MEMBERSHIP AND STEWARDS

There has never been a more vital time to be a member of a trade union. Please pass the enclosed form to a non member colleague or they can join online at www.unison.org.uk/join or by calling 0845 355 0845. Also we need more members to come forward to be stewards. Please consider giving this a go, it is rewarding and stimulating work, you get full training and paid time off to do it. Please let me know if you would like more information on getting active.

CAMPAIGNING AGAINST THE CUTS

UNISON remains at the forefront of speaking out for workers providing services to the public. Recently you may have seen us standing up for workers in Quarriers whose pay and conditions are under attack. What is happening to voluntary sector workers at present is a direct result of Westminster, Scottish and local governments passing on cuts. We need to highlight that it doesn’t need to be like this and there is a better way – tackle tax evasion and avoidance and reprioritise what we spend money on.

UNISON will be fully supporting the STUC’s People First on October the 1^st March and Rally from Glasgow Green at 11.30am on October 1^st to a rally in Kelvingrove Park. Please come along and bring your family and friends to help us ensure a large UNISON voluntary sector presence.

PERSONALISATION IN GLASGOW

We continue to monitor this situation closely and are in the process of producing a campaign bulletin aimed at raising awareness of the issues arising out of the cuts being imposed in Glasgow.

We are organising a meeting from 10am to 12 noon on Tuesday 20^th September at the City of Glasgow Branch of UNISON, 4th Floor, 18 Albion Street, Glasgow G1 1LHfor service users, workers and families affected by personalisation in Glasgow, though the meeting will be of interest to people beyond Glasgow as what happens here will be picked up by other local authority areas.

PAY

As you know Enable have stated they are unable to offer any pay increase for 2010/11 and there is no sign of any offer coming for 2011/12. However they have committed to entering in to talks with us over the possibility of Enable adopting the Scottish Living Wage of £7.20 per hour as a minimum rate. As I write we are still seeking confirmation from Enable of a date to meet.

Whilst we haven’t had substantive discussions yet the adoption of the SLW would be a major step forward. More info on the SLW can be found at this website: http://povertyalliance.org/slw-home.asp .

ARGYLL & BUTE PAY CUTS

We have belatedly been advised that some staff who earn more than £8.50 per hour in Argyll & Bute are being called in to meetings to ‘discuss’ having their hourly rate cut to £8.50 per hour.

We have immediately sought clarification on management’s proposals. If you are affected by this please get in touch with UNISON. In the interim if you are called in to a meeting ask to postpone it and for them to liaise with UNISON over scheduling a new date when you can be represented.

If you do go to a meeting we strongly advise you at this stage not to voluntarily sign up to a new contract based on a lower hourly rate. If you voluntarily sign there is little we can then do to help you. In short don’t sign there and then, take advice from UNISON.

ENABLE CUMBERNAULD STAFF

Former Enable Cumbernauld staff that remain on an EC contract were issued with a memo on 18^th August from Stephen Chalmers, Depute Manager of Operations & Development. The memo says that Enable are cutting the rate paid for overtime from being the same as the hourly contracted rate to £6.87 for all hours worked over 37.5 hours and £7.60 for hours worked up to 37.5 hours.

This memo was issued without any consultation with UNISON. We have written to complain about this and to say that we do not accept this unilateral change. We have requested a meeting to discuss it. Our advice to members affected is do not voluntarily accept a change to your contract. If you are affected please get in touch with UNISON.