered this offer and whilst they recognise that it does not meet the terms of our claim, it is their view that further negotiations will not improve this offer. It is also noted that the employers have committed to discussions with the trade unions commencing in September 2015, regarding the full consolidation of the living wage and the deletion of spinal column points below the level of the living wage

It is therefore their view that this offer is the best that can be achieved by negotiation and that the recommendation to members is to ACCEPT.

A full consultation with members will now take place. This will be in the form of a consultative ballot sent to members' home addresses. The ballot will open on 3rd September and close at 12 noon on 25th September 2015. Members are urged to vote in this ballot so we get a clear view from you on the offer.

Any member who does not receive a ballot paper please email the following address before 22nd September. membershipteamscotland@unison.co.uk

National bargaining essential for members pay, terms and conditions

#uLDC15 Delegates backed a call from Northern Region for a range of supports to enable branches to campaign for in-house services and to keep the National Joint Council as the negotiating body for local government members’ pay, terms and conditions.

#uLGC15 Although Scottish delegates were not able to vote, East Dumbartonshire’s Tommy Robertson supported the motion but asked delegates “not to forget your comrades in Scotland who face the same issues.”

Tommy told delegates that in Scotland too we have employers moving away from agreed negotiating structures for terms and conditions.

With regards to TUPE, Tommy pointed out that the Local Government (Scotland) Act states that there should be no two tier workforce “but this doesn’t help people who have already found their service outsourced.”

Facility time is vital for unions but also for employers

#ulgc15 Delegates slammed attacks on the trade union facility time and called on the union to support our members with training, finance and other resources to fight these attacks but also to organise to increase our activist base.

Moving the motion for the Service Group Executive, Western Isles Alison MacCorquodale delivered an excellent maiden speech and told delegates that securing and maintaining adequate facility time was already one of the major challenges facing us in Local Government.

She warned, however, that with the election of the Tory majority government, we now face a crisis.

“We have a government which wants to attack facility time because it wants to attack the trade unions. This is not about saving money, this is about trying to break us because we are a threat,” slammed Alison.

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."