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Unity Magazine - Jul 2004

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Published by Devon County UNISON, Matford Lane Offices, County Hall, Exeter

"If there is anything that undermines trust, it is the feeling that the people at the top lack integrity."

Warren Bennis, Professor of Business, University of Southern California


Local Government Pay Offer - Did you vote?

The latest pay from the employers has been put to a vote of UNISON members within Devon and I hope you have returned your slip. At the time of writing the result is not yet know but will be put on the Devon county website when known.

This issue revolved around accepting the offer or taking industrial action.

The improved offer covers pay and employment conditions and comprises:

An 8.9% pay increase spread over three years as follows:

This would give a minimum hourly rate of £5.80 by April 2006.

For the latest news see the page at Pay Claim 2004

Devon 'gets' diverse

Old word, new meaning. In using the word 'diverse' Devon County Council has picked a good way to describe the variety of employees we are.

We're different races, ages, religions, sexualities, abilities and genders. Some of us aren't married and may have children. Others are and might not. A number of us are different nationalities.

But what selection of differences gets combined in you or me? And does it matter?

Well, if you're white, able-bodied and heterosexual, it may not even have occurred to you that you too are different, are part of the diversity. After all, you're one of the huge majorities. It's your actions and ideas that set the tone in all the Council's workplaces. Surely it's everyone else who's different to you? And anyway, doesn't everyone want to be treated the same at work?

Actually, no. We all want fairness and friendliness at work, but that's not the same as everyone being treated alike. Every difference matters to some one. And human nature being what it is there are places that fall short of the fairness and friendliness ideal.

So we have rules. The rules are called our terms and conditions of employment. For instance they say that new mums and dads can have paid time off. They say that the Council can't fire you without a very good reason. The rules say you're entitled to a safe, healthy workplace. And so on.

These rules haven't always existed and they're not perfect yet. Pensions are one example where there's trouble with the rules. The way the Government wants to change our pension rules looks distinctly unfair.

This is where unions like UNISON come into the picture. Carefully, constantly, over the years UNISON has negotiated with employers, steadily improving the fairness, safety and friendliness of workplaces.

What's this got to do with diversity you may wonder?

It's simple. Recognising diversity, valuing what it can bring to the workplace, is at the heart of making things friendlier and fairer. We all know that some people are biased against this or that section of society, but no one has the right to bring their dislike into the workplace and use it against others there.

Both UNISON and Devon County Council believe that respecting diversity is vital. One way that UNISON works is to combat old-fashioned prejudices, such as what's men's jobs or women's jobs. Over the years these prejudices have kept women's pay lower than men's pay and that's unfair. Since it began UNISON has won better pay for women in many workplaces and is carrying on fighting for that fairness to be everywhere.

Most recently the law has changed to finally give lesbians, gay men and bisexual people protections in the workplace that everyone else already took for granted. A new law also makes it illegal to discriminate against any other worker on religious grounds.

We all know though, that if people don't accept the 'rules', the terms and conditions and the law then workplaces aren't going to change. So it's up to each of us. If we care about fair treatment at work then we can recognise diversity in friendly ways, not ignore it. We don't all want to be treated exactly the same. Often that's just a front for prejudice to hide behind. Accept differences - treat everyone fairly.

UNISON and Devon County Council need everyone's help to keep all our workplaces fair and friendly.

[First Published in the DDS Newsletter]

'Terra incognito' or can you afford a house?

Devon has been voted the best county in England scoring 72 out of a possible 100 points in a survey by a popular magazine. This title was awarded, in part, due to two factors Devon's climate - after all who needs the Seychelles when you can have Salcombe? - and the landscape - characterised by 300 miles of exquisite coastline, the bleak beauty of Dartmoor, a chunk of unspoilt Exmoor, which all adds up to a greater wealth of National Parks, Heritage Coast and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty than any rival county.

No one can deny that Devon is a wonderful place to live, work, retire and if you can afford it buy a second home, and we all enjoy the revenue that holiday makers bring to the County, if not all the traffic. However this view of Devon as thatched cottages and cream teas has severely affected the demographic make-up of the County and masks real problems for those employed in the County on traditionally low Incomes.

Data from the official new earnings survey, found that the cost of buying a starter home is more difficult for working households in the south west than the south east outside London, and therefore the governments priority to allocate hundreds of millions of pounds of extra housing resources to the south east is not justified as the housing crisis is actually worse in the south west. The reports author Professor Steve Wilcox from the University of York said: "The analysis challenges any assumptions that the housing crisis is confined to London and the south east. Policy makers would be foolish to ignore the way that affordability problems are spread across the south west."

The question is how we overcome this terra incognito or great deceiver, e.g. the perception of thatched cottages and cream teas with the delivery of a county where workers can afford to live not just work.

With this in mind UNISON is calling on trades unions across the Southwest to tell central government to end restrictions on local authority housing schemes. Ken Terry, UNISON's senior regional officer, has stated that the rising cost of housing is outstripping wage increases like never before. The result of this for public sector workers being that they are simply cannot afford to buy a home.

This campaign has already seen some success with the government releasing £134m to the South West Regional Housing Board to fund a Key Workers Home scheme. In Devon the scheme is limited to public sector employees whose main areas of work are Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon. Under the scheme Key Workers who are not homeowners may be assisted in purchasing a property with the provision of an equity loan from £15,000.

Unity would like members with housing problems/issues or concerns to get in contact, real situations are better than statistics, and armed with this information pressure can be put on funding bodies and central government to allocate sufficient resources. If you think you may be eligible for this new Key Workers Scheme please make use it, contact Rosy Sime at Devon and Cornwall Housing on 0845 6010623 or Caroline Thompson at Sovereign Housing on 0845 6021618 and let Unity know how you got on!

2004 minimum wage at 21 £4.70 x 37 x 52 = £8,658

2006 Employers offer Minimum wage £5.80 x 37 x 52 = £11,159

Average House Price in South West £145,000 - 17 times minimum wage


UNISON compensation victory will hurt all dangerous bosses

A massive £354,000 compensation award won by public service union UNISON means employers can no longer use ignorance of health risks as a legal defence. UNISON member Alison Dugmore, 37, was forced to give up nursing in 1997 after experiencing asthma, skin problems and anaphylactic attacks - the most severe form of allergy - as a result of an allergy to latex, used in surgical gloves. Once sensitised, contact with colleagues wearing latex gloves, or even latex-laden dust, could trigger the reaction.

UNISON's Appeal Court victory established an important legal precedent. UNISON general Secretary Dave Prentis commented: 'This has consequences not only for the NHS but for industry as a whole, because employers will no longer be able to argue that they did not that a substance was harmful.' Ms Dugmore, from Baglan, South Wales, won her case against Swansea NHS Trust at the Appeal Court in London in November 2002, but the compensation sum has only just been agreed. It comprises £240,000 for personal injury, loss of future earnings and loss of pension. The extra £114,000 represents 'punitive interest' - reflecting the fact that she had offered to settle the case with her employer earlier in the proceedings. The Trust was refused leave to appeal the decision or the amount of compensation.


Job Evaluation - experiences elsewhere

Across the economy, and particularly in local government, the NHS and universities, there have been moves to remove the traditional divides between 'white-collar' and 'blue-collar' workers. An Incomes Data Services (IDS) article looks at this harmonising of pay and conditions, which is also an issue when organisations have merged such as British Gas.

They looked at the experience of Crawley Borough Council, who introduced a new pay and grading structure in March 2002 after three years of negotiating, benchmarking and job evaluation. They applied the computerised Gauge version of the NJC recommended job evaluation scheme, taking 18 months to complete from the start to the publication of final results.

150 employees initially lost out due to the regrading (out of 782 staff), but this was drastically cut to 48 after 400 staff used the appeals process. Protections apply to staff until April 2006.

Market supplements were removed, which particularly affected IT staff, who had benefited during the 'millennium boom'. Caring staff and those with responsibility for people and interpersonal skills tended to be upgraded in the exercise, including workplace nursery staff, housing scheme managers_and managers for hostels for the homeless. This has subsequently highlighted the need to restructure nursery fees, as rates are now higher than in comparable local nurseries.

'What the staff think of Devon County Council'

There were some worrying results hidden away amongst the good ones, in the results of Devon County Council's last annual Corporate Staff Attitude Survey...

" ... Overall people feel slightly 'less effective' due to working environments and the amount of work they are expected to do. Also fewer knew how performance is evaluated. Less than half feel their contribution to the organisation is recognised and a further third are unsure. Only one-third (was 39% [2 years ago]) consider that remuneration and benefits are competitive. Still around 27% of staff consider themselves to be suffering from work-related stress, with workload, management and lack of resources quoted as the main causes."

and not to be overlooked:

"... only 25% believed promotions were based on merit with 32% saying they thought (they) weren't."


Useful Info

CAB EXETER

A new ACAS based project at the CAB involves complaints against the NHS. 1.5 workers have been recruited for this. The bureau needs more volunteers.

Westcountry Training and Consultancy (WTCS)

New Deal for the Disabled is run from new premises in Exeter High Street.

Exeter Library

The library is now open on a Sunday 10.30am - 2.00pm. This is a pilot until March 2004. The lending library is currently busier than the reference library.

Learndirect Centre

Courses offered in IT, Business and Management, etc. Skills for life courses are also available with support available for outreach, rural areas etc. The centre also offers the national skills test.

Esther Mann - Lone Parent Advisor - Exeter Jobcentre Plus

All the advisors are now based at Clarendon House. The service is available to lone parents working under 16 hours.

Go4

A new contract is providing funding for Enhanced Services until July 2004. The service offers 1 hours guidance appointments to those educated below NVQ level 2 who do not have 5 GCSE grade C and above or 5 CSE grade 1. The appointments are available in Exeter Reference library, Exmouth Library and Tiverton Jobcentre Plus. To book an appointment call the Go4 enquiry line on 0845 8 50 50 70. Psychometric testing is also available in Exeter.

Social Scene

Come Ballroom Dancing, Coaver Club, County Hall - Monday nights 8 - 9 pm, excellent teacher - all levels catered for - includes Latin American dance. Cost £1.50. Modern Jive Class at the Coaver Social Club, County Hall, Exeter - Tuesday nights 5.30 - 7.00.

Walk the Walk

Would you like to walk Hadrian's Wall for three days, only 45 miles? UNISON Welfare are raising money for the Bucket and Spade Appeal. To take part all you have to do is pay a registration fee and agree to raise £250 in sponsorship. You get fresh air good exercise, accommodation, food and travel to Northumberland. Contact UNISON Direct on 0845 355 0845 or email p.barker@unison.co.uk.

Health and Safety

UMISON issues the following standard guidance to members on dealing with accidents at work. If you or any member needs further advice contact UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845.

Reporting the accident

All accidents, near misses, injuries or violence at work must be recorded in the workplace accident book. If you are ill or have to take sick leave due to an accident, injury or illness at work, visit your GP. Report the accident to your UNISON branch. It is important that unsafe working practices are rectified so that other workers do not suffer.

Personal injury claims

If there is negligence by your employer, UNISON may be able to represent you (without any charge) in making a legal claim for compensation. Details of the case will be considered by the union's agent solicitors and, where appropriate, they will proceed to make a claim. If you wish your case to be considered by our solicitors, contact your UNISON representative, telephone UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845 or email the UNISON accident helpline at accidenthelpline@UNISON.co.uk.

UNISON accident benefit

Members are eligible for UNISON accident benefit where they are unable to work due to an accident in the course of their employment, an accident while travelling to work or an accident while on union business. Contact your steward, or UNISONdirect.

UNISON Welfare

UNISON Welfare may be able to offer financial assistance in the form of a grant or a loan, or to assist in providing a recuperative break or convalescence. Application forms are available from your branch welfare officer, steward or UNISONdirect.

State benefits

If you are off work and receive very little or no occupational sick pay, a range of state benefits is available

Contributions are welcome in electronic form if possible (my typing is very slow and the spelling a little erratic). They should be sent to the Union Office at County Hall.

Andy Bowman