Mike Short, Community National Officer responds to news Women's refuge chief returns OBE in protest over cuts

Big society sums just don't add up



The Guardian, Tuesday 22 February 2011


It was sad to read about Denise Marshall's no doubt tough decision to return her OBE in protest at government cuts (Report, 16 February) – a further indication of the damage the Tory-led government is inflicting on the "civil society" it wants to use to replace the state. Organisations like Eaves and Women's Aid already provide vital services for vulnerable women, in partnership with the public sector. But the government's cuts will cost the voluntary sector as much as £5bn when demand for the services such organisations provide is increasing.

The proposed "big society" bank, which will lend two-thirds of its £300m at expensive commercial rates, is just window dressing and will be of little assistance. Against this backdrop, the so-called big society will not empower or strengthen communities; it will leave them with more to do, but with only a fraction of their current resources. It is an attack on both the public sector and the voluntary sector, and it will cause real hardship for millions of people.

Mike Short

National officer, community and voluntary sector, UNISON

UNISON's response to SCVO chief executive on 'cuts'

Below we reprint a letter from Ian Williamson, Chair of UNISON Scotland's Community sector committee and an employee of SPPA. Ian has mailed this letter to 'Third Force News' following comments made by the SCVO Chief Executive, Martin Sime.

Dear Sir

At a time when a broad, cross sector campaign against the coalition’s ideologically inspired spending cuts is required, it is disappointing to hear the Chief Executive of SCVO, Martin Sime, call for the Scottish Government to ‘stop protecting’ the jobs of public sector workers delivering vital public services (‘Battle Begins for a Fair Future’, TFN 4 February).

His assertion that the third sector also provides public services is one that UNISON is in complete agreement with. It is for this reason that UNISON has over the years worked with third sector employers to push for funding arrangements which factor in full cost recovery and parity (with the wider public sector) of pay and conditions for employees in the sector.

Our 6,000 members working in the sector in Scotland are among those facing redundancy or an uncertain future as a result of the cuts. We are determined to fight for each and every one of our members’ jobs in the third sector as well as the public sector.

Instead of evoking the legacy of Thatcherism with his attack on the ‘bloated’ public sector, Martin Sime should be standing alongside his partners in the trade unions to defend all public services, whether they are delivered by the public sector or by voluntary and community organisations. Instead of engaging in a divisive “don’t sack us, sack them” exercise, he should be directing his fire at the Government in London, whose programme of savage cuts will throw hundreds of thousands on the dole and do untold damage to public services and to the wider economy.

Ian Williamson

Chair

UNISON Scottish Community Service Group Committee

Default retirement age comes to an end

The Coalition Government has announced that the default retirement age will be abolished from 1st October 2011. The phasing out will begin in April 2011. The last day workers can be forced to retire using the Default Retirement Age (DRA) is 30 September 2011. As a result, the final day that an employer can provide six months’ notice using the DRA is 30 March 2011.


In general terms, under the new system the dismissal or retirement of older workers is intended to be dealt with either by an objective company policy, individual negotiation or by formal performance management procedures. The recently published ACAS guidance on this subject summarises the issue with the following statement: “Removing the DRA does not mean that employees will never be able to retire. It just means that employers cannot force employees to retire at a set age unless the age can be objectively justified”

UNISON advice to workplace reps is to monitor closely all retirement and dismissal procedures during the transitional period described above. Branches should seek to negotiate a workplace retirement policy which incorporates these changes and creates a level playing field for all employees regarding retirement.

Austerity and UNISON members: a survey

UNISON and PCS are launching a joint survey to measure the impact of the austerity measures on our members’ finances. We know that members and their families are struggling to make ends meet. The recent rise in VAT has come on top of price rises on household essentials, cuts in benefits and proposals to increase pension contributions - all at a time when members are being hit by pay freezes, pay cuts and redundancies.


In this survey we hope to obtain clear evidence to show the hardship these austerity measures are causing our members.

The survey is available by clicking on the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J69PSTK or there will be a hardcopy available for those members that do not have online access. The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete and we would urge as many members as possible to take part in the survey by Sunday 20 February 2011. You will be making an important contribution to your union’s campaign against the cuts.

The survey asks members some quite sensitive financial questions, but it is information that is necessary for us to calculate the true impact of the cuts on our members’ finances. The information will be treated as completely confidential. The results will provide the UNISON with hard evidence that will help us make our case in negotiations on pay and pensions and our campaigning and media work.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Deborah Littman .

For any technical problems accessing the survey contact Louisa Withers.