Single Status equal pay and pensions dominated 2006

George Lee, Branch Secretary

Over the past year we have seen a Labour administration unceremoniously dumped by the electorate in favour of a Liberal Democrat / SNP coalition in the Council and SNP minority rule in the Scottish Parliament.

It was hoped that a change of administration would see fresh ideas and the promise of both parties to consult stakeholders about the services they would like to see within the City, meaning real improvement in service delivery and recognition of the contribution made by their employees. This was not to be the case and the new administration were soon in turmoil and threatening £10m cuts in council services.

In June this Branch voted overwhelmingly for a ballot on strike action. A ballot which we won, albeit, notable that certain elements of the Branch were arguing we were being premature in taking action. Subsequent proposals to close a large number of schools proved them wrong.

I remain of the view that Council services are all about people. People use the services and people deliver them. They are home helps, education and social work staff, engineers, roadworkers, environmental health staff - all the people who provide Edinburgh's services.

You cannot make cuts of that size without a real threat of redundancies among the people delivering those services.

Redundancies were averted thanks to the actions of branch members and the echo that their action had within other groups throughout the city.

However, as highlighted in my report last year, the Council's insistence in pursuing the national strategy for Shared Services brought forward a report which threatened as many as 800 job losses under proposals to create Shared Services with Fife and Borders Councils.

This Branch must remain firm in its view that any compulsory redundancy involving a UNISON member will result in an immediate ballot for Industrial Action.

Equal Pay and Single Status discussions have continued with time limits coming and going without much progress. The Branch has again invested significant resources to ensure that progress is achieved to deliver the long-awaited (and legally required) equal pay structure whilst ensuring that low-paid women who have a legitimate (historical) claim have gained access to appropriate legal assistance and advice.

The failure of the Council to deliver an equality proofed Job Evaluation Scheme by the target set by them (1 October 2006) has now led to UNISON supporting secondary claims by low-paid women who had accepted a buy-out for historical inequality and I wish our legal team every success in their endeavours.

Pensions

You will recall that this Branch received huge support for the strike against cuts in pension rights (2006) and whilst the Government did in part back down, the final proposals as of the time of writing have still not been issued. It is clear that concerns remain there will be detriment applied to some existing and new scheme members alike.

Members would be right to remain aggrieved if the protection offered to our colleagues in Health and the Civil Service is not to be afforded to Local Government workers.

Involvement at Scottish and National level

Our Branch again played a key role on many issues at this year's National and Local Government Conferences. At National Conference delegates spoke to branch policy on debates about EU privatisation, Shared Services and UNISON subscription levels.

Branch delegates also reported back on an issue that needs to be addressed for the future. It is not just in UNISON Service Groups that the devolution agenda is becoming obvious, it is at National Conference too.

Issues like housing, schools and many health and local democracy issues are specific to Scotland and we need to develop discussion in the union about how we can fully involve ourselves under UNISON's national policy agenda.

There was also one speech that highlighted our branch's contribution to setting UNISON policy. Opposing the move to limit the number of motions the National Executive can submit, the Scottish Convener pointed out that in 2005 8% of motions were from the NEC whilst the City of Edinburgh alone submitted 5%!

At Scottish level John Stevenson continues to play a full role and is a member of the Scottish Committee, chairs the Communication and Campaigns Committee and edits the Scottish Bulletin and Website.

We also have strong representation on the Black Members and Disabled Members Groups. Matthew Crighton is a member of the International Committee and Derry Morrice is on the Health & Safety Committe.

Irene Stout sits on the Local Government Committee and Scottish Committee, further evidence of the ifluence of this Branch in our Scottish organisation.

Branch Organisation

If Single Status is delivered this year, we will require to revisit our Branch structures, there being no need for posts dealing with former Manual and APT&C conditions.

I would therefore remind members of the motion passed by last year's AGM that allows for a Branch Development Plan and a revised Branch structure to be placed before members as part of the consultation exercise on the final Single Status proposals.

It is vital we back the proposal at this year's AGM for a root and branch examination of our rules if we are to address this in a structured manner. As a Branch we have continued to recruit and retain members but we must ensure that our organisation structures remain robust and relevant with respect to delivering the level of service required by our members.

Branch Office

The Branch office staff, Support Officer Monica Niven and Support Assistants Nicola Lee, Julie-Anne Finlay and Eileen Thomson have had another busy year with the plethora of tasks that were required prior to and during the strike action and the continued high levels of activity being generated in relation to Equal Pay. My thanks go to them all for their hard work.

Again this year I would report that we continue in our quest for new, more accessible premises and work is continuing with the support of the national union to bring this matter finally to a suitable conclusion.

I would also wish to take the opportunity to reiterate my appeal of last year for members to be mindful of the fact that our staff have the right as all workers should have, to be treated with dignity and respect at all times, no matter the frustration members may have.

People

This year has again been particularly challenging and in that regard I would thank John Ross and John Stevenson for their support and assistance over what has been a busy year.

My thanks also to the Branch Officers and the many active Stewards throughout the Branch for their essential work. It has been pleasing to see activity and organisation within Stewards groups increasing over the past year. The more active Stewards we have, the easier the job gets and we need to encourage many more.

And finally, I would urge members to continue their support of the Branch given the many challenges ahead that the conclusion of Job Evaluation / Single Status negotiations, the rolling out of the Shared Services proposals and the increasingly pro-Private Provision agenda of the Council, will bring.

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