Health and Safety Reps Seminar

The Service Groups covered by the Business and Environment Unit held a successful Seminar of Health & Safety Reps at National level in the early part of this decade. Many Health and Safety related legislative changes that affect members in the Energy Service Group have occurred since this time and this Energy Conference calls on […]

Three year Pay Deals

Conference notes that the current Local Government three year pay deal expires on 31 March 2007 Conference further notes that the current pay deal has given us a rise of currently 0.6% in real terms. Conference believes that 3-year pay deals: 1)Weaken the bargaining position of the union and 2)Risk falling behind inflation However, Conference […]

Women and the LGPS Rule 85

This Local Government Service Group is appalled at the recent announcement by the Government to remove the Rule of 85 from the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), without proper consultation with the relevant stakeholders. The impact on many local government workers will be significant. In particular the impact on women will be enormous. This Service […]

Efficiency Reviews in the UK and Reviews of the Public Sector in Wales, Northen Ireland and England

Conference notes the motion passed in 2005 warning of the detrimental impact that efficiency reviews across the UK could have on jobs and services. Their effects are already being felt. Local authorities are implementing Efficiency Reviews by introducing more shared services through public-private partnerships or public-public partnerships. This is leading to job losses from economies […]

Shared Service Centres, Remote Processing and off-shoring – A threat to jobs and the Best Value Code on the two tier workforce

Conference is alarmed at the growing threat to jobs and the Best Value Code on the Two-Tier Workforce posed by shared service centres and remote processing of local authority services by contractors and other local authorities. Regionalisation of back office services through call centres is undermining local economies, local democratic accountability, jobs and responsiveness to […]

School Staff Terms and conditions

Conference deplores the Government’s policy of creating “independent state schools” in England which will mean that support staff in these schools, like the staff in city academies, foundation and voluntary aided schools, will not be covered by the NJC Agreement. Conference therefore calls on the Service Group Executive to campaign against all aspects of the […]

Extended Schools and Children’s Services

UNISON notes the Government’s commitment to improving children’s services across the UK. Each country is designing specific programmes promising to be designed to meet the needs of children, young people and their families. However, the preference for external providers as expressed most clearly in the Child Care Bill 2005 in England, gives cause for concern […]

Connexions Services and ‘Youth Matters’

Following UNISON’s successful campaign to prevent the wholesale abolition of the Connexions service, we welcome much of the content of the Government’s (England) Green Paper: ‘Youth Matters’ and will be closely following the Government’s follow up proposals. UNISON highlighted positive areas but also concerns in our response to Youth Matters in the autumn of 2005 […]

Aggregation of all Previous Service for NJC and Scottish Joint Council Staff

Conference notes that NJC and the Scottish Joint Council staff must have continuous service in order to be entitled to any benefits including the ‘long service’ award (an extra 5 days holiday after 5 years service) and that this specifically disadvantages women who are more likely to have taken career breaks and will therefore have […]

Term Time Only Pay

This conference is dismayed that, despite the advances achieved by the schools remodelling agreement, support staff in schools are still treated less favourably than teachers. Already low paid support staff have been financially penalised by the withdrawal of their ability to claim benefits for school holidays, yet the majority do not get paid for the […]

Part Time is Not Second Best

The Women and Work Commission report has once again highlighted the need for quality part-time work to be available to women if the gender pay gap is ever to be closed. LG part-time women earn a mere 58% of full-time men working in local government 85% of NJC workers on points 4-6 are part time, […]

Assessment of Ill Health

Conference notes the trend towards ever more rigorous application of varied standards before allowing access to pensions in cases of ill health While we are keen to explore all reasonable alternative work, especially within the rules of the Disabilities Discrimination Act, we are opposed to the termination of contracts due to incapacity without access to […]

Pensions

Conference notes that while UNISON has campaigned hard for the defence of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), pensions remains an issue which is difficult to raise effectively among young members. Conference also notes that this is undoubtedly in part due to the prospect of a long-term investment of a significant element of income to […]

Increase in Fuel Price – Negotiations

Conference calls upon the National Local Government Service Group Executive and the Scottish Local Government Committee to: 1)Re-negotiate the National Joint Council and the Scottish Joint Council rates on travelling in line with the increase in fuel prices; 2)Lobby for the Inland Revenue rate to be re-negotiated in line with the rise in fuel costs; […]

UNISON in Housing Associations

Conference recognises UNISON’s strong and consistent support for council stock. 2005 National Delegate Conference motion 51 builds on previous policy and continues the thread of Local Government Motion 37 (2004) and National Conference Composite D (2004) entitled “Housing”. Conference recalls the yearly Housing Seminar held nationally for UNISON activists and members. A key aim of […]