Latest news sent to members

To All Members Employed in The Mungo Foundation

Dear Member

We are writing to update you on a number of matters and to offer some general advice to members that we think is important to set out in the hope it will help you avoid getting in to difficulties at work. UNISON is here to help you if you do have problems at work but we also want to be proactive in helping you avoid some if possible.

I am pleased to announce that the role of Convenor that I have been carrying out since last September has been extended for a further 3 months.  I would like to remind you that I am based at Govanhill Street on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each week.  I do not have access to a land telephone number at Govanhill Street but I can be reached at the following mobile number and email: 07557561903 unisontmf@gmail.com .  For my other two working days I am based at Springbank Street Project as a project worker.

GLASGOW HOUSING SUPPORT SERVICES

The Mungo Foundation advised UNISON over a year ago there would be a massive restructure dictated by the implementation of ‘Personalisation’ by Glasgow City Council and the subsequent cuts to service users budgets that would arise from this. We are now dealing with the consequences of this.

New contracts of employment have been issued to staff as from 1 August 2011, this also being the date the new planners were implemented in Housing Support.  Many members have had their hours cut and their location changed and for some (part time workers mainly) an increase in the amount of sleepovers they are now required to work due to the new structure.  Part-time workers are also having to work more days often with split shifts but still doing the same amount of contracted hours or less, which adds more traveling time and increases transport costs as well as meaning spending considerably more time away from home for no extra payment.  UNISON advised members in our last update that if you were not happy with your new contract not to sign it.  It would appear that many, though not happy with their new hours, location and planners have signed their new contracts as they were anxious about their future security and concerned about their job.  Some members have yet to sign their contracts and are still on their old contracts but agreeing to work with the new planners until such time as they have reached an amicable agreement with the organisation.  This is likely to be once the planners introduced on the 1st August have been reviewed and where necessary adjusted.  Some members have reported back that the new planners are working for them, this appears to be at locations where staff are working sleepovers and there is a staff presence 24 hours.  At other locations where service users have what we can only describe as unsustainable budgets, service users’ support hours have been cut drastically and they are no longer in a position to pay for the support they need and deserve.  Reports from members state that the planners do not allow for accompanying service users to appointments (this includes medical appointments), any incidents that arise whilst on shift, appropriate medication times, service users being delayed or staff being delayed or liaising with other agencies.  This is also made more difficult by the number of staff vacancies, holidays, sick leave and the use of relief staff that are unfamiliar with the service users.  Another contributing factor is the ever changing needs and support required by the service users. 

Given all of the above UNISON raised the whole situation with TMF management at a meeting of the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee on Wednesday 5^th October. A detailed discussion took place where management candidly acknowledged they were aware there were many issues and that as it stood the service was not meeting its targets. They further acknowledged all this was having a detrimental impact on staff. At the meeting we received the following immediate assurances - that staff are able to claim for traveling time and travel expenses where they incur this due to one way pickups or drop offs. Furthermore a short life working group would be set up to look at all the issues in housing support; Mary Madden will represent UNISON on this.

If you wish to bring your views to the attention of the organisation I would suggest you do so in writing to your line manager and copy Mary Madden in. If you wish to raise issues in confidence then get in touch with me or Mary but we can only deal with individual issues in most cases if you have at least raised it with your manager.

WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE

We again remind staff that they are not obliged to work more than 48 hours over an average of 17 weeks.  Staff have the right to opt out of the Working Time Regulations if they wish to work more than 48 hours, this should be done in writing and can be changed again if your circumstances change.  For staff working sleepovers the hours spent on sleepover count as part of the 48 hours, e.g. if you are contracted to work 38 hours a week plus one sleepover, this can amount to 47 hours, you are not obliged to work any more hours than that a week; contact a TMF union steward if you require any further information regarding the Working Time Directive.

FOOD POLICY

UNISON at the JNCC again raised issues around the food policy, in particular in relation to sleepovers and the basic breakfast essentials being available and the treatment of staff supporting service users in the community at lunches etc. Again management acknowledged there were issues and it was agreed these would also be looked at in the short life working group that is being set up. UNISON is acutely aware we need to see concrete outcomes and procedures from this working group quickly and will be pushing for this.

MOBILE TELEPHONES 

We are aware that TMF have issued questionnaires to staff in Housing Support asking for their views on mobile telephones.  Staff are being asked if they would prefer a work mobile or to receive an allowance to cover the cost of work related telephone calls, our advice to members would be to request a work telephone.

TEAM MEETINGS

Members have been raising concerns about the lack of team meetings and supervision sessions and poor communication with managers, this has been mainly in the Housing Support projects, again we have raised this at the JNCC and will be monitoring the situation closely.

REQUESTS FOR ANNUAL LEAVE

We would like to remind members that they should put all their holiday requests in writing to their project manager as soon as they have dates in mind, for those who have access to e-mail you could also e-mail your manager with the dates.  Staff should have possession of their (pink) holiday card stating their personal leave allocation and it is the responsibility of staff to ensure that the card is kept up to date and signed by your manager or senior were appropriate.  Please ensure if you are carrying forward any leave from one year to the next that you have permission for this in writing.  We would suggest that all members have a supply of Holiday Request Forms in their possession and pass your request to your manager or senior giving as much notice as possible.

FESTIVE ROTA's  

We would advise members working in Housing Support to discuss festive rota's with their manager as early as possible as we are concerned that cover over the festive period will now become more complex due to the new planners. Please keep UNISON advised of any problems.

REQUESTS TO ATTEND A MEETING

All requests to attend personal meetings to discuss matters such as sickness absence, grievance and disciplinary should be in writing and should advise you that you have the right to be accompanied by UNISON.  UNISON considers a meeting that is being conducted by two senior staff members or one senior staff member and a member from HR constitutes a ‘formal meeting’.  If invitation is by telephone this should be backed up in writing before the meeting takes place.  If you are unsure about your right to representation at any meeting contact a steward as soon as possible for advice.  Also if you receive an invitation to attend a meeting and you wish representation please contact a steward immediately to allow the steward time to make the necessary arrangements, I am available at the moment Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, other stewards are working shifts and require notice to rearrange their shifts if they have to attend meetings. 

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

We would advise all staff to keep up to date with organisational policies and procedures and also local policies and procedures relating to your particular project.  If you are faced with any situations or incidents or have any concerns out with the normal 9 to 5 hours it is important that you seek advice from On-call sooner rather than later.  If an incident occurs while you are on shift please ensure that you complete an incident report and bring it to the attention of the appropriate person as soon as possible, it is important that you also record the completion of incident reports in the service users file and also at handover or on handover sheets if you are lone working. As incident reports can form part of the evidence at further investigations.  For all lone workers please ensure that you are fully up to date with the Lone Working Policy and Health & Safety in the Workplace.  If there are any aspects of the policies that you do not understand seek advice from your manager or senior, also if there is any training that you feel is important for you to carry out your duties raise this also with your manager or senior, preferably in writing.

CONTACT DETAILS FOR TMF STEWARDS                                          BRANCH OFFICE

                                       

Patricia (Pat) Gunnion: 07988549443 patriciagunnion@ntlworld.com           4^th Floor

Mary Madden: 07531 772832 marymadden_fol@hotmail.com                    Empire House

Stuart McVey: 07917 378116 stew_mcvey@hotmail.com                           131 West Nile Street

Luka Obroslak: 07872 394300 obroslak@op.pl                                          Glasgow G1 2RX

                                                                                                            Tel: 0141 331 4450

UNISON TMF Website (blog) http://unison-mungofoundation.blogspot.com – please watch this space regularly.

Whilst writing we would also like to make a few further points. You are the union, we your stewards and the Branch and the union beyond that are there because of you and are responsive to your views and needs. However we also need you to be active and engaged in the union especially at this time of unprecedented attacks on public spending and thus the funding for the work we do. UNISON is campaigning daily against the cuts and sticking up for the services we provide. As I write hundreds of thousands of our fellow members are being balloted on strike action to defend their pensions. They need our support as we need theirs to stand up for the services we all provide and for decent pay and conditions. So please do look at the UNISON websites from time to time at http://www.unison.org.uk/ and http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/ to see what is going on and to get involved.

I would also remind you that whilst UNISON’s number one job is to help you get a fair deal at work there are loads of other benefits to being a member, you can find out about these all at www.unison.org.uk/benefits/special.asp or if you don’t have access to the internet contact me or the branch to discuss these.

Please do keep in touch and let me know your thoughts and views. Lastly, I would like you to do one thing to make us bigger and stronger and thus better able to represent you in The Mungo Foundation, please ask a non-member colleague to join, they can do so by calling 0845 355 0845 or by visiting www.unison.org.uk/join .

Yours sincerely

Alice Lyness

UNISON Convenor

The Mungo Foundation

Scottish Spending Review – UNISON Scotland response

Commenting on today’s Scottish Spending Review announcement, Mike Kirby, UNISON’s Scottish Secretary, said: “While we welcome the news on public sector pensions as it applies to local government, the Finance Secretary had the discretion to carry this across the public services and chose not to do so.
“Although his announcement removes the threat of industrial action in local government, we still have serious issues across the public sector with many thousands of our members still facing unprecedented attacks to their pensions.
“We’re angry at the continuation of the pay freeze which will affect hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers, who have already faced a real-term pay cut for the past two years. There’s also no evidence that the £250 payment for workers earning under £21,000 will be universally applied.”

UNISON Scotland’s Policy Briefing #13 on today’s Spending Review is published on our briefings page – www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings.

MEMBERS 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.

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.

Learning Disability Alliance Scotland Newsletter July 2011

We have provided a link to Learning Disability Scotland's newsletter below.

There are two main articles in this edition.

First looks at how the dominant position of local authorities in funding of social care for people with learning disabilities might affect the development of Self Directed Support. A fuller version of this article is available at http://tinyurl.com/SDS2011

Our second article looks at the increasing charges applied for social care services and wonders if this is a new form of "tax" on the most vulnerable.

Mobilise: A week-long Festival of Campaigning skills happening in Edinburgh from 13-20 August 2011

UNISON Scotland's brings you MOBILISE at the Edinburgh festival.

What is Mobilise?

It does exactly what it says on the tin - brings people together and prepares for action. The art of creative campaigning.


We don’t teach protest theory - our workshops are preparation for action. Leaflets are designed, printed and distributed. Blogs are written “live‟ and uploaded. Films are shot, edited and broadcast. Skills learnt - jobs done. MOBILISE is a unique chance to work with artists and performers and develop your creative campaign skills.

For information and booking http://www.mobilisefestival.co.uk/

UNISON calls on Glasgow City Council to halt attacks on people with learning disabilities

UNISON, Scotland’s largest union in public services, has joined together with communities across Glasgow to fight against service cuts.


Trade unionists and members of the public packed out a meeting last week to share concerns over personalisation and fears that Glasgow City Council is using this process simply as a means to save money.

Glasgow City Council started its personalisation agenda last summer. While UNISON supports the principles of personalisation, which are about providing people with more independence, control and dignity, this is not what is happening in Glasgow. The council has always been explicit in its ambition to realise 20 per cent savings as a result of the process.

Mandy McDowall, regional organiser for UNISON, said: “We’re not against the concept of personalisation, but direct payments should be used to complement a range of public services and should not be used as a disguise for cutting services.

“We held this meeting to bring together those who are being directly affected by these cuts. The meeting was packed with staff, users and members of the community who all wanted to share their experiences. We heard from carers who are having their packages cut by 50 per cent; staff who are having their terms and conditions slashed and communities who are suffering facility closures.

“Each person had a different story to tell and the true human cost of each and every cut was laid bare.”

Parents, carers, service users, campaign groups, academics and disability groups were all in attendance at Thursday’s meeting. UNISON says the meeting will be the first of many and is calling on Glasgow City Council to put a halt to service cuts.

Simon Macfarlane, regional organiser for UNISON, added: “Glasgow City Council has not properly assessed the impact of these cuts and is rolling ahead with scant regard to the devastating consequences.


“We’re calling on the council to call a halt to this process and to reinstate the packages that service users had before the new personalisation agenda was agreed, until a thorough review of the process and the impact on people with learning disabilities is assessed. This assessment must involve service users, their families and front line workers and their unions.”

URGENT UPDATE - £250 LUMP SUM CASH

UNISON PAY PRESSURE PAYS OFF. You will have been advised that TMF are making a one off pay award of £250 pounds to staff. Whilst falling well short of our aspirations for a 2.5 % increase for all and the introduction of the Scottish Living Wage of £7.20 per hour as a minimum rate’ the announcement came within days of us launching our petition to the Board on pay! This shows UNISON pressures counts. Help us keep up the pressure, make sure you and your colleagues have signed our pay petition (you can’t print one off this blog). Thanks to the many members who have already done so. Together we make a difference in UNISON!

URGENT UPDATE – GLASGOW HOUSING SUPPORT SERVICES

We understand that GHSS staff will be issued with new contracts and workplans in the next few days and be given 7 days to sign. We have written to Lorraine Eivers asking what will happen if staff don’t sign. We will keep you posted on the response. However, as previously advised if you are unhappy with any proposed pay cuts, reductions in hours, work locations or workplans then don’t go in to meetings alone and don’t sign anything you are unhappy with. SEEK ADVICE FROM UNISON!

Personalisation Networking Meeting

Arising out of the current crisis in learning disability services in Glasgow brought about by a bastardised version of personalisation UNISON and Defend Glasgow Services have called a meeting for those affected by the issues. The meeting will be an opportunity to discuss what is happening and how workers, service users, carers, families and activists can work together. Whilst focussed on the current experiences in Glasgow the meeting may well be of interest to those from other areas facing similar issues.

The meeting is not a rally, rather a chance to share news, tactics and information. If you have an interest in personalisation please consider joining us on:

7th July 2011

10 am

UNISON House

14 West Campbell St

Glasgow

G2 6RX

UNISON members letter

Dear Member

We are writing to update you on a number of matters. Please take note of the following and when you are finished with this letter why not share it with a non member and encourage them to come on board.

Glasgow Housing Support Services

UNISON met with management on 22 April in the Joint Consultative Committee. During this meeting we expressed significant concern about communication and consultation with regards to what is happening in GHSS. A full and frank discussion took place following which we wish to draw the following points to members’ attention:

• The personalisation process being run by Glasgow City Council is not about tailoring services to best fit service users’ needs; instead it is primarily about saving money. UNISON is working with carers, families and service user groups to challenge what is happening and has a campaign networking meeting planned for 10am on 7th July at UNISON House, 14 West Campbell Street, Glasgow G2 6RX aimed at those who want to take the fights against the cuts forward.

• Service user involvement in design of support packages - there is strong evidence to suggest that service user involvement in determining their package and needs has been patchy and in some cases completely lacking. We think it is important that staff flag this up with managers and record where they are concerned that support packages are not appropriate to the service user’s needs.

• Over the last week staff have been called in to meetings to discuss workplans. We are concerned that staff were not offered the right to representation and it has been agreed that from 27th June onwards members will be advised of their right to be accompanied. At these meetings many staff have been shown workplans involving a reduction of hours and split shift working. It is inevitable that the move to more tailored services will have an impact on staff and our discussions with members indicate that there is an understanding of this. However, workplans must be reasonable, equitable and fair whilst recognising different people have different domestic and other pressures which should be accounted for. UNISON is clear that members should not agree to a reduction in their contracted hours unless they are content with this. Members should also be explicitly clear whether they have issues with the workplan being suggested to them or not. If you are not comfortable doing this yourself then you should arrange to be accompanied by a UNISON representative.

• With regards to shifts and working patterns these need to be reasonable and practicable. Workers are entitled to a decent life away from work and it is for the organisation to deliver sustainable work patters whilst also offering more flexibility to service users. If the Mungo Foundation fail to get this right then staff will become burnt out and ultimately leave which will have a detrimental impact on service users. UNISON intends to keep a close eye on this and we would welcome members keeping us advised of how the workplans develop.

• In summary if you are unhappy with your proposed hours or workplan speak up now with UNISON representation and support. If you do not it is likely you will be deemed to have accepted the changes!!

Pay

We remain stuck in an impasse with the Mungo Foundation, you our members have voted clearly to seek a pay rise and they are emphatic they can’t afford one. So far they have declined our request to meet with the Board, we will keep pushing for this and look at other ways we can exert pressure on the organisation to give staff a pay rise. The STUC will be organising another march and rally in Glashow in September as part of their continuing There is a Better Way Campaign (www.thereisabetterway.org). These and other initiatives are vital in showing funders, employers and politicians the impact of low pay and the strength of feeling of our members.

As part of our ongoing campaign for decent pay please sign the enclosed petition which we will submit to the board and encourage others to do so. More copies can be found on our website at: www.unison-mungofoundation.blogspot.com .

Recruitment

Please encourage a non member to come on board, the more members we have the more clout we have. They can join online at www.unison.org.uk/join or by calling 0845 355 0845.

Working Time Directive

We would like to remind members that you cannot be compelled to work more than 48 hours a week on average including sleepovers. We know that due to financial pressures many members look for additional sleepover shifts to make up their wages, we understand this and simply say be careful of your health and keep yourself and others safe. However, there are some staff that are being put on the rota for shifts including sleepovers which take them over the 48 hour average. Please note that you can in no way be forced to work more than 48 hours, if you are on a rota for more than 48 hours in any one week please let UNISON know. You should only work more than 48 hours a week if you have signed an opt out from the Working Time Directive (you can opt back in at any time).

Keep your details up to date

We want to keep in touch with you as much as possible; this is difficult if we don’t have your up-to-date details. Please check your details and update them if necessary. You can do this online at http://www.unison.org.uk/membership/update.asp or by calling 0845 355 0845.

No if's, no but's, no disability cuts!

A very succesful protest was held today under the umbrella of the Defend Glasgow's Services campaign.

The protest which brought together trade unions, campaign groups, service users, families of service users and workers providing services heard a range of speeches from the broad range of people in attendance on how Glasgow city council's shameful cuts under the guise of personalisation are impacting upon service users, their families and cuts hours and wages for staff.

We hope it's the start of a unified campaign to fight these cuts, disguised as personalisation!

You can contact Defend Glasgow's Services on 0141 552 7069 or follow them on Facebook.

Scotland’s most vulnerable young people under attack as services face the axe

SCOTLAND’s most vulnerable young people are under attack by government cuts as thousands of staff in the community and voluntary sector face redundancy.

UNISON, Scotland’s largest union in the community and voluntary sector, said urgent action must be taken to halt these drastic cuts and urged the country’s politicians not to throw our young people on the scrapheap.

Councils across the country are being hit with the biggest spending cuts in living memory. No service is safe – but one of the hardest hit is services for young people.

This week alone, more than 2,000 workers from the voluntary and community sector have been threatened with redundancy, while others face attacks on their pay and conditions.

One Scottish charity, Quarriers – which was originally set up to look after orphaned and destitute children – yesterday issued 90 days’ notice to all of its 2,000 staff. The move comes as the charity announced plans to cut its staffing budget by £2.5m – almost twice as much as their own figures (£1.3m) claim are required.

Elsewhere, services to vulnerable young people are also under threat as the Cora Foundation – a voluntary organisation that runs three secure units for young people – issued letters to hundreds of workers threatening them with redundancy. This leaves staff at three of the country’s five secure units (St Phillip’s in Plains; St Mary’s Kenmure in Bishopbriggs; and the Good Shepherd in Bishopton) facing the axe. If secure units run by Cora close, then the courts will be left with no option but to send young offenders to institutions like Polmont, at a much greater cost to the taxpayer.

UNISON has also condemned moves by youth justice charity, Includem, which has refused to negotiate with the union and has instead unilaterally imposed a 9.5 per cent pay cut on its staff.

Simon Macfarlane, regional organiser with UNISON, said: “We’re calling on Scotland’s political parties to focus on the real issues in the week ahead and to prioritise putting a stop to these outrageous cuts. We also need voluntary organisations to act in a responsible manner, to engage constructively with UNISON and not to capitalise on the situation to make unwarranted attacks on low-paid workers.

“Our members work hard to provide services that make a huge difference to the lives of young people and cutting them will only store up problems for generations to come. Services for our vulnerable young people are vanishing and, once these services are destroyed, they will take a long time to recover. Surely every young person deserves a fair chance?”

*********************************

The above press release was picked up by a number of media outlets including The Herald

Cuts to social care provision should not be disguised by words such as ‘personalisation’ and ‘reform’, says UNISON.

In a speech to the Scottish Trades Union Congress in Ayr this morning, Lilian Macer, the UNISON Scottish Convenor, said that direct payments must complement a range of public services and should not be used to cover for inadequacies in public provision.


Lilian Macer told the Congress: “The ConDem Government is planning to slice into social care provision and try to cover up the wound with sticking plasters, labelled ‘personalisation’ or ‘reform’. Let’s be clear, we have nothing to fear from reform. But when the first question isn’t ‘how do we make a better service?’ but instead ‘how do we make a cheaper service?’, then it’s not about reform, it’s about attacking services.

“And it’s a low, mean, dishonest trick to try to implement cuts to the services of the most vulnerable people in our society. We believe that everyone should have as much independent, choice and control over their care as they want. But this has to be real choice, not the only option because other facilities and arrangements have been closed or made unavailable.”

In moving a motion to ensure vital services provided for older people are protected under these cuts, Lilian Macer told delegates that personalisation should be an option, but not a cheap option.

She continued: “There are those that see personalisation as a wonderful way of fabricating millions out of social care budgets. They think that by passing money to people directly - that they won’t notice it’s less than they used to rely on. Congress, we need to send a clear message to the politicians and decision makers in Holyrood and council chambers, that they need to accept responsibility for the decisions they take about peoples’ lives. And that we expect more from our parliament and councillors, than a rubber stamp on David Cameron’s cuts agenda.”

Personalisation of Care Services in Glasgow

About personalisation


Last summer Glasgow City Council started a process called ‘personalisation’ and ‘self-directed support’ across services provided by Social Work. We support the principles of personalisation, which are about providing people with more independence, control and dignity. However, this is not what is happening in Glasgow. Right from the word go, the council was explicit in its ‘working assumption’ that at least 20% savings would be made.

The process is well advanced for learning disability services, but will be rolled out in time to those with physical disability, children with disability, mental health and eventually older people. In the autumn of last year providers of services, mainly charities and private companies, were asked to fill in Self Evaluation Questionnaires (SEQ) on behalf of the people with learning disabilities they support.

Defend Glasgow Services is aware from speaking to union members involved in providing care services, that on many occasions these forms were completed without direct input from the service user (not always possible), their family or guardians or their key worker. The forms were then put through a resource allocation system, which allocates individual budgets to those who need support, resulting in some seeing a cut of almost 80%. Most providers in the city are facing overall budgets cut of 35 to 40%. Additionally, in most cases, the Individual Budget now has to cover provision for activities and services during the day as the council will no longer provide day services to most people with learning disabilities, presenting a further strain on budgets.

There is no formal appeals process to these cuts in budgets. There is an opportunity to have matters looked at again by a Risk Enablement Panel, however, there is little evidence so far that this process is substantially altering the overall picture of massive cuts.

What does this mean for individuals with learning disabilities?

Wide scale loss of sleepover provision: people with learning disabilities often need someone available at night to assist them with toileting, helping them get in and out of bed, and generally to be on hand should anything untoward occur. Having a presence at night also stops vulnerable people being a target for those who would seek to exploit them.

Massive reduction in care packages: People who previously had 24/7 care are now going to have care for only a few hours a day. There is a danger people will become isolated in their homes with no support to lead a full and active life. Beyond this the level of cuts are so severe that independent living will no longer be viable for many and people will be forced to move in with other people in order to pool support, this is completely contrary to personalisation and for many will be a regressive step.

Lost education opportunities: Many people with learning disabilities need support to attend college courses and access other training. Without the money to pay for the support needed they will not be able to go. As a UNISON member put it ‘this is an accident waiting to happen’.

What does this mean for workers?

Workers providing care and support to those with learning disabilities in Glasgow are seeing a range of attacks on their terms and conditions. This is creating widespread concern among care workers. So far we have seen:

• Redundancies;

• Cuts to sick pay schemes;

• Reduction in hours;

• Threats to hourly rate;

The wider cuts agenda

Like us all, people with learning disabilities depend on other public services (e.g. Department of Work and Pensions, Further Education)and indeed often need them more, so as well as their own services being cut they will suffer from reduced public provision. Add to this the onslaught on benefits and the welfare state and it is clear that we are not all in this together. The cuts hit the poor, vulnerable and voiceless the hardest.

What can we do?

• Lobby the Council against these cuts: on 12.30 pm Thursday 28th April 2011, Glasgow City Chambers, George Square

It’s time to unite workers, service users, their families and friends to show mass opposition to these attacks on some of the most vulnerable in our community. The council needs to halt the process, maintain funding and engage in meaningful and genuine consultation with service users.

• Raise the issue with politicians they are chasing you vote for the Scottish Parliament elections and go and see your Councillor or write to them, details available from your library of visit www.writetothem.com

• Ensure someone is sticking up for people with learning disabilities

If they can’t themselves, workers will be restricted in what they can do for clients they support, but there are groups such as Learning Disability Alliance Scotland (http://www.ldascotland.org/ 07920 141823 ) and the Coalition of Carers in Scotland (http://www.carersnet.org/ 01786 825529) that can help those with learning disabilities and their families. There are also a number of advocacy organisations that can help people in these situations, more information on local groups can be found via the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (http://www.siaa.org.uk/ 0131 260 5380).

• Get active, get organised, get involved. Join a union and join the campaigns!

For more information log on to http://www.thereisabetterway.org/

Meeting to discuss cuts in the voluntary sector – 13th APRIL

Pay freezes, pay cuts, redundancies, attacks on terms and conditions are happening all over Scotland in the voluntary sector. One example of this is the impact of the personalisation agenda in Glasgow which has seen the Council impose massive cuts in the budgets of service users.

So far most voluntary organisations in Glasgow involved in learning disability services are responding by passing on the cuts to staff in one way or another.

UNISON is calling a meeting to look at how we can respond to this in a more co-ordinated way and the UNISON Quarriers Branch has kindly agreed to host the meeting.

The meeting will be at 10.00am on Wednesday 13th April at the UNISON Office, 4th Floor, Empire House, 131 West Nile Street, Glasgow G1 2RX.

The 2nd Scottish Community Service Group Conference will take place on:

Saturday 14th May 

10.30 am 

 UNISON House,

14 West Campbell Street,

Glasgow

G2 6RX

This will be an important opportunity for members from the community, voluntary and housing association sectors to come together and discuss the current challenges they face and how UNISON can best respond. These sectors are experiencing massive challenges due to issues such as funding cuts; personalisation/self-directed support; housing benefit reforms; and Protection of Vulnerable Groups. There will be an opportunity to discuss all these issues and more on the day.

There will be a range of speakers and sessions to ensure members get a chance to learn, contribute and feel empowered to help represent community members when they return to the workplace.

Given the unprecedented situation in terms of cuts we have decided to run the Conference as open as possible to encourage as broad and as large an attendance as possible. Branches are asked to appoint as many delegates as possible, there is no limit; we would though ask you to identify a lead delegate. This is so that if there is a contested election for the Committee the lead delegate will be handed a ballot paper, voting will be weighted dependent on the number of Community members in the branch rather than numbers of delegates.

Contact your branch if you wish to attend.

Abolition of the default retirement age: Q&A

When is the default retirement age being abolished?
The default retirement age will be abolished from 1 October 2011. Employees who reach 65 on or after 1st October 2011 cannot be forced to retire using the current statutory procedure.Transitional provisions will apply from 6 April 2011 which mean that the last date that employers can issue notices of retirement is 5 April 2011. Retirements issued by this date will be lawful provided that the employer follows the correct procedure

Will employers be able to force employees to retire once the default retirement age is abolished?
No. From 6 April 2011, retirement will no longer be included as one of the potentially fair reasons for dismissal under s.98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, unless the transitional provisions apply and the employee has already been given notice of retirement in accordance with the statutory retirement procedure. A forced retirement after this date could potentially lead to a successful claim for unfair dismissal and/or age discrimination, unless:

- the employee wants to retire voluntarily
- the employer will has a fair, objective reason for dismissal (such as redundancy or capability) and follow a fair procedure before they dismiss

In what circumstances will employers be able to justify compulsorily retiring employees?
To be able to retire employees compulsorily, employers will have to be able to demonstrate that the retirement age is objectively justified. The ACAS guidance states that employers will continue to be able to retire an employee at a set age provided it can be objectively justified. They call this the “employer justified retirement age” (EJRA).

They go on to say that they expect “case-law around EJRA [to] develop once the DRA has been abolished.” Examples given of objective justifications are workforce planning or the health and safety of individual employees.

How will the abolition of the default retirement age affect recruitment practices?
According to XpertHR: “Employers may need to adjust their recruitment practices, to ensure that the number of new employees recruited is proportionate to the number of retirements. This is likely to be less predictable once the default retirement age has been abolished.”

“In addition, the current exemption from the age discrimination provisions that allows employers to reject an applicant who has reached, or is within six months of reaching, the retirement age of 65 or older, will no longer apply from 6 April 2011. Employers will need to ensure that they consider applications from candidates of any age on the basis of merit and suitability for the job in question rather than their age”.

For UNISON guidance on this issue, see the Age Equality Factsheet here.

Mike Short, Community National Officer responds to news Women's refuge chief returns OBE in protest over cuts

Big society sums just don't add up

The Guardian, Tuesday 22 February 2011

It was sad to read about Denise Marshall's no doubt tough decision to return her OBE in protest at government cuts (Report, 16 February) – a further indication of the damage the Tory-led government is inflicting on the "civil society" it wants to use to replace the state. Organisations like Eaves and Women's Aid already provide vital services for vulnerable women, in partnership with the public sector. But the government's cuts will cost the voluntary sector as much as £5bn when demand for the services such organisations provide is increasing.

The proposed "big society" bank, which will lend two-thirds of its £300m at expensive commercial rates, is just window dressing and will be of little assistance. Against this backdrop, the so-called big society will not empower or strengthen communities; it will leave them with more to do, but with only a fraction of their current resources. It is an attack on both the public sector and the voluntary sector, and it will cause real hardship for millions of people.

Mike Short

National officer, community and voluntary sector, UNISON

Copy of members letter on pay and other information updates

To All UNISON Members in the Mungo Foundation


Dear Member

PAY 2010/11
I am writing to update you on the latest developments with regards to the ongoing pay situation in the Mungo Foundation. To recap events to date, so far we have:

• Consulted you on whether you supported the claim or not. Members voted overwhelmingly in support of our claim which called on TMF to increase rates of pay by 2.5% and adopt the Scottish Living Wage of £7.15 per hour as the minimum rate;

• We have submitted the claim;

• Written to the board to express dissatisfaction with the time taken to get a response to our claim;

• Met with Dana O’Dwyer, the Chief Executive;

• Formally met with TMF to be advised that they were making no pay offer for 2010/11;

• Written to the Leader and Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council calling on them to fund the TMF better;

• Balloted you on the proposed pay freeze. Members overwhelmingly indicated that you are not happy to accept a second year of pay freezes and want to campaign in UNISON to demand a pay rise.


We now need you the members to tell us what action you are prepared to take to put pressure on the Board and Management of TMF to budge. One idea we have is to lobby outside the next meeting of the TMF Board, we would write to them in advance and ask that they let us address them directly. We need to know if you think this is a good idea and whether you would come along and support the lobby, you can tell us on the enclosed for. We will let you know if we are going ahead with this in due course and please keep an eye on our blog at:

http://unison-mungofoundation.blogspot.com/

However it will likely take more than a lobby for them to budge and therefore we may need you to take part in some form of industrial action. The enclosed ballot is not a formal industrial action ballot and won’t result in you being called out on strike, but we do need to know your views and whether you would be prepared to strike.

We know that there are real and genuine financial pressures on TMF and organisations like it due to the ConDem government’s cuts. However, we also know that our members are facing a real squeeze as costs go up and yet your pay stays the same. It is also likely that if we don’t get some movement now they will no doubt propose a pay freeze next year, meaning 3 years without a wage rise. Inflation was at 5.3% at the settlement date of 1 April 2010 and was 4.8% in December 2010 (before the hike in VAT) and is likely still to be high in April this year.

So please fill in the form and return it now.

LEARNING DISABILITIES & PERSONALISATION
It continues to be a difficult time for members employed in learning disability services. We met some of you at meetings organised at short notice by the TMF before Christmas and have been at further meetings since. At the meetings just before Christmas we handed out a briefing note, we did this because we understood that management would also be putting out a copy of their statement to staff.

We believe it would have been better had they done this at the time as there was so much to absorb. You now have their briefing and things have moved on but it was unfortunate you only had one side of the story (our briefing responded to theirs) for a while. Just to be absolutely clear the moves made to reduce contracted hours in learning disabilities are management’s not ours. We have been consulted and negotiated on them and have worked hard to secure the best deal possible in the situation and will continue to do so. This is what you would expect your union to do.

If you are worried or want to chat about your situation please contact me or one of our reps in learning disability:

Mary Madden, Tel: 07531 772 832 or Luka Obraslak, Tel: 07872 394 300.

SLEEPOVERS
We are still pursuing the issue of the varying length of sleepovers in TMF. UNISON’s position on sleepovers is that we believe that they count as working time; therefore they should be paid at least at the rate of the National Minimum Wage (£5.93 currently). TMF and other employers don’t agree or at least say they can’t afford to pay the NMW for sleepovers as they don’t receive funding at that level.

UNISON is keen to explore test cases in this area. We would be very keen to hear from you in particular if you think that your combined earnings for waking shifts and sleepovers don’t average out at the NMW. If you think this applies to you then please indicate this on the form.

We have made good progress in another regard on sleepovers. There are now minimum standards in place with regards to sleepover facilities, such as clean decent linen, refreshment facilities, access to TV, secure storage for personal belongings. If you believe your project is not coming up to scratch on sleepover facilities let us know what the issues are and we will pursue.

UNISON MEMBERSHIP
Our membership is growing in TMF, which is very welcome as it gives us more clout and means more people have us on their side. Please help us grow by encouraging colleagues to join by visiting our blog, or www.unison.org.uk/join or calling 0845 355 0845 or getting in touch with me and I’ll send them a form.

JOIN THE MARCH FOR AN ALTERNATIVE
Lastly, can I advise you that UNISON is fully supporting the TUC’s March for the Alternative in London on 26th March 2011, which calls for Jobs, Growth and Justice as opposed to ConDem cuts. If you want to join us and want more information please indicate that on the form too.

Yours sincerely

Alice Lyness

UNISON Convenor

The Mungo Foundation

Email: unisontmf@gmail.com

Telephone: 07739 324354

UNISON's response to SCVO chief executive on 'cuts'

Below we reprint a letter from Ian Williamson, Chair of UNISON Scotland's Community sector committee and an employee of SPPA. Ian has mailed this letter to 'Third Force News' following comments made by the SCVO Chief Executive, Martin Sime.

Dear Sir

At a time when a broad, cross sector campaign against the coalition’s ideologically inspired spending cuts is required, it is disappointing to hear the Chief Executive of SCVO, Martin Sime, call for the Scottish Government to ‘stop protecting’ the jobs of public sector workers delivering vital public services (‘Battle Begins for a Fair Future’, TFN 4 February).

His assertion that the third sector also provides public services is one that UNISON is in complete agreement with. It is for this reason that UNISON has over the years worked with third sector employers to push for funding arrangements which factor in full cost recovery and parity (with the wider public sector) of pay and conditions for employees in the sector.

Our 6,000 members working in the sector in Scotland are among those facing redundancy or an uncertain future as a result of the cuts. We are determined to fight for each and every one of our members’ jobs in the third sector as well as the public sector.

Instead of evoking the legacy of Thatcherism with his attack on the ‘bloated’ public sector, Martin Sime should be standing alongside his partners in the trade unions to defend all public services, whether they are delivered by the public sector or by voluntary and community organisations. Instead of engaging in a divisive “don’t sack us, sack them” exercise, he should be directing his fire at the Government in London, whose programme of savage cuts will throw hundreds of thousands on the dole and do untold damage to public services and to the wider economy.

Ian Williamson

Chair

UNISON Scottish Community Service Group Committee

Default retirement age comes to an end

The Coalition Government has announced that the default retirement age will be abolished from 1st October 2011. The phasing out will begin in April 2011. The last day workers can be forced to retire using the Default Retirement Age (DRA) is 30 September 2011. As a result, the final day that an employer can provide six months’ notice using the DRA is 30 March 2011.

In general terms, under the new system the dismissal or retirement of older workers is intended to be dealt with either by an objective company policy, individual negotiation or by formal performance management procedures. The recently published ACAS guidance on this subject summarises the issue with the following statement: “Removing the DRA does not mean that employees will never be able to retire. It just means that employers cannot force employees to retire at a set age unless the age can be objectively justified”

UNISON advice to workplace reps is to monitor closely all retirement and dismissal procedures during the transitional period described above. Branches should seek to negotiate a workplace retirement policy which incorporates these changes and creates a level playing field for all employees regarding retirement.

Austerity and UNISON members: a survey

UNISON and PCS are launching a joint survey to measure the impact of the austerity measures on our members’ finances. We know that members and their families are struggling to make ends meet. The recent rise in VAT has come on top of price rises on household essentials, cuts in benefits and proposals to increase pension contributions - all at a time when members are being hit by pay freezes, pay cuts and redundancies.


In this survey we hope to obtain clear evidence to show the hardship these austerity measures are causing our members.

The survey is available by clicking on the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J69PSTK or there will be a hardcopy available for those members that do not have online access. The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete and we would urge as many members as possible to take part in the survey by Sunday 20 February 2011. You will be making an important contribution to your union’s campaign against the cuts.

The survey asks members some quite sensitive financial questions, but it is information that is necessary for us to calculate the true impact of the cuts on our members’ finances. The information will be treated as completely confidential. The results will provide the UNISON with hard evidence that will help us make our case in negotiations on pay and pensions and our campaigning and media work.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Deborah Littman.

For any technical problems accessing the survey contact Louisa Withers.

Briefing Note for Staff in GLDP

UNISON has been involved in ongoing discussions about the restructuring in GLDP Services with Mungo Foundation management over recent months. You will remember the background to this is Glasgow City Council’s move to personalise services for service users with learning disabilities through self directed support.

You may well have now been involved in assisting in the completion of Self Evaluation Questionnaires on behalf of service users. It is important that staff, and key workers especially, be consulted on the completion of these questionnaires as staff are amongst the closest to knowing the needs of the service user. These forms will now be put through a Resource Allocation System by the Council which will determine the budget that each service user gets for support. The Council have been explicit that they expect to make on average 20 to 30% savings per service user.

UNISON supports the idea that service users should have more control and say over the service they receive, we do though have major concerns about this move being introduced at a time of massive contractions in public spending as is happening here. More info on UNISON’s views on personalisation can be found in a speech by Simon Macfarlane, Regional Organiser which is on our blog for Mungo Foundation members, this can be found at http://unison-mungofoundation.blogspot.com/ .

After scoring staff according to the selection criteria, TMF came to us an initial proposal for allocating staff to posts. Through further discussions and negotiations we made representations seeking the maximum number of Project Worker posts possible.

On Thursday 16th December I and Simon Macfarlane met with TMF management to be updated on the position. The proposals which you will be hearing from management on mean significantly more staff remain on the Project Worker grade; this is obviously to be welcome. Some staff will have to move project, we have been assured that you have been spoken to about this on an individual basis if this is a potential outcome for you.

Management have been frank that they are faced with a dilemma in that they do not yet know the outcome of the Resource Allocation System process mentioned above, but fully anticipate 20% or more cuts to come out of it. This we are afraid is a reasonable assumption for them to make. They therefore have advised us that they propose to offer staff in GLDP services posts on 20% less hours than their current contract, subject to no one dropping below the 16 hour threshold for Working Tax Credits.

This is obviously very difficult news for you and comes on the back of rising prices, pay freezes and a forthcoming increase in VAT. UNISON is here to support you through this difficult time, and can advise the following:

• We are told the reduction in hours will take effect on 1 April 2011;

• We are told there will be pay protection for 3 months for downgraded staff, we are seeking clarity on this;

• We believe that you are being offered a new post as part of a redundancy consultation exercise and thus you should be entitled to a trial period should you wish one and/or to ultimately to refuse a post at reduced hours and receive a redundancy payment;

• We have sought assurances that wherever possible extra hours will be offered to staff first. On this point you should remember that if you for instance end up on a 30 hour and 36 minute contract and work additional hours over this, then up to the full time hours of 38 you are entitled for additional paid annual leave and sick pay entitlement for each extra hour worked. We have been assured by TMF that they have systems in place to deliver this but we would advise members to be vigilant to ensure they get what they are entitled to as it will be complicated;

• As and when TMF pick up any further services they should look wherever possible to increase the hours of existing staff who wish more hours.

We also want to give you an opportunity to comment on this proposed course of action. The alternative we have been advised by TMF is that if they don’t reduce hours by 20% across the board it is likely they will have to make more staff redundant. It is a difficult call to make but on balance we feel most members would prefer to save jobs. However, we want to hear your views on this. As you hopefully know I am now seconded 3 days a week to carry out union work on behalf of members. I am based at 380 Govanhill Street and am on union duties Monday to Wednesday, you can email me or telephone my mobile is 07882 551134. Please do get in touch and let me have your views.

I also want to let you know that UNISON has written to both the political leader of the Council Gordon Matheson and the Chief Executive asking for a meeting to discuss funding and wages in voluntary organisations including specifically the Mungo Foundation, we will keep you updated on this via our blog and other communications.

Finally, please remember we are stronger together and we are here to support you, so if you are not already a member now is the time to come onboard, please contact me or visit the blog to join. As members you can also get a range of support and advice such as financial advice from organisations UNISON has links to, for more information on this please see our website at http://www.unison.org.uk/benefits/special.asp . We also have a dedicated charity UNISON Welfare for members facing hardship and this can be contacted via your branch by calling them on 0141 331 4450.

Alice Lyness

UNISON Convenor

The top ten tax shirkers – vote now

The government talks tough about clamping down on benefit ‘cheats’. Yet when faced with tax avoidance by the very wealthy, which sucks far more out of our economy than benefit fraud, ministers go quiet.


To help throw some light on this murky world, the Tax Justice Network has nominated its top ten tax shirkers and we’d like you to choose the worst offender. The winner will receive a small token of our esteem.

We're not suggesting anyone is breaking the law. But that's the problem: we need action to make sure those involved in the multi-billion pound tax avoidance industry, who act legally but use loopholes and tax havens to pay less tax, are stopped in their tracks.

You can vote here http://falseeconomy.org.uk/tax

VOTING ENDS ON MIDNIGHT 30th JANURY 2011

The benefits of UNISON membership......UNISON secures £27,398,985 compensation for personal injuries

Assaults, car crashes, back injuries and slips at work are among the cases UNISON has won £27,398,985 worth of compensation for in 2010.

The UK's largest public sector union has handled 3,893 cases to help members receive justice for the pain and suffering caused by personal injuries.

UNISON's General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:

"A lot of these injuries could and should have been prevented. These jobs are not dangerous - nursery workers, dental technicians and dinner ladies - but, because employers have been negligent, some UNISON members have lost their health, families, confidence and careers.

"Employers have a duty of care and where they fail, workers and their families deserve compensation for the pain and suffering caused by personal injuries.

"Last year UNISON secured £28million for workplace injuries but, one year on, and it's clear some employers have still not learnt their lesson and introduced safer working practices".

In Scotland, UNISON handled 224 cases and members received £1,602,762.20 compensation.

Remember if you are not a member you can join by clicking the link on the front page.