Devon County UNISON

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2008-01-25T15:32:00.000Z

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An outcome at last!

2006-04-12T15:57:00.000+01:00

You may have seen or heard the news.

Because you and hundreds of thousands of other members took massive action on the 28th we have made this important breakthrough.

Here is the report from Jon Gray, our SW Region Head of Local Government Service Group.

"I have just spoken to Nick Olgard, our representative on the National LG Service Group Executive at the end of their meeting.
The Service Group Executive (SGE) had to consider whether to continue strike action. Ultimately the SGE agreed that the Statement offered enough to justify the suspension of the action. Continuing to talk was seen as more fruitful than continuing to strike."

"The important concession in the statement is the agreement that 50% of the savings from the abolition of the rule of 85 and the savings from the new commutation proposals would be available to fund scheme improvements, including protection for existing staff. When set against the Employers’ insistence on keeping these savings for themselves and their refusal to contemplate protection beyond 7 years, this is a massive advance and a tribute to the effectiveness of our highly successful Day of Action."

"The SGE agreed that they have the basis for on-going discussions about revisions to the Pension Scheme. The first step is to come to an agreement about the figures involved and reconcile different views about the size of the problem. It will also be important to set a clear timetable for the talks, which must be concluded by June."

Jean Geldart, the Chair of the SGE and one of our National negotiators, said ‘This is not the final victory but it is a way forward.’ We should be pleased that our action so far has cleared the ground but we need to maintain our pressure to ensure a decent Local Pension Scheme in the future.

To everyone who took action - be proud of your solidarity.
If you have any hardship problems as a result contact the Branch. We have a hardship fund and a wellfare fund to which you are entitled to apply for assistance.
Don't forget that you can also pay in your missed pensions contribution that would have gone in on the day you took action.

On your behalf I'd like to say a great thank you to the Branch Activists and Office Staff who worked extremely hard to make sure the 28th went as well as possible.

To everyone - a huge thank you from me,
Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

Selective strike action halted. Money flows in.

2006-04-01T03:31:00.000+01:00

After our stunningly strong strike last Tuesday informal talks took place with the employers and the government on the future of our pensions.
As a result, the next stage of the strike, the week-long stoppage of meat hygiene inspection, has been put on hold. Further talks will begin early next week to determine whether an agreement can be reached to protect existing staff and begin negotiations on the new scheme. The action has been deferred to allow the best chance for a successful resolution of the dispute.

Money Flows In.
Branches across the South West have pledged money to help with the selective strikes, should they need to go ahead after all. Cornish Branches have led the way. Congratulations to them.

But in addition to those pledges this Branch has been receiving cheques, donations of a day's pay, from members who were exempt and members who are not a part of the Local Government Pension Scheme. This impressive spirit of solidarity has been a wonderful tribute and acknowledgement to those who did take action. Thank you everyone.

Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

Weren't we wonderful!

2006-03-28T16:58:00.000+01:00

Colleagues,
I'm so proud of UNISON today. Every single web news-site has pictures of UNISON members commited to action to defend our pensions. Everywhere.

Right across the country we've massively made our point through direct action, service disruption, school, libary, transport system and other closures, to name but a few. And we've had huge media coverage - mostly neutral or positive.

And Devon's Branch members have been highly active too. In the true sense that we are a lay-led union our success is down to each of you who stayed away from work, all of you who stood in the bitingly chill wind this morning, picketing. The hundreds and hundres of you who rallied at lunch-time across the county.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) there's another tripartite negotiating meeting. UNISON's negotiating Team know we've shown the Government and the employers that we mean business. We've built a strike base-line that will only grow stronger and more dedicated if the employers and Govt still refuse to budge.

We said Hands off our Pensions!, and we meant it.
Keep strong.
Moira

Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

Rally venue changes in Exeter.

2006-03-27T14:23:00.000+01:00

Please don't go to the Mint Methodist Church.
Please go to the Thistle Hotel, opposite Central Station in Queen Street. The Rally is in the Cavendish Room from 12.45 p.m.

See you there,
Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

If you're picketing....

2006-03-26T06:23:00.000+01:00

.... call the Branch Office by 11 a.m. on Monday so we can post you the official arm-bands and the leaflets to hand out. 01392 382530
We'll post first class to your home address. You will also be told what mobile phone numbers to ring to report in how you're doing. Anyone who can get to the Branch Office - we're in the Matford Offices on the County Hall campus - we've still got some placards and placard poles left.

Read the picketing Do's and Don'ts - in a blog below - they're very important.

Remember the lunch-time rallies in Barnstaple and Exeter - see details below.

Hands Off Our Pensions!
Moira Macdonald, Branch Secretary

lunchtime rallies in Barnstaple and Exeter

2006-03-24T05:29:00.000Z

(Important - See the blog below about how to Picket)

Get the latest news from those in the know.
The lunch-time rallies will give you the chance to

be updated on the latest negotiations between UNISON, the Government and our employers' association - the Local Government Association (LGA).
hear what is planned for the next few weeks to keep up the industrial action pressure

You will also have a chance to ask questions and make suggestions.

Both rallies will run from 12:45 p.m. - length depends on the number of questions and the amount of discussion after the speakers have spoken.

EXETER - The Mint Methodist Church, located at the top of Fore Street. Nearest car park is the Mary Arches multi-story.

BARNSTAPLE - Christ Church. Nearest car park is in Green Street, once parked, walk through the arcade - the church is near the other end of the arcade. NB, if you buy fish and chips at the shop close by you are asked not to take them into the church.

Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

Why picketing is important

2006-03-24T04:38:00.000Z

And a brief guide to its do's and don'ts...

It is lawful to picket, but the law imposes limits. Your objective is to

persuade (peacefully) fellow workers not to cross the picket line to work.
persuade (politely) goods and trades vehicles / people from entering the site. In other words try to persuade the post deliverer, milk supplier, stationery supplier, etc. not to deliver
if someone insists on going in to work (you are not allowed to bar them from doing so) then you can ask them not to cover the work of those who are out.
hand out leaflets explaining why we are having to take action
picket at least for the first few hours when people will be coming to work - say from 7.30 to 11.00 a.m. After that you may wish to come to one of the lunch-time rallies (see other parts of this blog)
be seen to be active by the public and be ready to explain why we're taking action. Don't expect everyone to agree with you, or even to be polite, but always use acceptable behaviour back.

Important bits...

You need to let the Police know that you intend to picket. You also need to let the Branch Office know and to give us a phone number to contact you on the day. Those who do picket will be given a mobile number to link to Branch Officers if needed.

And the really important bits...

No more than 6 people at a time can picket - have a rota. If anyone else comes to lend moral support or wave placards they must stand clearly separate, take no part and be equally well-organised. Only members who are on strike can picket.
Keep a picket register. This is important in case of trouble, but also so that we know who might need to claim from the Local Action Fund.
The people picketing must be identifiable - UNISON armbands are available from the office.
Don't cause traffic to back up dangerously into the road or create a highway hazard
You can only picket your own place of work. If you don't have a fixed base that you work from you may picket at the administrative centre of your employer
You must co-operate with any requests that the police might make but are entitled to try persuading them that you should be allowed to ask cars and other vehicles to stop (if they suggest you can't) so that you can speak to the driver and hand them a leaflet.
Have a poster or placard that says you are an official picket - the Branch Office has lots of these already made up - email or phone to request one.

What to do if things go wrong

If members who are picketing start behaving unacceptably you should ask them to leave. If non-striking workers or the public become excessivley or even physically abusive you are entitled to call on the police for assistance.

You will have mobile phone numbers you can ring for advice.

Powerful picketing will help protect our Pensions. Go for it!

Moira Macdonald, Branch Secretary

Rally in Exeter at lunch time

2006-03-23T14:39:00.000Z

Calling all members in and around Exeter.
After you've picketed - or if your workplace has had to shut -YES! - then head for the Mint Methodist Church (next door to Mad Meg's at the top of Fore Street) and hear National UNISON speakers plus have a chance to ask questions.

What time? From 12.45 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. or until you've heard your question answered whichever is the earlier.

Nearest car park is in Mary Arches Street - multi-story.

Next Blog - a guideline to picketing.
Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

Point to the right villain please

2006-03-23T03:18:00.000Z

Yesterday the Western Morning News carried an item attacking our Pensions industrial action. It was scornful of our Plymouth City Branch colleagues, saying their commitment to all-out industrial action was "a sad indictment of failed Labour Party policies"

Why the attack? Tony Staunton, UNISON Branch Secretary of Plymouth City Branch had posed a crucial question which we should all be asking ourselves, "What sort of council is it that attacks its workers' pensions?"

"It's a Labour-controlled one" was the simplistic answer in the Western Morning News, which went on to say, "I'm certainly not advocating a return to the final miserable years of the Tory-led yuppie culture that wrecked this country - far from it - but now, perhaps, all those who unthinkingly voted Labour at the last couple of elections will now think long and hard upon their part in the ruination of this country."

Think again whoever wrote that sentence!

Our Local Government Pension Scheme is not under the power of any one council, but of the combined councils and related employers acting as the Local Government Association (LGA).

And the LGA is a body dominated by Conservative employers, led by Sir Sandy Bruce Lockheart, whose politics are impeccably blue.

I've heard that the trade unions and the Government were close to reaching agreement on our pension issues, but when the potential agreement was put to the LGA that Tory-controlled body saw fit to unravel it. We were left with no alternative but to take industrial action.

So yes, Plymouth City Branch's local Council may be Labour, but the true villain is coloured a very different hue. Those of us whose pensions are being attacked by the Conservative-run LGA need to remember this when the May elections come round.

Branch activists living up to their good name
Your busy Branch Office was an even greater hive of activity yesterday. Four Branch officers and stewards were found space and phone-lines. They were busy phoning out to other UNISON Branches in Devon and to the other Trade Unions who are shoulder to shoulder with us. Co-ordinating rallies and events.

And crucially, they were contacting the workplaces covered by our Branch. We wanted to build up a picture of the local action you're planning and what help you might want. And we're barred from using employers' email systems to connect with you.

The news coming in is good. Lots of you are doing far more than staying away from work on 28 March. We've had to put in an urgent order to UNISON for more placards and Official Picket signs. We have loads of leaflets for anyone picketing to hand out.

Local action taken direct to Govt Pensions Minister
When we heard that Stephen Timms, Secretary of State for Pensions Reform, would be in Exeter on the 28th March it was too good an opportunity to miss. We linked with UNISON Region's Officer Andy Freeman and with Steve Warwick, our UNISON National Executive Committee Representative, to seek a meeting with him.

And we've been successful. After the lunch-time rallies we'll be heading for Exeter University where he's speaking at a conference. If you have a question you want us to put to him then email us (not from work!) at branchoffice@devoncountyunison.org.uk - short questions please.

Do's and don'ts on picketing
We have a few copies left of UNISON's industrial action guidelines. Contact the office if you would like a copy. Picketing lets everyone see your concern and commitment. It's a way of supporting each other too. And it's especially important if you're in a good location, very visible to the public. The best time is between 7.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.

We already know that some schools and workplaces are closing completely, so there's no point picketing - head for a lunchtime rally instead. Check this website for final details of where they rallies will be.

The message loud and clear is
HANDS OFF OUR PENSIONS!

ALL OUT ON 28 MARCH!

2006-03-20T18:22:00.000Z

Yes, that’s all of us.
Big thanks to the schools and other workplaces that have already rung in and emailed this office to say they’re going to shut down on the 28th

What is your workplace doing?
Let us know if you’re organising to picket your workplace in the morning – we have the official placards and armbands, plus leaflets and a copy of the do’s and don’ts to send you.

We’re planning lunch-time rallies in Barnstaple, Exeter and Newton Abbot.
Watch this space for where and when and who will be speaking.

We’ll be lobbying one of the Government’s Ministers of State whose remit is pensions when he comes to a conference in Exeter.

Look for our mail-out to every home which should arrive with you this Wednesday. Get together at work and spread the word. Don’t let the Government win. Do you want to spend your retirement feeling “If only….”?

Dave Prentis, our General Secretary, has called on every member balloted to respond to our strike call. We need to show the Government and the Local Government Association that our members in the LGPS deserve more respect.

Solidarity is the name of the game

If the Government and the LGA think they can get away with this attack on our pension scheme, then worse will follow. They are already talking about dismantling national pay bargaining. They want to reduce our sick pay and car allowances. If they think they can cut our pensions and get away with it, then they won’t waste any time getting rid of your other rights. So make sure you join the strike on 28 March.

All we are saying is give us the same….

All we want is equal treatment to every other public sector pension scheme member. All existing members of the police, armed forces, fire fighters, teachers, civil service and NHS pension schemes will have their existing rights protected as new schemes are developed for the future. Why not LGPS members? The Government says we are different because we are a ‘funded’ scheme. But all that means is that your pension contribution generates funding of scheme benefits.

Last year 28% of the funding of the LGPS came from investment income from your contributions. So it is only different because it saves the Government, employers and the tax payer money compared to all the other schemes!! And because the other schemes generally have more favourable benefits overall than the LGPS. That’s no reason to hand out even worse treatment.

Support from employers and councils growing

More and more employers, and many councils, have told us that they do not want the proposed changes. 19 Police Authorities, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Police Superintendents Association have expressed their disquiet about the two-tier pension arrangements that will apply in the police service in future if the Government and the LGA have their wicked way. Three major LGPS funds have said that they don’t want extra money because they’ll have to hand it back in Corporation Tax!

There will also be a two-tier situation in schools, some Primary Care Trusts, universities and colleges and other public services where LGPS members work alongside employees in the other public sector pension schemes. Let’s tell the Government and the LGA that we really have had enough of being the public sector’s poor relations!

Not in the LGPS?

If you’re not an LGPS member, but have been balloted, you can still strike. It will be lawful. We know that some members have not joined because their hours and/or pay are too low. Others on temporary contracts or in the private and voluntary sectors have never been asked to join. However, you might want to join in the future and UNISON wants to make sure that the future scheme gives a better deal to low paid members and part-time workers. We need you with us to be able to get into those negotiations, by having existing rights protected.

Which other unions are involved?

The GMB, TGWU, UCATT, Amicus, Napo, CYWU, NUT, NUJ, AEP and NIPSA are all balloting their members in workplaces covered by the LGPS. Last week General Secretary, Dave Prentis, and the other General Secretaries of most of these unions, gave a press conference announcing an average ‘yes’ vote of 80% across all of these unions. That means that the 28 march strike will be the biggest one in UK trade union history. So make sure you’re present on a historic day.

Negotiations continue

We will continue to negotiate hard for a fair settlement of this dispute. We have employed a firm of independent City actuaries – AON – to help us. They have shown that there is more than enough money generated by the proposed changes to the LGPS to protect existing members and make improvements to the future scheme. We have had two meetings of the Tripartite Committee over the last two weeks and met with the Government and LGPS actuaries. We believe that we have established our case for equal treatment. It is now for the Government and the LGA to do the right thing. We have been forced to take strike action as a last resort.

ALL OUT ON 28 MARCH FOR A FAIR DEAL ON OUR PENSION

Unity is Strength

2006-03-17T17:58:00.000Z

Colleagues,
This strike will make history – it’s going to be the biggest walkout since the general strike of 1926.
The 85 year rule that entitles us to retire on a full pension at 60 is due to be scrapped in October – unless we act to make the Government’s plans history.

We all joined our pension scheme in good faith, knowing that retirement at 60 was an option. Now we’re to be told that it doesn’t suit our Employers and none of us can retire till we’re 65.

Yet we know that this one-sided ripping up of a pension agreement will affect some of the lowest-paid workers in the country.
And to add salt into the wounds - others in the public sector such as firefighters, the police and NHS workers have all been guaranteed full pension rights at 60! Where’s the justice in that?

Dave Prentis, our General Sectretary says "The government has destroyed the retirement plans of tens of thousand of public sector workers. These essential public sector workers have had enough of being told they’re to blame for rising council tax increases. Local government pension scheme pensions cost just 2.7 pence of the council tax pound, so don’t be fooled into believing that these people are to blame."

You heard it. Our pension is being attacked and a finger of false accusation has been pointed at us. We all need to use the 28th March to point a massive finger back at the Government and the Local Government Association to say stop attacking the pensions of low paid, dedicated workers.

And we all need to tell the newspapers and the radio and television journalists that we don’t have big cushy pensions. The average pension of a UNISON member is around £4,000. Let’s see an MP live on that.

Watch out for biased news reports – phone, write or email in your protests. If every one of us kept up a solid campaign then the message would get home loud and clear.
I spent time today ringing other UNISON Branches in Devon. In every Branch I rang there were active UNISON members putting their minds to this, gearing up to co-ordinated action on the 28th. Unity is strength.

Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary

Don't mess with our pensions!

2006-03-16T17:12:00.000Z

Dear Members,
This is a fast way we can get the news out to you. Anything to do with strikes can’t go across employer’s email systems – but you can use the official UNISON / TU notice boards in your workplaces to pin up what you print out from our website.

WE VOTED ‘YES’! - and it’s all out now for 28 March
We’re everywhere - across local government, schools, police, higher and further education, the Environment Agency, probation, fire and rescue services, Passenger Transport Executives, the Meat Hygiene Service, the voluntary and Community sector and the members of this Branch’s other employers such as PLUSS and the Dartmoor National Park Authority, and we’ve given a
big thumbs down to the Government’s proposed changes to the LGPS and
a massive thumbs up to industrial action.
80% of those voting said ‘yes’ to action, on a turnout of 28%.

OUR SISTER UNIONS ARE RIGHT ALONGSIDE US
The average yes vote across eight of the other unions was around 80% too. All this adds up to the biggest strike the UK has ever seen. We need you to be a part of it.
I met with Devon representatives of the Teaching Unions this morning and they will advise all their members not to take on work in schools which should be done by support staff, but won’t be on the 28th. That’s solidarity. Big thanks to the teaching unions.

AND AFTER THE ALL-OUT ACTION of 28TH WHAT ELSE?
UNISON’s Industrial Action Committee met today and endorsed a further rolling programme of action. This will include selective action by particular occupational groups. This will continue into May, when further ‘all out’ action is planned.

GET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY INVOLVED--
UNISON is producing a new leaflet for members to give to the public to explain our case. It will be a joint union production to show the world that we are standing together as unions on this vital issue. Devon County Branch will be ordering thousands of these leaflets for you to help you explain to everyone what an injustice we’re facing on pensions.

CARRY ON CAMPAIGNING
While we are building for a massive show of anger on 28 March, we have to carry on campaigning. That means keeping up the pressure on MP’s, councillors, employers and pension funds. Already a large number of police authorities, some colleges and universities, several large LGPS pension funds and a large number of councils have told us that they don’t want the proposed changes to the LGPS. We need to step up the pressure on John Prescott and the Sir Sandy-Bruce Lockhart, so keep those postcards rolling in. Every Devon County Branch member will be sent a postcard next week. Please post them off straight away.

Hands Off Our Pensions
Moira Macdonald
Branch Secretary