Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Voice 2008
27 June 2008
It’s Official !
National Strike
16,17 July !
“It is a tough decision to take CPI measure of inflation, which the government uses to
strike action but our members set its inflation target, hit 3.3%
have shown that they are willing
to fight for a fair deal,” said UNI‐ “We are of course always willing to meet the employers,”
SON head of local government said Ms Wakefield. “The solution to this is in their
Heather Wakefield. hands.”
“Once the dates are finally agreed we
will be going all out to mobilise But she also warned the employers that the union will
maximum support around those mobilise its members for strike action, saying “they must
strike days.” know that we mean business and they must know that
our members cannot afford to take another pay cut this
The government’s Office of Na‐ year.”
tional Statistics’ own figures show that Retail Price Index
inflation reached 4.3% in May. In the same month, the More on what is happening in Barnet over the page…..
Barnet UNISON Your Friend at Work
Barnet UNISON Voice Page 2
IT’S OFFICIAL—STRIKE ON 16,17 JULY
UNISON members following
the Petrol tanker drivers lead! If you answer YES to all the above then make
sure you join the strike action on
The tanker drivers have 16,17 July 2008
shown us all that sometimes
you need to take strike action There will be picket lines at the following
to get your employers to sit Council workplaces:
down and negotiate a real pay offer not a pay
cut! (they were offered 14%) North London Business Park
Barnet House
1. Do you want a REAL Pay Award? Mill Hill Depot
2. Are YOU struggling to keep up with petrol, If you have any questions about the Strike
energy, food, mortgage, rent rises? please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk or
ring the UNISON office and we will arrange for
3. Have YOU had enough of year on year pay someone to speak to you.
cuts?
London MP’s to get a 7% pay rise ‐ Have they no shame ?
“LONDON: The MPs of inner London constitu‐ 3.3% for the lowest paid. Food is up 6%, trans‐
encies were yesterday in line for a £4,584 rise ‐ port 7%, mortgages 8%, electricity and gas 15%.
an inflation busting seven percent. It is pro‐ Pay in the private sector is rising by 4%. Pay
posed that their £2,916 London allowance is rises have been below inflation for five years.
increased to £7,500 ‐ twice as generous as the Will our pay claim cause inflation to rise?
£3,600 proposed by official salary reviewer Sir Nuffield Collegeʹs Stephen Nickell stated that
John Baker recently. Their basic salary is cur‐ public‐sector pay rises ʺhave nothing to do with
rently £61,820. The £4,584 rise was recom‐ inflation.ʺ
mended by a Commons review of expenses
which said current Westminster pay scales Martin Weale of the National Institute of Eco‐
failed to recognise the cost of living in the capi‐ nomic and Social Research commented: ʺWhat I
tal and anti‐social hours.” really canʹt believe is that, when private‐sector
pay rises are 4%, a pay rise of 2.5% for the pub‐
Yet theses MP’s will be the first to condemn lic sector is inflationary.ʺ
Council workers taking action in support of our
pay claim. If Council staff were offered 7% it is The low pay offer is only for one year. Would‐
highly unlikely that we would be taking strike n’t it be better to ride it out?
action. You need to take action now. Pay settlements
Why should you should strike? have been low for the past five years. While this
Inflation is still rising and is set to continue. The offer is for one year, the government wants
2.45% pay offer is already a pay cut. So is the three‐year deals. The employers have said that
Barnet UNISON Voice Page 3
they want to settle pay for 2009 and 2010 and Send Gordon a message from Barnet!
review your conditions by December 2008; they
aren’t going to get much higher.
Can local government employers afford to pay
more?
Between 2005 and 2007, local government
workers in England alone made good on effi‐ JOIN THE UNISON PICKET LINES
ciency savings of £3bn ‐ a figure expected to rise If you are not a UNISON member but want to
to £4.25bn by March. Councils can’t afford not take part in the strike contact the UNISON
to pay and treat you better if they want continu‐ OFFICE ON 0208 359 2088 or email
ous improvement in service delivery. contactus@barnetunison
This is the same Government which bailed
out the Private Sector ‘Northern Rock’ for
£25 Billion!
ALL QUIET IN THE LIBRARY – SO WHY THE HEADACHES?
Members working at Grahame Park If you think you may have a workplace health and safety
library recently found they had one issue do not suffer in silence. Contact the Unison Office,
thing in common. While working they your local shop steward or health and safety representa‐
were prone to getting nauseous head‐ tive.
aches. Putting 2 and 2 together they
thought there might be a possibility If you do not have a have a health and safety rep have
they were suffering from Sick Building you considered becoming one yourself? Volunteers are
Syndrome and contacted UNISON. always welcome. You would be entitled to receive TUC
training, which is accredited as the first stage towards the
Under Health and Safety legislation UNISON H&S rep‐ qualifications to become a Health and Safety profes‐
resentatives are allowed to conduct an inspection where sional. The health and safety legislation recognises the
there are concerns for the well being of their members. value of the UNISON rep and offers many rights and
The local rep duly carried out an inspection and found protections but does not create a legal liability. That rests
that the staff had no control over the library’s tempera‐ with the management and they are, therefore, usually
ture and that the library was largely lit by fluorescent only too happy to work with and negotiate with the rep
lighting; two possible causes of the symptoms of Sick to ensure the health and safety of the members is main‐
Building Syndrome. tained.
The rep was able to contact Barnet UNISON’s Health and Steve Saunders
Safety Officer who, through channels facilitated by the UNISON Health & Safety rep for
Council’s Health and Safety Committee, was able to initi‐ Libraries
ate trials to discover whether the temperature or lighting
was to blame. It was found that reducing the amount of
fluorescent lights relieved the problem and Grahame
Park library has returned to a headache free zone – apart
form the occasional overdue book!
“DON’T PANIC……DON’T PANIC…..Barnet UNISON members!”
Its always sounded funny when he used to of jargon about what ‘The Future Shape means, so it is
say that……. understandable members may choose to ignore or pay
On Monday 30 June I begin the process of scant attention to the consultation process.
consulting with as many members as pos‐
sible over ‘The Future Shape of Barnet
Council’. This would be a dangerous position to take, and it is why
Over the coming months I will be setting I want to speak to as many members as possible. You
up meetings across workplaces to listen to members con‐ work for the Council, you know your service
cerns and suggestions. If the penny has not dropped yet…all Council Services
could be facing privatisation within 3 years!
It is important that I make it clear the Barnet UNISON is
committed to defending keeping public services under Check out this story on the BBC
democratic control. Our position is consistent with our http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/
National UNISON’s Positively Public campaign regions/west/7468995.stm
You can view UNISON’s response here In less than six months time a proposal will be submitted
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/17070.pdf to the Council’s Cabinet Committee (3 December 2008)
View a short video on ‘Making Local Services count’
So make sure you find time to come along to one of our
http://www.unison.org.uk/video/video.asp?did=6673
meetings, if you want to ask a question please email me
In the next few weeks members will be receiving a short
at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
questionnaire. I need to understand where members are
in terms of the consultation. There has been an awful lot Make sure you complete the questionnaire!
Super Hero ‐ Super Councilworker descends on Barnet Council!
Super Council worker has heard about the threat to our ‘Privatisation world ‘is no Disney adventure for the staff
members livelihoods, he has heard about our top class and it certainly does not deliver value for money for local
reputation of public services…..he knows Barnet Council tax payers and service users! We only have to look at our
workers over the last five years have lost work colleagues former Council colleagues who were handed over to Fre‐
through redundancies, taken on more work, not had a mantle to see what can await those services privatised!
pay rise, yet still find the energy and professionalism to
provide an excellent service to the community. Fear not Barnet UNISON members Super Council worker
has agreed to personally intervene……….where and
When I first spoke to him he was at first confused, then when I can not divulge…….however look
angry that staff should find themselves facing Privatisa‐ out for his symbol…………..
tion world !’, so soon after achieving Four Star status for
Barnet Council.
Barnet UNISON Contact details If you have a membership or any other query, please contact
the Barnet UNISON office at:
If you have a work problem or query, get in touch with your Building 4, NLBP, Oakleigh Road South, London, N11 1NP
UNISON workplace representative. Email: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
Alternatively, you can ring: Telephone: (020) 8359 2088, or(020) 8359 2090.
UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845 Fax: (020) 8368 5985
Published by Barnet UNISON
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Barnet UNISON.
Barnet UNISON Your Friend at Work