Trade unions and local government employers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales have confirmed their aim to resolve the current dispute over pay "as soon as possible". In a joint statement issued today to all council chief executives, they reaffirmed that all parties were committed to negotiations that aimed to secure an employment package "which is fit for the future, with positive industrial relations, high quality and efficient local services". They pledged to work together "to identify ways of using general efficiency savings to improve the pay and conditions of the local government workforce".

The statement has been signed by all the NJC joint secretaries. It provides the framework for further discussions and holds out hopes that a revised national agreement will have been endorsed by both sides and consulted on by the end of this year. Negotiations will be informed by data on the pay bill, workforce composition, earnings and conditions of service.

The Trade Union Side of the NJC Executive will meet on 10 September to take stock of the negotiations to date and agree priorities for improvements to the Green Book. The NJC Committee will meet on 18 September and will receive a full report on the negotiations and the consultation over any future action. There will also be a report on the information gathered from branches on working time, annual leave and unsocial hour's payments.

Download the full NJC statement (here).

The time table for this conferences this year is as follows:

Disabled Members' Conference in Chester, Saturday 25th to Monday 27th October 2008.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Members' Conference in Bristol, Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2008.
Black Members' Conference in Bristol, Friday 16th to Sunday 18th January 2009.
National Women's Conference in Southport, Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st February 2009.

Suffolk County Branch of UNISON sends delegates to all of these conference and would like to invite members to apply to attend on behalf of the Branch. Members who have attended in recent years have described the experience as very enlightening and rewarding and have felt their confidence increase as a result of taking part and even speaking to motions submitted.

The Branch will pay for your travel and accommodation and you should be released from work to attend. In return, we ask that Branch delegates provide report to Branch Committee following the conference and work with our Equalities Team to brief them on any issues emerging from the conference. Selection of delegates will be decided by Branch Committee and will be on a proportionality basis.

Should you wish to represent the Branch at any of these Conferences, please contact Helen by email unison@unison.suffolkcc.gov.uk or telephone 01473 584333.

Closing date for applications are as follows:
Disabled Members' Conference - 12th August 2008.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Members' Conference - 15th September 2008.
Black Members' Conference - 31st October.
National Women's Conference - 31st October 2008. 

Suffolk County Unison has put a number of questions to the employer over West Suffolk College Car Park charging proposals.  A summary of our questions is presented below.

The Branch is opposed to the differences between the charging mechanisms between Suffolk County Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council Offices as we feel this to be inequitable. Would staff, such as Facilities Management staff currently employed by St Edmundsbury pay the St Edmundsbury or Suffolk County rate?

We note that the County Council agreed in its Corporate Plan & Budget for 2006-7 that it would introduce car parking charges when the opportunity arose, although, the Trades Unions never had the opportunity to make comment on these proposals at that time.

We also note that Essential Users will not be expected to pay for the parking. Will this be the same for disabled staff? Has an Equality Impact Assessment been undertaken for this proposal as it would appear to staff that they have little option other than to travel by car to West Suffolk House due to its location as the move could be discriminatory?

Has an Environmental Impact Assessment been undertaken on these proposals as they do not appear to be very green for the reasons given above?

We have asked the employer to supply us with up to date costings of all car parks in St Edmundsbury. Our understanding is that the public car park at the rear of West Suffolk House has a lower car park rate than mentioned in the briefing note.

Will staff who transfer from offices outside of the Shire Hall campus be expected to pay for car parking at the same rates when they move at a later date. Will there be a transitional allowance for these staff? We are thinking, for example, of staff in Newmarket Hospital, Haverhill, Sudbury and Mildenhall who we have been told may move at a later date.

Will staff who cannot fit into this building due to the lack of desk space available have to pay for the car parking in their alternative workplaces?

Will staff who are unable to move, such as those in the Record Office, be expected to pay for car parking?

The Branch has asked the employer to supply a list of meeting dates for formal consultation with recognised Trades Unions and we look forward to an early response to the above questions.

The response from the employer will be posted on this website in due course.

Members who have any questions on the above matter are invited to contact the Branch at the following email address - unison@unison.suffolkcc.gov.uk

Helen Muddock, Branch Secretary
Paul Aldous, Chairperson

UNISON is calling on the government to take steps to reform the energy market following the latest round of fuel price hikes.

British Gas announced on 30th July it was raising gas prices by 35% and electricity prices by 9%

The move comes just days after EDF Energy put up gas prices by 22% and electricity prices by 17% and at a time when Local Government workers are being offered just a 2.45% pay increase!  The government's energy watchdog has warned the increases will leave another million UK households 'fuel poor' – defined as when a household spends more than 10% of its income on fuel bills.  UNISON has slammed the increases, which it says customers can ill afford.  Commenting on the price increases announced by British Gas today (30 July) Steve Bloomfield, UNISON national officer, said:

‘Customers can ill afford another round of price increases by the energy companies. This latest increase from British Gas will still hit vulnerable groups like the low paid and the elderly hard despite temporary measures to soften the blow. Many UNISON members will have to think twice before turning on their central heating next winter, due to the huge bills that will follow.

“British Gas is part of an extremely profitable group, Centrica, which has seen huge increases in profits as a producer and retailer of gas. Despite this, the company is forging ahead with plans to decrease employees’ pensions and to offshore jobs to India and South Africa.

“The Government should step in and stop this corporate greed and take steps reform the energy market. Customers and staff deserve a fairer deal”.

The Branch currently has a vacancy for a Black Members Equalities Officer.  Please contact us if you think you may be interested.

A joint statement from the National Employers for local government services, UNISON and Unite is available (here).

Unison's local government National Joint Committee (NJC) has today voted unanimously to back further talks with Local Government Employers, aimed at settling the current dispute over pay.

Discussions between UNISON, Unite and the Local Government Employers led to an understanding that talks can go ahead, with a timetable to be agreed at a later date.

In the light of this decision the NJC agreed not to name a date for further strike action. Progress will be monitored over the coming weeks and the decision reviewed in September.

Last week, 500,000 council workers took part in a 48-hour strike over a 2.45% below-inflation pay offer.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "Local government workers responded magnificently to the call for action last week. They contribute a huge amount to the local communities they serve and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

"Taking action was a tough decision for our members who are dedicated to serving the communities they live and work in, but their strong resolve has paid dividends."

UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield added: "It is vital that we get this dispute sorted as soon as possible. Our members cannot afford to be the poor relations of the public sector. If the employers are serious about making local government an employer of choice they must realise they have some catching up to do.

"Over the summer we will continue our campaign to win the hearts and minds of government, the employers, and the public to the justice of our case."

At the Home First Forum meeting held on 23 July the meeting considered the ballot result on the revised collective agreement covering conditions of service.

The result of the ballot showed an overwhelming majority in favour of agreeing the new collective agreement.

UNISON and management will therefore sign the new collective agreement at the next meeting of the forum.

A copy of the collective agreement is attached here.

At the recent ACS forum meeting UNISON asked why the agreement on the payment for hours worked over bank holidays has not been paid.

Management were unable to respond due to absences and will discuss it with us again at the meeting scheduled to be held on the 14 August.

Any failure to implement the agreement will mean that the matter is referred to the next partnership board meeting.

Following several months of negotiation a revised collective agreement has been reached with the employers.  A copy of the agreement is available here.

If you have any comments on the revised agreement please contact Paul.Aldous@unison.suffolkcc.gov.uk or Sheila.Reynolds@socserv.suffolkcc.gov.uk

Members will be balloted on whether or not to accept the latest offer from the employers.

A number of local colleges reach separate agreements away from the national pay negotiations but the advice from UNISON nationally is clear and is that regardless of local circumstances it is vital that all UNISON members in colleges flagged for inclusion in the ballot should cast their vote.

This is a ballot on a national pay recommendation that covers all colleges signed up to the AoC. Whether you've settled locally or not, you will be balloted for strike action if the offer is rejected in this consultative ballot so it's vital you vote.

The ballot period is the 14th August until the 8th September.

The offer is:

A 3.2% increase on all salaries and allowances from 1 October 2008, or the sum of £550 - whichever is greater, in the form of an underpinning for lower paid staff.

Taken over twelve months from 1 August the deal represents an increase in cash terms of between 2.7% - 4.23%

With the underpinning members on points 4 (£12,738) to point 14 (£16,692) will see increases, in actual cash terms of between 4.32% and 3.24%.

The FE minimum wage will increase to £6.91 an hour. This is higher than the minimum wage of £6.20 being offered to local government workers. It is also better than the new NHS minimum wage of £6.40 an hour for 2008.

The pay scales will increase by a minimum of 3.2% which is beneficial for both the purpose of calculating your pension and next year's pay rise.

The national committees' position is that the final offer is the best that can be achieved by negotiation and that if members vote to reject they must be prepared to take part in sustained and escalating industrial action beginning with a two day all out strike.

Unison has met with Sue Garbett and James Mehmed from CSD to discuss the proposed restructuring of the CSD Finance Section following the implementation of Project Matrix. CSD agreed to send out details of the restructure to staff and hold a staff consultation meeting during the week.

The first phase is for appointments to grades 8 and above and Unison has contacted those members on grade 7 and above to seek their comments on the proposals.

We plan to meet CSD again in September to discuss the next stage of the restructuring and will contact members at that stage.

Further updates will appear on this website in due course.