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Unison and Equal Pay Claims
Equal Pay - Know Your limits. Vital information you need to know on time limits for submitting an equal pay claim. 


Local Government Pension Scheme Newsletter No 36 - judicial review ruling received (28/09/06)

Local Government Pension Scheme Negotiations Newsletter No 2 - 19 May 2006

State pension age to rise to 68 (25 May 06)

Frequently Asked Questions On Strike Action

Impact on Pensions When On Strike

What You Need To Know About Your Pension (02/02/06)

Further questions on the LGPS Pensions Scheme - Issue 3 - January 2006

BRANCH VACANCIES
Your opportunity to play an active role in your branch!!

Pension Rights Under Attack

Pension Proposals Unfair & Discriminatory (6/3/06)

Personal Injury Settlement Figures for July and August 2006

 

 Registered Charity No 1023552

 

UNISON aims to achieve equal pay for all our members. Our goal is to negotiate fair pay and grading systems that guarantee equal treatment.   But where employers won't negotiate, we are prepared to take legal action.  
Some of our members are being approached by no-win, no fee lawyers, but if you need to make a legal claim, there's no-one better placed to represent you than UNISON.

If legal action becomes necessary, here's how we give you the BEST deal:
We don't only take the easy cases:
Each claim will be assess on its own merits by our Equal pay team.  If you employer is not prepared to agree an acceptable settlement and we believe that your case has a reasonable change of success, we will take it up on your behalf.

It costs you less.
We can arrange to lodge a  grievance and tribunal application on your behalf and investigate the merits of your claim - all as part of the benefits of UNISON membership.

We don't charge if you change your mind.
As a UNISON member you have the right to decide at any stage whether you wish to continue once we have agreed to take your case.

We have a team of experts dedicated to equal pay.
UNISON has a network of staff, all committed to winning equal pay for our members. We employ specialist legal advisers and train all our representatives to handle equal pay cases.  We also work with leading employment law firm Thompsons Solicitors WE are the biggest trade union negotiating with employers and the government in local government, education and the NHS. We have represented UNISON members in most of the landmark equal pay cases taken in the UK and the European Court Of Justice. 

 No-win no-fee lawyers only get paid if they win. They won't take your case if it is too challenging or they won't make much profit.

 

No-win, no-fee layers can take a big percentage - between 10 and 25% of your back pay.

 

There are no-win- no-fee lawyers who charge £160 per hour plus phone bills and other costs if you withdraw.  

No-win, no-fee lawyers get paid by the individual claimant if they succeed. They have no interest in your future job security or how services are affected.

Their actions undermine trade unions negotiations with employers for fair deals on equal pay.
And because we care about our public services, UNISON doesn't make a profit out of your equal pay cases. All our efforts go into supporting you and our public services.  To download a flyer click here.

EQUAL PAY - KNOW YOUR LIMITS

Vital information you need to know on time limits for submitting an equal pay claim. Click here to download the rules.

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JVC Newsletter NO 1 - Proposed Joint Venture Company (5/10/06)
Click here to download the first newsletter on the Proposed Joint Venture company for housing maintenance services & Public Building Maintenance.

Building a stronger union

 Already a UNISON member?

Make the pledge. Challenge X sets out to achieve 1.5 million members before 2008.
 (internet access required). Alternatively call Unison Direct on 0845 355 0845. 
UNISON is proud to be the biggest, and fastest growing union in the UK. The challenge now is to sign up more new members.

We are rightly proud of the fact that UNISON is the biggest union in the country, but there are still places where only a small proportion of workers are in the union. In some workplaces less than half of the workforce have joined UNISON. Our challenge now is to make the union stronger and encourage others to join us. And why is that important? Well, it's not simply that biggest is best. There are good reasons for members and the union to make sure we continue to grow:
  • Organised workplaces, with a high number of people in union membership, gives UNISON greater influence with local management and employers.
  • Organised workplaces give UNISON greater clout with other trade unions in the same environment.
  • Members have more confidence in their ability to change things, including much higher chances of winning recognition where it doesn't already exist.
  • They will have more stewards, safety reps and workplace contacts who run the union locally and ensure the branch is representative.
All this means the union will have greater influence locally and nationally, which helps UNISON campaign to improve public services, to stop discrimination, for equality of opportunity and for better pay and conditions of service. It also gives the union greater stability. The more members we have locally, the better equipped we are to support stewards and our members.

'Nobody asked me!' That's the single biggest reason people give for not having joined a trade union. And the best people to recruit new members are the UNISON members who work alongside them. A steward's initial contact with new employees can have a significant influence on their perception of the union.

When Richard Smith started his first permanent job a year ago he knew virtually nothing about trade unions. Unsurprisingly, joining up was not on his to-do list. "If someone hadn't approached me, I would never have joined," he says. "This is why stewards are so important and why they need to be informed on how to recruit." Nothing beats a face-to-face chat, explaining the union's activities and all the benefits that come with membership. Existing members can share with others what they know and like about their union.

Young members are particularly important if UNISON is to grow and be strong in the future. Debbie Smith spells out the work done to recruit student nurses in the Eastern region: “We meet student nurses at university inductions to recruit and tell them about the benefits of being a member. We also produce a regional newsletter that provides nursing information, advice, updates and campaign news,” she says. “We do offer incentives to join, such as a free nursing dictionary, discounted subscription to the Nursing Times or a ladybird stress toy - but the main focus is the message we give about the benefits of being in UNISON. “We put together recruitment and information packs emphasising the importance of retaining union membership. We also promote national campaigns - most are already aware of our 'Pay Not Poverty' campaign to get rid of the bursary and get student nurses back onto a salary,” says Ms Smith.

Last year saw union membership rise by 32,000 - the best year for recruitment in more than 10 years. "This achievement is due to the commitment and dedication and sheer level of hard work of our branch officers and reps,” says Sue Highton, a member of the union’s national executive council. "We can be proud of our performance in 2005, but we must not be complacent," she adds. That is why Ms Highton - along with 1,499 others - was one of the first to sign up to the union's Challenge X. This is a straightforward challenge - every member, activist, rep, steward and branch officer, who signs up to it pledges to recruit 10 new members over the course of the next year. If just 10% of the readers of this site took the challenge this month, for instance, it would mean more than a quarter of a million new members in the next 12 months.

The aim of the challenge is quite ambitious - 1.5 million members by the end of 2007, rising to two million by 2010. But there is no doubt that it is an achievable aim.
It’s up to every one of us to help make our union stronger.

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'Information must be free'

(7/8/06) The government must not renege on its commitment to freedom of information, insists UNISON, after a newspaper story suggested the government is considering charging for access to data. General secretary Dave Prentis has written to the minister responsible, Lord Falconer, for an assurance that a story in yesterday’s Sunday Times suggesting fees for information was incorrect. The newspaper reported that a 17 July Cabinet memo recommended commissioning a cost-benefits analysis of introducing new fees for requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

"UNISON has long been a supporter of freedom of information," said Prentis. "The introduction of cost-free freedom of information requests under the 2000 Act is undoubtedly one of the major achievements of this Labour government."

The letter cited examples where the Act has been used by the union, including one where information about a hospital cleaning contract in Wales helped prevent staff cuts, thus maintaining care levels and averting industrial action.

Mr Prentis noted that there are already regulations in place to stop "vexatious requests", adding that charging might "not only raise concerns about genuine public accountability … it could also raise unwarranted suspicion in the public mind that information was being withheld on political grounds."

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Single Status Briefing 11 July 2006
To download this briefing, please click here.

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Job Evaluation Alert
01/08/05 Have you seen your job overview since agreeing your job description for evaluation?  We have discovered that some of our members are not being provided with copies of their job overviews. It is crucial that you see them and therefore can comment on their accuracy before they are processed further through our agreed sorethumbing process.

It is the responsibility of departmental HR sections to provide you with copies and if this has not happened then please let the branch office know on telephone 01782 236750, fax 01782 236751 or team mail "Colin Walton".

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Pension rights under attack

(21/6/06) The UK is the fourth richest country in the world, yet more than two million pensioners live below the poverty line, national conference heard in a debate setting out UNISON’s policy on pensions.

"It is our aim to ensure that our pensioners can retire in dignity," said deputy general secretary Keith Sonnet. "Britain only spends half what the rest of Europe spends on pensions. And many pensioners are forced to live on means-tested benefits."
The value of the state pension had plummeted since the earnings link was broken by the last Conservative government. Pensioners were getting a raw deal, said Sonnet.

"Public pensions are under attack. In the private sector, we see scheme after scheme being closed altogether. "It is the government that is behind the attack on public pensions and is forcing pensioners to live on means-tested benefits. Yet MPs voted themselves one of the best pensions in Europe," he said to applause from delegates.

Conference congratulated the union on the framework agreement on the reform of public-sector pensions schemes, negotiated through the Public Services Forum. It also called on the national executive to continue to campaign for equal treatment for members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Tribute was paid to the action taken by local government and other workers in the day of action on 28 March who defended their pensions.

But, warned Sonnet, union members are prepared to strike again if they do not get the same treatment as their public-sector colleagues. "They want dignity, not handouts, and they will strike to protect their pensions. Let the government and employers be under no illusion that, if negotiations fail, we will strike to defend our pensions."

Delegate after delegate took to the platform to deplore the government’s action in removing pension protection for LGPS members. "Police officers, fire, health and teachers have already been given protection," said Sheila Buchanan from Glasgow City. "Parliamentarians have the right to retire at 60 with an average pension of £28,000 a year. "Yet public-service workers have to work for at least 25 years, in stressful jobs, to get the right to a pension at 60 – with the average pension at £3,800 a year, and even less for low-paid, part-time women workers."Why are we being discriminated against when other public sector workers are being protected?" she asked conference.

Conference congratulated UNISON Labour Link on the decision to suspend support for Labour’s local election campaign during the dispute. Many delegates spoke of the need to do more for young people who were not joining the LGPS, and for the need to protect their future retirement.

The NEC acknowledged the concern expressed about a two-tier system being created for new young workers going into the public sector. "Our aim in negotiating any new scheme is to widen participation, and include our low-paid members – the majority of whom are women. We need pension schemes that are open to all," said NEC member Stephen Mead. Conference also decided that the link between pensions and earnings should be restored, and pensioners should not have to wait until 2012, as suggested by the government. 

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Local Government Pension Scheme Negotiations Newsletter No 2 (19 May 2006)

Talks begin....  the LGPS trade unions met last week to plan a joint approach to negotiations over protection and the future of the LGPS. This followed the agreement reached with the Local Government association on the Joint Statement on 11 April and the subsequent suspension of industrial action by all the LGPS unions. Click here to download in full.

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Local Government Pension Scheme Newsletter No 36 - Judicial Review Ruling Received (28/09/06)

The decision of the judge in UNISON's case against the Government was received yesterday. Click hereto download.

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Frequently Asked Questions On Strike Action Click here to download common questions and answers on strike action.
Impact of Pensions When On Strike Click here to download the fact sheet on the impact of pensions when on strike.

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What you need to know about your pension

Are you a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) or know someone else who is? 
From October 2006, anyone under 53 faces having to work on to 65 before getting a full pension, no matter how long you have worked and paid into the scheme.

But other public service workers have had their pensions protected by the Government. Why not members of the LGPS?

Now Unison is fighting to protect your pensions - and we need your help.

What are the Government and employers up to?  

At the start of 2005 UNISON promised industrial action and defeated government plans to cut the LGPS. Now John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, is under pressure from the Tory-led Local Government Association and the plans are back.

 We can win again.

The Government has already conceded the existing members of the uniformed police, armed forces, NHS, civil service and teachers' pension schemes should have their pension age of 60 and pension benefits protected.

And in tough negotiations on the LGPS since September, UNISON has already forced the Local Government Association, the government and the employers to back down on a proposed 1% increase in employee subscriptions and from raising the minimum pension age from 50 to 55.

At the heart of government plans - as in early 2005 - is a threat to remove the rule allowing people whose age plus years of service equal 85 or over to retire on a full pension. (They claim this is "age discrimination").

This won't just affect new members of the scheme - only existing LGPS members who qualify for the rule and reach the age of 60 before 31 March 2013 (ie who are 53 or over in 2006) will still get the benefit we have all been paying for.

From 6 April 2006 they are also planning to bring in changes allowed in the 2004 Finance Act. They key ones will allow members of the scheme:

  • to continue to work reduced or more flexible hours and contribute to the LGPS after retiring and taking your pension
  • to retire with a larger lump sum in exchange for giving up part of your pension benefits: £12 lump sum for every £1 of pension, up to a maximum of 25% of the value of your benefits on retirement.

What does Unison say?

We believe LGPS members should be treated fairly and our pensions protected like those of other public service workers.

Teaching assistants deserve the same treatment as teachers, police staff are no less deserving then police officers and meat hygiene inspectors ensure people's health in the same way as NHS workers.

What's more these changes will make it even harder for public services to recruit and retain staff and improve services.

What are we planning?

UNISON will use the law to challenge the draft regulations if possible. We are also planning a campaign of industrial action if that fails.

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State pension age to rise to 68

(25/5/06) If  you're 47 or younger, you'll have to work longer before getting a state pension, under new government plans. A white paper setting out how the government plans to implement the Turner report's recommendations says the state pension age is to rise to 68 by 2046.

There are positive proposals as well, though, including restoring link between the state pension and average earnings – in the next parliament. And there is good news for women, more of whom will be eligible for the full state pensions.

In the biggest shake-up of pensions for years, the government is also to introduce a new pensions savings scheme. Workers will be automatically enrolled into it.

The principal points in the white paper are:

  • increasing the state pension age for men and women to 66 starting from 2024, to 67 from 2034 and 68 from 2044 – each rise phased in over two years;
  • restoring the link between future increases and rises in average earnings, from the next parliament;
  • reducing the number of of years of national insurance contributions it takes to earn a full basic state pension to 30;
  • introducing a National Pensions Savings Scheme from 2012. Workers will be automatically enrolled, but with a chance to opt out if it is not suitable for them.
From 2012, employees will be asked to pay 4% of their salary into the new pensions scheme. Employers will be obliged to contribute 3% while the government will contribute 1% in the form of tax relief. UNISON has long argued the need for compulsory employers’ pensions contributions. But has warned that an employers’ rate of 3% will not provide an adequate pension for the low paid, especially part-time women workers.

The paper also attempts to make the system fairer for women. Measures will be introduced to enable people caring for children or the disabled to build an entitlement to a state pension, without having to make a minimum level of national insurance contributions. The government says these changes will mean that 70% of women will be eligible for a full basic state pension by 2010, as opposed to 30% now.

UNISON welcomed the positive moves in the white paper, especially the plan to enable more working mothers to become eligible for the state pension, and the proposed restoration of the link to earnings.

But the union said the overall approach would only increase the confusion and uncertainty the public feel about their financial future.

“If the government now concedes that the state pension should be linked to earnings, then why wait for six more years and see the relative value go down by another 6%?" asked UNISON pensions manager Glyn Jenkins. The earnings link should never have been abolished and we want it restored now – not in six years’ time. “The white paper appears to simply replace average prices with average earnings as the basis for increasing the state pension in the future. In 1980, when the link was broken the increase was the better of average earnings or prices.

"Although earnings tend to increase faster, not having any RPI underpinning means pensioners would very vulnerable to periods of high price inflation that would mean either suffering and poverty or unplanned increases in means testing." He also welcomed the plan for compulsory employer contributions to pensions, but warned that 3% is too low called for it to be increased to 10% "as soon as practicable to provide a realistic chance of adequate pension in retirement."

The white paper is the government's response to the report of the Pensions Commission, headed by Lord Turner.


Further questions and answers on the LGPS - issue 3 - January 2006 can be downloading by clicking here.

The employers propose to:

  • Remove the 85 Rule from 1 April 2006. They say this is necessary under the Age Discrimination legislation.
  • Offer NO protection to existing members of the scheme.
  • Increase employee contributions by 1% from 1 April 2006 and 2007 and review it in 2008.
  • Increase the age at which benefits can be taken from 50 to 55 from 1 April 2006, four years ahead of the date necessary under the 2004 Finance Act.

 
WHAT INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS NEED TO DO

Please make sure we have your current name, address and correct employer details.  The City Council does not inform us of such changes due to Data Protection Regulations - we are dependent upon you, the members to keep us informed of changes!!   

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Pension proposals unfair and discriminatory

(6/3/06) If prime minister Tony Blair was a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), he would miss out on retiring at 60 by 35 days.

Blair’s birthday of 6 May 1953 means he would narrowly miss out on retiring at 60 with a full pension and would have to work an extra five years or retire with less money.
But Gordon Brown, born on 20 February 1951, would be fine and could leave his job at 60.

UNISON is using Brown and Blair as an example of how the proposed government changes to the LGPS will adversely affect tens of thousands of low paid public-sector workers who were born after 31 March 1953.

Together with nine other unions UNISON has been trying to negotiate with the government to protect the pension rights of the country's low paid public sector workers. The union started balloting its members over strike action last week.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said that the Blair-Brown example shows that colleagues working alongside each other could have completely different pension rights because the government is refusing to extend protection rights to existing members of the LGPS. "It doesn't matter how much you paid into the LGPS, what personal sacrifices you made or how long you've worked,” he said. “If you fall on the wrong side of the government's arbitrary date of 31 March 1953 - even by a day - then you will have to work an extra five years to keep all of your pension. "It is completely immoral that the government has protected every other public-sector pension scheme except this one. Why single out the lowest paid workers for the worst treatment?”

The proposals don't just affect people working in local government: LGPS members by also work in housing associations, higher and further education, the police, fire and rescue services, probation, the Environment Agency, the Meat Hygiene Service, passenger transport executives, opted out schools and in some private companies and the voluntary sector.

"The majority of LGPS members, who have spent a lifetime delivering vital services to their local communities, are women, with an average LGPS pension of just £31 a week. "It's not much, but together with their state pension, it helps to keep these hard working people out of poverty. "Tony and Gordon don't have that problem."

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Developing The Role of School Support Staff
 Unison has produced a question and answer guide on the National Agreement on Remodelling The School Workforce. A printed downloaded copy is available by visiting our downloads page. 

Information includes tasks no longer undertaken by teachers, new posts for support staff and much more.


What is Unison doing

A timetable detailing the three phases of the National Agreement is available here. 

Changes In Contracts
Click here to download this factsheet on the rules regarding changes to employment contracts under the Remodelling of the School Workforce.
School Remodelling - A Unison Survival Guide - implementing the National Agreement on School Remodelling - your questions answered. 

New standards for school food and staff - August 2006

Catering managers should have received guidance from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), The School Food Trust (SFT) and the local authority on sweeping changes to school meals, unrolling from September. Starting with provisional food-based standards for all school food (full implementation required by September 2007), nutrient based standards will follow in primaries by September 2008 and secondary schools by 2009 at the latest.  Click here to read more.  

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BRANCH OFFICER VACANCIES

Fancy Being A Steward?

There is always room for additional stewards.  On appointment you will be contacted about the Union Reps I training course which is available locally which will ensure you have a good grounding in the basics and you will also be put on the branch mailing list which means you  will receive all the latest information including the branch newsletter and invitations to meetings. Additional support and advice is also available from your Convenor and the Branch Office.   

What does a steward do?

  1. Be the first line of general service to members
  2. Recruit and maintain membership, and ensure that membership records are kept up to date
  3. Investigate and act upon any complaint or difficulty and represent members in discussions and negotiations with managers, where appropriate
  4. Refer any difficult problems to, or seek advice from the Convenor
  5. Observe all agreements to which the union is party, and take reasonable steps to ensure that members are aware of agreements and observe them
  6. Keep members informed of all relevant industrial relations and trade union issues
  7. Liaise with other stewards and health and safety representatives in the service group
  8. Attend appropriate training courses organised by Unison
  9. Represent members at service group and branch committee meetings
  10. Also hold the post of health and safety representative unless this duty is declined in writing to the branch secretary

For an informal no obligation chat, contact the Branch Secretary on 01782 232263 or contact your Convenor.

Are you looking for a non confrontational role within the branch that really helps people? 

If the answer is yes, then why not think about the opportunities available as a Lifelong Learning Representative or Advisor which entails encouraging and helping members to increase their skills/qualifications?   

Lifelong learning means education in the widest sense, so that people can contribute more effectively, as individuals, in their workplace, within the trade union and in a larger societal context.

Central Government is encouraging education and training through its agenda for lifelong learning through legislation and financial support.

To facilitate this, the latest Employment Act, in force from September 2002, has given Lifelong Learning Advisors (LLA) and Union Learning Representatives statutory rights similar to those enjoyed by stewards and Health and Safety Representatives.  

A LLA is more likely to be a member who has recently completed a learning programme, whilst ULRs will probably be existing Stewards who wish to develop learning in their own workplace.

Unison is currently developing a training programme to equip LLA's with the skills and knowledge to enable them to undertake the job. 

This is an initiative that may help to offer a new route into trade union activity, this is particularly important as UNISON is under represented by activists who are women, part time or low paid.  

For an informal, no obligation chat on the post contact Dave Thacker on 01782 238393

Are You Aged Under 26? If so then why not consider being our Young Members Officer

  1. Make contact with young members and non-members to encourage interest in the union.
  2. Liaise with other branch officers and the branch committee on issues affecting young people.

For an informal, no obligation chat contact Colin Walton on 01782 232263

Sports & Social Secretary 

The  role is to:

  1. Organise events for branch members.
  2. Assess the feasibility of requests for social events from branch members, and report requests to the branch committee.

For an informal, no obligation chat, please contact Colin Walton on 01782 232263

Women's Officer

The  role is to:

  1. Advise the branch and branch committee in respect of matters relating to women's issues.
  2. Advise the branch officers and committee on the development and monitoring of any action plan to achieve proportionality and fair representation in conjunction with the equality officer.
  3. Advise and support the development of a self organised women's group on behalf of the branch committee.
  4. Develop and promote training opportunities for women within the branch.
  5. Advise and where appropriate represent individual female members in liaison with the appropriate Convenor.

For an informal, no obligation chat, please contact Colin Walton on 01782 232263

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Did You Know

Personal Injury Settlements for July and August 2006   The West Midlands Region received £86124 for July and £123036.58 for August 2006 in  overall in compensation for personal injuries suffered at work. Members of this branch received £2088 in July and £5300 in August. It pays to be a member of Unison!!


Registered Charity No 1023552


In 2003 we made grants to 1600 members and their families. One thousand members contacted us for debt advice and support
The overall amount we give in grants each year has doubled to over £1/2 million since we introduced family holidays.  We can often respond to more than one need facing families. For example, we might provide a grant to pay urgent bills or for children's clothes as well as arrange a holiday.