Pay & Conditions Claim – settlement date 1 October 2010

Introduction

UNISON submits this claim in good faith on behalf of our members within Enable. We are fully aware of the challenging financial environment that Enable operates in along with other social care providers. Over the last year our members accepted a pay freeze and significant reductions in the sick pay scheme. Staff have already made a huge contribution in terms of reducing costs and can no longer be expected to bear the brunt of this.

In previous years we have set out a list of aspirations on behalf of our members. This year in continuing recognition of the economic climate we are solely focusing on a straight pay claim, with the only addition being a reiteration of our call for a review of the changes to the sick pay scheme.

Our members are highly committed to the work they do and are not motivated by financial gain but by the contribution they can make. Our members work in a sector whose work is structurally underpaid and undervalued in many ways. They cannot be reasonably expected to see their financial situation continue to deteriorate and indeed UNISON and Enable should be working in partnership to improve it.

Historic Background

Over the last 4 years pay in Enable has risen considerably less than inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index. There are two main measures of inflation RPI and Consumer Price Index. UNISON uses RPI in wage negotiations as it more accurately reflects the true movements in costs our members’ experience.

The table below shows what RPI was each October which is the date pay rises take effect from in Enable and what was ultimately achieved after negotiations and in one case a possible dispute. You will see that on two occasions we secured deals which targeted money at the lowest paid: 2006/7 and 2008/9.

Against this back drop of what are in effect cuts in the value of the wages of our members we need Enable to show faith with them a deliver a pay settlement that goes someway to address the erosion of wages.

Pay year                  RPI                              Pay award

2006/7                     2.5%                            Project Assistants £400 (equated to 3.1%)

                                                                    Support Worker 1.8% and one off £100

                                                                    1.8% for reaming staff below £17,980

                                                                    1.5% for staff above £17,980
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2007/8                    4.2%                              2.5%
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2008/9                    4.2%                            £400 for grades A & B

                                                                   2% for staff between £7.25 and £10 per hour

                                                                   1.5% for staff above £10 p/h
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2009/10                 -0.8%                            0% - pay freeze
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Current Background

In the year to July, RPI annual inflation was 4.8 %, down from 5.0 % in June. The new Con Dem government has already introduced significant cuts in public sector spending and plans massive future cuts. UNISON Scotland calls on Enable to join with us and the STUC under the banner of our Public Works campaign and the STUC’s There is a Better Way campaign, more information can be found at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/index.html and http://www.thereisabetterway.org/

Enable are in the process of positioning themselves to respond to the personalisation agenda, this will inevitably mean changes for staff. UNISON shares Enable’s aspiration that personalisation should be focussed on better meeting the individual needs and wishes of service users and their families but worries that cost reduction will be the primary driver. So far Enable staff have engaged positively with the personalisation agenda and this willingness to adapt should be borne in mind by Enable.

Our claim also reflects that the Broadbanding system does not enjoy the full confidence of staff eligible for it and that members in these grades would wish to see a simple cost of living rise applied.

Our claim reflects the challengers we all face whilst seeking to deliver fairness and social justice for our members. We have pitched this claim at a realistic level given the standstill last year in the sincere hope that we can reach a swift settlement.

The Claim

• 2.5% on all salaries and allowances;

• That the sleepover allowance be paid for sleepovers up to 8 hours, anything above 8 hours to be paid at hourly rate;

• That Enable introduces the Scottish Living Wage as the minimum pay rate within Enable. The Scottish Living Wage is currently set at £7.00 per hour (due to rise to £7.15); more info on it can be found at http://povertyalliance.org/slw-home.asp

• That a joint review of the changes to the sick pay scheme is undertaken soon after 1 April 2011 which is the anniversary of the changes.

UNISON PAY CLAIM 2010/11

UNISON has written out to all members to consult you on the pay claim we propose to submit to Enable in respect of the pay rise due to cover the period 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011. We are due to meet with Enable on 11th November to discuss pay amongst other issues and will submit our claim in advance of this.

Your stewards met to discuss and agree the proposed claim on 9th September and now recommend its acceptance to you. You will see from the copy of the claim posted on the blog that we are calling for a rise of 2.5%. This is a modest claim given you endured a pay freeze last year and inflation is over 4%. Your stewards and I thought that in the current climate we had to be realistic whilst seeking to gain some improvement in pay for our members.

We have no doubt Enable will inform us money is once again tight but we hope the realistic nature of our claim will encourage them to look very seriously at meeting it. We now need you to vote strongly in support by returning the ballot paper by Friday 9th October. We also need you to help us show the growing strength of support for a decent settlement by encouraging a colleague to join. The single biggest thing you can do to help us win a decent pay award is recruit a colleague. They can join by filling in the form enclosed with the mailing or by clicking on the join UNISON picture on the blog front page.

Other aspects tackled in the claim is our belief that sleepovers over 8 hours should be paid at the rate for the job i.e. your hourly rate, this addresses the creeping move to extend sleepover times for no extra pay. UNISON still believes sleepovers should be paid at the national minimum wage and is looking at ways to progress this legally. Finally, we state again that the changes to the sick pay scheme should be reviewed.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY march and rally

The new government has managed to create a widespread belief that it is essential public spending is slashed in order to tackle the deficit and reduce the size of public services. We do need to tackle the deficit but not this way and not in this timescale. These cuts to services will hit the most vulnerable in our community such as the people Enable supports and risk plunging us back in to recession. UNISON and the STUC have well argued and achievable practical alternatives to the right wing attacks we face. More information can be found on the following websites: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/index.html and http://www.thereisabetterway.org/

UNISON will be taking to the streets along with other unions, community groups and other organisations to support the There is a Better Way Campaign on 23rd October in Edinburgh just days after the government announces the full extent of the cuts in the Comprehensive Spending Review please join the march and bring your friends and family:

There is a Better Way March and Rally

Edinburgh 23rd October 2010

11.00 am: Assemble East Market Street Edinburgh

11.30am: March off

12.30 pm: Rally Ross Bandstand

VISITS TO WORKPLACES & STEWARDS

UNISON is keen to visit you and your colleagues at your workplace or team meetings (Enable have agreed to give us reasonable access to these) to speak to you and non member colleagues about UNISON and the benefits of membership. Please use the consultation form which is being mailed out to members or use the contact details on the front page to indicate if you would like us to visit you.

Also we are always on the lookout for more stewards in Enable, full training and support and paid time off is given to our workplace representatives. It is interesting and rewarding work and offers an opportunity to broaden your skill base. Again please use the form if you are interested in finding out more.

THERE’S POWER IN THE UNION

UNISON is pleased that after raising our concerns about the lack of a staff room at National Office during our submission on the restructuring there that Enable have responded by creating a new staff room. So the people who brought you the paid weekend, paid breaks and paid holidays (i.e. the unions) have delivered another benefit for staff and visiting staff at Head Office.
Remember we’re here to make your experience of work better, whatever the issue may be.

UNISON BEAR

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN FOR JOBS, SERVICES, FAIRER TAXES & A LIVING WAGE

The Con-Dem government say there is no alternative.
 We say the only sustainable response to the crisis is to promote growth and ensure fairness through creating jobs and protecting services, through fair taxation and a living wage.

UNISON is supporting the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) organised campaign - 'There is a better way' - and a forthcoming demonstration in Edinburgh on Saturday 23rd October 2010. We would encourage ALL members and their families to attend this demonstration. Travel arrangements will be publicised nearer the time, so keep checking back or contact your steward about attending.

Is your church paying a Living Wage?

UNISON receives information from many varied sources, one of these is the Church Action on Poverty who are running a campaign called 'Closing the Gap'. The 'Close the Gap' campaign encourages individuals to participate in the campaign against the ever widening pay gap between rich and poor in the UK which is greater now than at any time in the past 40 years. We need your help to tell those in power that it's time to Close the Gap.


Please read the information below, we would encourage all members involved in faith-based organisations to raise the issue of the living wage within those organisations and seek that they adopt the living wage if they have employees.

Each year, the level of the Living Wage gets reviewed and updated. It has now gone up from £7.14 an hour to £7.60. In London it is now £7.85 and in Scotland £7.15.

It is a sad fact that pay below this level is poverty wages. We believe that work should pay enough to lift people out of poverty. Thousands of hard-working families are still in poverty because people are paid just the National Minimum Wage. For Christians, this denigrates the fundamental dignity of humanity. It is an important issue of social justice to stand with people and families who are working hard but still in poverty.

Take action to stop this:

1. Make sure the administrators and cleaners at your church or employer are paid the Living Wage.

2. Ask your church leaders if they plan to implement the updated Living Wage across your area.

More information about the Living Wage is available on the Church Action on Poverty website.

Cranking up the campaign - Methodists lead the way

This summer's Methodist Conference saw them agree to require all Methodist churches and projects to pay the Living Wage by the end of this financial year, except in very exceptional circumstances. This has already lifted a significant number of lay workers out of 'in-work poverty'. This is the culmination of almost 10 years of work by Church Action on Poverty, and we pass on our congratulations to the Methodists. There is still a big job ahead to make sure the many churches and 600 Circuits adopt it.

Not far behind, the Baptists, the United Reformed Church, the Church of Scotland, and the Quakers are all publicly committed to the principle.

However, neither of the two largest denominations - the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England – has taken serious steps towards respecting their low-paid workers with a Living Wage. We will be in touch soon asking you to contact the Anglican or Roman Catholic bishops in your diocese.