Branch urges stewards and members to get briefed on....
The reality of 'best value'
Under Best Value the council must review everything it spends money on, and 66 of those reviews are already under way across all areas.
All departments, the voluntary sector, joint boards and council companies are being reviewed over three years and compared with other councils and service providers.
"We must be in on that process and make sure that we, the people delivering the services, are ready to challenge with facts, figures and arguments", said joint branch secretary Morag Stevenson.
Briefing
Speaking after a branch briefing on Best Value for stewards, Morag added,
"Our members want efficient and accountable services and we have nothing to fear from fair comparison".
"These services are best provided by a highly motivated workforce on decent conditions.
"We have to make sure the real arguments about high quality, efficient, accountable and directly provided services are heard.
"But if they are not, we must reserve the right to fight to protect our members jobs and conditions."
Best Value means the council must..
Challenge why any service is provided at all, at what level and at what standard.
Compare performance with other councils and service providers.
Consult service users, local taxpayers and other 'stakeholders'.Consult service users, local taxpayers and other 'stakeholders'.
Compete. It must consider the place of competition and alternative ways of getting services delivered.
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Grounds Maintenance
Quality back on agendaQuality, not just cheapness, is back on the Grounds Maintenance tendering agenda following UNISON representations.
The Garden Aid, Forestry and Bowling Green contracts are being put out to voluntary tender despite UNISON challenging the figures used for comparisons.
But now, talks have ensured that the standard of work, not just the price, is back on the agenda.
More tribunal wins as employers fail to talk
The branch is having to go to more and more Industrial Tribunals - and winning them - as employers fail to talk to get things sorted out locally.
The branch has won, or got out of court settlements, in all recent tribunal cases.
The biggest culprit is the voluntary sector, although the problem is increasing across all the employers the branch covers.
"With the cost of tribunals and the effect this must have on organisations already strapped for cash, it is astonishing that they don't have the sense to sit down and reach negotiated settlements with the union", said John Ross APT&C convener.
Campaign to highlight quality in Grounds Maintenance bids
Three Grounds Maintenance contracts are going out to voluntary tender under 'Best Value', despite UNISON challenging the figures the council used for comparisons.
But after strong representations from UNISON, the council has promised a level playing field for bids and is hopefully putting quality, not just cheapness, back on the agenda.
"We are viable. We can and do provide a quality and cost effective service. We can go on doing that if that is what the council wants" said Charlie McInally, branch service conditions officer, who works in Grounds Maintenance.
"But if it is only 'cheapest is best' they are after, then that is not good enough for our service, for our members and for the people of Edinburgh".
A campaign is now under way, making links with pensioners and tenants organisations, to highlight the dangers of a second rate service.
UNISON had challenged the council's figures in a submission to the council against the voluntary tendering of Garden Aid, Forestry and Bowling Greens, all of which the council said came out dearer than comparisons with other authorities.
Greens too good
"They say our bowling greens are too good, so they need to cut the cost.
But they haven't taken into account the cuts and reorganisation put through in March", John Mulgrew, service conditions coordinator, told the council.
"The council claims gardens cost more to upkeep in Edinburgh. But if like was compared with like, they would find they're cheaper".
The branch also claims there may be safety risks in selling off the contract that looks after gardens for the elderly and infirm.
"Our members wear readily identifiable overalls and have a good relationship with the people they serve. The risks of a casualised workforce not employed or vetted by the council are obvious", said Charlie McInally.
The report admits that Edinburgh's tree pruning costs compare favourably with elsewhere.
But, as John Mulgrew points out "the report is significantly silent on one important area. As everyone in Edinburgh is aware, Edinburgh has a vast number and types of trees".
"The importance of trees in Edinburgh and the unpredictable problems of disease and damage are too important to be left to the lowest bidder", added John.
"Both we and the council recognise the need to ensure services deliver 'best value'. But even the government stresses that 'best value' means looking at quality as well as cost - and it means taking on the views of the customer and the providers. It is up to us to make sure that happens", said John.
KINGS THEATRE
Staff left in dark in asbestos scareThe Trust management covering the Kings Theatre is refusing to talk to UNISON about dangers to staff after the discovery of asbestos in the boiler room.
Despite assurances about staff keeping rights when the Trust came into being, it has derecognised UNISON and our members are being left in the dark about the possible impact on their health of the asbestos.
"There are implications for members still working there and members who have retired", said John Ross APT&C convener.
"We are now asking our legal people if there are ways we can get to see the relevant reports".
"Management have made a token response by offering health checks rather than putting proper procedures and systems in place", added John.
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Scottish employers pull out of national deals
Scottish local government employers are set to pull the plug on UK bargaining on 15 October.
Having reneged on the spirit of the nationally agreed Single Status agreement, the employers look set to try to cut conditions.
They have already tried to put cuts in sick pay on the table, with no pay for the first three days illness.
The union is taking legal advice on contracts, given that staff are currently conditioned to UK 'National Joint Council' conditions.
When Scotland pulls out of this, where will our contracts of employment stand?
The employers are refusing to be part of national pay bargaining so a Scotland only claim is inevitable, possibly with different rates north and south of the border.
Even more concerning is the push for 'local' deals, undermining even Scottish bargaining, warns Dougie Black joint branch secretary and chair of UNISON's Scottish Local Government Executive.
"It is clear the employers are intent on creating a local negotiating structure which will ensure our weaker branches see their conditions deteriorate".
Assistant branch secretary Gail Park reported the bad news to the last Branch Committee which called for special briefings for stewards and members.
As we go to press, the service conditions committee is launching those briefings.
Calling home helps
UNISON has produced booklets and leaflets for home helps, focussing on the particular problems they face at work and in organising in the union.
"This initiative is long overdue for a group that is two-thirds low paid part time women", said George Lee manual convener.
"We now hope to use it to get more home helps involved in the branch and make sure their issues get the priority they deserve" added George.
Best Value task group
The Best Value briefing for stewards is just the first in a range of initiatives planned by the branch's task group.
"We are now sending out detailed briefings to each stewards committee and urging them to appoint Best Value contacts", said task group co-ordinator Tracy Gilbert.
"We all need to ensure that we have the evidence to back up our services to challenge the facts and figures. And we also need to ensure we have the organisation in place to protect members", she added.
The task group members are Tracy Gilbert, Charlie McInally, branch joint secretary Dougie Black and full time officer Bill McAllister.
Still waiting for Single Status agreement
The council may be prepared to talk about Single Status locally, even though there is no Scottish structure in place yet.
They are currently costing what implementation would mean.
While Single Status was agreed nationally and is under way in England and Wales, the Scottish employers' have blocked its implementation so far.
The next meeting with the Scottish employers is on 25 September and members will be consulted on the result.
"The employers must start facing up to equal pay for work of equal value", said John Mulgrew, branch service conditions convener.
Principle
"This is not just a conditions issue, it is a point of principle.
"They negotiated with us, we balloted on an agreed deal and now they are reneging on their side of it. We'll take no more lectures from them on consulting members", added John.
Every member was balloted on single status last year and the vote was for acceptance of a deal that would
- create a single pay structure for all staff
- a 37 hour maximum working week for manual workers.
- maintenance of better local conditions where they exist
One reason the Scottish employers are felt to be dragging their feet is the higher proportional cost in Scotland with less 'manual' jobs having been privatised or outsourced than in England.
Big bad UNISON - we must be getting it right!
Branch vice-chair JOHN STEVENSON responds to attacks on the union and says we must carry on the campaign
UNISON is a big bad thing if press reports, councillors comments and even other unions are to be believed.
We are accused of being locked in the past with quaint ideas like protecting jobs and conditions, fighting for publicly funded and accountable public services and trying to save the taxpayer from the £billions wasted on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and privatisation.
But of course it is not about the past, it is about the present and the fact that we are asking the hard questions on behalf of our members and the public.
And we must carry on doing that. Building alliances with community and users groups and with the wider public to put our, and the Scottish people's, belief in properly funded public services back on the agenda.
Do you really think Councillor Dalgety would be slagging us off in her Evening News column if we were a relic from the past? Of course not.
It is because we are exposing the present.
Take the PFI example. Such has been the recent onslaught to rubbish UNISON's warnings, that the press is only now waking up to it, analysing the real implications and vindicating our work.
Partnership
We are not the dinosaurs they'd like to make us out to be. UNISON was first to present forward-thinking proposals for partnership with the council, for flexibility, for new imaginative ways to protect and improve services - and make them more cost effective, even before their Edinburgh 2000 document.
Yes, we want partnership. But real partners say the hard things when they have to be said. Real partners fall out from time to time but they don't ask the other to give up their principles. Real partners work on facts not prejudices.
Cosy deals
But there is a 'modernising' we do not support. We are not into the 'modern' cosy deals like the Glasgow GMB giving blind support to the council and backing the PFI that will sell off their members jobs.
In Edinburgh, we are not phased when some politicians heap praise on other unions and slam UNISON. You don't get praise from politicians for fighting your members corner.
We have been a lone voice for a long time but we've dug in and the rest are catching up.
Maybe it is not that we are in the past, but that we have seen a future that some politicians would rather keep under wraps.
If they are slagging us, we must be getting it right.
Branch backs Steve Coulson appeal
The branch has backed an appeal by long standing branch activist Steve Coulson against disciplinary action taken by the Social Work department.
Steve had faced charges dating back 15 years when he worked in a hostel for young adults. They centred on under age drinking and drugs allegations.
Steve, and those who know him, have always maintained his innocence and he was cleared of seven of the nine allegations, but given a written warning on two - both of which UNISON believes are unjustified, and one which it argues was never made in the first place.
Steve has had to endure months of suspension and a recent Evening News story that appeared to link him with allegations which had either never been made against him, or he had been cleared of.
Steve is grateful for all the support he has received from colleagues.
NOTE: It is not usual for UNISONNews to report on the detail of disciplinaries, but we felt it was important to put some of the facts to counter balance the damaging press coverage.
Election could mean more cuts
Initial reports suggest the council could be looking at a £12 million cut next year as part of its three year spending plan.
But the crisis could be even worse, up to £20 million, if the Labour Party is tempted to go for no council tax rise in the run up to the elections.
A council tax rise of just 3% would bring in between £6 and £8 million, closer to a standstill budget than another round of damaging cuts.
Social Work runs course for contact officers, but elsewhere there are...
Gaps in harassment policy
Harassment and bullying are on the increase yet there are many areas of the council where there are no contact officers and where members are not aware of the harassment policy.
Contact officers have a key role under the council's harassment policy - a fact recognised by the Social Work Department when they ran a recent course for them.
On the two day Social Work course, volunteers were introduced to the policy, discussed what harassment is and how it can mean different things to different people, and examined options available to people who feel they are being harassed.
The harassment policy which both UNISON and the council subscribe to lays down procedures which:
define harassment
set out expected standards of behaviour
set up systems to tackle harassment in a sympathetic and speedy manner
"An essential part of the system is the contact officers who can be approached by employees." said Morag Stevenson, joint branch secretary.
This has been the hardest part to implement since the contact officers are all volunteers and, in some areas of the council, none have come forward.
Morag put UNISON's perspective on the course.
"The union may be in a position to take a case further in terms of legal action which would not be in the remit of the contact officer.
"However we would always suggest to members that they approach the contact officer and likewise we would expect the contact officer to suggest the member contacts their steward or the branch office for support", said Morag.
"This is an area where we can work together and it was encouraging to see such a good response to the course from Social Work staff."
The branch has set up a working group to look at the whole area of harassment and how we as a union respond to the needs of members involved in harassment cases.
It will also be raising the gaps in the policy with management to ensure every area complies.
On the negotiating Line...
Manual workers' earnings protected with average bonus if off sick
More fairness in new sickness agreement
A new fairer sickness absence monitoring policy has been agreed between UNISON and the council.
"Sickness absence will be calculated more fairly and manual workers will not face huge cuts in earnings if off sick", said John Mulgrew, service conditions coordinator.
There had been wide concerns about the old policies to the extent they were dubbed "sickness harassment policies" by the branch. The old Lothian policy was not recognised by UNISON
"While the new deal is not perfect, we have been able to negotiate significant improvements.
"A key one is how the trigger for the procedure will operate.
"Before this was on a percentage basis that took no account of circumstances. The new deal will look at the actual incidences of absence.
"Up till now manual workers lost bonus when off sick, seeing their wages cut by up to a third. The new deal means they will now get average bonus when off".
Stress
The branch is setting up a group to submit a claim for a policy on workplace stress as an addition to the agreement and indications are that management is prepared to consider this.
Staff cuts harassment link
Plans are under way to negotiate an improved harassment policy.
"Harassment cases seem to be on the increase. We believe this is connected with staffing levels being so low that there is pressure on managers and they in turn are tending to manage staff by diktat rather than motivation", said John Ross.
Job share, part time overtime
The branch is putting together a claim for fairness in overtime payments for job share and part time staff.
The recent honorarium deal for overtime payments for those on over AP5 means there now must be a thrust for equal treatment of all staff.
Currently ex Lothian part time and job share staff have to work full time hours before qualifying for overtime.
Wellington move
The big move to Wellington Court should be on by the end of October, making way for the Scottish parliament.
But UNISON is worried about how 'interim' the move will be and is demanding detailed talks.
The site may meet minimum requirements now but it would not be suitable for longer term use.
Recognition fight at Trefoil
Trefoil House is still refusing to recognise UNISON even though more and more members are joining.
The branch is now going for direct access to the board to secure union rights.
Review hopes
The long awaited Mail and Security Officers reviews now look as if they may be coming to a conclusion. Officers are cautiously hopeful that they will deliver expectations.
Womens Group
next meeting 8 October 6pmWill make nominations for Womens Conference.
Phone Sylivia Crick on 313 5502 or 229 4688 for venue.
Open to all women branch members.
About UNISONNews
The views expressed in UNISON News are not necessarily those of UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch or the union.
All articles/comments to John Stevenson, Communications Officer at 0131 469 3660