News

You can download our entire newsletter or get a flavour of whats happening in our branch news headlines below.

TALKS OVER CUTS AND JOB LOSSES

Council bosses agreed a package of cuts worth £10m when they met on 3 March in order to deliver a balanced budget for 2008/9. More than 400 jobs are set to go as £20m is slashed from the Council budget over the next three years.

Now the budget has been set the Council has commenced a formal period of consultation with UNISON over the proposed job loses, this will run for a period of at least 90 days and will end in mid July. Staff still at risk of redundancy at that time will be considered for re-deployment and may be issued with notice of compulsory redundancy.

Meanwhile, the Council are considering expressions of interest from employees who have asked to leave on Voluntary Severance or Voluntary Early Retirement, where the council agrees to release people many are likely to leave the organisation at the end of March.
UNISON is now meeting with Corporate Directors and considering their proposals in each of the service areas. We will also be holding meetings with groups of staff who are currently the subject of the proposals. We will then be required to submit comments to the Council for consideration before final decisions are taken.

We have always maintained that the bottom line for the union is to protect UNISON members, avoid compulsory redundancies and defend front line services. We understand that some of the problems are not wholly the fault of the Council, for example, the Governments decision to remove Neighbourhood Renewal Funding from Wakefield resulted in the loss of several million pounds of funding. Notwithstanding where the fault lies we maintain that the protection of staff and front line services is an absolute must.

If you feel that there are areas within your own services where efficiencies could be achieved without impacting on front line services or jobs please send us an e-mail with details. We will ensure that any proposal is treated in confidence and given serious consideration.

top

EQUAL PAY COT3 SETTLEMENTS

If you agreed to settle your Equal Pay claim on the basis of the compensation offered by the Council this time last year, you will have signed a legal document called a “COT3” which compromised your claim up to 31st March 2008. The Council had hoped to bring in new pay arrangements on 1st April 2008 but that has now been delayed until 1st April 2009.

UNISON has met with the Council to discus how to compensate members for the period 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009. It has been agreed that we will strongly recommend to members the following compensation framework.

It is proposed that those who are employed on 30 September 2008 will receive a further compensation payment to recognise the ongoing difference between their pay and the comparators pay for the period 1st April 08 to 30 September 08.

Details of the precise offers will be made to each employee in October, employees will be required to confirm their acceptance of the offer with UNISON, probably by telephone, and for those accepting the offer payment will be made by cheque as soon as possible thereafter.

If you continue to be employed on 31st March 2009 you will receive a further payment on the same terms for the period 30th September 08 to 31st March 09. This will be paid automatically to all those who qualify.
The Council intends to introduce new pay arrangements from 1st April 09 that are the subject of ongoing consultation.

This payment only relates to members of UNISON, as far as we know there is no offer at this stage for non-UNISON members, but if you join the union between now and July we will incorporate you into the settlement subject to you meeting the necessary qualifying conditions.

top

BRANCH NEWS

Hello it’s that time of year again; time to update you, the members, on the outcome of your AGM and give a brief outline of the issues that surrounds our Branch.
It is disappointing to report that yet again the AGM was not quorate; this is your opportunity to raise any issues that you feel need to be taken on by the Branch on your behalf and also to elect or support the officers of the Branch. We have over the years tried various ways to make the meeting attractive or interesting to you the members but as yet we have failed to generate enough interest. So we would be very interested in any ideas you may have that would make the meeting worthwhile for you the members.

Due to the AGM being inquorate that business falls to the Branch Committee, which has duly met and endorsed/elected all Branch Officers and approved the statement of accounts.

The changes to Officers were Dave Marshall who was the Branch Education Officer. As we have already informed you Dave sadly passed away last year and is still missed by all who knew him as well as all of us who worked alongside him in the office. Also leaving the fold, to I hope a very long and happy retirement, is Ann Austerfied who was our Welfare Officer and was also a long standing representative for the library service and again she will be missed but I hope she just might drop in and say hello every now and then. The other person standing down for reasons of work commitments is Kevin Patrick who was recruitment officer in a job share with John Connor. John will continue in the role. Can I thank Ann and Kevin for their efforts this last year and wish them all the best in the future.

Now to the issues being dealt with in the Branch, in many ways these are similar to those we have dealt with over a number of years. The Council’s budget problems continue to be at the forefront. I am sure you are aware of the issues as they have been reported through the media and discussions will be happening in all your workplaces as the uncertainty of the situation is I am sure of concern to us all. We are currently in the process of consulting with the authority on the problems and will try to keep you informed as these matters progress.
Last year we referred to the issue of equal pay and some of our members who took our advice over this issue will be receiving or have received new and improved offers for their consideration. After saying that; there are still some outstanding areas which are awaiting legal proceedings which will hopefully lead to a positive outcome for the affected members.

Job Evaluation continues to take a lot of our time with the issue affecting many of our members, Wakefield Council have put Job Evaluation back one year; this has always been to our mind a more realistic timetable with the size of the problem and the limited resources that were available. We will of course keep you in touch with the issue as it effects you.

West Yorkshire Joint Services, Wakefield College and Probation Service have all undertaken a Job Evaluation exercise with the results being implemented.
Pay will be an issue for all our members with the Government imposing restrictions on public sector pay. The campaign around pay will need to be long and hard if we want to secure a decent pay rise for our members. The negotiations last year were too little too late, the campaign has already started, with publicity being produced, letters being sent to MP’s and Councillors and pressure being put on at every opportunity. We need you the members behind the campaign in order to secure a decent pay rise for all public sector workers.
Finally with all the issues the union is facing we need stewards in workplaces who have the knowledge and expertise of that work area. Please consider becoming a steward. For more information please contact the Branch.