National Strike 6th February 2014

'UK pay rising in real terms, says coalition' was the headline end of last week.  The BBC news went on to say that the Government claims that

Most British workers have seen their take-home pay rise in real terms in the past year, the government claims.

It has produced figures showing all except the richest 10% saw their take-home wages rise by at least 2.5% once tax cuts were taken into account.

Plainly - we are to believe that the richest 10% are the true victims in this economic crisis.  

However, what we must never forget is that 2.5% of an awful lot of money = a breathtaking chunk more money.  2.5% of extremely little = not enough to cover one bill, let alone two.

We have had our 1% pay rise pushed through by our employer and it is hard to see how we could ever feel that our pay has increased by 'at least 2.5%'.  We are not better off.  Instead we have lost.  The figures are the same this time round as last time - have a look at the table below and see where you fall.

Visit this blog regularly - we will keep you in touch with the latest strike information.

Working hard

On 23rd January, the University of Southampton UNISON branch executive had a union planning day at Chilworth Manor Hotel. 

Our tasks included setting the branch budget for the forthcoming year, planning for the AGM, which is due in March. 

Below are some photos of us at work -

(from left to right)

Angie Swift - Branch Treasurer
Anna Lyon -  Branch Secretary
Jonathan Chipp - Branch Chair
They're hammering out a tricky bit of the budget

Simon De Montfalcon - Branch Steward checking the last of the budget requirements before heading for a cup of coffee...

Stewart Anderson - Branch Health and Safety Officer, getting to grips with the next item on the agenda...

 Dave Caiplan Branch Equality Officer and Gwen Gordon Health and Safety Officer are discussing the agenda items for the AGM due in March...

Julie Murdoch - Area Organiser, talks to us about how to represent members facing redundancy and highlighting some of the finer points of employment law.

  Mike Wilson - Area Organiser - explains UNISON reorganisation and how it will affect us.

One missing?  That's me - your Communications Officer and I was behind the camera.

Barnet UNISON need your help...

Dear Colleague

For the past five years our branch has been involved in a well documented mass privatisation fight with Barnet Council. As a direct result of our carrying out our trade union duties the Council is proposing to cut our facility time to zero as from 1 April 2014.

The reality is that our branch officers are being forced out of the UNISON office and we are going to have to try and represent, support and defend our members at a time where we have on-going outsourcing to a number of private sector companies, the largest being Capita. Our Council is embarked on a race to outsource the whole of the Council in order it is can complete its desire to be 100% Commissioning Council.

I wish this was an April Fool’s joke but it is not.

Over the next months we are going to issue weekly updates to supporters as we prepare for the 1 April 2014.

We are not going quietly.

This is the biggest fight our branch has ever experienced and we are looking for support from fellow trade union branches, members and public.

Today we are asking you to do two things:

1. Sign our petition https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-gagging-local-unions-in-barnet-council and encourage everyone you know to sign it. If you have a Face book or Twitter account please circulate this petition.

2. This is a link http://youtu.be/o6I9kP6nCMg to an animation which explains the mass outsourcing in Barnet. If you have a Face book or Twitter account please circulate this animation.

 

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

www.barnetunison.me.uk

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Higher Education workers to walk out for a third day over pay.

Caterers, cleaners, security guards and student support staff in universities across the country will be among those walking out for a third time on 6 February, as their bitter row with cash-rich higher education employers rolls on.

The UK-wide strike will involve members from UNISON, UCU and EIS, and follows previous strikes on 31 October and 7 December last year.

Universities have effectively shut down talks and begun to forcibly impose their miserly 1% pay offer.   This is another blow to low paid staff in higher education who have seen their pay fall by 13% in real terms over the past five years.

More than 4,000 higher education workers are currently paid below the living wage, which is £7.65 an hour or £8.80 an hour in London. This is despite universities building up cash reserves of more than £2bn over the past two years, with the Higher Education Funding Council predicting this trend will continue for the next few years.

The median salary of vice chancellors is £242,000, with the highest paid employee in higher education receiving more than £500,000. Yet workers at the bottom end of the pay scale earn just £13,486. Across the UK terms and conditions amongst higher education workers are being eroded while job insecurity is increasing. There is a greater use of zero hour contracts and an increase in the gender pay gap.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:

"It is a very difficult decision to take strike action, particularly for those on low pay.   UNISON members are angry that cash-rich universities are ignoring the financial hardship that they and their families are facing, and they are not prepared to accept the crumbs off the high table.

"Universities are keen to proclaim their success and line the pockets of Vice Chancellors and their cronies with inflation busting rises as a reward, and yet 4,000 higher education staff earn below the Living Wage.

"Universities are sitting on billions of pounds of surplus money and they can afford to pay a decent wage to hard working staff. Workers who have managed to hang onto their jobs through significant changes have seen their workload increase dramatically, yet their incomes have been squeezed to breaking point."

Your latest Newsletter

Action for Fair Pay in HE goes on at Southampton University

It may seem as though things have gone quiet and that all is done and dusted as far as our strike action for Fair Pay is concerned, but don’t be fooled - action is ongoing.  Everyone has heard the rumours by now that there could be further action in February.  There is still time for the UCEA to get back round the table and talk sensibly with us about a sensible pay rise that helps us begin to recoup some of financially lost ground that has resulted in such hardship for many of our colleagues. As soon as we hear what UNISON has decided, we will notify you.  However, right at the moment, UNISON is not taking any immediate action in January but keep your eye on the UNISON UoS blog – we post the latest news there.  You will also find links from and to UNISON national website.  Drop in and have a look around. UCU is taking targeted action: UCU members are staging three days of targeted action.  Each day, UCU members will down tools for 2 hours in protest at the miserable 1% pay rise that was foisted on us.             They will be taking their action at these times and on these dates: 23rd January - 1100hrs – 1300hrs 28th January – 1400hrs – 1600hrs 10th January   -  0900hrs – 1100hrs We ask our members to support this action by not taking on any of your UCU colleagues’ work that you would normally not be doing during the strike period and that is not part of your contracted role.    UCU members will take over the Staff Club during these times and we encourage UNISON members to go over there and offer support during your lunch hour or at coffee break.  Please be aware – this is not a UNISON action and so UNISON members are not called on to down tools.  However, we do urge you to offer your support by visiting the staff club.  UCU’s action is to our good as well.

Recruitment Surprise for Southampton

Its official, the results are in, counted and verified. Congratulations to the University of Southampton Branch of UNISON with an amazing 24.1% recruitment rate for 2013, with 67 new members recruited, 2 member reinstatements and a net increase of 17 members. Hart was a close second with a recruitment rate of 21.7%, with 13 new members. In third place was ABW Health, with a recruitment rate of 19.6%, 153 new members, 33 reinstatements and a net growth of 64 members. SSE were fourth with a 15.4% recruitment rate and Hants & I of W Police and Justice fifth with a 14.9% recruitment rate. My thanks on behalf of the Regional Team to you all and your Branch colleagues for the hard work to achieve these results in a very difficult economic and political climate. Recruitment figures for the whole SE for the end of 2013 showed there was a 13% increase in overall recruitment compared to 2012, or 1,564 more new members than recruited the previous year. All 12 months saw an increase for the region on 2012 recruitment levels. 2013 was our 4th best year for recruitment out of the last 7.

"We can win: stories from 50 years of struggle"

Films featuring:

• St Pancras Rent Strike 1960
• Dagenham Equal Pay Strikes 1968 & 1984
• Upper Clyde Shipworkers work-in 1971 – 1972
• Grunwick Strike 1976 – 1978
• The Miners' Strike 1984 – 1985
• The Poll Tax Rebellion 1989 – 1993
• Liverpool Dockers' Strike 1995 – 1998
• The Living Wage 2002 – 2007 (and ongoing)
• Occupy (London) 2011 – now
• Disabled People Against Cuts & UK Uncut: now

These ten moving and often funny short films document a proud 50 year history of campaigning, strikes, occupations, work-ins and solidarity in the name of fair pay, decent jobs, and economic justice. The films are made up of interviews with key organisers, speaking about the tactics they used, what was successful, what wasn’t, and where they see the struggle for economic justice going today. 

The films have been produced by Jubilee Debt Campaign for the Economic Justice Project, which aims to provide opportunities for people to learn about the basics of economics and the financial crisis, vital tools for social and economic justice activists.

Watch the films here

Look at what's happening in Birmingham Uni

UNISON and UNITE members at Birmingham University will be on strike this Thursday 16 January. Over 80% of UNISON staff voted to strike.

Support staff and unions are asking for the Living Wage to be paid to all staff and argue that if the University can pay the Vice Chancellor a package with perks that amounts to more than half a million pounds and includes a chauffeur, a car and a house, then they can pay all staff a basic Living Wage.

The Vice Chancellors £400 000 salary is 2.5 times that of the Prime Minister and a staggering £280,000 more than a Heart Surgeon.

The dispute is about pay and conditions for all support staff, the people who keep the University running. Cleaners, Catering staff, Security staff, Library Staff and the people who keep the courses running are just some of the people who have seen real term cuts to pay over recent years.

How you can help:

1. send messages of support to matthewraine@outlook.com

2. Get your trade union branch to write to the vice chancellor

3. Write to the vice chancellor in support of the strike

Visit Birmingham UNISON's webpages here