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
