Author: Stirling Websites

Following another mammoth set of negotiations which lasted into the early hours of this morning, this time directly with the First Minister, UNISON Scotland has secured an improved pay offer for our members.  The revised offer is attached for your information.

Your Local Government Committee met today to consider this offer and has agreed:

• We will consult members on this revised offer (and suspend the current consultation on the previous offer)
• All current and planned industrial action for Schools, Early Years, and Waste services members will be suspended whilst that consultation is underway
• We will recommend acceptance of this offer to members in that consultation

The key details of the improved offer are:

• An increase of £2000 for those earning up to £20,500
• An increase of £1925 for those earning between £20,500 to £39,000
• A 5% increase for those earning between £39,000 to £60,000
• A maximum increase of £3k for those earning above £60,000
• The removal of SSSC fees where application (social care registration fees)
• 1 extra day of annual leave
• All increases are based on a 36hr week calculator (apart from those over 60k who will have a 37hr calculator)

This equates to a total pay bill uplift of 7.5% with 87% of Local Government workers receiving fully consolidated uplifts from the date of implementation of between 5-10%.

We will send further details on the arrangements for the new consultative ballot as soon as possible.

I write to advise you that the AGM of the Scottish LGBT+ Self-Organised Group will take place as follows:

Date	Saturday 8th October 2022
Time	11:00am
Venue	UNISON Office, Empire House, 4th Floor, 131 West Nile Street, G1 2RX

Please pass this information on to anyone who may be interested.

Please find enclosed the Delegate Registration Form, Nomination Form for Committee places, and, if required, a crèche form.  All forms should be returned, via the Branch Secretary, to Joan Millar at j.millar@unison.co.uk by 12 noon on Friday 23 September 2022.

There is no restriction on the number of delegates sent by Branches as long as all delegates self-define as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or fall within recognised definitions of plus.  All travel and subsistence should be met by branches. 

The AGM not only provides an opportunity for motions to be brought forward to guide the work of the Committee in the coming year but also is an excellent forum for LGBT+UNISON members to meet and make contact both within and across the service groups.  The AGM is also the place where the UNISON Scotland LGBT+ Committee is elected for the coming year.

Papers for the AGM will be available on the day.   Please arrive early to enable you to pick up these papers before the start of the meeting.

If you have not received your electronic Ballot through your email:

Firstly you should:

Check the clutter in your outlook and look for an email from UNISON Scotland <emails@unison.org.uk>.

You should also check your personal email as when you registered you may have used a different email address.

If you still find you haven’t received this you can get in touch with Unison Scotland by calling 0800 0 857 857.

Please use your vote, we need you to make sure we get the numbers through to move to make sure all workers get a fair pay

Update your Unison details we need accurate information on your work, email, and mobile information. You can do this at My Unison

There have been a lot of talks out there about why we have not simply agreed to convert the £ available into a flat rate.  See the video below.

There will be a bus leaving Stirling Vue on Thursday 8 September at 9am to go to Edinburgh for the March against the Cost of Living Crisis.
If you are able to join us please get in touch with Lorraine Thomson at thomsonl34s@stirling.gov.uk as we have limited numbers for the bus.

March and Rally outside the Scottish Parliament

Thursday 8th September

Assemble 10:30am: Johnson Terrace, EH1 2PW March off 11am

Rally at the Scottish Parliament 11.30 – 1pm To be kept updated on the march and the STUC’s wider Cost-of-Living Campaign sign up for our weekly email update.

March and Rally outside the Scottish Parliament

Thursday 8th September

Assemble 10:30am: Johnson Terrace, EH1 2PW March off 11am

Rally at the Scottish Parliament 11.30 – 1pm To be kept updated on the march and the STUC’s wider Cost-of-Living Campaign sign up for our weekly email update.

The Cost-of-Living Crisis is hitting people across the country. Public service workers in particular are facing a fresh set of real terms pay cuts on top of years of stagnating wages.

The STUC and our affiliated unions are campaigning for a range of urgent actions to stem this crisis, including action to reduce energy bills, support for those of all ages on benefits, rent caps, and action to reduce transport costs.

The ultimate responsibility for the Cost-of-Living Crisis sits with the Tories at Westminster. However, this does not mean that the Scottish Government is powerless. It needs to start by funding inflation level pay rises for Scottish public service workers.

Join us, as we demand better for the public service workers of Scotland.