This year the branch is running a fantastic Christmas Competition, which is open to all our current UNISON members at both The Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen. As on previous occasions we have two sets of prizes as well, so someone from each university must win one of these.
This year you can enter by sending in the competition entry form (they'll be sent out to everyone next week), or you can - for the first time - enter the competition online!
5%. That's the increase you should get in your pay for the rest of the year, if you are covered by the national agreement - which nearly every Higher Education Institution (HEI) abides by.
This is the final payment in a three year deal which UNISON and other HE unions negotiated for staff, based on the September retail price index. The total award for the three years means that staff will have received 15.88% since August 2006 with 18.31% for those on the lowest point of the national scale. This increase goes some way to offset the significant rises in the cost of living, such as food and energy and continues. It also continues the recovery of lost ground that staff pay suffered in the not too distant past.
However the national employers' organisation UCEA and many HEIs have expressed concerns about the cost of this final part of the deal as it is more that they had originally budgeted for - nonetheless UNISON welcomes UCEA's commitment to honouring the deal We acknowledge that the deal may be more than expected than when the original deal was struck. However we are clear that this is a national agreement negotiated in good faith and should be stuck to by all employers.
A small number of HEIs have said that they will apply the clause in the 2006 agreement that allows employers to "defer implementation of the ... increases by up to 11 months in order to minimise job losses". This is a standard clause that has been in national HE pay deals for some time, but has rarely been used before and then only by small institutions who have had clear financial difficulties. However for the first time we expect some larger institutions to look at using the deferment. If they do, then this will not be an easy option - we will remind employers that this is a deferment and not an opt out. We will also make sure that they open their books to us to show that this is really about avoiding job losses and not just an excuse to avoid their obligations. We will also challenge proposed redundancies.
Whatever employers do this year, one thing is for sure: next year will be a very tough pay round. UCEA has already indicated that they are likely to take this years increase into account when making an offer. We will need to be prepared to respond to this and we will need your help.
If you are not a UNISON member, remember it was UNISON and the other unions that stayed in talks and negotiated this pay award. The strength and ability to improve pay and conditions in the future depends on us continuing to be a strong force in the HE sector.
The strength and ability to improve pay and conditions in the future depends on us continuing to be a strong force in the HE sector.
So if you are not a member - Join today and protect your pay.
Phone UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845
Some members may have noticed a change to their tax code and taxation amount in their payslips this month, this is because of the adjustment to the Personal Allowance in response to the Chancellor's statement earlier in the year.
More information on how it affects you is available here:
Recent press reports have stated that HE staff will soon receive increases of 5%. This is potentially misleading.
The final part of the 3 year pay deal is due to come into force from October 2008. The 2006 agreement stated that the award will be the "greater of 2.5% or RPI as at September 2008". The press are quoting the current inflation figure of 5% - however as the inflation figure for September is not announced until the middle of October we do not yet know the final figure. It also means that staff on monthly pay may not receive the rise until November, although a small number of employers have proposed to increase pay by 2.5% in October and paying the additional money later when the final figure is known.
Some HE institutions are openly stating their concerns about the cost of the final part of the deal and have noted the clause in the 2006 agreement that allows employers to "defer implementation of the {above} increases by up to 11 months in order to minimise job losses". This is a standard clause that has been in national HE pay deals for some time, but has rarely been used before and then only by small institutions who have had obvious financial difficulties.
We have made it clear to the national employers and to local HE employers that we expect the pay rise to be met. The deferment clause is there to avoid job losses and not just because the pay rise will cost them a bit more than they expected. Additionally, if they do seek to use this clause it is a deferment and not a decision to opt out completely. Should employers suggest they will use the clause we will be expecting them to open their books to us so that we can make sure that there are not reserves or alternative resources available to cover the pay rise.
This pay agreement was won by hard negotiating by UNISON and the other support staff unions, who stayed in negotiations and leveraged up the three year deal. All staff who will be receiving a pay rise, particularly non-members, should be reminded of the value of joining UNISON. This will be particularly important in the future as should the employers pay up this year they will certainly be looking to claw back the money in future pay settlements.
Best wishes
Jon Richards
Senior National Officer
UNISON Education and Children's Services
We are pleased to announce that the winners of the Summer 'Spot-the-difference' competition were:
Congratulations to both of them. The prize was a 19" Widescreen Freeview TV with integrated DVD player!
Aberdeen Trades Council Social Club is starting a Friday Disco (8pm-1am) as from Friday 8th August 2008, for all the trades union and their partners and friends free of charge.
So please come along with your partner and friends to make the social event more exciting and enjoyable night !
UNISON is calling on the government to take steps to reform the energy market following the latest round of fuel price hikes.
British Gas today announced it was raising gas prices by 35% and electricity prices by 9%
The move comes just days after EDF Energy put up gas prices by 22% and electricity prices by 17%.
The government's energy watchdog has warned the increases will leave another million UK households 'fuel poor' - defined as when a household spends more than 10% of its income on fuel bills.
UNISON has slammed the increases, which it says customers can ill afford.
"This latest increase from British Gas will still hit vulnerable groups like the low paid and elderly, despite temporary measures to soften the blow," said UNISON national officer Steve Bloomfield.
"Many UNISON members will have to think twice before turning on their central heating next winter, due to the huge bills that will follow," he added, urging the government to "step in and stop this corporate greed".
UNISON members working in higher education have vowed to step up the fight against the exploitation of contract workers.
At their annual conference this month, they said that cleaning, catering and security services in universities were increasingly provided by contractors who cut corners on terms and conditions, leading to a two-tier workforce.
Reaffirming the union's opposition to further privatisation of higher education services, conference pledged to reach out to contract workers to make them more aware of their rights.
Delegates noted that contract workers are often immigrants paid the minimum wage. They have no trade union or pension rights and receive only statutory holiday and sickness benefits.
They heard of a group of cleaners at a London university who were not paid for three months, while others were forced to do four jobs to feed their families.
Universities and colleges should be at the forefront of struggles against exploitation and inequality, conference said. They should not be lagging behind in last place allowing private companies to deny vulnerable workers their basic employment rights.
Speaking after the conference, which was held at Warwick University on 3 April, UNISON head of education Christina McAnea said: "UNISON will not stand by and allow this disgraceful treatment to continue, and delegates at our annual conference gave a massive vote of confidence to plans to stamp out exploitation. As a union, we will be campaigning to bring contracted out services back into the hands of higher education institutions."
"We will also be encouraging participation in our lifelong learning programmes to help vulnerable workers improve their skills."
Conference also urged UNISON to oppose any attempts by institutions to opt out of national pay bargaining, and called on the union to work closely with the University and College Union to persuade it to join other unions around the negotiating table.
"We are stronger when we are united," conference said.
"Our bargaining situation can only get worse if unions drop out - it gives employers leeway to push through what they want and impose individual pay deals on us."
UNISON members have overwhelmingly backed a new and improved local government pension scheme in Scotland.
Members working in councils, colleges, universities, the police and fire services, Scottish Water, Careers Scotland and the community and voluntary sector voted by 25 to 1 to support the scheme, to be introduced in April next year.
"We welcome this comprehensive vote of confidence in the new scheme that UNISON has been instrumental in delivering," said Scottish convenor Mike Kirby, announcing the ballot result in Glasgow today.
"It is clear from the improvements that have been achieved that it is possible to maintain and improve a decent final salary scheme, which is fair to both employers and employees, provides a decent level of pension, and is sustainable in overall cost."
He continued: "It is an object lesson to those directors in the private sector who shout about the need to cut staff pensions whilst maintaining their own gold-plated pensions, that with fair contributions from both employees and employers, it is still possible to offer decent pension options, pensions that can be an incentive to attract the valuable staff required to deliver quality public services."
The new scheme mirrors that introduced this month in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
It retains its final salary element, and improves the accrual rate of members' pensions. Workers' pension contributions increase overall, but a new system means that the lower paid will end up paying less.
The details were negotiated over some months between the trade unions, the employers (represented by CoSLA) and the Scottish government.
Branch circular HE/03/08 provided a further update on the future national pay bargaining machinery (known as JNCHES). It outlined concerns over further delays in reaching agreement due to a ballot of UCU members, which was holding up other unions wishing to get on and negotiate improvements with the employers and giving further opportunity to some employers to pull out of national bargaining.
Unfortunately much of the public comment on the ballot has been unhelpful and some shown an unhealthy snobbery and elitism in certain quarters. Taking into account the history of the discussions the HE Service Group Executive considered its position at a meeting in early February and subsequently agreed the following statement:
In line with HE conference policy UNISON is clear that single table bargaining is the only way forward and that there should be no permanent separate academic or higher grade staff table in future national bargaining machinery . We believe that the deal currently on the table is the best that can be achieved and that the employers are serious in saying there will be no further negotiations (although we remember the disingenuity of the Memorandum of Understanding). We also note that the deal was reached in good faith with UCU's negotiators.
In the light of recent events UNISON's HE Service Group Executive believes that if UCU votes no in their ballot on the future of national bargaining then we should immediately open discussions with other sister unions with a view to moving to signing the agreement on offer. We should leave the door open for UCU to join the new structures when it is ready but in the meantime start the process of renewing national bargaining.
We will now take this position to the other recognised HE unions, who we know share similar views.
In branch circular HE/24/07 we outlined what we thought was the final agreement on future national pay bargaining machinery (known as JNCHES). This final agreement was brokered by the support staff unions to take account of further requests from UCU. Negotiators from all unions including UCU accepted this as the best offer that could be achieved and went back to their leadership bodies to seek approval. This has been forthcoming from all support staff unions and EIS the Scottish academic union.
Unfortunately UCU's national HE committee was split down the middle on the agreement and so did not agree the package. They managed to decide to ballot members, but were unable to reach agreement on a recommendation to members. Results of the ballot are due at the end of February.
This is not only enormously frustrating for the other unions who wish to get on and negotiate improvements with the employers, but also dangerous, as it gives further opportunity for some employers to pull out of national bargaining. The agreement was due to signed off last July and this is the second time UCU have held it up, even though we negotiated further improvements to address their concerns in the late autumn.
There also appears to be a number of misunderstandings about the agreement and what single table bargaining means amongst UCU activists and members. To try to clarify our view for them the support staff unions have issued the following statement which can be downloaded from here.
Well folks, the UNISON word search Christmas competition closed on Friday, and we held the prize draw at our branch committee meeting last night.
A big thanks to everyone who entered the competition, for those that didnﾒt win, remember it's the taking part that counts, but for those that did win, itﾒs all about the prizes!!
Sheena Grant from the University of Aberdeen and branch chairperson drew the lucky winners for our RGU members, and Julie Yackiminie, RGU Stewards Convener drew the winners for the Aberdeen University. So without further ado, the winners of the 2007 Christmas competition were:
Congratulations to the lucky winners!
The branch was on the stage at the Scottish Council meeting in Glasgow recently, to take the award for "Best use of Electronic Media" for our website www.aub-unison.org.uk. This is the third time we've won the prize; the first in the national competition, and now twice in a row for the Scottish communication awards.
If we're going to get the hat-trick in the Scottish awards next year, weﾒll need to do something extra special, and we already have one or two initiatives in the pipeline, so watch this space.
Most staff should now have been sent their job matching and assimilation information. Those that haven't received them yet, should do so shortly. If you're a UNISON member you'll have been sent details on what to do if you are unhappy with your match.
If you're not a member however, you should think carefully before lodging a formal appeal. In that familiar phrase used in the banking industry, appeals "can go down as well as up", so advice is very important before making the decision to go through with a formal appeal.
If you're considering an appeal, we recommend that you join UNISON so that we can provide you with advice and support through the process - plus you then get all the added benefits of membership as well!
For more details, contact us or download an application form and send it in!
The ballot of UNISON members on the Framework Agreement at RGU closed on Friday 14th September with the following result:
(rate of return 50.6%)
Thanks to all those who voted. As a consequence of this, we will inform the University that the membership has voted to accept the agreement and will proceed on that basis.
Did you know that one of the benefits of membership is access to UNISON's legal services? There are a variety of different services available to members and some to their families as well.
| Service | Members | Members' Families |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Advice | Free! | No |
| Accidents at Work (including industrial and work-related diseases) | Free! | No |
| Accidents outside Work (including road traffic and holiday accidents) | Free! | Free! |
| Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICA) where a member has sustained an injury due to a crime of violence | Free! | No |
| Criminal law (work related criminal offences) | Free! | No |
| Wills | Free! (including joint will) | Special Rates |
| Conveyancing | Special Rates | Special Rates |
| 30 minutes legal advice (on any non work issue including immigration issues) | Free! | No |
| Clinical Negligence | Free initial consulation, special rates thereafter | Free initial consulation, special rates thereafter |
For more information UNISON Legal Services article
If you're not a member and would like to find out more, please contact your local steward
A damning final report from the equalities watchdog echoes previous calls by UNISON for the government to do more to improve women's role in the workplace and in society.
Looking at measures such as pay and power, support for families, and access to public services, justice and safety, the Equal Opportunities Commission warns that sex equality is still generations away.
Its Completing the Revolution report says it will take another 45 years for women to receive a similar-sized pension to men, and 20 before women working full-time will earn the same pay as their male counterparts. The part-time pay gap will take 30 years to close.
National women's officer Sharon Greene said the statistics were not news to UNISON. "We have been fighting for years for equal pay and fair pensions for women, and for measures to improve the work-life balance of both women and men."
The report highlights just how much more needs to be done, she said.
"There is no justification for the pay gap between men and women. We know the reasons why it exists and action is needed now to address those causes - women should not and will not wait another 20 years to see fair pay.
"It is also a disgrace that women's role as the carers in our society is not recognised adequately in our state pensions, leading to many women retiring into poverty.
"It is essential that the government puts into place changes to the system to recompense women for years spent as parents and carers while in poorly-paid part-time work."
The report also highlights the need to address the cultural acceptance of violence against women, Ms Greene said, adding it was scandalous that only 5% of rape cases end in convictions and one in four women will experience domestic violence at some time in their lives.
"Men and women must stand together to say that violence against women is not acceptable," she stressed. "Tougher penalties for the perpetrators must be introduced and the court system changed so that women brave enough to take their attackers to court to not end up as victims of an unfair justice system."
The publication of the report coincides with the launch of the commission's Gender Agenda campaign, which highlights the work left to do on the eve of the transfer to the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights.
More info at Women in UNISON
UNISON has vowed to defend national bargaining in higher education, on the eve of talks resuming in London tomorrow.
While recognising that unions and employers face "different pressures and difficult decisions" during the talks on a new national negotiating structure, a UNISON statement insists: "The current system does not work and a new system that involves all unions and the employers discussing issues that impact across the HE sector in one room is the only logical way forward."
UNISON represents 50,000 support staff in the sector. It and other support-staff unions are close to reaching a deal with the employers that addresses the employers' concerns and meets the union's negotiating agenda, within the agreed timetable.
But the union is aware that other bodies may be looking for ways to back out of the agreed joint review, due to agree necessary changes no later than this month as part of the 2006-9 pay agreement.
"We would urge the employers and other unions to think long and hard before they press the destruct button," said UNISON head of higher education Jon Richards.
"We've had a single pay spine and common pay award across the sector since 2003. We now need to formalise this. Insisting on separate bargaining is unrealistic and living in the past."
UNISON Scotland will tell the union's Labour Link forum in Manchester today that the union should throw its weight in the Labour Party behind greater powers for the Scottish parliament.
Alan Cowan, UNISON Scotland's representative on the UK Labour Link committee, said: "It is clear that there have been many positive achievements delivered by the Scottish Parliament in its eight-year history.
"As we start a third term it is an appropriate time to take stock of other areas that could profitably be devolved.
"After all, it was our first first minister, Donald Dewar, who said that devolution "was a process, not an event."
UNISON Scotland is suggesting that the current position has restricted the ability of the Scottish Parliament to promote policies and practices that would benefit Scotland. It wants the union to campaign within the party's policy forum for greater powers to be devolved.
Mr Cowan noted: "The areas of equal opportunities, energy, council tax benefit, pensions and immigration are all areas where greater devolution could have allowed the Scottish Parliament to make some very progressive decisions for Scotland.
"Of course there are also areas such as broadcasting which we have always thought should be devolved."
Did you know that certain membership benefits are subject to a waiting period before you can take advantage of them?
Although we will deal with new members' problems immediately, providing you with advice and support through the local network of stewards and contacts, if the problem is particularly complex, requires legal advice or support, or if it becomes necessary to take a case to an employment tribunal, then you must have been a member for at least thirteen weeks under UNISON's national rules.
So remember, joining and staying in UNISON gives you the full protection of all UNISON's services.
In a union first, UNISON is highlighting climate change as a major part of its political campaigning.
It says it reflects the need for urgent action on global warming.
The environment is a specific focus of UNISON Scotland's campaigning in the run-up to May's Scottish national and local elections.
Today sees the launch of the union's first environment manifesto, which pledges it will work to protect Scotland's environment.
The manifesto showcases the excellent work already carried out by UNISON members across Scotland in protecting the environment in a range of public service roles.
UNISON is working nationally to cut carbon emissions and curb global warming through the UK-wide Stop Climate Chaos campaign. UNISON Scottish organiser Dave Watson says climate change is a major concern for members: "We believe that a clean and healthy environment locally and globally is vital for general health and wellbeing and for the future of the planet."
"We are pleased to be the first trade union to join Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. Beyond the election we will continue our campaigning for greener workplaces, for sustainable policies, including a balanced energy policy, and for retaining Scottish Water in public control."
For more information see www.stopclimatechaosscotland.org
Working parents now have the right to more paid time off following the birth of a child.
From today, maternity and adoption leave increases from six months to nine months paid leave, part of which can also be taken by the father rather than the mother. The same rights apply for same-sex couples and adopters.
Ultimately, the government aims to increase paid maternity leave again to one year, and to allow fathers to request up to 26 weeks unpaid paternity leave.
UNISON is welcoming the new rights, introduced in last October's Work and Families Act in recognition of the importance of family commitments to the country's economy.
UNISON national women's officer Sharon Greene said: "We welcome the new maternity and carers rights introduced by the government to improve working lives for parents, and we welcome the commitment to further extend maternity leave and partner rights in the near future."
However, she warned that many women members of UNISON had previous maternity provisions which were in excess of the statutory requirement.
"We are therefore urging the employers we negotiate with to continue to be leaders in the field, and to offer their employees improvements over and above what is now the norm."
The act also gives new rights for employers and employees to keep in touch during maternity leave.
Ms Greene said the union had some concerns. "Although we are sure that many women will welcome this initiative, it is important that the provision is not abused by employers who attempt to use the keeping in touch days to cover for staff shortages, and that women are properly recompensed for attending work whilst on maternity leave."
Under the Work and Families Act the right to request flexible working will be extended to carers of sick or disabled people from 6 April. This right has previously been available only to the parents of under-sixes, or those with disabled children under 18.
The Aberdeen Universities Branch has once again won awards for communication, this time in the UNISON Scottish Communication Awards 2006.
The branch website won First Prize for Best Use of Electronic Media and was praised as having lots of news and information for both existing and prospective members. Judges said, "The writing throughout is clear and concise, the contacts pages are excellent with good 'send a message' forms and I like the idea of the library page with links to documents and forms as well as links to other sites."
In addition this year we were commended for the RGU version of the 'UNI' magazine with judges commenting, "A good balance between local and national news, conditions and citizenship issues and member benefits."
A prize certificate and cheque were received by local delegates.
Keep up-to-date with the latest Scottish Parliament news - check it out on the UNISON scotland website here:
NUS, UCU, UNISON, FOSIS (the Federation of Student Islamic Students), and the ECU (Equality Challenge Unit) take seriously the threat of terrorism and believe that all those who would advocate or carry out attacks like those in London last July, must be isolated, identified and stopped.
The guidance issued to universities and colleges today - whilst improved from previous leaked drafts - will however not solve all the issues, nor does it give sufficient emphasis to concrete steps to improve good campus relations.
University and college staff and students need to be given simple, clear advice about who to contact in their institution if they suspect violent extremism or terrorist activity of any kind. Any link with the authorities should be through a senior member of staff designated for that purpose.
Where this guidance is to be implemented at local level, it should only be after consultation with the recognised staff unions and student unions.
Implementation should not focus on individuals' religion and ethnicity, since this can jeopardise trust and confidence between staff and students and between staff, students and their institution.
Any implementation should recognise that demonising Muslims is unacceptable and dangerous - whether in educational institutions or in communities. Students and staff should be assured by their institutions that there is no intention of adding to a climate of Islamophobia.
Enquiry, discussion and debate must continue to flourish in universities and colleges. Radicalism must not be conflated with terrorism.
Freedom of debate is essential if educational institutions are to continue providing a moderating environment where people learn about different cultures and communities, ideas are challenged and diversity is valued as integral to the role of the institution.
There should be absolute respect for academic freedom as statutorily defined and there should be no criminalisation of legitimate debate.
All institutions should have a robust strategy for defeating racism and Islamophobia and promoting better race relations on campus. Assistance from the ECU is available to facilitate this.
(The document 'Preventing Extremism Together' provides some useful suggestions as does 'Promoting Good Campus Relations' published by Universities UK (UUK), ECU and Guild UK with support from UCU, NUS and Unison.)
Universities should be encouraged to connect with the communities they serve as required by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
(from unison.org.uk)
In June proposals were published for the English LGPS that could have a significant impact on pension benefits. The main proposal was to remove employer discretion to award compensatory added years for those who are made redundant or retired on the grounds of efficiency over the age of 50, from the Discretionary Payments Regulations.
The Finance Minister has now published his approach to the proposed Discretionary Payments Regulations in Scotland. Following representations from UNISON the Minister has decided not to publish similar proposals in Scotland. Instead he has indicated that he may consider the issue again once the UK review of premature retirement and severance arrangements in the Teachers Pension Scheme has been completed.
We are very pleased that the Minister recognised the strength of our argument that when new changes are proposed we should avoid different provisions for staff working in the same workplace. This is a welcome decision that shows that ministers in Scotland are seriously listening to our concerns.
The formal consultation that has been published therefore only covers the employers discretionary powers to award a one-off lump sum of up to 66 weeks pay where employment is terminated early. The change removes the formula that currently determines the level of benefit to be awarded within the maximum of 66 weeks to allow a more flexible lump sum level for each individual case. We will give consideration to this and respond next month.
Ministers have also issued draft regulations on the new pensions arrangements for Councillors and VisitScotland.
Both consultations can be viewed in full on the SPPA website www.sppa.gov.uk.
The UNISON Higher Education Service Group Conference will be held in Nottingham on Thursday 22 March 2007. Please note the following important dates:
A letter containing details of the administrative arrangements and appropriate forms will be sent shortly.
UNISON members in higher education have overwhelmingly said Yes to a deal which will see the wages of the lowest paid rise by 15.5%.
A ballot of members working in universities saw 95% vote for the three-year pay deal which will also introduce a new minimum wage of ﾣ6.60 an hour by February 2008, the union announced today.
"We welcome the endorsement of this pay deal," said the union's national secretary for education Christina McAnea. "It is a good deal for our members and an important step in addressing the problem of low pay in the sector."
Under the deal, staff earning more than ﾣ17,000. will receive an increase of 13.12% over three years. For staff earning less than that, the deal will be worth up to 15.5% over three years.
UNISON represents 50,000 members of staff working in higher education. These include technicians, administrators, librarians, porters, cleaning and catering assistants.
"The deal also commits institutions to demonstrating that they will implement the Framework Agreement in line with equal pay guidelines", noted Ms McAnea.
"Some institutions believe they can do deals that merely maintain the status quo and pay lip service to the need for fair and equitable pay structures. UNISON will be challenging any deals that undermine equal pay or are based on elitist assumptions about the value of the roles done in universities."
Workplace bullying can lead to work related stress and ill health causing untold misery. Studies have showed that as many as 5 million people are affected by bullying in the UK, that 19 million working days are lost to bullying each year and that up to a half of all stress related illnesses are a direct result of bullying.
UNISON has been working with Equality Challenge Unit in developing a project to tackle bullying in the Higher Education sector.
LabourStart brings you news from home and abroad on labour and trade union issues, and they have a specific UK news page.
In addition, some of campaigns are highlighted in their 'Act Now!' list, shown below.
UNISON stewards are just like you.
They have the same concerns that you have and face the same issues that are facing you - job security, pay and conditions, training and promotion, health and safety.
In addition, stewards want to help their workmates and colleagues by representing them in the workplace.
You don't need to be an expert in industrial relations or employment law (although you might become one). Nor do you have to go to lots of meetings in smoke-filled rooms outside of working hours.
All you need is:
There are tens of thousands of UNISON stewards throughout the UK, all helping UNISON members by representing them in the workplace.
They are the backbone of the union.
Without them there would be no effective union looking after your interests in the workplace, there would be no collective protection for you in the workplace, no representation, no collective bargaining or negotiation.
Some people help their community in their spare time with valuable charity work, helping local organisations such as youth clubs, churches, local political parties or whatever.
Trade union stewards help their colleagues by working on their behalf in the workplace. They do not get paid - they do some of their work in their spare time, though good employers who recognise the value of good industrial relations give paid time off for trade union work - as is the case at both Universities.
Your steward is working hard for you. So, why not offer some help and add to the strength of UNISON? More stewards are needed so contact us if you want more information. But you don't need to take on the full job of a steward to help your colleagues, youself and your union. You could offer to help by distributing UNISON materials such as leaflets or posters for instance, or welcoming new colleagues joining your department or section and providing them with information on joining UNISON.
Look after yourself, look after your workmates. Help us to make your union more effective!
The Fairtrade mark on the goods you buy guarantees a fairer deal for workers in developing countries. It is a trading partnership, which aims at sustainable development for excluded and disadvantaged producers. It seeks to do this by providing better trading conditions, raising awareness and campaigning.
Look out for Fairtrade products in your local supermarket, such as coffee, tea, bananas and honey. Delicious products available include Organic Mexican Honey, Equal Exchange chocolate covered Brazil nuts, Organic Cocoa, Cafédirect coffee and Green & Black organic milk chocolate.
Why is it important to UNISON members? Fairtrade means decent working conditions for workers in developing countries, fair wages, health & safety standards, security of long term contracts, fair terms of trade and guaranteed better prices. It also means better consumer choice for you.
For more information visit: http://www.unison.org.uk/campaigns/fairtrade.asp
You may be aware that as well as providing local services to members, UNISON as a trade union also works at the national and the global level. UNISON campaigns for decent working conditions across the globe. To find out more about UNISON's international work go to the main UNISON website:
http://www.unison.org.uk/international/
UNISON's work/life balance campaign is a recognition of the increasing pressures on workers. UNISON believes all people should have a right to work that does not damage their freedom to pursue activities and responsibilities outside the workplace. Want to know more?:
http://www.unison.org.uk/worklifebalance/
Globalisation is an important issue in todays world. UNISON wants to see a world trade system with rules that ensure a level playing field, in which developing and least-developed countries can play an equal part:
http://www.unison.org.uk/campaigns/gats/
The issue of sustainable development is about meeting present day needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Find out how UNISON is working to further these aims:
http://www.unison.org.uk/campaigns/sustainable/
Find out about all UNISON's campaigns at http://www.unison.org.uk/campaigns
UNISON has today agreed to recommend suspending planned industrial action over pensions after the joint unions agreed a basis for further talks with employers.
The formal decision to suspend further industrial action to allow discussions to take place in appropriate UK forums will be taken by the Industrial Action Committee on Thursday, but representatives of all service groups have agreed the move.
General Secretary, Dave Prentis said:
“The joint union/LGA statement is a positive step and that is why we have decided to suspend our planned strike action. It provides a framework to enable negotiations to take place on the future of the local government pension scheme and on protection arrangements. There is still a great deal of work to do in the detailed negotiations over these complex issues in a short time frame and we will be concentrating all out efforts on achieving a satisfactory conclusion.”
The move follows a TUC-brokered joint statement with the Local Government Association which commits both sides to:
The joint statement followed successful one-day national strike action on 28 March.
Full Details of Joint Statement
The decision to suspend industrial action covers Scotland. It is recognised that we need separate discussions to build on this UK position and have the matter resolved.
Separate discussions in Scotland are arranged to allow progress to be made. Urgent discussions are taking place with the Scottish Executive, the SPPA, and with COSLA on today's developments.
UNISON, the largest Scottish Local Government union today welcomed the massive support from public sector workers across Scotland, and urged the Scottish Executive to come back to negotiations with a concrete offer to break the deadlock.
Matt Smith, UNISON's Scottish Secretary, said "The level of support for the strike across Scotland has exceeded even our expectations. Reports indicate that members in local government, further and higher education, police staffs, Scotland-wide agencies, the Meat Hygiene Service, have heeded the call and made it clear to government the strength of feeling LGPS members have on this issue."
Matt, also called on Tom McCabe, to withdraw his threat to early retirement provisions and negotiate changes to pensions provision. "Tom McCabe must stop using the Judicial Review to delay making his decision, and exercise his powers."
He said "Judicial processes can take months, and meanwhile LGPS members are facing his clear commitment to abolish the rule of 85. It is all very well to promise discussions, but we have had these with governments North and South of the border for months if not years. What is needed is a guarantee from Tom McCabe to treat LGPS members the same as other public sector workers. This is the first day of strike action, but should we not achieve a settlement, then we will be building on this support to repeat and extend this action."
Today's strikes have caused widespread disruption to services across Scotland. Schools, offices, libraries and sports and leisure centres are shut, transport is disrupted and roads and water maintenance work, cleaning and environmental health services has largely stopped for the day.
In Edinburgh, John Stevenson, UNISON's Edinburgh Branch Chair will tell the lobby outside the Scottish Parliament this morning. "Home carers, road workers, refuse workers, social care workers, cleaners, social workers, workers who protect our environment, our health and our safety, who look after the most vulnerable, who educate who care and who work damn hard to do all this ﾭ all of the essential jobs in local government ﾭ forcing them to work till they drop, or take cuts in the pensions they have paid into all their lives is not fair, is not reasonable, is not in the interests of public services ﾭ and is frankly a damn disgrace."
In Glasgow, the Glasgow Caledonian University is shut because of the strike. Davena Rankin, UNISON's Glasgow Caledonian Branch Secretary said "It is deeply regrettable that because of the unreasonable stance of the Scottish Executive, the University is closed. People pay into the pension scheme all their lives and expect the Government to honour their side of the deal. Members deserve the pension they thought they were signing up for."
"The proposed changes will lead to a two tier pension system with lecturers in protected schemes and support staff penalised for remaining in the LGPS. All we want is the same protection as the other schemes."
UNISON members have voted Yes to strike action over pensions by an overwhelming majority.
Some 80% supported strike action to demand fair treatment over pension rights in the Local Government Pension Scheme.
The union's industrial action committee today endorsed the first day of strike action on Tuesday 28th March. UNISON will be joined in the action by nine other unions.
General secretary Dave Prentis said: "Civil servants, teachers, police, firefighters and the NHS have all been given protection for existing members over changes to their pension scheme. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason in singling out LGPS members for such unfair and unjust treatment."
"Our members deserve the pensions they have already paid for."
79.6% voted Yes to industrial action on a 28% turnout.
Around two million people have been bullied at work in the past six months, many of them by their managers, according to figures published today to coincide with Ban Bullying at Work day.
The TUC called on the government, at the launch of the report, to change the law to prevent millions more workers becoming the new victims of the UK's office bullies.
A recent TUC survey of more than 5,000 employees revealed that in three quarters of bullying incidents, the perpetrator had been a manager or supervisor. But managers themselves are often bullied in turn by their bosses. A UNISON/ACAS survey found that almost half of middle managers have fallen victim at some point.
"The public sector is one of the worst sectors for bullying, especially in the last few years due to the large amount of change - which translates to pressure from above to do more with less," said UNISON national health and safety officer Hope Daley.
The third in a series of brief animations from the TUC advertising the benefits of trade unions for different workplaces. This is the last one currently planned entitled, "Pup Where we Belong".
Follow the links below for a little bit of light relief with a serious message:
One in five non-teaching staff in higher education have faced abuse from managers, colleagues or students, a UNISON survey has revealed.
In a survey of its members in higher education, the union has found that support staff are treated with very little respect for the services they provide to academics and students.
Around 20% of staff surveyed replied that they had faced some form of violence. 84% of this was serious verbal abuse, but 15% had suffered a violent attack.
Speaking before the unions annual conference, Christina McAnea, UNISON head of education services said:
"We want to work with university managers to make sure we do more than just pay lip service to getting rid of this sort of behaviour."
UNISON and other trade unions have arranged with RGU management to have specific noticeboards for trade union use. They are located as follows:
We will use the boards to post current campaign news and also general membership information, including providing supplies of membership application forms.
The Aberdeen Universities Branch received praise indeed this week, when the National Delegate Conference announced that they had won First Prize in the "Best Electronic Communications Category" of the national Branch Communication Awards.
The branch website at www.aub-unison.org.uk was launched earlier in the year and is available 24 hours a day, allowing members instant access to the latest news and information.
Two local stewards attended conference this year and were presented with the award certificate and ﾣ250 cheque at a special ceremony on the final day of proceedings, Friday 25th June.
The website has already expanded since it was first launched with the addition of a new 'Members' area, and online contact forms. Further developments are also in the pipeline.
A poster (PDF format) is avilable to download for your noticeboards in the library section of the website.
Don't forget, you can now contact your UNISON stewards online directly using our web based feedback form. To use the system, simply click Contacts on the menu bar and then select the steward or workplace contact you require. Once you find them click 'Send a Message' and you will be able to complete an online form with your enquiry.
Do you have any suggestions about how the branch works? Would you like to see any particular local events? Do you have any requests for things to see on this website?
If you have any comments or suggestions we'd love to hear from you. Either contact one of your local stewards directly, or alternatively use our suggestion box online feedback form.