UNISON has set up a petition to further show support for our pay claim. More info on this is available below, but if you are in a rush please sign up to the petition now at
https://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/unisoninenable
Please also email a link from this page to your colleagues, whether they are UNISON members or not and encourage them to sign the petition too.
You will recall that we consulted members in September and October over our pay claim for this year. Members voted massively in favour of our claim, which you will recall was for:
• 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.
Your negotiators met with management on 11th November to submit the claim and begin negotiations, below is an extract of the minuet from the Joint Negotiating Committee:
UNISON’s paper on its pay claim was presented and noted.
Peter stated that the management accounts to 30 September 2010 had only been made available in the last two days and indicated a breakeven position, despite having removed costs in the region of £250,000. Pressure from local authorities to make savings has been relentless and a number of local authorities have given a clear picture of what to expect and are looking for dramatic and immediate responses from the voluntary sector on top of cost reductions that have already been achieved. He also indicated that he is very conscious that front line staff are not paid enough and that his hope in the medium term is to redirect resources into those pay rates. However, how this will be done has still to be decided. Peter suggested that it may be worth setting up a smaller group to work on how this can be achieved but emphasised that there would be no overnight solution.
Peter asked for time to consider UNISON’s pay claim and review the organisation’s financial position further at the Finance Committee on 16 December 2010. He gave a commitment to coming back to UNISON with a response quickly after this date. Peter also indicated that ENABLE Scotland would be interested in working with UNISON on the campaigns detailed in their pay claim paper and that he will give this some thought.
Alan added that area reviews are being conducted so that there can be full confidence in the figures and finances in each area.
John raised an issue with staff in Ayrshire not being told what rate of pay they will receive for overtime and being unsure of what services have Grade A or Grade B work. Lorraine explained that the senior manager for the area determines the grading of the staff required to support each particular individual. She agreed that she will work with Allison Erwin and John to ensure that staff are aware of the overtime rates. John noted that expenses were also not being paid to staff to attend training courses. Gillian also questioned the practice in one service in Glasgow where, if one staff member on rota goes off sick, the remaining staff member has to support two people. Gillian suggested that the remaining staff member should receive extra payment. Some frustration was expressed about far costs can be cut and Peter emphasised that if ENABLE Scotland didn’t take care of its finances, it wouldn’t survive in the future. Peter stated that offers had been made for Directors to attend team meetings and made that offer again.
Stephen asked if the Board had expressed a view on staff pay increases or how staff are paid. Alan replied that the Board scrutinises the organisation’s activities and is aware of the current pay rates and that it is constantly on the agenda. Mike noted that the philosophy of the organisation had always focused on service quality. Against that, social care within the Scottish Budget will be vulnerable and ENABLE Scotland must guard against the private sector moving in. Mike emphasised, however, that ENABLE Scotland is not interested in providing services at any cost.
Simon noted the frustration of UNISON’s members and welcomed a tightening up of the information on Grade A, B and C staff, along with the overtime protocol. He also stated that UNISON will wait until the Finance Committee for a response from ENABLE Scotland but emphasised that frontline staff are really feeling the pinch.
As you will see the Finance Committee is due to meet on 16th December to discover our claim. We are seeking an early meeting following this but it will likely be early in the New Year. It is important that we keep up the pressure to get a decent settlement. Remember VAT goes up by 2.5% to 20% on 1 January 2011. So please sign the online petition we have created. We can then present this to Enable as we go in to further negotiations.
To do so visit: https://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/unisoninenable
