Author: Stirling Websites

LG Pay – Implementation

Following weeks of repeated requests from us, COSLA finally produced a draft of the pay circular on 7th October. 

It was immediately clear that COSLA was seeking to time limit elements of the offer that had no time limitation on them in either the discussions that took place or the offer letter they sent us (SSSC fees, the day’s annual leave).  On the basis that this draft did not reflect our understanding of the totality of the offer made, and which members voted for, we could not agree to the circular.

We called an urgent meeting with the employer, which was held on Tues 11th Oct. 

UNISON wrote to them following the meeting reiterating the position of the TU side – that there was only a one-time limitation contained within the offer letter (which was on the First Aid allowance), the other elements they were now seeking to time limit were not time limited previously, that it was our joint understanding and that of our members that these elements were offered in perpetuity and that if they had a dispute with the Scottish Government re who was going to pay for them that was for them to resolve.   We reiterated the fact that our strike mandates remain live, strike action has only been suspended, and our position has always been that we will withdraw our notices of action once we are satisfied that the pay award has been implemented in full.

Numerous discussions took place last week where we continued to press COSLA to resolve these issues so that the pay uplift could be paid.  They sent an e-mail at the end of the week which inferred they shared our understanding of the offer but stated that they had to secure confirmation from the Scottish Government.  We responded that any dispute between COSLA and the Scottish Government was a matter for them and should not hold up the increase that our members are well overdue.

We have now escalated the matter to the COSLA Chief Executive.

Please be assured that we are doing everything we possibly can to get this resolved and the uplift paid as soon as possible.

Any members who are due to pay SSSC fees should continue to do so until the pay agreement has been implemented.  SSSC fees paid from 1st April 2022 will have to be repaid to members and the employer needs to come up with a mechanism for doing this.

We will keep you in the loop with any developments.

Show Racism the Red Card

UNISON has always been a strong supporter of the work of Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) and its campaigns to help eradicate racism from our society. We need the help of you and your branch to ensure this work can continue in 2022 and hope you can find time to offer practical and financial support. This coming Friday, 21st October 2022, SRtRC will hold its annual ‘Wear Red Day’ with over 370,000 people already registered to take part! Please choose the link below to access the page.

Show Racism the Red Card – Wear Red Day

TUs at COP27 climate conf – Sat 12 Nov Demos – Green UNISON

The COP27 UN Climate Conference takes place in Egypt next month and there will be mass climate justice mobilisations across the UK on Sat 12 Nov in solidarity with protests at the COP.

The African COP27 coalition, the UK Climate Justice Coalition (CJC – the org following on from the COP26 Coalition) and other climate justice organisations have come together and announced a Global Day of Action on 12 November.

Green UNISON activists across the UK are organising to support demonstrations being planned on Sat 12 Nov, including in Edinburgh and possibly some other cities in Scotland.

The 27th United Nations climate conference will be held from 7 to 18 November, with over 198 countries invited to take part. World leaders will make key decisions on how countries will commit to tackle the climate emergency.

Trade unions also take part as observers and use their collective voice to influence decisions, put forward demands for a just transition to a low-carbon economy and hold governments to account.

UNISON Scotland’s Depute Convener Stephen Smellie, a UNISON NEC member, will be on the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) delegation on behalf of UNISON.

As members here know, Stephen represented the union at COP26 last year in numerous ways including through the ITUC. He was also on the COP26 Coalition co-ordinating group that organised the mass demonstrations in Glasgow last November.

UNISON is holding one of only two TUC places within the ITUC delegation, and is working hard to promote public services as key models of green transition and to ensure that the voices of public service workers are heard in Egypt.

Our General Secretary Christina McAnea, speaking after this year’s UNISON Green Week at the end of September, as the world prepares for COP27, said:

“The devastating impacts of the climate emergency are being felt across every part of the globe, but they fall heaviest on the disadvantaged.

“We are determined to be part of the necessary change – trade unions have a vital role to ensure urgent policies and measures deliver a fair transition to a greener planet.”

See the UNISON UK website page urging branches and members to get involved in the run-up to COP27, including by signing up to the UK green network and to sign a petition in solidarity with Egypt’s prisoners of conscience.  There is a range of useful resources there, including a video of the annual Green UNISON webinar.

UNISON Scotland’s Green Network members were active during Green UNISON Week and have an online lunchtime meeting tomorrow, Thurs 13 Oct, to discuss green workplace action, including on climate hazards and adaptation and in bargaining work, as well as COP27 demos planning and the connections between the cost of living, industrial disputes and strikes and climate justice.

We have stood in solidarity for some time now with the youth climate strikes campaigners Fridays for Futures after Greta Thunberg inspired so many school pupils, students and young people worldwide with her weekly school climate strike. The next Scottish Fridays for Future Climate March is in Glasgow on Friday 28 Oct 11am, Kelvingrove Park. https://twitter.com/FFF_Scotland/status/1577685042003861515?s=20&t=e42QayUw8zHfUPovH20u_g

You can find out more about our Green Network on the Facebook page and there are news updates, such as this one, on our Green Workplace page on this website. The UNISON report Getting to Net Zero in UK public services, launched at COP26, is there too.

Pregnant Then Screwed

On 29 October the charity and campaign group, Pregnant Then Screwed, are staging a huge national protest to demand Government reform on childcare, flexible working, and parental leave. 10,000 mums and their families will march across the UK. One of the locations is Glasgow where attendance of 800 is expected.

The march will go from Glasgow 2014 Monument to George Square. 

You can read more about the march here: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/event-march-of-the-mummies/ 

Huge media coverage of the protest is expected.

We would encourage you to publicise this event through your networks.

Congratulating and thanks

Colleagues I’d like to start congratulating and thanking all those involved in our Local Government Pay Dispute. In eight of our Councils, our waste and recycling workers came together to take strike action, In nine council areas, our schools based members were poised to do likewise. Together this brought about an unprecedented protracted negotiation between the three unions and CoSLA with Scottish Government involvement. Whilst we accept that for some the final offer fell short of their expectations and there’s no doubt for most their rising costs, this did represent a huge shift from the original offer. Our members have voted on the final offer and roughly two-thirds majority have voted to accept. This was absolutely down to the tremendous efforts of our members, activists, branches, and staff working together to deliver effective industrial action. Again, we cannot thank everyone enough for the huge amount of work they did to bring about a much-improved pay settlement. Thank you.  Best wishes, Lorraine Thomson