DONATION TO THE HAVEN CHRISTMAS APPEAL
The haven is a local organisation supporting women and dependent children who are vulnerable to domestic violence.
For many years this branch has contributed to the above appeal and this year has been no exception. 
a letter of thanks has been received here.
it is not too late for individuals to support the appeal.

DECEMBER BRANCH NEWSLETTER
can be read here

FIGHTING TO SAVE SERVICES

THE LABOUR COUNCILS PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS INCLUDE THE CLOSURE 

OF WARSTONES RESOURCE CENTRE .

Warstones is a highly respected resource for elderly people providing a range of services

in the South west of Wolverhampton. The council is proposing to transfer these services to other centres in Wolverhampton.

Staff at Warstones believe that these proposals will not be in the best interests of the present residents (or indeed future residents) and have begun a campaign to protect Warstones.

The things they say:

Councillor Evans (cabinet member for Adult services) says of the proposal

" we believe they will have minimal effect on service users but enable us to make important savings by better using our other resource centres"

In 2010 when (the then Tory) council were proposing to close Underhill house and move its residents Cllr Evans said;

“There’s got to be a change in legislation so that Councils can’t just close homes like this just because the controlling group wants to deliver a zero per cent Council Tax increase. 

"It should only be allowed when these homes are failing, and when it’s in the residents interests.”

we couldn't agree more with Cllr Evans!

• 

  Warstones staff when they recently handed in a 6500 name petition calling for warstones to remain open

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF NEWSLETTER
here

here to download poster
http://www.scribd.com/doc/111776452

UNISON 2013/2014 PAY CLAIM
AGREED

 DETAILS AND CAMPAIGN DETAILS here

UNISON- HOW TO INSPECT YOUR WORKPLACE

THE PARTY OF THE 
WORKING CLASS ?
On September 6th Adrian Turner Branch Secretary
wrote to ALL Labour councillors in Wolverhampton regarding planned attacks on our terms and conditions.
read here
To date NOT one of those Councillors has had the
decency to respond or indeed defend their decision.
Sadly when you see what their national leadership thinks
You have to wonder whether there is any real difference between the parties!

BRANCH MEETING REPORT
At last night meeting a packed council chamber heard from Ade Turner Branch Secretary on latest developments on the Single Status agreement.
The first important point Ade made was it is not yet an agreement!
The proposals are currently with UNISON national office, who before anything else have to 'sign them off' as meeting equality issues and UNISON aims and objectives.
At the moment the national office will not 'sign them off' firstly because it offers no pay protection for those who will lose under single status (we are led to believe that Wolverhampton is the only council in the  country not offering pay protection).
Secondly because of the attacks on our terms and conditions which are built into the proposals
particularly that of going to 5 from 7 day work (this could effectively mean our employer expecting us to work weekends with no additional pay).
Ade reported that employees would be receiving their new proposed grading from managers in the first week of October but that the employer intended to wait until November to inform schools staff. He also reported that upto 75% would gain or remain the same, but emphasised
that they needed to bear in mind the possible impact of reduced terms and conditions (shift pay , car allowance etc) and that although they would receive notice of the new scales to remember that it had not yet been agreed.

BRANCH MEMBERS MEETING

TUESDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 7PM
COUNCIL CHAMBER CIVIC CENTRE
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MEETING ABOUT SINGLE STATUS
SO ALL MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND!

BRANCH YOUNG MEMBERS OFFICER ELECTED!

The branch is pleased that we have been able to elect Kerry Baugh as our new young members officer.
Kerrys role is to seek to involve young members in the activities of the branch in order to ensure that our policies and decisions are informed by the views of those young members.
A young member is anyone under 27 years old, of whom the branch has over 300!
if you are interested in getting involved contact Kerry at
kerryliz@live.co.uk

LATEST BRANCH NEWSLETTER

Download or read here

NEW UK BREAKS WEBSITE

As a UNISON member you now have access to our great new website www.unisonukbreaks.co.uk
Find the best deals on an amazing selection of hotels right across the UK.
From seaside to city centre, country house hotels to castles,
our collection of 3, 4 and 5 star properties have been
handpicked with an emphasis on quality and service.

LATEST PENSION NEWSLETTER
CAN BE READ HERE

Good turn out from the public at the scrutiny meeting tonight, angry residents from across the city, Bilston, Wednesfield, Low Hill, Whitmoreans,Penn,Finchfield,Warstones etc etc, impromptu planning meeting followed and a Public meeting may follow soon, keep up the good work, Option 3 NO CHANGE !!!!!!!!!!!

DEFEND OUR LIBRARIES!

Under the guise of 'Community Hubs', the Council is seeking to
devalue our local libraries.
The Council planned consultation has been put on hold until the plan has gone to Scrutiny Committee (This committee can be asked to evaluate any council proposals)
To read UNISONs response go here

PENSIONS BRANCH CONSULTATION
RESULT

Branch members responding voted 2 to 1
in favour of accepting the revised pensions offer

Council pay cuts are a false economy

In a Guardian article to mark this week’s Local Government Association (LGA) conference, Heather Wakefield highlights how much local government workers, their families and their local communities are suffering as a result of the unfair decision to freeze local government pay. Local government workers have suffered a 15% pay cut in the past three years and now earn 10% less in real terms than they did in 1996:http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2012/jun/27/low-pay-local-government-unison

UNISON PENSIONS CONSULTATION

FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS THE EMPLOYER HAVE MADE AN OFFER ON A REVISED PENSIONS SCHEME
details can be found here

a ballot of all members will be held on 31 july to 24th august
before that in order to determine whether UNISON will be making any recommendation with the ballot, we would like to know what you think.
is the offer a good one?
if not would you be preapred to take further industrial action?
let us know by july 12th at
unionoffice@wolverhamptonunison.org.uk
or call 554096

New local government pensions proposals released

The Local Government Association (LGA) and trade unions have today announced the outcome of their negotiations on new LGPS proposals (for England and Wales) to take effect from 1st April 2014.

These proposals will now be communicated to scheme members, employers, funds and other scheme interests. Unions will consult their members over these proposals and the LGA will consult employers. The government has confirmed that a favourable outcome of our consultations will enable them to move directly to a statutory consultation later in the Autumn to implement these proposals.
Full details can be found here.

Heather Wakefield, UNISON National Secretary Local Government, Police and Justice Section said:

“The negotiations over LGPS 2014 have been long and tough and have taken place in a demanding political and economic climate. The process has shown that UNISON, the LGA and the other local government unions can work productively together in the best interests of LGPS members and potential members.

LGPS 2014 is a sustainable, defined benefit scheme, which is designed to protect existing members and be affordable for the low paid and part-time workers who are its majority. Under exacting circumstances, we have achieved the best possible outcome.”

The union leadership are boasting that the deal means no increase in contribution rates for most members (those earning under £43k) and has won an accrual rate that makes a career average scheme work. As such they are claiming our negotiators have won a good deal to put to our members in a ballot bringing the end to the pension dispute.

That the details of the negotiations have remained secret even from branch activists until the above press release has been of concern to many branches (including ours)

Similarly this branch is concerned that the 'deal' does not appear to address the reasons we went on strike 

specifically work longer, pay more get less!

below we print an initial criticism of the deal ;

 The union leadership are boasting that the deal means no increase in contribution rates for most members (those earning under £43k) and has won an accrual rate that makes a career average scheme work. As such they are claiming our negotiators have won a good deal to put to our members in a ballot bringing the end to the pension dispute.

The reality is what they are hoping to sell is the idea that “given that the government were coming to cut off both your arms and legs isn’t good that they now only want to cut your arm off”.

What the union fails to point out it that it was just four years ago that they sold us a deal they said would last a generation.  Then we lost £1billion off our pensions, were forced to pay more and for most of us to get less.

Just four years on and the employers are coming back for more. Under this deal we will have to work to 68 or even longer to get our pension or face losing 5% of it for every year we go earlier. 

Under this deal when workers retire they will now get less than before as their pension will only be up rated in Line with the lower CPI inflation rate rather than the R.P.I.

In addition we will have also lost our final salary scheme, which we fought to defend in 2006, which many members will be rightly suspicious of giving up.

The union are now claiming the Career average scheme is better, because it has a better Accrual rate and will be up rated by the inflation rate.  In order to judge these claims members need to see all the facts. The examples the union gives show we would be no worse off and in some case better off with a 1/49th and CPI up rating.

The only problem with this is that some months ago the union said we would need to be get an up rating level of not just the inflation rate but plus 2.5%, to make a career average a better scheme (The reason being history has shown over the long run pay rises are generally 2.5% higher than the inflation rate). Despite this we are now being sold an up rating level of Just the CPI inflation rate (3% at the moment).

This can mean only two things; Firstly if we were given examples of CPI plus 2.5% it would expose the career average scheme leaving many members worse off. (Coincidently the examples given on the union website have mysteriously disappeared).

Secondly it exposes the pessimism of our union leaders, they clearly don’t believe that we will be able to secure anything other than pay rises at or below inflation rate for the next 20 years or so and they have abandoned a generation of council workers to remaining in low paid jobs with no prospects of promotion or career development and a such in no need of a final salary scheme.

The other problem with the proposals is that it has left unresolved the question of who pays if the costs of the scheme increase until after the ballot.  In the health service they ended up with a deal where the employers were protected from increases and all the increased costs now fall on the shoulders of the members. 

We should make our poison clear not a penny more off our pensions and not a day longer to be worked.

If the union leaders think this is what a good deal can be achieved through negotiation, imagine what could be won if we fight alongside all the unions.

'A Future That Works' - mass TUC demonstration in London on 20 October

This week, I am asking all of you to start talking to your friends and family about why they should take to London's streets on Saturday 20 October. 
We need the TUC March for A Future that Works to be a huge success.
This will send the government a strong message – from public service workers and from communities as a whole – that we oppose its anti-growth, pro-austerity policies, and want an alternative plan for the future.

On 26 March last year, an impressive sea of purple and green made its way through London’s streets, and we need to make this march even bigger and better.

Keep an eye on the UNISON website, and listen out for details from your regions about transport to London – make sure you book your place on a coach.

Dave Prentis General Secretary UNISON

LATEST PENSIONS BULLETIN

read here

RETIRING?  STAY IN UNISON

If you've been a UNISON member for at least two years on the day you retire and have either received state pension age or get a pension, for a one off sum of £14  you can become a retired member



UNISON retired members enjoy all the benefits of UNISON membership including:


• Legal advice


• Welfare support


• Special discounts and offers on a wide range of financial and other services
 
For further info speak to Bob (retired members secretary or Kim on 554096)

PAY OFFER 2012/2013

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
UNISON has begun its campaign to achieve better pay.
They have written to all branches outlining the campaign . read here.
One of the actions has bee to write all Council leaders and Chief executives in England and Wales . read here

999
Answer the call. Save the NHS

The hated Health and Social Care Bill could become law as early as next week. This means that there are only days to save the NHS as we know it, an NHS that is fair, efficient and more popular with the public than ever before.

This Bill will change all that and create an NHS where competition will replace compassion and profit will be more important than patients.
UNISON, the trade union that represents nurses, midwives, paramedics, cleaners, porters, clerks and many other NHS staff, has been opposed to the government’s plans for the NHS since the beginning. We have now been joined by nearly every royal college and NHS trade union in campaigning against the Bill.
The Bill has its third and final reading in the House of Lords on Monday 19 March – the last opportunity for politicians to block the Bill and stop it becoming law.
This could now be our last chance to block this Bill and save the NHS. Here's how you can help.

Actions

• sign the petition and ask colleagues, family and friends to sign it too.
• adopt a peer and send a letter asking members of the House of Lords to block the Bill. It only takes a minute to send a letter.

EMPLOYER REFUSES PAY RISE AGAIN!

 EMPLOYER REFUSES PAY RISE AGAIN!

reproduced below is the best commentary on the web on our continuing pay freeze (by Jon Rogers Branch sec Lambeth branch)

"Warm words in the Pay Ice Age

In case any readers of this blog thought that the local government employers were unfeeling as they refuse once more to make a pay award, although prices have now risen by 13% since they last did so, I thought I should share with you the following extract from Tuesday's letter from the employers to the trade union side Secretaries (in which the employers refuse to go to ACAS); "The difficult decision to not make a pay offer was made in response to the unprecedented financial situation facing councils. Nevertheless the Employers are keen to stress how much they appreciate the hard work and commitment of the local government workforce and understand that asking them to accept a third year without a nationally-determined pay increase will come as a disappointment."
It certainly gives a warm feeling to know how much our "hard work and commitment" is "appreciated." Sadly this warm feeling doesn't unfreeze our pay!
As for a "disappointment", I think what is more disappointing than the predictable intransigence of the employers is the failure of the trade union side clearly to put the option of industrial action before our members.
It is completely mistaken to suppose that we can "build" for action next year against the fourth year of pay freeze whilst silently swallowing the third year now. Leadership is not shown by only asking members questions to which you already anticipate a positive answer.
What is required, for workers within the NJC and all our bargaining groups, is a continuing campaign against the pay freeze, with the aim of encouraging UNISON members to be prepared for, and take, sustained industrial action, coordinated on the widest possible basis.
At a minimum we need - now - a vigorous campaign to mobilise political opposition to the pay freeze in local government (and beyond).
We ought, for example, to be able to secure sufficient signatures on an e-petition to force a debate in Parliament, which would provide a focus for lobbying and to raise the arguments for action with our members.
I fear though that the answer to the question "when shall we fight the pay freeze?" always seems to be "next year" and that - if our leadership won't even clearly and formally ask our members the question about industrial action in 2012 - we ourselves have thereby made it harder to see how we can get a positive answer to that question in 2013.
The pay freeze is part of the same ideological anti-working class offensive as the attack on our pensions and the massive programme of spending cuts. We desperately need to start showing the same determination as is shown by our enemies.
Otherwise the pay freeze could become a Pay Ice Age, which will never be defrosted by warm weasel words from the employers. "

HOME INSURANCE 

SPECIAL OFFER FOR UNISON MEMBERS                                                                                                          read here

PENSIONS CAMPAIGN UPDATE 14

FIGHTBACK BEGINS AT WEST CHESHIRE AND CHESTER CITY COUNCIL

UNISON, GMB and Unite members staged a 3 hour strike yesterday at Chester West & Cheshire Council in the opening salvo of industrial action to challenge imposed cuts in pay allowances. The cash rich Tory led unitary council had used the pretext of Government cuts and post-reorganisation workforce harmonisation to ruthlessly cut weekend working and unsocial allowances despite the national agreement requiring any variation to be subject to negotiation and agreement. Hundreds of workers brought services to a halt at 3PM and staged a noisy protest outside the main Council office in Chester: Further escalating action will follow in the weeks ahead, following a strong ballot result which belied employer claims that over 90% of the workforce had acquiesced to pressure to sign inferior contracts
here for more

PENSIONS LATEST
UNISON agrees to further negotiations on pensions read here

Why we say ‘no deal’ on pensions

UNISON nationally has agreed terms with the Government for further negotiations on pensions.

Branches have been asked for their views on these 'proposals' 

However because of the timescales we have not been able to consult as widely as we would wish , but below we print the view of Branch officers which will be forwarded to the regional office

 Why we say ‘no deal’ on pensions

“These agreements deliver the government’s key objectives in full, and do so with no new money since our November offer. These reforms will save the taxpayer tens of billions of pounds over the next few decades and significantly improve the long-term fiscal sustainability of this country.” Danny Alexander

As UNISON representatives and ordinary members we do not believe that the “Heads Of Agreement” on public sector pensions form the basis for settling our dispute with the government over our future pensions.

We are it must be said very unhappy , that UNISON appears to be now suggesting , that our actions “were always a damage limitation exercise”

this was not our view (or we believe the view of our members who took action) , but we did recognise , that  defeat the proposals would require more than one days action (a view shared by our General Secretary).

It has been suggested (by some in the National leadership) that ‘the key grievance of increased contributions has been warded off’ by the agreement.

We believe that the issue of increased contributions , was one of several grievances and that under these ‘proposals’ we would still be working longer and getting less, and even then the issue of increased contributions has only , we understand been deferred for two years.

The agreements we believe will ultimately deliver the government’s agenda of making public sector workers work longer, pay more and get less in our pensions.

The agreement is based on the Treasury’s “final offer” issued on 2 November, which allows for negotiation on elements in each pension scheme but within a fixed “cost ceiling”. As Francis Maude has made clear “The cost ceiling has not changed. We have not put an extra penny on the table”.

On 30 November we took part in the largest strike action in at least a generation, in an unprecedented display of unity across public sector unions. Dave Prentis rightly proclaimed it “an incredible success and one of the proudest moments of my career”.

We believe it is a fundamental mistake only a few weeks later to allow the government to now play divide and rule. This can only make it easier for them to push through the cuts in our pensions as part of their wider austerity programme of real pay cuts and massive job losses, making working people pay the price for a crisis created by bankers’ greed.  There is too much at stake to allow the Con Dems to pick off unions one at a time or to seek to isolate others as they are clearly attempting to do with the PCS.