Subsidy attempt to 'buy' tenants votes Increased public subsidy is being flung at the troubled Glasgow Housing Association in a desperate attempt to 'buy' Glasgow tenants vote in the ballot, UNISON has discovered.

Unions sound PFI warning to Labour UNISON and other trade unions fired a warning shot across the bows of the Labour Government's PPP/PFI policy at the Scottish Labour Party Conference in Perth.

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Subsidy attempt to 'buy' tenants votes

by Chris Bartter

Increased public subsidy is being flung at the troubled Glasgow Housing Association in a desperate attempt to 'buy' Glasgow tenants vote in the ballot, UNISON has discovered.

In addition to the extra money that will be required to improve the Housing Stock if it transfers to the company - mainly due to private interest costs and VAT - the Scottish Executive has agreed to give the company an extra £300m ''repayable grant' to fill a gaping hole in the financial projections of their business plan.

This means that the total public cost of renewing Glasgow's Housing Stock this way will run to nearly £2bn compared with the estimate of £1.2bn for a public democratically controlled scheme. It is believed that this is due to a refusal of banks and other major financiers to commit money unless the Government plugged the gap.

UNISON's Mike Kirby drew attention to this gap in an article in Glasgow's Evening Times on Jan 24. The Government grant was announced 6 days later. Mike Kirby UNISON's Scottish Convenor said: "UNISON has said all along that the GHA business plan is flawed, this proves that we have been accurate.

"The kind of money that we are talking about giving away to the bankers and financiers could be used to address the serious poverty problems that Glasgow has, or to fund major infrastructure projects like the Glasgow Airport Rail link. "UNISON's campaign against transfer will continue and now moves to the tenants' ballot stage."

The Scottish Executive have also bounced Glasgow City Council into an early ballot date, announcing the dates for the ballot a month before the Council approved the GHA's business plan.

However UNISON is ready for the campaign and will be using direct leafleting of tenants and newspaper advertising to try and win a 'NO' vote in the teeth of the better funded GHA's campaign. John Wright, Convenor of Glasgow's Housing Stewards said,

"UNISON and the STUC have already mailed out a booklet to all tenants debunking the claims made by the GHA, and we have been leafleting in local areas. "We want to do more of both during the ballot period."

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Unions sound PFI warning to Labour

by Chris Bartter

UNISON and other trade unions fired a warning shot across the bows of the Labour Government's PPP/PFI policy at the Scottish Labour Party Conference in Perth.

UNISON's delegation called for rejection of the policy papers on Local Government and Housing, Health and Community Care, and Education, as they failed to commit Party policy to protection of staff threatened by PFI schemes.

Because of the construction of the policy papers, it was only possible to reject or accept the paper - not to amend them. John Lambie (Asst Scottish Secretary and Secretary of the Scottish Trade Union/Labour Party Liaison Committee) said,

"We didn't want to have to oppose these papers, because UNISON members have spent two years working to ensure that positive commitments in a whole number of areas were in them. We have had inserted recognition of the key role played by ancillary and support staff in schools and hospitals; there is a commitment not to move forward on Best Value without consensus with staff; and a commitment to the importance of the NHS team.

"However the lack of a clear commitment from Ministers to review the operation of PFI, and to the fact that there is no need for staff to transfer out of the NHS, meant that we could not let them pass without UNISON's views being made clear."

The first paper (local government and housing) was endorsed by 58% to 42% despite a united vote from most unions, but Karie Murphy - Chair of the Scottish Affiliated Political Fund (APF) Committee - does not feel this was a wasted opportunity. She said;

"The vote has surprised and worried Ministers and made it clear that the concerns of public service workers over PFI need to be addressed. As a result of APF pressure within the Party we have been and will continue to push Ministers for these commitments."

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Organising Awards Recognising real organising in branches

Garry Marshall, new Branch Secretary of Quarrier's Branch received his organising award from UNISON national President Veronica Dunn, at a specially organised social.

The Organising Awards have been designed to recognise real organising work going on in the workplace. Quarrier's were third in the category of Most Effective Organisation and Recruitment Campaign.

First and second places went to North Glasgow Hospitals Branch and Glasgow University Branch Nancy Kelly, Organising Assistant who covers organisation and development in Scotland, said

"The Panel felt that the overall quality of all the entries was outstanding, and therefore found it hard to decide who should get an award."

Glyn Hawker Scottish Organiser Recruitment and Development, added "What was especially pleasing was the spread of branches and services involved in the competition, particularly those like Quarrier's, who are not in the major service groups and the new branch - Capability Scotland - who have won a Best Effort award before they were formally constituted as a branch!"

The full awards list is as follows:

Most effective Organisation/ Recruitment.
1 North Glasgow Hospitals
2 Glasgow University
3 Quarrier's

Most Effective Membership Participation
1 East Dunbartonshire Local Government
2 North of Scotland Water
3 East Ayrshire Local Government

Negotiation and Representation
1 Moray Local Government
2 South Lanarkshire Local Government
3 Glasgow Health

Two 'Best Efforts' awards went to; Renfrewshire Local Government and Capability Scotland Branches. The three 'winners' and the two Best Efforts go forward to London in April for the UK competition. Fuller details on the Branch Campaigns is available in a circular sent to all branches, and on the website at www.unison -scotland.org.uk/comms/organise.html

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Arbitration backs Edinburgh jannies

After a two year fight and six days of strike, Edinburgh janitors are celebrating an arbitration finding that they should have been paid irregular hours payments.

The announcement came two weeks ago after the strikes brought a referral to ACAS (the Arbitration and Conciliation Service) last Christmas. The dispute arose after the Council claimed a local deal over-rode the nationally agreed payments.

UNISON and the T&G were clear it did not and had been calling for independent scrutiny since January 2000. "It is a disgrace that a strike - and all the disruption that brought to schools - was needed before the council agreed to arbitration", said George Lee UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch Manual Convenor.

"Our members are furious they had to strike, suffer attacks from the council and from some of the press. They were especially angry at false reports that UNISON was refusing arbitration when in fact it was the Council".

And referring to Edinburgh Evening News headlines last Christmas, he said "Perhaps now the public will see who the real Scrooges were". The Branch has called for an apology after the News again claimed the union had refused arbitration during the strike.

"We are clear that the first and only offer for arbitration came from the council after the sixth strike day", added George. The unions and the Council agreed arbitration would be binding. This means the Council could now have to find around £300,000.

NOTE: Janitors are now technically called Service Support Officers, but as UNISON steward Alan Brown told the BBC Lesley Riddoch show, "We're still the same jannies".

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Valentines, press adverts and manifesto goes out for comment

By Chris Bartter

UNISON sent Valentine Cards to all Scottish MPs and to Scottish Executive Ministers in the latest move to promote our campaign to retain public control over public services.

They point out that UNISON members are the heart of our public services and that plans to use private companies will wreck our public services.

Wreckers?

This followed a series of Press adverts which answered the much reported 'Wreckers' comment attributed to the Prime Minister, and a strong speech by Dave Prentis at a Labour Party Conference in Cardiff at which he repeatedly pointed out that there was no evidence that the private sector improves public services nor delivers value for money.

Over Christmas, 100,000 postcards filled in by the public from across the UK, including 7,000 from stalls organised by Scotland's Branches, were handed in to Downing Street.

UNISON Manifesto

Scotland's successful Public Services Day on 5 December saw MSPs, Scottish Ministers including Andy Kerr, Minister for Finance & Public Services, and the media entertained by the Haftor Medboe Trio as they picked up UNISON material against PFI and talked to activists across service groups.

UNISON published its draft manifesto as part of its campaign for public services at the Hub, and it has now started circulating to a wide variety of outside bodies for comments before branches are asked for their input and the document is finalised in advance of next year's Scottish Elections

"This draft manifesto is an initial statement of our aims." Matt Smith, Scottish Secretary said. "The basic principles that any government will require to adopt if they are to deliver the renewed services that the Scottish people deserve.

"We know that the people of Scotland value their public services, and we know that they want them delivered by the public sector. We are circulating this draft manifesto widely, hoping both to pick up support for its principles and to get other organisations' views on our aims."

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Low Pay threatens NHS staffing

UNISON has warned the Scottish Executive that unless the issue of low pay among health workers is resolved, the Scottish Health Service faces a recruitment crisis.

In the run up to the submission of the claim for non-pay review body staff, the Scottish Health Committee says that all areas of the NHS are suffering. Jim Devine, Scottish Organiser for Health said, "Low pay is endemic in the National Health Service and it is having an impact on recruitment and retention of staff.

"The average age of a nurse in Scotland is 48 and a starting salary of a degree-qualified nurse is around £15,000 a year. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that we are having difficulty recruiting and retaining nurses."

"Ancillary staff start at £4.23 per hour or £165.12 per week and admin and clerical staff, with all their skills and expertise, start on a derisory salary of £9,670 a year."

National Health Service vacancies in some disciplines are at an all-time high, and areas like Grampian, Glasgow and Lothian are experiencing major difficulties recruiting and retaining staff. Some hospitals in Scotland are experiencing an annual turnover in staff of over 100%. In particular the union is pointing to the problem in Ancillary staff.

"25,270 ancillary staff were employed in the Scottish Health Service in 1985." Jim said, "The latest figures show that there are now only 10,200 employed. Over a 15 year period, 15,000 less staff are working in the NHS, nearly 3 less staff every day of every week of every year since 1985".

This all causes problems with the cleaning of hospitals, and reductions in portering and security staff lead to increases in attacks and assaults on other NHS workers. Low pay costs money for the Scottish Health Service. J

im points out that as an example, Lanarkshire Acute NHS Trust recently advertised for a Head Chef at £5.16 per hour in a national newspaper. Jim said, "They had to advertise nationally because locally they received no response. It will be interesting to see how many head chefs apply for a job with a starting salary of £5.16 per hour."

The Scottish Health Committee has agreed a campaign strategy to ensure that the issue of low pay in the NHS in Scotland is clearly highlighted to the Scottish Executive and the public.

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Stobhill Domestics and Porters to come back in-house

By Chris Bartter

220 porters and domestic staff, currently employed by Medirest in Glasgow's Stobhill Hospital will transfer into employment with the NHS Trust on 1 May 2002.

The contract with Medirest was due to end this year and concerted pressure by the Branch and Regional Officer has resulted in an agreement that allows them to resume in-house status, in a TUPE transfer.

Joe Lynch, Regional Officer said "We are delighted that the Trust has agreed to this transfer. Whilst we require to do some detailed work to identify and improve on the Medirest conditions, it is a positive development in the provision of domestic and portering service to patients."

Carolyn Leckie, North Glasgow Hospitals Branch Secretary said, "We have been campaigning as a branch for some time to ensure that UNISON's Positively Public campaign has a direct benefit for members.

"Staff in the private sector have had to suffer lesser pay and conditions than the rest of the NHS family for too long. The strike action that was narrowly averted last August led to an agreement which brought in sick pay, overtime payments and shift allowance for the first time since privatisation.

"This new deal improves on these and other conditions and means a two-year phased return to full Whitley conditions.The organisation and determination of the members clinched the deal."

Even Alan Boyter, The Trust's Director of Human Resources, said "We believe this arrangement will enable us to provide the highest quality of service to our patients at Stobhill, at the best value for the NHS."

A management endorsement of the principles behind UNISON's campaign for public services of the highest quality, provided by an in-house team!

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UNISON exposes huge Transco job cuts and warns of safety risks

By John Stevenson and Dave Watson

UNISON has exposed that Transco, the gas transmission company, plans to shed 3,900 jobs, despite an earlier announcement of 2,400 job cuts.

On 7 February Transco announced the 2,400 figure (18% of the workforce). This came on top of 2,500 job cuts after the 1997 OFGEM price review. However, after further probing by UNISON the company admitted that the real figure of 3,900 - a huge 35% cut in non-industrial staff - mostly by the end of this year.

The impact in Scotland where Transco employs 1000 staff is not yet clear.

The energy regulator Ofgem imposes these cuts. UNISON Scotland has consistently argued that Ofgem takes a short-sighted view of customer interest in its reviews across the industry.

They create a five year cycle in which price cuts lead to job losses. Experienced staff leave the industry and customer service falls.

"The companies respond by training new staff (850 this year) in a desperate effort to raise standards back to the starting point. Then the next price review kicks in and we start all over again", said Dave Watson UNISON Scottish Organiser (Utilities).

"This flawed regulatory regime requires a complete overhaul and UNISON Scotland will be pressing Scottish MPs to address this issue as a matter of urgency. It should also be a warning to MSPs who are introducing a similar regime in the Scottish water industry.

"The loss of both numbers of staff and in particular experienced staff undermines the safety of both staff and the public. Putting overworked and overstressed staff with live gas is a potentially explosive mix.

"UNISON believes that Ofgem and Transco management have lost touch with reality and we will be seeking a meeting with the Health and Safety Executive to challenge Transco's safety case. Ofgem will need to explain if a £5 a year saving for gas customers is worth the potential risk to life".

Industrial Action Far from minimising the impact on jobs, Transco are proposing to retain 1000 agency staff. UNISON will ballot its members for strike action if compulsory job losses are imposed or safety is compromised through insufficient staff numbers.

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£90,000 tribunal win for Inverclyde DLO members

Inverclyde Building and Cleansing DLO members have won a deal worth £90,000 at an Employment Tribunal.

The council has at last settled after losing an appeal last September against the decision that it had been making unlawful deductions by insisting staff work a 39 hour week without being paid contractual overtime.

Branch Service Conditions Officer Robin Taggart told SiU, "The council's blinkered approach has cost Inverclyde's council tax payers thousands of pounds in external legal costs, not to mention the substantial awards made to the staff.

"It has cost them over £100,000 to fight this case despite UNISON's numerous offers to settle the matter at significantly less cost".

Members will be better off by about £7,800 each and will be issued with new contracts to reflect their proper terms.

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Legal Problems? - Get a real Free service from your own union

With this copy of Scotland in UNISON you should find a copy of a new Legal Services Directory, from Thompsons Scotland.

This is the next step in providing a comprehensive legal service to UNISONScotland members and provides both an extended range of legal services and uses a Website to provide new easier ways to access them.

For some time UNISONScotland and Thompsons Scotland have worked together in providing a legal helpline and free advice on a range of services including Free Wills, Family Law, Criminal Law, Property Mortgage and Financial Advice, Benefits and Consumer Law and Non Work Related Accidents & Diseases. This has been so successful that both parties wanted to extend the service.

Frank Maguire of Thompsons Scotland says "We and UNISONScotland surveyed opinions on the service provided and it was obvious that Members really appreciated it with comments received such as 'excellent', 'super' and 'efficient', so we agreed to increase the service and this is what we are now launching."

The new service includes Estate Agency Services, Trust & Executry assistance and a comprehensive Road Traffic Scheme. The services involve free initial advice by telephone or interview (where practicable) and then there is a package available for each service if taken further.

Legal support is still available for Work Related Accidents & Diseases, Health & Safety and Employment Law via your UNISON Branch. The new Legal Services Website is available via the UNISONScotland Website or directly at www.unisonscotlandlaw.co.uk

You can however still access the services via the helpline on Freephone 0800 80 12 99 We hope that you will use all of the facilities available to you and that the improved access will make the services more easier and accessible to you.

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New Scottish Committee for Universities staff

UNISON has been instrumental in setting up a new Sub-Committee covering all universities staff in Scotland.

An Advisory Committee to the UK Joint Negotiating Committee, it will be involved in discussing the implications for Scotland of UK issues and decisions and advising the UK body of specific Scottish developments.

Carol Judge, Scottish Organiser for Higher and further Education said, "This will be helpful in putting together a Scottish perspective on issues that the JNC Nationally will be discussing. Bringing all the universities and their staffs together for the first time means we can start to move towards a common pay spine and equal pay for all."

The Committee, which like the UK parent, has grown out of the Bett Commission Recommendations, brings together academic and non-academic staffs from all universities in Scotland. UNISON and the AUT both have 3 seats (other TUs have 2 each) and hold the Joint TU secretariships

Index

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UNISON's real 'no win - no fee' brings more compensation

The last three months have seen personal injury cases taken by UNISON in Scotland win increasing amounts of compensation.

Rising from £89,310 in November to £207,206 in January the total for the three months is £412,257, for 64 members - some of whom have received compensation amounts of £20,000+.

John Lambie, Assistant Scottish Secretary said "No one wants people to be injured by the failings of Scottish Employers, but at least UNISON members know if that unfortunate occurrence does happen, they have access to a genuine no-win, no-fee service."

In addition with the increase in the services now offered outside work through our Thompsons helpline and weblink, members now have a legal support service second to none.

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Lesbian and Gay Diary

Scottish Lesbian and Gay Committee Policy Weekend , Dundee 12-14 April 2002.

An open meeting for UNISON lesbian and gay members in the Dundee/Tayside area will be held on Sunday 14 April at 2.00pm in the Dundee Hilton.

Joint Training Event with Northern Ireland

Following the successful training event held in Omagh in 2000, a reciprocal training event is being arranged with lesbian and gay members from Northern Ireland - to be held in Glasgow on 26-28 April and it is planned to hold an open event for lesbian and gay members who are interested in becoming involved in Self Organisation.

If you require further information please contact Neil MacInnes 07810 358 139 or the Scottish Women's Officer Eileen Dinning email e.dinning@unison.co.uk

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Latest Briefings from UNISONScotland

Just a selection of recent briefings sent to branches and available on the website.

• Equal pay Briefing No 2
• Scottish Budget 2002
• Transco job cuts grow
• Community Legal Service
• Atypical Workers
• Local Government Bill Proposals - UNISON Response
• Response on Private Water Supply Regulation
• Joint Futures briefing
• Private Finance - Modernisation or Manipulation? by Dave Watson

Check them all out in Responses or Briefings

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Political Theatre pioneer

An obituary for John McGrath by Chris Bartter

John McGrath was primarily known in Scotland as the Director of the groundbreaking plays The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil - and for founding the touring political theatre company that I now chair - 7:84 (Scotland).

7:84 was founded specifically to tour theatre to audiences that wouldn't otherwise have access, and that is what it continues to do. However, I shall always remember him most as the joint director writer and producer of a street theatre production called On the Pigs Back, that toured in an open top bus around Scotland as part of a UNISON predecessor's early campaign for public services.

Espousing the need to stop the private sector picking off our public services, schools, hospitals and houses the script could equally be used now. It was also extremely funny - satisfying another of John's maxims - that political theatre must be entertaining. What he called 'A good night out'. Other parts of the union called it, "Just what we needed in our campaign."

John's contribution to theatre and politics is unparalleled and his death from leukaemia at the age of 66 has left a major hole in the theatrical world.

His talent was immense - ranging from work in traditional theatre, TV - he worked on the early series' of Z-Cars - poetry, work with traditional music and even opera!

But he never forgot his socialist beginnings and commitment. There will be a celebration of John's life in May in Edinburgh. If you can, come and be entertained by this polymath of political theatre!

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We want to hear your news

Won any deals or cases for members? Any 'people' stories we could use? SiU is your paper, we want to hear your stories.

Your SiU contacts are:

John Stevenson (Editor)

0131 343 1991

comms@unison-edinburgh.org.uk

Chris Bartter

0141 332 0006,

chris.bartter@unison.org.uk

FAX PRESS RELEASES to 0141-331-1203