The UNISON national website has undergone a major overhaul and is now live.
New features include General Secretary Dave Prentis’ blog and UNISON Knowledge, a member-only hub for information on employment rights and key issues affecting people in the workplace. You will also find details of the many benefits and services that you can access as a UNISON member.
Why not take a look at the new site and check you’re getting all the benefits you are entitled to!
Sheffield Left Unity will be holding their launch meeting from 1 – 5 pm on Saturday 29th June at the Central United Reform Church on Chapel Walk. The theme of the meeting is Crisis and Austerity – Why We Need Left Unity and speakers include Bianca Todd from the Left Unity Organising Committee and Stefanos Ioannou from Syriza UK.
Film director Ken Loach launched the Left Unity appeal back in March, and local groups are now forming. The text of the Left Unity appeal is below:
The welfare state is being dismantled by the coalition government, bringing great suffering to the most vulnerable in society and eroding the living conditions of millions of ordinary people. Worse still, the Labour Party is not presenting a strong opposition to austerity and instead appears to have wholeheartedly adopted neo-liberal policy, advocating its own brand of austerity and privatisation.
Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45 gives us a perspective on the achievements of the post-war generation, transforming the lives of ordinary people by bringing improved health, housing, education and social security to the people of Britain. We need to defend these achievements and continue the tradition of protecting the most vulnerable in society.
Support Ken Loach’s appeal to discuss the formation of a new political party of the Left to bring together those who wish to defend the welfare state and present an economic alternative to austerity:
Useful links:
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) is urging people to write to their MPs to stand up for their bus services.
The Government has announced the details of the next Spending Review for 2015/16 budgets, which will be published on 26th June. There are plans for an additional £3bn of capital spending, funded through cuts to revenue spending. The Government’s large capital spending projects on HS2 and toll roads will not provide the boost that is needed right now in local areas. There is a £10.5bn backlog of potholes which have a significant impact on the local economy. The CBT backs a Road Repair and Renewal Fund.
There have already been impacts on bus funding by local councils, with cuts to subsidies and non-statutory public transport provision. The Local Government Association says there is ‘a gap opening up on the demand for services and funding available to provide them’.
This will have an impact particularly on low income earners and families who are already feeling the squeeze on their disposable income. The CBT are campaigning for green transport investments that promotes economic growth and does not have a negative impact on the neediest in society.
You can get further information on how to stop cuts to bus services at the Campaign for Better Transport website.
Please vote above on whether or not to accept the employer’s pay offer of 1%, after reading the following advice from UNISON, by 30th June 2013. This is a consultation exercise – any formal action will require a national ballot of HE members.
We have now received a ‘full and final’ written pay offer from the national employers’ organisation the Universities & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).
This consists of a 1% increase to all pay points. The offer also includes continuing work on the recommendations of the equalities working group
UNISON believes that this offer does not reflect the increased cost of living and that this is the fifth consecutive year of minimal pay offers. Inflation is still consistently above 2% and we know that members are facing further real cuts in their standards of living.
For most HE staff the last four settlements have amounted to approximately a 2.2% increase in pay. When the annualised inflation increases (Retail Price Index – RPI) over this period are combined with the forecast RPI rate up to July 2013, cumulative inflation will have increased by approximately 15.5%. The result in real terms is a cut of over 13% in the value of take home pay for some of the lowest paid in the sector
In its review of higher education finance HEFCE reported last year that, ‘the majority of the key financial indicators are the best on record, with the sector reporting strong surpluses, large cash balances and healthy reserve levels.’ We believe that this demonstrates that a decent award is affordable for most institutions.
The offer makes no significant concession towards UNISON’s claim for a living wage for all higher education staff. The Living Wage is not addressed fully in this offer with over 4,000 staff still having incomes below the Living Wage. More and more funding is coming from non-government sources and settlements in the private sector are averaging around 2.5%.
UNISON believes that the offer is simply too low and we recommend that members reject the offer.
The Higher Education Service Group Executive now believes that this is the end of the road for serious national discussions and so is now consulting with you the members to decide on the next steps.
UCU and EIS have rejected the offer and UCU has decided to invoke the New JNCHES dispute resolution procedure. Unite and GMB are currently consulting on the offer.
UNISON has made it clear that we believe that the current pay policy in higher education is unsustainable. Many of the gains achieved by the implementation of the framework agreement are being lost. Members face greater job insecurity with more demands on flexibility and roles are being gradually being privatised across the sector.
Consistently high inflation has eroded the value of members’ earnings. This cannot be ignored indefinitely by the employers. UNISON believes that pay matters to our members in higher education.
Whilst UNISON has opposed the implementation of the higher fees regime, it is estimated that it may result in a real increase in funding to the HE sector of around 10%. UNISON will continue to campaign to ensure that all staff in the sector benefit from any increase in income. It is UNISON members that work hard to provide a positive experience for students in higher education and they deserve to be valued and rewarded.
SHU UNISON currently have a student intern, Samantha Douglas-Cregan, carrying out research into why some young people do not join trade unions.
Staff aged 27 and under, who are not members of a trade union, are being asked to give their opinions in a short survey.
The information gathered will be used to create a report and recommendations of how trade unions can appeal to young people.
If you know staff in your area who may be eligible to take part in the short survey please send them the link below; if any more information is required please feel free to email Samantha: s.douglas-cregan@shu.ac.uk
The needless deaths of over 1,100 Bangladeshi workers in the Rana Plaza disaster have thrown the spotlight onto UK clothing companies. They need to ensure people making their clothes are able to do so in safety and dignity.
IndustriALL, the global union for garment workers, and UNI-global, representing retail workers, have developed an Accord on Fire and Building Safety.
Over 30 major retailers have signed the Accord, including H&M, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Next, Primark and Tesco. However, a number of High Street brands who manufacture in Bangladesh still haven’t signed. Prominent amongst these are Debenhams and GAP.
Please take a few moments to send an email via the Going to Work website, urging these companies to sign up.
The People’s Assembly is a national initiative to bring together anti-cuts campaigners, trade unionists and community activists and create a forum for social justice. It is supported by unions including UNISON, Unite, PCS and the NUT, as well as a range of well known activists including Tony Benn, Caroline Lucas, Ken Loach and Owen Jones.
The press launch for the People’s Assembly will be taking place on 22nd June in London. If you would like to attend you can register for the event online, more than 2500 people have booked so far. A coach for delegates is available from Sheffield (£15 waged, £5 unwaged) – to book a space on the coach email Carrie at carrie@burngreave.net or call her on 0751 079268.
One Sheffield Many Cultures and Sheffield Unite Against Fascism have organised another event for Satuday 8th June from 12 noon in Barkers Pool.
“Tommy Robinson”, EDL leader, has threatened to repeat the EDL’s attempted march to the war memorial at Barkers Pool on Saturday.
As Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield said: “The appalling murder of Drummer Lee Rigby has united people across communities in shock and condemnation.
“But the EDL are exploiting the tragedy to promote hatred and division. They create tension and violence. They’re not welcome in Sheffield. We should stand united, as Muslim and Christian leaders in the city have, to oppose all extremism.”
Please support the statement below.
Don’t let the racists divide us – Unite to peacefully celebrate and defend One
Sheffield Many Cultures
Oppose attempts by the racist and fascist English Defence League to
exploit the tragic death of soldier Lee Rigby to whip up racism
Join the rally on Saturday 8 June.
Please email your support for the campaign statement to
info@onesheffieldmanycultures.org.uk or info@sheffielduaf.org.uk and
spread the word about the rally on Saturday 8 June called by One
Sheffield Many Cultures and Sheffield Unite Against Fascism.
Campaign statement
We urge people from all walks of life in Sheffield to unite in
celebration and defence of One Sheffield Many Cultures on Saturday,
8th June from 12 noon in Barkers Pool.
We strongly oppose plans by the English Defence League (EDL) and their
national leadership to demonstrate in Sheffield on Saturday 8th June.
We condemn the brutal murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich last
week. There can be no justification for such a terrible attack on an
individual. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and
friends.
We also oppose the cynical attempts by the EDL and others to exploit
the murder to whip up racism and direct hatred against all Muslims in
defiance of the wishes of Lee Rigby’s family and regiment.
The EDL is a racist group dedicated to attacking Asian people and
Muslims. Islamophobia – bigotry against Muslims is as unacceptable as
any other form of racism.
The EDL’s aim is to divide us by making scapegoats of one community,
just as the Nazis did with the Jews in the 1930s.
Today they threaten Muslims, tomorrow it could be Jewish people,
Hindus, Sikhs, black people, lesbians and gay men, Travellers or
Eastern Europeans. There is no place for the fascist EDL in our
multicultural and multi-faith city.