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Special General Meeting
Held in the Council Chamber at County Hall - Wed 6 Jun 07
The meeting was quorate.
1. Mandate Local Government Delegates:
Each page of the final document papers were went through and members at the meeting announced if they had a specific view on a particular motion.
The following motions were discussed:
- Motion 16 - Local Government Reform - Was discussed and it was decided by vote that Motion 16 should be supported whether or not it was amended by 16.01
- Motion 17 - Local Government Reform - Was discussed and it was decided by vote that Motion 17 should be supported.
- Motion 31 - Social Care Services - Was discussed and it was decided by unanimous vote that Motion 31 should be supported
- Motion 32 - Social Care Services - Was discussed and it was decided by unanimous vote that Motion 32 should be supported
2. Mandate National Delegates Conference Delegates.
Each page of the final document papers were went through and members at the meeting announced if they had a specific view on a particular motion.
The following motions were discussed:
- Motion 5 - Review of branch and Service Group Structures - Was discussed in detail and although it was viewed there were positive aspects to the motion, the branch was concerened about Recommendation 3 which included reviewing 'Branch income, assets and resources' . It was decided by vote to oppose motion 5.
- Motion 85 - The Leitch review of Skills - Was discussed and it was decided by vote that motion 85 should be supported.
- Motion 88 - Campaign Against Academies and trust schools (A Good Local School for Every Child) - Motion 88 concerned some members of the branch as it calls for affiliation to an organization called 'Anti-Academies Alliance' which we could not find sufficient information about. It was decided with to Support Motion 88 only if amended by amendment 88.1 which was submitted by Devon County Branch.
- Rule Amendment 4 - Rule c.2.6.1 Retired Members - Attention was drawn to this amendment that was put forward by Devon County Branch on behalf of the Retired Members Group, it was decided by vote to support amendment 4.
- Motion 53 - Palestine - There was discussion on this motion and how UNISON officially supports Palestine, it was pointed out that we may take a one sided view, and that simply because we support Palestinians we should not necessarily support all motions about Palestine. It was pointed out that a member of our delegation is actually an Isreali. After discussion it was suggested that Motion 53 be left to the individual consciences of the delegates.
3. Job Evaluation Update
There was an update on Job Evaluation from Moira Andrews and Bob King, where they explained the current situation with Job Evaluation, and how we have a current grievance with how Job Evaluation is going. The Chair explained the current position reached and the difficulties overcome by our negotiators which he strongly supported for the work that they had done. Moira also explained to members how to lodge individual grievances if members have not received their proper back pay.
There was discussion on issues in schools, Youth Offending Teams, and social workers. Members of the UNISON Job Evaluation Team agreed to meet to discuss individual issues with members outside the council chamber on a one to one basis.
4. Pay Claim
The latest pay offer was discussed. The current offer is 2.5% or 2% with 0.5% set aside to bottom load the lowest paid staff. Members at the conference were given a ballot with which they could indicate. which of the 2 offers they preferred or to reject them both. The ballot is not an official ballot, but is just to get a general feeling from the branch so that national will know where we stand on the current situation. The results are to be counted on 8 Jun 07 and sent to UNISON National Office.
5. Local Government Pension Scheme Update
There was a short discussion on the pension scheme. There were questions of the phasing out of the Rule of 85 between 2016-2020.
6. Branch Development Officer
Vivienne Brett, the new Associate Employer Branch Development Officer, gave her apologies for being unable to attend, but she had submitted a written letter telling a bit about herself, and expressing her enthusiasm for working for our branch. Both the branch chair and branch secretary made brief statements about Vivienne and the role she will be playing to improve the branches presence within the associate employers.