Members who helped to deliver
the greatest show on earth
Even the weather
came good
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profilewww.prospect.org.uk • Issue 4 – Aug-Sep 2012
union for professionals
[email protected]: Charles HarveyReports: Graham StewartKatherine Beirne Penny Vevers
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Profile
2 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
GENERAL SECRETARY
Olympic success has lesson for UK economyThe almost universal view – from participants, spectators, sponsors, armchair viewers and politicians – has been that the London Olympic games were a great success.
Fears about transport gridlock did not materialise, the organisation worked like clockwork, the venues were splendid, the sports were top-notch and Team GB excelled. Even the weather co-operated (mostly), so thanks to Prospect members in the Met Office for that.
What lessons can we learn? The crucial point for me is that investment, properly applied and managed, can reap rich rewards. Politicians of all persuasions are queuing up to claim credit for the ‘brave’ decision to bid for the Games and spend huge amounts of mostly public money in making the event such a triumph. I was fortunate to go round the site with Olympic Delivery Authority chair Sir John Armitt when the park was under construction to witness this hugely complex project, delivered to time and to budget.
A great example of public/private co-operation, what was most impressive was the focus on good industrial relations, health and safety, and sustainability. The ODA worked closely with the TUC and unions and for me it was a shame that there was not more focus on this very positive story, rather than hyped up trade union ‘threats’ to the games.
The investment in athletes seems to have paid off as well, with lottery funding of sport driving
GB from one solitary gold at the Atlanta games in 1996 to 29 in London and from 36th to third in the medal table. I don’t begrudge the money, but although gold medals might make us feel good, the hard truth is that they do not increase our economic prosperity.
So, as the euphoria fades and we re-awake to the harsh dawn of economic reality, I would focus on the value of investment in skills, education and science and technology as the means to bring about economic recovery, to take us from austerity to prosperity before it’s too late. Without such investment it is difficult to see a pathway to a brighter future for the UK. How else are we to develop a modern, effective economy unless we build on our rich heritage of intellectual, scientific and engineering capacity?
It is also important to learn from mistakes, and the biggest of these seemed to be security where lapses by the private sector (G4S) had to be remedied by the public sector (the army). The lesson here is not superiority of the public sector over the private sector, but that employment conditions based on insecurity and low wages, which require people to pay for their own training with no guarantee of work, are not only unfair and exploitative but unreliable and bad for business.
And a word for the people who were not paid anything at all, the volunteers whose contribution to the success of the games was massive. I know they include many Prospect members (as reported opposite), as well as others involved in many different ways. Congratulations to all of you.
Paul Noon
How else are we to develop a modern, effective economy unless we build on our rich heritage of
intellectual, scientific and engineering
capacity?
IN THIS ISSUE ...5 EURO-PENSION THREAT
New plan from the European Commission could bankrupt pension schemes
13 PAY PRESSURES MOUNT Public sector branches are refusing to accept the government’s 1 per cent pay cap
15 NEW CAREERS SCHEME A recruitment portal for engineers could be your gateway to a new career
16 PERSONAL TESTIMONIES Safety inspectors tell their moving stories of lives saved and injuries prevented
18 REINVENTING GOVERNMENT Ministers dust off the clichés for yet another civil service reform plan
19 ENERGY BILL Clamour for action grows as MPs back calls for infrastructure investment
22 PRIZE CAR OFFER Join CSMA Club and a Vauxhall Corsa could be yours
WITH THIS PROFILEThere are two Prospect inserts with this issue:EnergyLines – the newsletter for working members in the energy supply industry sectorPlatform – the newsletter for members in the private and public defence industry
STEFANO CAGNONI
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 3
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTHLEAVE AND shift patterns were all changed for the Olympic games, says BBC weather presenter Alex Deakin (pictured front cover and above). But, he said, “It was a fantastic experi-ence, really good fun as it is always good to do something so different.
“Every day we got a buzz from seeing the greatest show on earth just a short distance away. We were with the news crews and really felt part of the whole thing.”
Forecasters were also embedded at other key Olympic locations and will be again for the Paralympics.
Wind direction and thunderstorms are the chief concerns of competitors and spectators, while for the Met Office it is ensuring consistency in the forecasts coming from different sources.
7,000 extra flights, 80,000 phone connections in 95 venues with 4,500 kilometres of cabling, a billion website hits, one archaeological dig and not a single construction deathTHE STARS of track and field have had their day – now it’s the turn of the behind-the-scenes Olympians without whom the 2012 games could not have happened.
Leading the pack of unsung heroes were thousands of Prospect members who helped to deliver the 30th Olympiad to athletes, spectators and the world outside.
All had to put up with extended or extra shifts, annual leave cancelled or delayed, long travel journeys and lots of hard work – but they were more than happy to do their bit.
Perhaps the most high-profile members involved were the teams of Met Office weather presenters based just outside the Olympic park and at Weymouth, Eton Dorney and Lerwick, in the Shetlands.
Prospect rep Alex Deakin was one of 10 presenters working out of the Lund Point council block for the games, overlooking Stratford Park.
He said: “We had many more broadcasts than usual, roughly one every half hour. Forecasts were absolutely vital for many sports like sailing, rowing, beach volleyball, even athletics, but were just as important for anyone coming to see the games and visitors to the park.”
For BT members, who had to put in the telecoms infrastructure for all the events, this was a massive project: 80,000 connections were installed across 95 venues, feeding off 4,500km of cabling.
The games event times website alone had to cope with one billion hits from 200m individual users.
BT also supplied 14,000 cable TV outlets, 16,500 IPT handsets and 14,000 mobile phone SIM cards, all helping to handle seven times the demand experienced at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In addition, Airwave members designed and built a private mobile radio service called Apollo to provide guaranteed, secure coverage for staff and volunteers.
EDF Energy , a major Prospect employer, is an official partner of both the Olympic and Paralympic games, supplying power to the whole park and fuelling the Olympic flame in the torch relay and the cauldron.
All the electricity EDF supplied to the park and venues was backed by low-carbon generation sources. It installed 120 electric vehicle chargepoints to support the
Olympic games fleet, and innovative energy monitoring technology at six major sites.
For air traffic controllers
in NATS , the challenge was to manage 7,000 extra flights and to operate the temporary airspace restrictions in force around London from July 14. These were designed to create a ‘known environment’ where any aircraft, commercial or private, was
in communication with either NATS or military controllers.
A crisis communications cell supported the operation 24/7 and liaised with Eurocontrol, the Department for Transport, airlines, airports and the Met Office.
Other Prospect Olympians included: ● football referees and assistant referees
who refereed several of the 32 matches in the competition
● GE Healthcare , which supplied all the diagnostic equipment for athletes’ pre- and post-race medical checks
● members in the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority , which provided emergency back-up for all the London events
● members at Ofcom , who made sure radio interference did not bring down the wireless timing systems
● Transport for London , whose members served as travel ambassadors to keep the traffic moving, and Highways Agency traffic officers who patrolled the Olympic road network outside London – in particular roads to and from Weymouth
● Health and Safety Executive inspectors, who supervised the construction of the site and its remarkable safety record, with not a single fatality during the course of its construction
● The Royal Mint , which made the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded at 302 victory ceremonies.
The last word should go to the Museum of London archaeological unit, who excavated the site at the very inception of the whole Olympic project when Stratford Park was just a huge toxic dump.
■■ For■more■Prospect■members■involved■in■the■games,■go■to■bit.ly/prospect_olympics
PROSPECT’S OLYMPICS
Olympic pictures: Stefano Cagnoni
■ Rose Willis, negotiator on Prospect’s agriculture pitch – one of 70,000 volunteers helping to stage the games
■ Pictured in the uniform she will wear for her stint at the Paralympics at the end of the month, Rose said: “I’m thrilled to be taking part. I’m doing 10 shifts on venue entry at the stadium. It’s a great way to interact with people of all ages and backgrounds – even to put in a good word about trade unions.”
Profile
4 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
GO
DIGITAL!Did you know that you can receive an electronic link to your copy of Profile rather than be mailed a printed copy of the magazine?
Just log into the Prospect website and go to the Welcome page. You’re just three clicks away from switching over to eProfile instead of receiving a printed copy.
Every switch saves on paper and postage and helps to keep your subs down.
Key safety guidance: should it be cut back?THE HEALTH and Safety Executive is consulting on plans to revise or withdraw 15 Approved Codes of Practice by the end of 2013.
ACOPs provide practical guidance on complying with the general duties of the Health and Safety at Work Act and goal-setting regulations. They cover a wide range of industries and workplaces, mostly involving high-risk activities.
The codes are not law but do have special legal status; if their advice is followed in relevant circumstances, duty holders can be confident they are complying with the law.
The review follows recommendations by Professor Löfstedt’s review of health and safety law. Löfstedt said the principles of
ACOPs were supported by a range of organi-sations but felt they could be improved to make it easier for employers to understand and meet their legal obligations. This would reduce the risks of over-compliance.
A further proposal would withdraw the ACOP for the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and replace it with a suite of more specific, updated guidance.
HSE says legal responsibilities to protect workers’ health and safety will not be altered by any changes to the codes.
■ Prospect is drawing up a response to the consultation, which ends on September 14 and is online at: www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd241.htm
Join CSMA Club before November 30 and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a new Vauxhall Corsa! You will also benefit from great deals on everything from insurance to days out and cinema tickets. To join, visit csmaclub.co.uk/prospect
ALREADY A CLUB MEMBER?Introduce new members to CSMA Club and not only will you get a £10 M&S voucher when they join – you’ll both be entered into the prize draw. To recommend someone, visit csmaclub.co.uk/share
EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS: Early years education experts are campaigning to protect their professional status after the Nutbrown report recommended the government replace it with a new early years specialist route leading to ‘qualified teacher status’. The Aspect group in Prospect says 10,000 university-trained practitioners are already delivering positive outcomes for children. Please sign an epetition calling for EYPS to be retained on an equal but different footing to teaching – http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36182
SHIPBUILDING: Speculation over the future of BAE’s shipbuilding facility at Portsmouth naval base has prompted the launch of a petition on the Downing Street website. BAE is reviewing its maritime operations because of a lack of defence orders after the navy’s two new aircraft carriers are completed. A two-year gap in workload threatens thousands of jobs at Portsmouth and the Clyde. The petition by campaign website and blog Save the Royal Navy can be signed at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/35375
IN BRIEF
profile
■■ Agriculture■is■one■of■15■industries■who■safety■codes■of■practice■will■be■reviewed
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 5
Partial climbdown over visa refusalsIMMIGRATION MINISTER Damian Green conceded in August that the case of two Kenyan trade unionists banned from attending Prospect’s national conference could have been handled differently.
After the May confer-ence, general secretary Paul Noon wrote to home secretary Theresa May protesting at the UK Border Agency’s refusal to allow Agnes Kithumbi and David Songkok, of energy union Ketawu, entry to the UK. The UKBA had deemed them a ‘flight risk’, saying they
had insufficient funds. TUC general secretary
Brendan Barber also protested as did the International Transport Federation.
Replying to Barber, Damian Green said the UKBA regional manager in Nairobi had reviewed both applications, and
concluded that “while the entry clearance officer made a reasonable decision, more weight could have been given to the sponsorship behind these applications that may have resulted in the visas being issued.”
Green recommended contacting the UKBA’s
head of international partnerships.
In August, repre-sentatives from the TUC, Prospect and ITF met her to raise their concerns.
International develop-ment officer Beverley Hall said: “A positive outcome is that we now have someone to approach if we invite international visitors to the UK, or they experience visa problems.”
■ Prospect is holding an international devel-opment seminar in London on November 1. To register your interest, email [email protected]
EU pension threatA WAR of words has broken out over the potential impact of EU Commission proposals for occupa-tional pensions, which could make many defined benefit schemes unaffordable.
A wide coalition of UK organisa-tions, from trade unions to employer organisations to politicians, have criticised the commission for seeking to toughen the solvency requirements for DB pension schemes.
While the commission argues that strengthening the funding requirements would protect scheme members, others have warned that it will increase costs and force employers to close schemes to existing members.
In June, pensions minister Steve Webb said: “It is unbelievable the commission is pressing ahead with these pointless proposals which
would cost UK employers with final salary schemes hundreds of billions of pounds and lead to defined benefit scheme closures.”
In the Financial Times in August, John Hutton, the former pensions secretary who led a review of public
sector pensions for the government, wrote: “The commission runs the risk of accelerating the demise of defined benefit pensions across Europe.”
Unions and employers have claimed that the proposals will have a particularly negative impact
on schemes in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands as these are the only countries whose schemes are funded in this way.
In response to Hutton’s article, EU commissioner, Michel Barnier, said: “The commission has not yet made any legislative proposals in this regard. What we have done so far is asked the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority to carry out a quantitative impact study in order to examine the potential costs and benefits of the introduction of a more risk-based solvency regime to occupa-tional pension funds.”
His words are unlikely to reassure the UK pension industry as the commission has consistently pressed ahead with its work in this area despite the unanimous view from the UK that these proposals are unnecessary.
OVERWHELMING VOTE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT SCHEME OFFERPROSPECT MEMBERS in the local govern-ment pension scheme have voted to accept the government’s final offer for changes to the scheme.
In a ballot ending on August 13 they voted by 92.8 per cent in favour of the proposals, as recommended by reps in branches covered by the scheme.
The terms of the offer negotiated with the Local Government Association are contained in documents released at the end of May, at https://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2012/00892
Of 2,719 voting papers issued, 942 votes were returned – a 35 per cent turnout. Of these, 874 voted yes and 68 voted no.
Members were balloted from the Aspect group of education and childcare professionals, the Environment Agency, third sector body Mentôr Mon, Care
Quality Commission, Food Standards Agency/Meat Hygiene Service, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Museum of London, University of Greenwich and Welsh Assembly government.
Unlike the civil service agreement, the LGPS changes will take effect on April 1, 2014. But most of the other changes – a career average scheme, full pension at state pension age and CPI indexation – parallel those made to other public sector schemes.
Prospect deputy general secretary Dai Hudd welcomed the result, pointing out that the final package was a great deal better than the government’s initial proposals.
“Improvements have been made to the accrual rate and the position of part-timers,” he said. “The LGPS will remain a defined benefit scheme, and those within ten years of retirement on April 1 2012 are fully protected.”
■ ● The government has confirmed it will enact the agreements on public service pensions reached with unions, including Prospect, in April. Danny Alexander, treasury chief secretary, said in July that legislation will be introduced in the current session for the civil service, teachers and NHS schemes. The existing Fair Deal policy for staff transferring out of the service will be extended so that they can retain membership of the civil service scheme in TUPE and subsequent TUPE transfers.
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT?IF YOU want to take practical action at your workplace on the environ-ment, come to ‘Green unions at work’, a Prospect seminar on October 18. You will hear about a new survey on union environmental
activities and case studies of what Prospect members have achieved at the University of Greenwich, BT, Natural England and National Library of Wales.
You will be briefed on carbon
reporting and sustainable procure-ment, with practical tips about how to get going in your workplace. To register an interest, email [email protected] by August 31.
■■ EU■commissioner■Barnier■–■no■legislative■proposals■yet
■ More than 90 per cent of Prospect members
who voted backed the changes to the scheme
GEORGES BOULOUGOURIS/EUROPEAN COMM
ISSION
■ Ernest Nakena Nadome, general secretary of the Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers Union, addresses Prospect conference in 2010
MARK PINDER
STEFANO CAGNONI
Join the campaign atwww.afuturethatworks.org.uk
JOIN US IN LONDON
SATURDAY20 OCTOBER 2012Assemble at 11am–1:30pm for march to Hyde Park rally(see website for joining instructions)
Send the message thatAUSTERITY ISN’T WORKING
spending cuts threaten a lost decade invest for jobs and growth defend quality public services
@futurethatworks #oct20
MARCH FOR
Profile
6 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
BRANCHING OUTA PROSPECT member has written a book that seeks to revolutionise the role of trees in sustainable agriculture. Living with the Trees of Life – Towards the Transformation of Tropical Agriculture is by Professor Roger Leakey, formerly of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Edinburgh. While working there, he and colleagues developed a package of strategies and techniques to domesticate disappearing tropical trees that produce socially and commercially useful products – often traditional food and medicines. These techniques and strategies are now the basis of a growing international initiative to develop a diversified form of tropical agriculture which will help to alleviate malnutrition, hunger, poverty and environmental degra-dation, including climate change. His book is published by the science-based development and information organisation CABI and is available from Amazon.
Panel sets out vision for forests’ future‘THE PROOF of the pudding is in the eating’ summed up reaction to a crucial report on the future of England’s forests, issued in July.
The report of the independent panel on forestry, set up after the furore over the government’s planned sell-off of public forests last year, looked only at England’s forests. It did not take evidence from trade unions, but recommended:
● a properly funded and staffed public forestry body, free from political meddling
● investing in and developing the services currently supplied
● expanding the national forest estate
● retaining GB-wide functions ● recognising the continued
requirement for a GB forest research body.
The report said legislative and structural changes to the Forestry Commission in England may be needed. But it did not recommend merger into a ‘wider landscape delivery body’ – the approach currently being taken by the Welsh Assembly.
Prospect negotiator Malcolm Currie said: “The funding,
accounting and administrative changes proposed by the panel would enable the woodlands to be
properly managed and safeguard long-term planning and investment from political interference.”
He said this would be best accomplished
by significantly improving invest-ment in the staffing and funding of the Commission. Changes to its remit and reporting chain would help it carry out the functions
required to manage a sustain-able forestry environment for the benefit of all.
“The challenge is now clearly with the government to take positive action in order to deliver this vision and ensure we protect and expand our woodland resource,” said Currie.
Responding to the report, environment secretary Caroline Spelman said: “Our forests will stay in public hands.
“We will not sell the public forest estate. We’ll be talking to all those who are passionate about our forests to decide how we will manage our forests for the future.”
■ Professor Leakey with an Allanblackia fruit – a source of high quality oil that grows in tropical Africa and is named after the 19th century Scottish botanist Allan Black who curated Charles Darwin’s plant collection
■ Two farmers from Cameroon examine fruits of safou or African plum, a highly nutritious and widely traded indigenous local food
CEH
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 7
■ Paul Noon meets the media after the meeting
MINISTER’S VISIT RAISES HOPES FOR DEFENCE BASETHE CAMPAIGN to save a major defence stores base in Cumbria from closure stepped up in July with a visit to the depot by Prospect general secretary Paul Noon.
Hopes of a reprieve for the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency site at Longtown were also boosted by the news that defence minister Peter Luff will visit the site before he decides its future.
Noon heard the views of members, who account for about 10 per cent of the 300-strong workforce.
“This is a critical time for the campaign to keep Longtown open,” said Noon. “We want to see a commitment to retain Longtown – we have made it clear we are prepared and have our own ideas for improvements to the facility and to develop the site to provide a more cost-effective alternative.”
The Ministry of Defence wants to close the site in 2014, with the loss of all 300 jobs. Storage responsibilities would transfer to Kineton, Warwickshire.
But Prospect says the depot is a major
employer and the loss of so many jobs would cost the local economy millions.
MOD had been due to make a decision this summer. But after representations by unions and Cumbria county council in May, Luff agreed to visit Longtown before announcing a decision in September.
Prospect branch chair, Luis Eckersley, the driving force behind the campaign to keep Longtown open, said: “We went to meet the minister who agreed he would come up before making the final decision.
“We thought they had made up their minds but the minister told us that he hasn’t made a decision and that he has an open mind.”
Prospect says there is a strategic risk in storing all munitions at one depot and that it would be costly and hazardous to transport munitions by road from Kineton to MOD’s range at Otterburn, Northumberland.
The DSDA branch also challenges the department’s claim that it would cost at least £100m to refurbish the Longtown site.
Procurement plan won’t work, warns ProspectPLANS TO restructure the UK’s prime defence procurement body into a government-owned, contractor-operated business will not solve its problems and could create many more, Prospect has warned.
The announcement by defence secretary Philip Hammond in July on the future of the Defence Equipment and Support Agency launched a consultation exercise by the Ministry of Defence on its proposed new status before a final decision is made in the autumn.
But national secretary Steve Jary said the announce-ment raised more problems and questions than it resolved.
“Industry is not convinced by the approach and does not understand why MOD cannot reform the procure-ment process from within. There are growing fears about the ability of DE&S to deliver during the three or more years it would take to create a GOCO.”
MOD says a GOCO arrange-ment will give it the flexibility to pay staff at market rates. But Prospect has pointed out that the department already has many flexibilities available, which it chooses not to use.
“It would be better if DE&S
was allowed to nurture its own talent and pay staff appropriately, rather than being instructed to cut staff by 30 per cent, which has been its main focus for the past two years.”
There are other serious obstacles to the concept of a GOCO, Jary warned.
Although some commercial risk would be transferred to the GOCO, operational and safety risks would remain with MOD.
If the secretary of state has to carry the can for equipment failures, does he really want to contract out the assurance that everything has been done to avoid those risks, he asked.
Likewise, how would the UK’s allies react – “the introduction of a commercially-driven
DE&S creates potential conflicts of interest which will limit the extent to which secret technolo-gies are shared. No other country contracts out the management of its equipment programme.”
The change will also require primary legislation, unlikely before the next election, while DE&S capability continues to haemorrhage.
DE&S employs 20,000 staff and is based at Abbey Wood, near Bristol.
HOW TO GET 20p OFF YOUR TAXEVERY YEAR Prospect is contacted by members anxious to learn if their union subscription is eligible for tax relief.
Unfortunately, Prospect is a trade union and not a professional institution so your subscription does not qualify.
But one part of the union subscription is eligible for relief – the amount used to provide death benefits to members’ dependants.
Prospect’s expenditure on death benefits in 2011 was
£82,000, which represents approximately 97p – or 0.49 per cent – of a member’s subscription.
For a basic rate taxpayer the 97p that is eligible would yield the magnificent sum of 20p in tax relief.
Revenue self-assess-ment return forms require taxpayers to enter figures in whole pounds only, so the claim can be rounded up to £1 – which unfortunately does nothing to raise the value of the relief beyond that princely 20p. Sorry!
■ Prospect members listen to general secretary Paul Noon at the Longtown depot in Cumbria
PICTURES: MARK PINDER
STEFANO CAGNONI
■■ Jary■–■pay■staff■appropriately
NEWSProfile
8 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
TRANSFERRED STAFF PUT THEIR TRUST IN PROSPECT IN THE midst of the rain-soaked early summer of 2012, a historic 17th century property in south Wales enjoyed a glorious housewarming party. Thousands came to the free event in June hosted by the National Trust, which took over the running of Tredegar House, a Charles II mansion and estate, from local authority ownership in March.
To coincide with the event, Prospect’s National Trust branch chose the location for an executive committee meeting and a recruitment drive.
Tredegar is a beautiful and signifi-cant acquisition by the Trust, said Paul Stewart, branch representative.
“The TUPE-transfer of staff from Newport city council was equally significant for staff and they fully understood the need for membership of Prospect.”
The recruitment drive generated interest from staff at every level, he said. Prospect reps met the new property manager Joanna Cartwright and assistant director Adam Ellis Jones. Many people joined on the day and many more took away member-ship forms and Prospect material.
“Staff and management gave us a warm welcome and we are grateful for their hospitality,” said Paul.
Branch organiser Mandy Garrick said the visit was well received. “As most of the staff came from a local authority, they were already aware of the benefits of union membership.
“The team at Tredegar are positive, despite the property going through some changes, and keen to work hand in hand with Prospect.
“We hope to see our member-ship base there grow from strength to strength.”
Code will combat ‘too good to be true’ pension offersAN INDUSTRY code of conduct has been launched to reduce the number of people being tempted to opt of pension scheme benefits by dodgy incentives.
Known as ‘pension incentive exercises’, these are any inducement offered to a scheme member to transfer or give up pension benefits in exchange for another benefit.
The most common are ‘enhanced transfer value exercises’ where members are offered an incentive to transfer their pension out of a defined benefit scheme into an alternative arrangement; and ‘pension increase exchange
exercises’ where members are given an incentive to give up their entitle-ment to future pension increases.
There is widespread concern across the pensions industry that, despite their superficial attractions, such exercises result in members being worse off in the long run.
The code, which is government-backed, bans the offer of cash incentives that depend on members taking up the exercise, and ensures that advice and guidance is made available to members at cost to their employer.
Neil Walsh, Prospect pensions officer, said: “You will rarely be
offered something for nothing in life. If your pension scheme comes to you with an offer that appears too good to be true there is a good chance that it is. Before taking up an offer members should seek out advice from their employer or their Prospect rep.”
The voluntary code was developed by a pensions industry working group, with input from groups repre-senting scheme members including trade unions. If it fails to reduce the number of members being induced to make inappropriate choices, legis-lation will be considered.
■ See the code at bit.ly/pension_code
PROSPECT CONCERNED AS BIDDERS LINE UP IN NUCLEAR SELL-OFFTHE NUCLEAR industry was surprised in July by EnergySolutions’ decision to sell its UK and European businesses, including the contract to manage the UK’s 10 Magnox reactor sites. It came hot on the heels of the launch of a competition to find new managers for the contract.
The news came just weeks after the company, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, issued a profit warning and ousted its CEO and chief financial officer.
National secretary Mike Graham (right)expressed concern over the timing as the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority was about to invite bids for the next parent management organisation contract.
“We have obvious concerns over how stable the company will be until a new parent organisation is in place. Any transition arrangements must appear seamless to allow staff to focus on the safe and efficient clean-up of sites.”
Graham said the union is seeking assurances from the Department of Energy and Climate Change that the EnergySolutions sale would not de-rail the competition for the next Magnox and Research Sites Restoration contract, due to begin in June 2014.
It was important that the decision was not seen as a vote of no confi-dence in the UK nuclear industry as a whole, he said.
“Setbacks across the UK industry in recent months have been the result of international pressures facing companies and their subsidiaries, which require capital by divesting more profitable operations.”
Several bidders have already expressed an interest, including British companies Amec and Babcock International – a move that Graham said would benefit British industry enormously if skills were retained in the UK.
US firms Flour, Shaw Group and Jacobs have also expressed interest. However, Bechtel are said to be in the lead having made an opening bid to the NDA, which wants to conclude the sale quickly.
■ Stewart – staff fully understand need for membership
NATIONAL TRUST
DIMITRIS LEGAKIS
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 9
A SAVINGS PLAN WITH VALUABLE TAX BREAKS!We all know we need to save for our financial future, but few of us have a lump sum to invest. Yet one of the best ways of saving for your financial goals is through a regular savings plan.
Set up a direct debit for a certain amount each month, forget about it, then ten or so years later you should have built up a lump sum to spend as you wish. So much the better if your savings plan is exempt from tax – you should get even more.
ISAs are a popular vehicle for regular savings because any income and capital gains they produce are largely free of tax to the individual. UK residents can currently invest up to £11,280 in an ISA, of which up to £5,640 can be in a cash ISA and the balance in a stocks and shares ISA.
You can also put up to £3,600 in a Junior ISA on behalf of a child, with children able to access their ISAs when they reach the age of 18.
If you have used up your ISA allowance and want to save more – perhaps on behalf of your children or grandchildren – why not consider Prospect Suresave? It’s a tax-exempt regular savings plan for adults and children which offers
the potential for bonuses, annually and in the
final year. Bonuses are tax-free, even for higher rate taxpayers. Plus, you can invest in Prospect Suresave in addition to an ISA.
Choose how long you want to save for – between 10 and 25 years – and how much you
invest each month – from £15 to £25 a month. When the plan matures you are guaranteed to get back at least the amount you have paid in, so long as you have kept up your monthly contributions throughout its duration, together with any bonuses, although the addition of bonuses is not guaranteed.
Prospect Suresave is available through
Lighthouse Financial Advice, Prospect’s endorsed provider of financial advice. Lighthouse Financial Advice also offers members a discounted rate on an ISA designed to produce income.
■To find out more and to download an ISA application pack, go to www.lighthousefa.co.uk/affinity_groups/prospect.aspx.
■For a Prospect Suresave information pack call 0800 298 3485.
■To arrange a no-obligation initial consultation with a Lighthouse Financial Advice adviser, call 08000 85 85 90.This article is for general information and is based on current law and practice which are subject to change. It takes no account of individual circumstances and does not constitute any form of personal advice. Please note – the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than you invested.
Science policies don’t add up says ProspectPROSPECT HAS called for an active industrial strategy that recognises the central role of high-level science, technology, engineering and mathe-matics skills in promoting growth.
The union was responding to a report, Higher education in STEM subjects, by the House of Lords science and technology committee.
The committee expressed shock that many students starting STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) degrees, even those with A-Level maths qualifications, lacked the maths skills to undertake their studies.
It identified a potential compound effect of the government’s higher education reforms on postgraduate provision, singling out:
● higher university fees ● lack of student finance ● a decline in the number
of overseas students, put off from coming to the UK by tighter immigration controls.
Prospect head of research Sue Ferns backed the findings and welcomed the proposal for an expert group to consider the supply and demand of STEM postgraduate provision in the UK.
But she said that alongside attracting new entrants, access routes need to be opened up to people who already have high-level STEM skills.
“For example, the government must address the under-representation of women and black and ethnic minority
groups in some STEM disciplines, which this report does not address. For this reason, the expert group should include representation from employees as well as employers.”
The peers also recommended a single body to provide real-time data analysis and a commentary on where STEM shortages exist.
Ferns said such a body must have cabinet-level cross-government authority to make a difference. “Prospect has been calling for this for many years since the government does not even know how many scientists or engineers it employs, or their areas of expertise.”
She feared the current climate of cost-driven closures, cuts and privatisa-
tions would not attract new scientists. “If the government wants to maintain the UK’s SET capacity then it has to put its own house in order.
“Actions such as closing down the Forensic Science Service, denuding the Ministry of Defence of civilian expertise and decimating the resources of Forest Research do not help.
“Seeing thousands of specialists losing their jobs does not send out the right message to future generations of potential scientists. Yet science, research and innovation are vital to the UK’s economic growth.”
Eighty thousand Prospect members work in science, engineering or technology.
■■ Prospect■member■Dr■Christian■Baars,■a■technical■research■officer■at■the■department■of■geology,■National■Museum■of■Wales,■Cardiff,■photographs■an■extinct■Rugose■fossil■coral■from■Iran,■using■a■microscope,■digital■camera■and■specialist■image■capture■software
BRIAN MORGAN
ClaimLineIf you have a
personal injury claim or would like to talk to
an expert, call the 24-hour
Prospect ClaimLine on the number below. You
will have the reassurance of knowing that a legal specialist will handle your
claim quickly and efficiently.
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Prospect women in
STEM – page 14
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 11
Facility time – it’s worth it, Prospect to tell MaudeTHERE ARE good reasons why trade union reps get paid time off to do union work. They save public money and are essential to good workplace relations, Prospect will tell the govern-ment next month.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude is seeking views from civil service unions by September on:
● developing a common system for reporting and monitoring facility time across the civil service
● ending or limiting the practice of 100 per cent of an employee’s time being spent on union duties and activities
● reviewing arrangements for time off for trade union activities so that the default is for such time to be unpaid
● reducing overall facility time across the civil service, through more rigorous individual management.
Prospect deputy general secretary Dai Hudd said the consultation was a step back from threats made at last year’s Conservative party conference to abolish paid facility time altogether, but warned that attempts to curtail union activity would continue to be resisted.
“We are not against monitoring how much time reps spend on their union work or to what ends – indeed this already happens in many areas,” he said.
“But the consultation should also look at the positive impact our reps have in departments.” Reporting should include how much of their own free time reps spend on union business
– “because without doing that they wouldn’t be able to deliver.”
The government claims that facility time costs 0.26 per cent of the civil service pay bill of £34m. But Hudd said it would cost much more to deal with breakdowns in employee relations, especially in a climate of job cuts and attacks on pay and pensions.
TUC analysis of Department for Business data has shown that every pound spent on paid time off for public sector union reps returns between £3-£9 in benefits.
Research for public service union Unison in July showed that employers value the contribution reps make to their organisations and are happy to provide facility time to enable prompt, efficient consultations.
Independent researchers NatCen highlighted the following benefits:
● a ready-made structure for meaningful consultation and representation
● earlier intervention in relation to complaints, grievances and disci-plinary hearings, preventing escala-tion into more serious problems and saving organisations and taxpayers money on staff time and potential legal costs
● partnership working leading to better workplace relations
● better management of change, including redundancy processes, minimising negative impacts and reducing the number of working days lost through industrial action.
■ See http://bit.ly/unisonfacility
FACELIFT FOR POVERTY CHARITYFEELING HARD up? Well, you can’t go to the Civil Service Benevolent Fund for help – it no longer exists.
But have no fear, the old CSBF has only rebranded itself – to become The Charity for Civil Servants.
As well as changing its slogan to ‘For You, By You’, the charity has given itself a complete makeover, as can be seen on its website, www.foryoubyyou.org.uk.
Merrick Willis, CEO (right), said: “The time was right for a change. We were in danger of losing our relevance to thousands of supporters, donors and potential beneficiaries across the civil service.”
The charity relies on support through donations, fundraising and volunteering. It provides support and advice for working and former civil servants and their families. It spent £4m in 2011 in direct financial assistance and wider help such as respite care and emergency accommodation.
THERE WHEN YOU NEED USPROSPECT HAS won an employment tribunal case for a member who should have been offered redun-dancy rather than be relocated. Graham Smyth, from the Isle of Wight, was a radiographer at the Ministry of Defence’s Royal Haslar Hospital in Gosport – a short ferry ride away.
After it was sold in 2009 employees were TUPE-transferred to an NHS hospital almost two hours away by public transport.
Although Smyth had health problems that prevented him from making the longer journey, he was dismissed without compensation. The ET ruled that he was entitled to a redundancy payment.
Smyth said: “I’m grateful to Prospect. Membership fees are worth it for the knowledge that if you have a problem at work they will fight your corner.”
t Graham Smyth on Ryde Pier, next to the ferry that he took as part of his daily commute from the Isle of Wight to Gosport
PROSPECT WINS RACE AND AGE BIAS CASEA PROSPECT member working for the Home Office has won a case of indirect discrimination on the grounds of race and age.
Prospect successfully argued that the department’s promotion procedure for certain grades, which depended on applicants sitting and passing a ‘core skills assessment’, had a dispropor-tionate and adverse effect on black and minority ethnic candidates and people aged 35 and over, and was not justified.
Legal officer Marion Scovell said the ruling means employers must address situations where there is statistical evidence that BME or older applicants for promotion disproportionately fail the test. “It will be unlawful for an employer to continue using such a test unless they can justify why it is necessary,” she added.
The remedy to be awarded has not yet been decided.
BRIAN MORGAN
DARREN TOOGOOD/BRIGHTWIGHTIM
AGES.COM
■■ Prospect■reps■at■a■harassment■and■bullying■course■in■Cardiff■earlier■this■year■–■research■shows■that■early■intervention■by■union■reps■in■areas■like■grievances■saves■organisations■time■and■money
Profile
12 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
Crisis in the makingTHE MARCH budget set out the government’s regional pay policy for the public sector and triggered a diverse coalition of opposition.
It is worth recapping that this is part of a wider attack on public sector pay, including April’s pensions ‘tax’ and a 1 per cent pay cap to follow the two-year pay freeze, with progression pay to be contained within the limit unless bargaining units buy out future increments.
Pre-Olympic headlines were dominated by the turbulence generated by other budget measures, the continuing deterio-ration of the UK economy and ever-present crisis in the eurozone. So, it was easy to lose sight of the fact that the Treasury pushed back the deadline for submission of civil service pay strategies and the Cabinet Office delayed publica-tion of the market pay data usually provided to inform negotiations.
So what is actually happening to civil service pay? Prospect is under-taking its own review and the first tranche of returns makes for inter-esting reading.
Although one third of bargaining units have held a formal meeting to consider the 2012-13 pay round, to date just two units have made offers. The Royal Museums in Greenwich have settled on a 1 per cent consolidated increase across the board, with a non-consolidated 1 per cent for all staff except poor performers. Similarly, the Department for Work and Pensions has offered 1 per cent consolidated up to band maxima and non-consol-idated performance pay of 1.6 to 3.5 per cent for satisfactory performers.
An obvious reason for lack of progress elsewhere is that current pay policy leaves little to bargain about – but this position may well change. Four out of five Prospect bargaining units have submitted a claim based on the union’s 2012-13
civil service pay objectives, putting themselves on course for a dispute unless meaningful negotiations start soon.
Progression payments are antici-pated in five bargaining units that have already established contractual rights to progression pay, though none have indicated they intend to challenge the 1 per cent envelope in the pay remit guidance. That position is unlikely to satisfy either the minority who receive a small payment or the majority who won’t.
Members cite lack of progres-sion and prolonged inability to receive consolidated increases at the maxima of pay bands as two major sources of frustration. Contractual entitlement to progres-sion is still being disputed by House of Commons negotiators, but the business department is the only one so far reported to be seeking additional funding to buy out incre-mental progression.
The good news is that there
are no reports of proposals to introduce geographically-based pay for Prospect members, on either a regional or local basis. But there are no grounds for compla-cency. Rumours circulate about the introduction of ‘market-facing’ pay zones, others suggest that decisions on local pay have simply been postponed for a year. It doesn’t take any great insight to spot the divisions between the coalition partners on this issue – bullish political statements cannot provide cover for a flawed policy so patently lacking in evidential credibility.
It is also heartening to see an upturn in the conduct of equal pay reviews, which are in progress in the Cabinet Office, Valuation Office and Communities and Local Government. Regular reviews, including identification of pay inequalities within occupational groups, will be of key importance in detecting equal pay problems emerging as a result of pay restraint.
Specialist pay problems and skill shortages add to the pressure on pay systems. Prospect’s list already includes project managers, civil engineers, marine surveyors, climate scientists, overseas insurance specialists, experienced conservators, and oil and gas specialists. In each case, civil service salaries are unable to compete with pay or better opportunities in the external market.
The government’s claim that short-term sacrifice was necessary to combat the economic crisis has long lost all credibility. Add job losses, insecurity and restructuring to the mix and it is not difficult to see why civil service morale is so low.
If the government is serious in its stated intent to reform the civil service, it must address the challenge of providing an attrac-tive, sustainable reward strategy to ensure the service can attract and retain the skills it needs.
PAY
INDICATORS %Average earnings (inc bonuses, year to May) 1.5
Average earnings (exc bonuses, year to May) 1.8
Private sector (inc bonuses, year to May) 1.5
Private sector (exc bonuses, year to May) 2.1
Public sector (inc bonuses, year to May) 1.5
Public sector (exc bonuses, year to May) 1.3
Retail Price Index (year to Jul) 3.2
Consumer Price Index (year to Jul) 2.6
Pay pressures in public services are piling up fast behind the government’s 1 per cent pay wall, says Sue Ferns
STEFANO CAGNONI
AIRPORT DISPUTE DELIVERS PAY PARITYTHE CAMPAIGN to harmonise pay and conditions at Dundee airport has been brought to a triumphant conclusion after members voted overwhelmingly to accept a revised offer.
The dispute was caused by the wide pay gap between staff at Dundee and the other airports in Highlands and Islands Airports Limited, ranging from £5,000 to £13,000.
Under the deal, pay will increase in four steps beginning in October. Thirty-five per cent of the gap will be closed in year one, 30 per cent in year two, 20 per cent in year three and 15 per cent in year four. From October 2015, members will also receive any pay award negotiated for HIAL.
Further discussions will be held to finalise the agreement to harmonise all other terms and conditions, except pensions, said Alan Denney, national secretary. “This campaign was about fairness and fairness has been achieved, thanks to the support shown by members throughout the dispute.”
Members put pressure on HIAL by voting to take industrial action to achieve parity. In turn, HIAL won support for funding an improved offer from the Scottish government.
Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 13
ARISTAMembers have accepted an offer for 2012 pay worth 3 per cent, effective from July 1.
BRITISH VETERINARY ASSNMembers have accepted an offer for 2012 pay worth 2 per cent, effective from July 1.
EGGBOROUGH POWER STNMembers have accepted an offer for 2012 pay worth 4.5 per cent, effective from April 1.
FLAGSHIP TRAINING Members have accepted an offer for 2012 pay worth 2 per cent, effective from April 1.
PMS REGULATED NETWKSAn offer for 2012 pay worth 3.5 per cent, effective from April 1, has been imposed. The increase is the first year of a two-year settlement.
RWE NPOWERMembers have had an offer for 2012 pay imposed by management. The offer, effective from July 1, provides increases of up to 10 per cent depending on performance.
RWE INNOGYMembers have had an offer for 2012
pay imposed by management. The offer, effective from July 1, provides increases of up to 10 per cent depending on performance.
RWE TECHNOLOGYMembers have had an offer for 2012 pay imposed by management. The offer, effective from July 1, provides increases of up to 10 per cent depending on performance.
RWE SUPPLY AND TRADINGMembers have had an offer for 2012 pay imposed by management. The offer, effective from July 1, provides increases of up to 10 per cent depending on performance.
SCOTTISH & STHN ENERGYMembers have accepted an offer for 2012 pay worth 3.5 per cent, effective from April 1. The settlement is the second year of a three-year deal.
PAY
3-YEAR OFFER DISAPPOINTS JERSEY STAFFMEMBERS AT the Jersey Civil Service Association have expressed disappoint-ment at a final offer for a three-year pay settlement.
The offer from the island’s acting chief officer covers the period January 2012 to December 2014. Over 800 JCSA members would receive a 1 per cent non-consolidated lump sum in 2012; 1 per cent consolidated plus a 1 per cent non-consolidated lump sum in 2013, and a consolidated award equal to 4 per cent in 2014, depending on acceptance of a modernisation agreement.
It comes in response to a Prospect claim submitted in October calling for a consolidated increase equivalent to the increase in retail prices.
Prospect negotiator Kevin McAlonan said: “The final offer falls well short of expectations. A recent survey of our Jersey members showed 98 per cent would reject a 2012 pay offer if it did not include a consolidated basic pay rise.
“While our members understand the need for modernisation they remain seriously concerned about the linkage between pay and modernisation.”
Discussions based on changes identified in a consultant’s report began in September 2011, but were ended by the employer in December while they reconsidered their approach.
The JCSA executive will meet to consider the offer. McAlonan said the union has always been prepared to cooperate with the employer’s moderni-sation agenda.
“The £14m savings identified in the report can be found in other ways through joint discussion rather than by imposing severe pay restraint on vital public service employees,” said McAlonan.
Prospect JCSA members include key workers in civil service areas like health and social services, housing, treasury, social security and the Ports of Jersey.
The great pay go-slowTHE SLOWEST pay round ever – and it’s all the Treasury’s fault.
That’s the state of play in mid-August, when by rights more than half of all Prospect’s public sector employers would normally be expected to have settled the current year’s increase.
But a survey of 25 bargaining units by the union shows that just two have made formal offers, despite 80 per cent of Prospect branches submitting pay claims in line with the policy set by the civil service sector.
The union has amassed growing evidence of specialist skill shortages in the public sector, as reported by Sue Ferns on the page opposite. Not surprisingly, shortages are mounting as pay settlements in the private sector continue to run at 3 per cent or more, compared to the 1 per cent ceiling in the public sector.
The cause of the offer go-slow is a combination of factors – the delay in issuing the official pay remit guidance; the difficulty of constructing sensible pay offers when the ceiling is set so low; attempts by some employers to persuade the Treasury to allow leeway in order to retain key staff; and the delay in the issue of guidance to departments on regional and ‘market-facing’ pay, as called for by the Treasury.
Prospect has set a twin-track policy for the current pay round,
divided between the short and medium term.
For 2012, the union is seeking: ● increases that as a minimum
match the increase in pension contributions effective from April
● contractual pay progression to be honoured in addition to general increases
● equal pay reviews to identify pay problems caused by pay restraint, as well as inequalities within occupa-tional groups
● separate negotiations on other changes to terms and conditions
● consultation on any plans for regional pay.
For the medium term, the aims are for:
● a comprehensive pay levels
exercise in 2013-14, which compares pay for equivalent jobs in the public and private sectors
● a pay review body for the civil service, as already exists for the senior civil service and the Prison Service
● a competency-based approach to pay progression
● flexibility for trading funds to determine pay from within their own resources.
The civil service sector fully recognises that these objectives represent a direct challenge to the government’s pay cap policy, said deputy general secretary Dai Hudd, “and may well demand a response from us that includes industrial action.”
BENEFITS TO MEMBERSJANUARY–JULY 2012BENEVOLENT FUND
■ Number granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ■ Total granted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £7,553
DEATH BENEFIT ■ Number granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 ■ Total granted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £52,285
PERSONAL INJURY SCHEME ■ Applications approved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214 ■ On books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .480 ■ Number won . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 ■ Value of awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £1,779,970
Paycheck
■ Manager at work for RWE, where 10 per cent increases have been paid
■ Losing patience – Prospect president Alan Grey and civil service sector president Geoff Fletcher at the pay and pensions forum in March
STEFANO CAGNONIJEFF JONES
Profile
14 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
LEARNING
Science: women don’t do it for the moneyHelen Kenny reports on a revealing survey of Prospect’s 14,000 women members in science and engineering
A BIG ‘thank you’ to the 2,000 women who responded to our survey earlier this year. The analysis and report are on the Prospect website at library.prospect.org.uk/id/2012/01091.
The impetus for our survey was twofold. First, to identify a range of progression and continuing professional development (CPD) routes for engineering and science, with a focus across both public and private sectors on women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). This is one of the potential disadvantaged learner groups which the Prospect union learning fund project (right) could support.
Second, to inform that support with up-to-date information and experiences of people working in this environment.
To do this, the survey looked at the reasons why women are motivated into this sector but also why they may be leaving or have left. Key findings are:
● attitudes towards women working in science or engineering are still a problem, especially after taking maternity or adoption leave
● career development or promotion for part-time workers is poor or non-existent
● redundancy is more of a concern in the
public sector than the private, but historically has been more prevalent in the private sector
● the three-year funding cycle causes significant uncertainty for researchers
● most women in science or engineering work in teams and are in the minority, particularly in the private sector
● implementation of ‘family-friendly policies’ is more problematic than the policies themselves.
Interestingly, over 52 per cent of women indicated their inspiration into science was due to general interest, enjoyment or aptitude. About 8 per cent cited media influence – the ‘David Attenborough’ effect. A further 26 per cent said it was due to a teacher, a relative (17 per cent), or a scientific breakthrough (5 per cent). Very few cited financial reward as their motivation.
Despite some slow progress in recent years, women’s under-representation in SET careers remains pervasive. Women account for just one in 10 of all employees in SET occupations, compared with one in two in the workforce overall.
In some SET occupations women are even less well represented, notably among engineering professionals and skilled trades-people. The ‘leaky pipeline’ ensures that a higher proportion of women than men never use their academic qualification in a SET role or leave for another occupation.
■■ Civil■service■members■with■a■science■or■engineering■background■are■encouraged■to■fill■in■a■Government■Science■and■Engineering■survey■at■■www.surveymonkey.com/s/8FWXGJ6.
EXPAND YOUR CAREER OPTIONS WITH PROSPECTPROSPECT’S INNOVATIVE skills project, which launched in April, is now taking shape. The union secured £467,000 from the government’s union learning fund for the two-year initiative, ‘Digital Cohesion: a union’s approach to investment in skills’.
As well as targeting specific groups of learners who face disadvantages, the project is seeking to collaborate with a range of workplaces including the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Food and Environment Research Agency, NATS and Magnox.
The ULF project has four key strands, each with a dedicated project worker.
WOMEN IN STEMThis strand, led by Helen Kenny, began with a survey (story, left). Next a workshop is planned for women in STEM, facilitated by the C2 careers organisation, on November 26 at New
Prospect House, London. To attend, please email [email protected].
MENTORING PROGRAMMELed by Kate Antoniou, the mentoring scheme aims to support individuals who:
● want to move up from their existing role, leave their organisation or are
seeking new challenges ● are leaving an organisation eg through redun-
dancy, or voluntarily ● want to reskill/retrain to assist career transition.
Mentors will be colleagues who can support members in their personal career goals. A six-month pilot – now full – starts in September, focusing on women in STEM, redundant members and homeworkers.
DIGITAL INCLUSIONLed by Nikki Simpson, ten digital champions are being trained to promote digital inclusion of disadvan-taged learners. They begin six months’ training in September.
Champions will also promote ‘GO ON UK’, a government-backed initiative to bring the benefits of the internet, including broadband, to everyone in the UK – see www.go-on.co.uk.
Prospect is holding its own conference to demystify digital inclusion on November 21 in Manchester. It will explore accessibility online; explain the union’s project and examine how employers are embracing digital technologies. Digital champions will deliver bite-size interactive sessions.
SUPPORTING APPRENTICESLed by Pauline Tee, support for young workers and apprentices will include the development of a unique tool – an app for mobile devices. Users will be able to do things like register for an apprentice
vacancy, self-assess their current skills, and find out about workplace safety or their rights.
■ Find out about the project, or any of the events or workstreams, by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 7902 6687.
■■ Prospect■member■Astrid■Webster■at■work■at■CABI■Bioscience■in■Surrey
STEFANO CAGNONI
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 15
REPRESENTATIVES FROM nine Prospect branches around the Harwell site near Oxford met in July at Diamond Light Source (right) to launch a new local network.
They decided to meet regularly to discuss common issues like pay and pensions, recruitment, training and development, campaigning, health and safety, campus
developments and more.Next steps will be to
start a quarterly newsletter, identify other branches that wish to join the network and arrange an onsite recruitment event.
The next meeting will be in the last week of September. Members wishing to make contact should email [email protected]
HOW IT WORKSTRS IS a not-for-profit, UK-wide platform supporting redeployment and recruit-ment. It links people with employers through a simple registration process.
Once your details are on the system, you will have access to thousands of jobs. Several hundred employers can also view your profile – names are anonymised unless you attach a CV.
Employers can get to know more about you
only when you apply for a job or they express an interest in you and you decide to respond.
TRS is dedicated to the advanced engineering and manufacturing sector and the number of employers and people registering continues to grow.
“Prospect has had discussions with TRS and we are delighted they see this as a way forward for members,” said Richard Smith, engagement director at TRS.
“We believe the scheme will help to support job security within the AME sector and given the industry focus on talent retention, that they will progres-sively use it to source their talent in the future.”
The online vacancy database system was designed with leading companies to help individuals promote their skills and experience to prospective employers.
Once registered, you have direct electronic access to a national pool of AME vacancies where you are able to manage your profile, applications and job search details. You can set up a variety of tools and alerts and the system will let you know when a vacancy matches what you are looking for.
To register, go to www.talentretention.biz and click the ‘Register with TRS’ button.
■ You can reach the talent retention team by emailing [email protected].
THREATENED BY redundancy? Looking for a new job or career? Prospect is teaming up with a new recruitment service that could be the answer to your needs.
Talent Retention Solution is a web portal that specialises in redeployment and recruitment in advanced manufac-turing and engineering industries, including aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, defence, energy, marine, manufacturing, nuclear, power generation and renewables.
Its simplicity lies in putting skilled individuals looking for work in direct contact with companies searching for new employees.
Launched in July 2011, TRS has grown to include vacancies from more than 500 companies. The number is growing all the time with high-level sponsors including EDF Energy, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, Airbus, Siemens and Nissan.
“We believe this will be a real boon to members in these sectors, whose careers in many organisations are fraught with uncertainty,” said Sue Ferns, head of Prospect research. “The irony is that just as many people in these sectors are being laid off, other employers are in desperate need of their skills.
“TRS offers a quick and easy way to find out what oppor-tunities are available. Prospect is happy to recommend
this scheme and we hope to add the facility to our growing portfolio of members’ services.”
Launched with a grant from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, TRS is self-funded through its major employer sponsors. Companies with fewer than 500 employees can join for free.
Now a national service, TRS originated in an online recruitment portal created by Rolls Royce, Winchester Consulting and three regional development agencies for aerospace and defence businesses in the south-east.
After the strategic defence and security review in 2010, business secretary Vince Cable was concerned at the potential loss of skills to the economy and was keen to put in place a UK-wide platform dedicated to advanced manufac-turing and engineering that would help mitigate the losses.
Government money was used to kick-start the programme which is now sponsored, supported and led by industry with other stakeholders like trade unions, trade associations and professional bodies.
Nine branches get together to form local network
ENGINEERING OPPORTUNITY
■ TRS has job opportunities whatever stage you have reached in your career
‘We believe this will be a real boon to members’
SIEMENS
Profile
16 ■ Aug-Sep 4/12
FROM FAIRGROUNDS TO FARMS, building sites to factories, Prospect is celebrating 40 years of a ground-breaking report that transformed the UK’s health and
safety landscape.Prospect members at the Health and
Safety Executive have shared stories of their experiences on the frontline to commemorate the historic findings of a committee chaired by Alf Robens in 1972.
Forty extraordinary and diverse accounts have been published on the union’s website, demonstrating the ongoing importance of a profession whose roots date back to the grime and cruelty of 19th-century mills. Here we reproduce eight accounts.
The Robens report laid the foundations for the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act and the creation of the HSE itself.
“40at40 is a fascinating collection of contemporary personal insights from
people who rarely make their voices
public, yet make an enormous difference to the health, safety and dignity of working people and their families,” said Prospect health and safety officer Sarah Page, who compiled their recollections.
“We are privileged to share their stories and celebrate achievements that have brought about the safer and healthier workplaces of today.”
The Health and Safety at Work Act has helped save the lives of thousands of UK workers as well as
members of the public, she said. “Working together, industry, workforce
and regulatory representatives have adopted intelligent, practical solutions to workplace dangers. This is underpinned by a common desire to ensure people return from work as safe and well as when they left home.”
Prospect represents more than 1,600 professionals in the HSE , the Health and Safety Laboratory and the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
HEALTH & SAFETY
40@40Health and safety voices from the frontline
Forty years after the Robens report, 40 members at the Health and Safety Executive share their experiences with health and safety officer, Sarah Page
■■ May■2009■–■A■two-year-old■boy■is■killed■in■a■fairground■incident■at■Ducketts■Common■on■Turnpike■Lane,■London
JESS HURD/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.UK
JONATHAN EELES
See the other members’ stories at www.prospect.org.uk/40at40
Profile
Aug-Sep 4/12 ■ 17
HEALTH & SAFETY
Fatality figures show need to reverse cutsTHE TUC has called on government to change direction on health and safety policy, after the latest HSE statistics showed little change in the rate of workplace fatalities.
The figures underlined the need to reverse the cuts to routine safety inspec-tions and to funding for the HSE and local authorities, said general secretary Brendan Barber.
In 2011-12, 173 people were killed at work compared to 175 in 2010-11 – a fatal injury rate of 0.6 per 100,000 workers.
Fatalities have risen over 17 per cent on the record low figure inherited by the coalition government in 2009-10, when there were 147 worker deaths, or 0.5 per 100,000.
Last year, 33 agricultural workers died as a result of fatal accidents; 49 workers were killed in construction and 31 in manufacturing.
Barber said previous economic downturns had seen a decrease in fatalities. “The fact that this is not happening now suggests that deaths could rise sharply as Britain comes out of recession, unless urgent action is taken to improve workplace safety.
“Yet still we see the government continuing to attack what they claim is an unnecessary health and safety culture, a view that is unlikely to be shared by the families of the 173 people who died last year as a result of their jobs.”
While the responsibility for these deaths may lie with employers who break safety laws, ministers also have a duty to ensure that the rules are enforced and that protecting workers is seen as a duty on employers, Barber said.
Would I be happy for my children to work here?Early in my career I shadowed an investigation into the tragic death of a 19-year-old who was dragged into a boring machine. This accident had a profound impact on me. I wondered how the parents could ever come to terms with the loss of their son. As a parent myself, I add the benchmark “would I be happy for my children to work here” to my skills and experi-ence as an inspector. All too often the answer is ‘No’.
I know conditions are far better than they were when factory inspec-tors started out – young children in the UK are now protected – but in some workplaces, processes and machines are so poorly managed they have to be stopped; and we still come across non-existent welfare, or facilities unfit for human dignity.
Forty years on from Robens and two centuries after the early law, we still have plenty to do.
Oil depot fire: devastation
I was involved in investigating the Buncefield oil depot fire in December 2005, which lasted several days and followed a series of explosions, the first of massive proportions. Over 40 people were injured. Fortunately no one was killed, but for many who worked there or lived nearby, their lives were absolutely devastated.
It was an extremely painstaking forensic investigation of a massively
destroyed site. The legal representa-tives of the companies indicated they would ‘put us to proof’ about all the findings of our experts, so we had to follow up all sorts of potential causes.
We had two ‘Eureka’ moments and spent a year dealing with the real causes – the poor monitoring system and people working up to 80 hours a week: not good. Management thought they had a safety system and thought they were checking it. In fact they were doing neither.
Asbestos: exploiting ignorance of the hidden killerHSE received a complaint from an agency worker instructed to soft-strip insulation boards he suspected contained asbestos, without any protection. Unlike his mates, who were mostly 15 to 16-year-olds temping during school holidays, he knew that exposure to asbestos can reduce life expectancy because of diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
I visited the refurbishment of a three-storey former factory with a Health and Safety Laboratory scientist, who confirmed that the insula-tion board contained asbestos. This meant work could only proceed ‘under licence’, with special conditions such as an air-locked enclosure, protective clothing and breathing apparatus and a decontamination unit.
The director tried to avoid this by going to a second agency with new workers ignorant of the dangers and safeguards. We revisited, stopped work, collected evidence and took the director to court, where he was fined £240,000, given a suspended prison sentence and disqualified from being a director.
Everybody hurts when someone is killedWhen someone is killed at work, it is a stressful and traumatic time for everyone, including the inspector. Investigations take months, even years, so it’s vital we keep the victim’s family informed throughout.
I recently investigated an accident which resulted in the tragic death of a much-loved, well-respected and very competent man. His family, of course, was devastated. My investigation and the legal process were complex. Yet the most gratifying moment in my working life came at the end when one of the closest family members wrote to say: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the hard work you put into trying to secure justice for my brother’s death.”
This is why the work of an HSE inspector is so important – and has been since 1833.
Ending the nightmares of child witnessA ten-year-old boy was thrown from a fairground ride and injured, while his best friend managed to stay on. The friend became the key witness, his evidence being vital to prove that the rider operator had failed to maintain the passenger restraint. I arranged to interview the boy at home with his father. Several weeks later, the father thanked me.
Heavy metal guideOver many years as a local factory inspector, I noticed how often near misses, amputations and deaths at work resulted from the movement of stored metal. In those days I was often called out after the collapse of a stack containing hundreds of tons of steel coil. It was distressingly common to find some unfortunate smeared underneath the failed stack.
A health and safety manager was
equally concerned about the incidents within his own company. So we set up a joint project between the trade association, HSE and local authority, in which we thrashed out agreements on safe and unacceptable practices. We published new standards to spread industry good practice.
I can’t prove that lives have been saved, but the incidence of deaths following collapses of stored materials has significantly reduced. I’m glad to have helped with this.
GAVIN RODGERS / REX FEATURES (921182A)
STEFANO CAGNONI
MAUDE: BACK
TO THE FUTURE
RICHARD GARDNER/REX FEATURES
Profile
18 ■ Aug-Sep 4/12
PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM
Before the interview, his son had been having nightmares and losing sleep as he re-lived the accident. But he said my handling of the interview had helped his son tell his story and put what he had seen into perspec-tive – he had felt much better since and was sleeping. The ride operator was successfully prosecuted.
Saving money is a win-winWhen I visited a food factory specialising in cooking sauces, I found the process involved the strenuous and messy manual lifting and tipping of a 150-litre drum of tomato puree. The dangers were either a serious strain or slip.
The company shared my concerns and said they were exploring the purchase of a robotic lifting arm. This would resolve the lifting risk but not the slips and would cost them thousands of pounds.
I told them about a pumping system commonly available at £600 which avoided any lifting, contained spills and achieved compliance at a fraction of their available funds.
Buried aliveI was a trainee when I started working in construction and was the only inspector available one day when the police reported a trench collapse. Collecting my kit, I took a deep breath and set off for the site, where I was met by a coroner’s officer. He led me past a large mound of earth to the horren-dous sight of an extremely deep and narrow excavation, bordered by towering spoil heaps.
I could see the moving heads of fire-fighters in the trench being watched by their colleagues from the spoil heaps either side. Fearing a further collapse, I alerted the officer in charge, who immedi-ately instructed his team’s careful withdrawal. It took 36 hours of gradual soil removal, trench shoring and battering back to safely recover the builder’s body.
The subsequent commendation from the chief fire officer for my advice was rewarding but no comfort for the avoidable death of this poor builder.
The latest reform plan for the civil service rehashes some tired old slogans and promises more pain for staff, says ProspectTHE SMALLEST civil service since the war… £1.5bn saved by cutting civil service pay and jobs… more cuts on the way to terms and conditions. With that inspirational agenda for staff, the government in June set out its intention to remodel the civil service – or in the words of the prime minister, to make “radical reform as we reinvent government.”
But after the detail of the Civil Service Reform Plan was announced by Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, Prospect sent him a highly critical response.
“In our view the reform plan is a lost opportunity to provide the basis for a more professional service,” summed up Dai Hudd, deputy general secretary.
The plan espouses further cuts and outsourcing, promotes the ineffective shared services model and decries the ‘silo’ mentality across much of Whitehall, he said. “But it says very little about what actions will be taken to break down those silos and ducks the central question about the purpose of the civil service.”
It adopts a target of 380,000 civil servants, “to be achieved by a human resources policy that emulates the worst private sector practice, using a discredited relative assessment system that will penalise people who don’t get on with their manager.” Hudd said this was despite all the evidence that the key challenge facing public sector employers is to recruit and retain skilled managers and profes-sional staff.
The plan makes two inadequate proposals to meet this challenge. First, to permit the appointment of senior officials without fair and
open competition – a process that is clearly vulnerable to political prefer-ment. Second, a focus on internal
managerial skills – notably finance, IT, procurement – that are narrow subsets of the range of professional skills that government needs to discharge its responsibilities and remain an ‘intelligent customer’.
The so-called ‘new offer to staff’ is a chimera, said Hudd. “Stripped back, the plan for civil servants is for more pay restraint and job cuts.” Promises for more training are welcome, but Prospect is sceptical that any capability plan will be able to identify skills gaps across the service given the current lack of knowledge about the professional background of staff.
It is particularly disappointing that there is no reference to the current review by Government Science and Engineering of the science and engineering profession. In contrast to some of the superfi-cial proposals in the plan, “this is a serious initiative that is being taken forward on the basis of full consul-tation with Prospect.”
The union says the plan is a sideshow to the much bigger debate that needs to take place on a new employee deal for the civil service, which remains the one major part of the public sector that has not had its pay and condi-tions reformed in the last 20 years. Establishing an independent pay levels exercise and a pay review body covering the whole civil service would be important steps towards an evidence-based and sustainable reform of civil service pay.
Unfortunately the government’s approach “supports neither policy aspirations nor sound practice.” It is most disappointing that the reform plan does not seek responses from stakeholders, Prospect adds.
Key actions in the Civil Service Reform Plan include:
● More rigorous performance management, delivered by stand-ardising competency frameworks across government and a tougher appraisal system
● Strengthening capability through a cross-service capabili-ties plan that identifies what skills are missing and how gaps will be filled, including the “serious lack of commissioning, contracting and digital skills”
● A more unified approach to developing talent and building capacity across the service. “Shared services will become the norm”
● New ways of delivering services, including mutuals. “Digital by default needs to become a reality.”
● Creating a modern employ-ment offer for staff by reviewing terms and conditions “to identify those beyond what a good, modern employer would provide.”
● Open policy making by engaging with external experts and those who with the task of deliv-ering policy.
■■ Cameron■–■‘radical■reform■as■we■reinvent■government’
DAVID THOMPSON / REX FEATURES
■■ A■field■of■poppies■surround■the■Ferrybridge■
power■station■in■west■Yorkshire
PA ARCHIVE/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES
Profile
Aug-Sep 4/12 ■ 19
REGULATION
THE GOVERNMENT’S energy market reforms are complex and lack vital detail, according to a report by MPs on the energy and climate change select committee.
But while the union agrees with MPs that further work on the draft Energy Bill is undoubtedly necessary, it has warned there is no room for failure or delay in getting the legislation approved.
The energy committee was tasked with reviewing the draft bill and identifying issues needing further work before the bill starts its parliamentary passage in the autumn.
But MPs found that plans for contracts for difference (CfDs), which give low carbon and renewable devel-opers a guaranteed price for power, are both complicated and unworkable.
Similarly, they said moves towards a ‘multi-party’ payment model whereby liabilities for new build would be shouldered collectively by all energy suppliers, would deter investment and were a Treasury-driven retreat from earlier ‘single counterparty’ proposals underwritten by government.
Censure was also levelled at plans for an emissions performance standard (EPS) – a measure to restrict the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted from power stations – and
National Grid to take on the role of delivery body for the reforms.
Here, Prospect parts company with the select committee. It says that the EPS is necessary to encourage the investment in carbon capture and storage which is vital for coal to continue to have a role in future electricity generation. And it describes the proposed role for National Grid as a logical extension of its expertise as system operator.
The union also argues that any new company will need a greater lead-in time and should be subject to “effective and transparent governance arrangements.”
Sue Ferns, head of research said: “The select committee is right to point out that the proposed reforms are complex and lacking in detail.
Prospect’s own submission to the committee argued that failure to set ‘strike prices’ for the new contract regime is a major gap in the infor-mation required by investors for decision-making.
“But while arguments for more radical reform to simplify arrange-ments have merit, parliamentarians have been debating energy policy for over a decade and the imperative now is for early decisions and action on the ground.”
Ferns added that if the government is to meet the committee’s target for completing the legislative process by May 2013, clear answers on funding, pricing arrangements and the terms of secondary legislation that will determine operational arrangements are needed now.
The communica-tions regulator has announced its plans for the forthcoming
auction of mobile phone spectrum, says Calvin Allen
OFCOM’S AIM is to help mobile phone operators introduce the next genera-tion of mobile phone services, since the frequencies on offer will allow operators to build access networks that run much faster than existing ones. Consequently, the spectrum auction is particularly important, and Prospect is generally supportive of the process.
That doesn’t mean Ofcom’s plans are uncontroversial, however.
Some of the spectrum will be reserved to ensure that the UK will continue to have four operators, since Ofcom believes that this is an optimal number from the perspective of competition. That hasn’t gone down
well with some of the operators, not all of whom agree that the UK mobile marketplace needs four operators.
Mobile phone licences have traditionally had roll-out obligations attached to them – the requirement to ensure that a set percentage of the UK can receive a signal within a certain timeframe. One of the licences will
have such conditions attached – the winner must roll out a network so that 98 per cent of the UK population, and at least 95 per cent of each of the nations of the UK, can receive a signal indoors by 2017. Ofcom believes that competitive pressures will lead the other licensee to do likewise.
However, given the likelihood of
operators wanting to build networks where they can make money, Prospect thinks that the winner of the other – probably more attractive – licence is unlikely, in the absence of roll-out obligations, to see peripheral areas as priority locations for investment.
Prospect deputy general secretary Leslie Manasseh said: “Ofcom still has much to do to get the auction right. This is not a time for gaming. We are pleased that the coverage require-ments apply equally to all nations and regions of the UK, but we need Ofcom to explain how it thinks the nation will benefit by having coverage require-ments apply to only one licensee.”
At the same time, the government is likely to incur a windfall gain of £3-£4bn from the auction, which the union would like to see re-invested. “As attractive as that money must be to the Treasury,” Manasseh pointed out, “the government needs to invest it in the industry if it is to achieve its aim of the UK having the best commu-nications infrastructure in Europe by 2015.”
Get a move on, union tells energy minister
OFCOM OUTLINES SPECTRUM AUCTION PLANS
■■ Ferns■–■no■more■debate,■the■time■for■action■is■now
STEFANO CAGNONI
Profile
20 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
Baroness Royall, Labour leader in the House of Lords, called Bill “a gentle giant who could show flashes of fury” and who had been a huge asset on the Labour benches. Although he had been a government whip and served in everything from the Home Office to International Development, Bill was never afraid to criticise his own party.
The event was closed by Alan Johnson, former home secretary, who had also served on the TUC general council. He praised Bill’s contribution as a Home Office minister as well as his ‘encyclopaedic’ knowledge of international labour law.
Those attending included Bill’s wife Amanda, his former wife Janet and daughters Judith and Hannah, former IPMS presidents Barry Gibbs and Alec Audley, and former general secretaries Bill McCall (IPMS), Tony Cooper (EMA), Barry Reamsbottom (PTC), Tony Young (CWU), Rodney Bickerstaffe (Unison), Roger Lyons (MSF) and Lord Monks (TUC).
TRADE UNIONISTS, politicians, journalists, relatives, friends – more than 100 people came to the memorial tribute to Lord Brett, the former IPMS general secretary who died in March.
Bill Brett’s role as chair of the Workers Group at the International Labour Organisation for 10 years meant many of the audience at Congress House came from overseas – including Australia, Canada, USA, France and Germany.
But the large contingent on hand from Prospect showed that his memory lived on with those who had known and worked with him during his 24 years at IPMS.
Praising his predecessor for “a life that made a real differ-ence”, Paul Noon, current Prospect general secretary, intro-duced a galaxy of speakers from the trade union movement.
Phil Kemball, who as IPMS president worked closely with Bill, said he was “a man who was passionate about the lives of working people. Inventive, full of energy and brimming
over with ideas.”Brendan Barber, TUC general
secretary, praised the contribu-tion Bill made to the work of the TUC and the fight to restore trade union rights at GCHQ. “A trade unionist through and through,” his achievements in the UK and internationally had enhanced the standing of British trade unionism.
Penny Schantz, from the American AFL-CIO, said Bill would be remembered for his stature and his “no-nonsense toughness.” His work for the
adoption of the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work had been outstanding, she said, recalling his unflagging support for American trade unionists.
From the ILO itself, Guy Ryder, newly-elected director general, praised Bill’s passion and commitment. His work on the ILO Declaration “changed the lives of millions of people around the world,” and Bill had been personally responsible for initiating the ILO’s work on Burma. Ryder pointed to another side of Bill – “his serious ability to communicate, even when people did not understand what he was saying to them.”
POLITICAL FUND BALLOT SET FOR SPRINGPLANS ARE being drawn up for the all-members’ ballot on a political fund that Prospect will hold next year.
By law, trade unions must ballot to maintain a political fund every 10 years, and at national conference in May delegates voted overwhelm-ingly to renew the mandate for Prospect’s fund in 2013.
At conference there was widespread agreement on the need to campaign strongly for a fund, given the close vote to maintain a fund – by 134 votes – that resulted when a ballot was last held in Prospect in 2003.
Dai Hudd, deputy general secretary, will be responsible for organising the ballot and said he could not stress too strongly the need for members and repre-sentatives at every level to prepare for the vote.
“Our ability to campaign on membership issues would be drastically hamstrung without a fund,” he warned.
“Any action we took that could be described as political would be open to legal challenge and could be stopped in its tracks by application to the courts.
“Representations to ministers, lobbying MPs, attending demonstra-tions – all could be barred. That is why this issue is too important to be lost by default.”
Conference voted for Prospect to re-establish a single fund, maintaining the guarantees of political neutrality that have existed since the fund was first set up in 1988. By rule, the fund will not be able to make donations or affiliate to political parties without prior conference approval and a ballot of the membership.
The national executive committee will decide next month on a date for the ballot. This is likely to be March/April 2013, 10 years since the previous ballots held by Prospect and its merged partner Connect.
Union leaders pay tribute to Bill Brett
■■ Clockwise■from■left:■Alan■Johnson;■Bill■Morris■(left)■and■Bill■McCall;■Barry■Gibbs■and■Kay■Lancaster;■Bill■Jordan■(left)■and■John■Monks
■ Baroness Royall
■■ Guy■Ryder
■■ Phil■Kemball
PICTURES: STEFANO CAGNONI
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Closing date for both roles: Monday 10 September 2012.
We’ll give you powerful opportunities
Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 21
O’GRADY IS NEW TUC LEADERFRANCES O’GRADY is to take over from Brendan Barber as TUC general secretary when he retires at the end of the year.
O’Grady, (above) the current deputy general secretary, was the only candidate nominated by unions and will become general secretary designate at Congress in Brighton next month.
She said: “With austerity policies biting hard and no evidence that they are working, people at work need the TUC to speak up for them.
“We must be the advocates of the growth and jobs alternative. With the policy prescriptions of the last thirty years increasingly discredited, we have the best opportunity in a generation to help build a fair, productive and green economy that works for ordinary people.”
O’Grady, who will be the TUC’s first woman general secretary, worked for the transport workers’ union until she was appointed TUC campaigns officer in 1994.
Two years later she launched the TUC’s Organising Academy, which drove recruitment campaigns in call centres, supermarkets and new media, attracting a new generation of activists into the union movement.
As head of TUC organisation she reorganised local bargaining for skills projects into the national brand of unionlearn which today helps a quarter of a million workers into learning every year.
Top of the pops in TUC awardsA PROFILE pop-art illustration highlighting David Cameron’s attacks on workers’ rights was joint winner of the best photo/illustration category at this year’s TUC Communication Awards.
Prospect’s relaunched website also did well, winning a ‘highly commended’ accolade at the awards ceremony in London in June.
The judges were ‘delighted’ with Profile’s front page in February-March 2012, designed by Simon Crosby. They called it “a terrific illustration that uses the Roy Lichtenstein source to good effect. And used with the best deployment of the Comic Sans typeface that one could ever hope to see.”
The other joint winner was the Communication Workers Union for a poster depicting injuries caused by dogs.
In the website category, Prospect’s site was praised as “easy to read and navigate.”
The judges said: “There are lots of resources on the site for members and it makes good use of regional information.”
This year’s tally brings the number of TUC communications awards won by Prospect to ten in the last nine years. Five were for Profile features, photographs and illustrations. The others were for the union’s recruitment material and e-communications.
All 55 TUC-affiliated unions are eligible to enter, with 21 doing so this year in a growing number of categories.
Charles Harvey, head of communications and Profile editor, said: “Any publication is a team effort and it’s good to see the efforts of the Prospect team recognised in this way.
“Competition is always fierce in all the categories, but it is pleasing that our new website has made an impact both in and out of Prospect.”
■ Simon Crosby (graphic designer), Lynn Stephenson (website editor) and Paul Xuereb (head of Information and website systems) with their awards
ANDREW W
IARD
STEFANO CAGNONI
Profile
22 ■ Aug-Sep 4/12
PAY POLICY
CSMA GROUPS – SPECIALLY FOR YOU!LIFE WITHOUT the things we love to do would be a much less joyful experience. As English novelist E M Forster said, “One person with
passion is better than forty people merely interested.”
It’s a sentiment that CSMA Club fully agrees with. In fact, it’s the very reason the Civil Service Motoring Association was founded nearly 90 years
ago. As a place where motoring enthusiasts could
meet like-minded people, to create a community based on a shared passion.
Today, that ethos remains alive in many other parts of CSMA Club.
For starters, there’s the Special Interest Groups. They cover every-thing from the back-to-basics joys of camping and caravanning, to every kind of motoring pursuit under the sun, plus Mediterranean cruises and water-colour painting weekends. Group members get to enjoy great discounts on many of these activi-ties, too – a brilliant bonus in these financially-straitened times!
While doing something you love, the groups also offer a fantastic way to make new friends – nothing beats meeting real people and making new connections.
And if none of the Special Interest Groups’ activities take your fancy, there’s a wealth of other exciting
things to do with the Club’s Local Groups. Take your pick from Sunday lunch outings, country walks and visits to museums and art galleries. Run by volunteers right across the country, there’s bound to be something to tempt you along.
CSMA Club are also involved in national events, including renowned vintage motoring festival Goodwood Revival on September 14-16. At these special events, members can enjoy great savings and benefits. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the fun, these include exclusive member-only bars. So you won’t be stuck in a drinks queue for hours and miss out on things you’re passionate about.
Join CSMA Club today and you will be entered into a prize
draw to win a new Vauxhall Corsa! Visit csmaclub.co.uk/
prospect or call
0800 856 7711
It’s a lot easier to say you’re going to introduce regional pay than actually do it. Penny Vevers reports
THE GOVERNMENT is still weighing up the potential for introducing regional pay across the public sector – although opposition to its plans is mounting fast in and out of government.
Over the summer, media specula-tion grew that ministers were poised to drop the proposals after deep divisions emerged between the coalition partners. Conservative MPs in the north, Wales and Scotland also expressed concerns about the impact of regional pay.
The disarray in Whitehall followed the government’s instruc-tion to all civil service bargaining units to submit three-year pay strategies by the end of May, explaining how they would introduce more “market-facing” pay structures. By mid-August, Prospect had received no proposals for geographically based pay in any bargaining unit.
Meanwhile the head of the civil service, Sir Bob Kerslake, told Public Service magazine in its August issue: “This is still being debated in govern-ment, but we have decided to invite each department to come forward with their own proposals and designs for local market-facing pay.
“The government wants to see the evidence for what could be achieved and what the likely costs would be… Anything we do on this will require formal consultation.”
Although his words indicate that regional pay is not yet dead in the
water, they mark a step back from the chancellor’s expectation earlier in the year that at least some departments would be implementing local pay in the next pay round.
The coalition’s disagreements on the issue are typified by a motion to September’s LibDem conference from Wales and south-east Cornwall, which calls on the government to rule out any further expansion in regional or local pay and for the continua-tion of national pay agreements for the public sector “which may include flexibility to let employers solve specific staff recruitment and retention problems.”
This echoed comments by business secretary Vince Cable in July, when he said: “The whole idea that pay will be set on the basis of poorer areas having lower levels of pay, that has been killed off.
Going, going – but not yet gone“There should be some local flexi-
bility. Labour set this out with the court service, but we are not suggesting regional differentials.”
More than 100 MPs have signed early day motion 55 opposing the local-isation of public sector pay, including six Liberal Democrats.
Prospect deputy general secretary Dai Hudd has urged members to keep up the pressure on government by writing to and lobbying their MPs. “We were among the first to condemn these proposals and lobbied intensively behind the scenes. LibDem and even Conservative MPs in areas including Wales and Scotland welcomed the information we provided.
“We are winning the arguments but we cannot ease up until the govern-ment issues a clear statement ditching these plans.”
REGIONAL PAYRII SCHROER / REX FEATURES
REX FEATURES
BRUCE ADAMS / ASSOCIATED NEW
SPAP
ROD LEON
STEFANO CAGNONI
■■ Hudd■–■lobbying■MPs■pays■off
■■ Vince■Cable■–■idea■of■poorer■areas■having■lower■levels■of■pay■“has■been■killed■off”
■■ John■Leech,■LibDem■MP■–■one■of■six■MPs■in■his■party■to■sign■early■day■motion■55■
■■ Guy■Opperman,■Conservative■MP■–■■“I■see■no■economic■argument■for■intro-ducing■regional■pay”
■■ Rory■Stewart,■Conservative■MP■–■“setting■regions■against■each■other■would■result■in…■resentment”
Profile
Aug-Sep 4/12 ■ 23
PAY POLICY
MYERS SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT
When the plug was pulled on Bruce Springsteen at a Hyde Park concert in July, the press was quick to blame health and safety. But Kevin Myers, HSE’s deputy chief executive, was just as quick with his rebuttal: “As a longstanding Bruce Springsteen fan and one of the crowd at Hard Rock Calling, I was doubly disappointed to hear Live Nation give ‘health and safety’ as the reason for cutting short Saturday’s gig. The fans deserve the truth: there are no health and safety issues involved.” He pointed out that the true reason was that the concert’s noise license had expired. “It’s ironic that this excuse has been used in relation to Springsteen, who certainly knows what real health and safety is about – look at the words of ‘Factory’ from Darkness on the Edge of Town referring to the toll that factory work can take on the health of blue-collar workers.”
MICK RAISES THE BAR
Olympic fever stirred up interesting memories from keen fans. When Team GB pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale came sixth in her event, shadow chancellor Ed Balls tweeted: “Speaking as an under-15 county pole-vaulter (3 of us at the trials, only 2 got over the bar) I thought Holly Bleasdale was v unlucky.” That prompted Prospect’s Mick Upfield, Ordnance Survey branch chair, to reply: “Don’t you think you look a bit old to get away with being a 15-year-old county pole-vaulter Ed?” Mick added: “I was West Herts District Shot champion 1973 and can still keep up with the rest if I can get to the bar!” To which Ed Balls replied: “A good malt, magic!” We, too, are wondering which bar Mick was referring to.
HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY
In celebration of the recent discoveries at CERN, a Higgs boson walks into a church. The priest spots it and says: “Out, we don’t allow Higgs bosons in here.” To which the Higgs replies: “But how can you have a mass without me?”
SOMETHING ABOUT A HANGER
Hailed at the time of its opening as a world centre of excellence for avionics, RAF St Athan, a huge and hugely expensive aircraft hangar in the Vale of Glamorgan, has become the stage for a multimedia Shakespeare production. National Theatre Wales is to stage a modern-day take of Coriolanus as part of the World Shakespeare Festival. “We wanted somewhere big. We had looked at industrial units but there’s something about a hangar. It even has a runway outside,” said Lucy Davies, the play’s executive producer. What an indictment of MOD’s industrial policy that
its one-time flagship of excellence is now reduced to a theatre prop.
YES TO BEING RICH
Inspired by the reports of national conference in the last issue of Profile, former Met Office stalwart Peter Davies lays claim to be author of the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ signs printed inside the front and back covers of conference agendas. The covers are waved by delegates trying to catch the eye of the president so as to speak on a motion, but Peter can’t remember the year he came up with the idea. “I regret I did not patent it – if I had done so I would be now be living as rich as creosote, on some tropical isle.”
40 MOVING TESTIMONIES
“Both moving and shocking, the 40 accounts shared by HSE inspectors are testimony to their dedication & professionalism.” So tweeted IOSH, the chartered body for health and safety professionals, in reply to Prospect tweeting members’ experiences over 40 days this summer. Bristol’s Labour party chair urged people to read them for the benefit a health and safety culture brings. “Great stuff”, tweeted solicitor Cenric Clement-Evans. The British Safety Council and PASMA (the trade association for mobile access towers, of course) were among many to highlight the accounts, marking 40 years since the Robens report (see pages 16-18). On twitter search for #40at40, or visit www.prospect.org.uk/40at40
BACK TO THE REEL WORLD
Want to fill the void left by the end of the Olympics? Something to look forward to is the first labour film festival sponsored by the TUC, at the Prince Charles cinema in London’s West End. Sixteen films will be screened from September 13-16, including Mike Leigh’s High Hopes, Ken Loach’s Navigators, Martin Ritt’s Norma Rae, Ross Ashcroft’s Four Horsemen and Nigel Cole’s Made in Dagenham. You can also enter your own labour-related short film by September 3, see: http://londonlabourfilmfest.com/
TRIBUTE TO BILL
Former home secretary Alan Johnson paid a telling tribute to Bill Brett, the former IPMS general secretary and ILO UK representative, at his memorial tribute in June (story, page 20). Speaking the day before the Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi addressed MPs and peers in parliament, Johnson said it was a pity Bill could not be there. Aung San Suu Kyi herself had often praised the role of the International Labour Organisation for aiding the fight for democracy in Burma, “which Bill was talking about long before it became fashionable.”
UNiONNew study rejects government’s economic caseTHE ECONOMIC arguments for regional pay have been dismissed as a ‘high-stakes gamble’ in a report commissioned by the TUC.
In June, cabinet office minister Francis Maude told parliament: “The public sector could be crowding out the private sector and private sector investment, and holding back the private sector-led recovery that the economy needs.”
But the New Economics Foundation report, published in July, challenges the govern-ment’s unproven hypothesis that workers are choosing to opt in to public sector instead of private sector jobs because of higher pay and better conditions.
It says any evidence of a public sector ‘premium’ suffers serious shortcomings, and the suggestion that public servants receive ‘exceptional’ pay is “at best misconceived, at worst mischievous and ideologically driven.”
In particular the different nature and profile of employment in the public and private sectors indicates that occupational and pay structures are barely comparable.
It is also unrepresentative to suggest that private sector pay is localised. “There are national patterns of pay in the private sector with considerable benchmarking and use of national scales among large and medium-sized firms, even down to the small firm level.”
To examine the economic impact of the government’s approach, NEF examines several scenarios, including a ‘crowding in’ rather than ‘crowding out’ effect – in which higher public sector wages, both in flourishing and deprived regions, raise effective demand for goods and services, thus increasing turnover and profit-ability for private businesses.
Using this model, it calculates that intro-ducing regional pay would cost the economy up to £10bn and 10,000 jobs, with public sector workers spending less as they are paid less.
Even adopting the government’s ‘crowding out’ model, local pay would only create 11,000 net jobs across England and Wales and at a price, as local economies are hit to the tune of £2.7bn a year by reduced spending power.
Helen Kersley of NEF said: “The research finds no economic case for regional pay varia-tions. The government’s proposals are based on flawed assumptions that are not borne out in reality.
“Cutting the wages of public sector workers is a high-stakes gamble from which there will be no winners. Even in the very best case where the private sector creates more jobs, the economy would be substantially worse off overall.”
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said he hoped the report “will prove to be the final nail in the coffin for these discredited proposals.”
■ www.tuc.org.uk/tucfiles/345/EconImpactPublicSector.pdf
Longtown jobs, Urenco pensions win, civil service reform, broadbandFOR AN example of David and Goliath-style campaigning, look no further than the sterling efforts of Prospect reps Luis Eckersley and Neil Scott, from the Longtown munitions depot, Cumbria.
Between them they generated a forest of local coverage for their campaign to stop the site closing – on the BBC website, ITV Border and Tyne Tees, Drivetime and Radio Cumbria; and in the West Cumbria News and Star, Annandale and Eskdale Observer, Liddesdale Observer, Dumfries Courier and Cumberland News. All reported on visits to Longtown by general secretary Paul Noon (story, page 7) and defence minister Peter Luff.
Prospect’s court victory over pensions at Urenco (Profile 3/12) was widely picked up, with national secretary Mike Graham quoted in the Wales Daily Post, York Press, North West Evening Mail, News and Star West Cumbria, Manchester Evening News, Radio Cumbria and Employee Benefits magazine.
The union’s disappointment at plans to close the Thorp nuclear repro-cessing plant at Sellafield featured in the Northern Echo, Manchester Evening News, Western Daily Press, Chemistry World, and Whitehaven News.
In the public sector, the big story was Francis Maude’s civil service reform plan. Paul Noon was quoted in the Guardian and Telegraph. Head of research Sue Ferns tackled the issue in two regular blogs for the Guardian public leaders’ network – outlining Prospect’s alternative ideas for reform, and stressing that Francis Maude was missing the point by obsessively shrinking the state.
Public Servant carried an article by deputy general secretary Dai Hudd outlining Prospect’s opposition to regional pay for public servants.
And the Press Association, the Independent, MSN.co and the Glasgow Herald covered general secretary designate Mike Clancy’s warning that Vince Cable’s plan to introduce ‘settlement agreements’ would make it harder for employees
to take a case to an employ-ment tribunal.
Mobile News, Union News and PA reported deputy general secretary Leslie Manasseh’s concerns about how the UK’s expansion of high-speed broadband would be paid for. He was reacting to a Lords committee report (story, page 19).
Health and Safety Executive branch chair Simon Hester had letters in the Guardian and Safety Management on the retire-ment of the HSE’s chief medical adviser.
In further coverage, negotiator Kevin McAlonan
raised fears about the future of the ports of Jersey in the Evening Post; EnergySolutions’ sale of the European side of its business was covered in the Times, Reuters and Annandale Observer; FE News quoted Sue Ferns on the shortage of STEM graduates; and fears about the future of Forest Research were highlighted in Horticulture Week.
National secretary Garry Graham welcomed the government’s decision not to sell its stake in NATS (Daily Mail, Southern Daily Echo and Union News) in a rare piece of good news.
Finally, national secretary Steve Jary commented on plans to turn Defence Equipment and Support into a GOCO (Guardian, FT, PA, Flight International) and the Bournemouth Daily Echo reported concerns about defence job cuts at Cobham.
Paul Xuereb is head of information and website systems, based at Prospect headquarters, LondonDescribe yourself in four words.A well-travelled nerd.What do you like or dislike about members?Our members are generally experts in
their fields, which is a help when working with them, but does mean that my team has to keep on their toes.Which aspects of trade unionism particularly appeal to you?Working for an ethical organisation that actually means what it says, and isn’t just following the latest trend.Would the grass be greener for you somewhere else?I live on the south coast so the beach and South Downs are less than 15 minutes from my front door, and I work for an organisation that represents professionals, which I view myself as, so it’s no at the moment. Ask me again next week...Do you have any hidden talents?I’m able to cycle 70 miles in 35ºC temperatures during the day, and still able to perform in a variety act for the local village while drinking 60% proof rice wine the very same evening (or because I was drinking the rice wine I was able to perform in a variety act, it got a bit fuzzy after a few shots).What’s your most embarrassing moment?Getting a fit of the giggles with a mate after drinking too much rice wine (see above) when sharing a room in a hut on poles. It lasted 45 minutes, and we made the entire hut shake, which didn’t impress the family putting us up for the night.What or who gets you rattled?Colleagues who believe that cleaning their keyboard is carried out in a sink with hot water and fairy liquid. They at least unplugged it, so death was avoided on this occasion.What’s on your android tablet?Mostly Queen or Genesis, with a touch of Elgar, and currently series 7 of the West Wing. What’s your favourite book?The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.Prada or Primark, Monsoon or M&S?More likely to see me in Blacks or Evans cycle shop.How are you beating 20 per cent VAT?Shopping for bargains on Ebay.What would you do if you were invisible for a day?I would have sat in an empty seat in the Olympic stadium on Super Saturday... Go Team GB!
MEET
TEAM
■ My impression of arts graduates has been that, generally speaking, they do not relate their university studies
nor their expectations to particular kinds of subsequent employment; and my wish is that as the next decade proceeds, an increasing number of science and engineering graduates will come to regard their education in a similar light – as a desirable preparation for a diversity of employments in which a knowledge of scientific and engineering attitude of mind, is certain to become increasingly relevant.Electrical Power Engineer, August 1962
■ Britain’s future depends on technical know-how and her ability to marshall and apply it effectively. This is the key
to greater productivity, reduced imports, increased exports, a better standard of living, our ability to help under-developed countries and our status and influence in international affairs. But progress depends on one factor above all others. It is essential to provide the skilled manpower we need, and to use it more effectively. The government has failed to recruit over the years on such a scale that in several departments the conduct of public business has been impaired. For example, the Board of Inland Revenue is short of 400 professional valuers. The shortage of factory inspectors has been reflected for years in the unsatisfactory frequency of inspections. There are delays and difficulties in most departments where specialist staff are employed.State Service, August 1962
1962STEFANO CAGNONI
■■ General■secretary■designate■Mike■Clancy■warned■that■Vince■Cable’s■plan■to■introduce■‘settlement■agreements’■would■make■it■harder■for■employees■to■take■a■case■to■an■employment■tribunal
Prospect stories that
have appeared in media
across the country in
recent weeks
Profile
24 ■ Aug-Sep 4/12
ROUND-UP
Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 25
LAW AT WORK
RIGHTS TO REDUNDANCY PAYI am told my company needs to reduce the overall headcount and that three of us in my department will have our hours cut significantly. If we do not agree we will be dismissed without redundancy pay. Shouldn’t I be entitled to a redundancy payment?
There may be a legal entitlement to a redundancy payment if you are dismissed for refusing to accept the reduced hours. The Employment Appeal Tribunal recently considered a very similar case. It held that where the number of hours of work available was reduced, a worker was entitled to redundancy pay when they were dismissed for refusing to accept a significant cut in hours. Redundancy arose in that case even though there was no overall reduction in the number of people employed. This can be a complicated issue and will depend on the circumstances of your particular case, the existing terms of
your contract and the extent of the change in hours, so you should get detailed advice from your Prospect full-time officer. The Prospect Members’ Guide to Redundancy may also be helpful.
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATIONI have a long history of severe depression, and previous employers have accepted I am disabled under the law. I am currently looking for a new job and the employer is asking me to complete a health questionnaire along with the application for employment. I thought they were not allowed to do this any longer.
You are right that under the Equality Act, prospective employers should not ask job applicants about their health or any disability before offering them the job. There are some limited exceptions, including asking if any adjustments are needed for the recruitment process itself, such as ensuring an accessible venue or
documents are in a suitable format. Also, they can ask about the applicant’s ability to undertake a key function of the job; for example if the job requires an extensive amount of heavy lifting, it would be permissible to ask if the person could do this. However, employers are not allowed to ask for general information about health or sick records before offering the job. The Equality and Human Rights Commission can investigate breaches of this provision and take enforcement action. If you think any information you have provided about your disability is the reason you are not offered a job you may be able to bring a claim of unlawful discrimination. Contact Prospect for more information about the best way to approach this situation.
These■are■brief■answers■to■the■issues■raised■and■should■not■be■taken■as■a■definitive■outline■of■the■law.■In■all■cases■you■should■seek■advice■from■your■Prospect■full-time■officer.
Anyone can join a union, but members can only bargain collectively on terms and conditions when their union is recognised by the employer, says Alison Humphry
THE RIGHT to collective bargaining has been recognised as a fundamental aspect of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to freedom of association. But sometimes employers don’t see it that way.
Most union recognition in this country is voluntary. An agreement exists between the employer and the union, usually written, which is not legally enforceable unless the agreement says otherwise, which is very rare. Thus the recognition agreement only has moral force. For the union, the advantage is being able to bargain as one body. For the employer, the advantage is usually that there is a means of avoiding industrial disputes and a channel for bargaining to occur in a more orderly way.
If an employer terminates a voluntary recognition arrangement, or if there is no recognised union, it is open to the union to try for statutory compulsory recognition. The Central Arbitration Committee is the tribunal that oversees these claims.
To have an application accepted, the union is required to show that it has at least 10 per cent union membership in the proposed bargaining unit (the group for which bargaining will occur) and that at least 40 per cent are likely to favour recog-
nition. In reality, this means that you need to have close to 40 per cent membership or some other evidence of support, such as a petition.
If the application is accepted, then there is often a dispute about the correct bargaining unit. The unit chosen has to be compatible with the effective management of the employer’s business. Anti-union employers often like to suggest (just after they have argued that there should be no union recognition) that there should be a very large bargaining unit. In this way, they hope that union support will be diluted. The union of course will want to bargain in the areas where it has member-
ship, which may be a smaller group. There is often a hearing on this point, then the CAC makes the final decision.
Once an appropriate bargaining unit is determined, if there are more than 50 per cent of union members in that group, recognition is usually declared without a ballot.
If there is not a majority of union members, then an independent ballot is arranged. If at least 40 per cent of the entire group vote for recognition, and if this constitutes a majority of those who have voted, then recognition will be granted.
Recognition lasts for three years and
is legally enforceable. After three years the employer may make an application to de-recognise the union. Experience shows that it is not common for employers to de-recognise unions after the three years. Perhaps they come to realise the benefits of dealing with their employees on an organised basis.
It is against the law to victimise a person, or dismiss them, for having taken part in statutory recognition proceedings, either as a union member or otherwise. Strict time limits apply, so you should always seek advice early if you think this has happened to you.
The best insurance to avoid derecogni-
tion on either a voluntary or statutory basis is, in all cases, membership numbers. An employer will find it far easier to de-recog-nise a union where only 15 per cent of the bargaining unit are members than where 60 per cent are members.
Ultimately, it is the strength of union membership that is the best indicator for how well union recognition works – and of course, what results are achievable.
Statutory recognition can assist in getting that process started with a very reluctant employer, but it can never be a substitute for the persuasive power of an organised union.
Alison Humphry is an employment solicitor at Prospect solicitors Russell Jones & Walker, part of Slater & Gordon Lawyers. For advice on the issues raised in this article, contact the legal helpline on 0800 328 7987.
Marion Scovell answers your questions about the world of work
LegalEase
It’s the members that matter
Profile
26 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
PROSPECT ACCOUNTS 2011Prospect is required by law to publish a financial statement to members for the year ending December 31, 2011
THE ACCOUNTS for the year to December 31, 2011 show a net surplus of income against expenditure of £339,000. After taking into account the aggregate negative movement in the pension schemes’ (Prospect and Connect) liability of £4,180,000, a deficit of £3,841,000 was tranferred to the General Fund. Total income for the year was £17,026,000. Total expenditure (before taking into account the aggregate negative movement in the pension schemes’ liability) for the same period was £16,687,000. The pension schemes at the end of 2011 showed an aggregate deficit calculated on the FRS17 basis of £3,979,000. The full actuarial valuation for the Prospect pension scheme at December 31, 2008 showed a deficit of £12,500,000 and for the Connect pension scheme on July 1, 2008 the deficit was £1,341,000.
IncomeIncome from subscriptions was £16,291,000 after the transfer of £47,000 to the Prospect political fund and £47,000 to the Connect sector political fund. Prior to that transfer the gross subscription income was £16,385,000.Total income from investments was £237,000. This is made up of £358,000 from net dividend income and interest received; a surplus from sales of invest-ments of £29,000; and an increase on the provision against investments of £150,000 to reflect the market value of investments in the past year.Rental income was £249,000 and other income was £249,000 which includes: £27,000 from credit card royalties; £80,000 from Membership Services; £50,000 net VAT refund for 2010-11; and £29,000 being net journal income.
ExpenditureTotal expenditure was £16,687,000.Committees and conferences. Costs of £239,000 were for expenditure incurred for Prospect’s national committees and the Prospect sector conferences.Local democratic organisation and education. Costs of £1,316,000 include expenditure for professional, depart-mental and other groups of £120,000; branch and section expenditure of £979,000; and £217,000 for the members’ education and training programme.Employment. Costs of £11,284,000 include £8,929,000 for staff salaries, employer’s national insurance and normal contributions to the staff pension scheme; £1,320,000 for additional employer’s contributions to the staff pension schemes; £658,000 for staff travel, subsistence and mobile phones; and £377,000 for other staffing costs.Property. Costs of £1,145,000 are for the general upkeep of all Prospect properties, running costs, including rents, and the provision of property depreciation.Administration and other supplies. Costs of £1,050,000 include expendi-ture for equipment, printing, stationery, telephones; computer services; research publications and subscriptions; editorial
publishing and publicity; general legal and professional fees.Benefits to members. Costs of £1,653,000 include £479,000 for affiliation fees and donations of £25,000; £521,000 for the cost of Prospect’s journals including the Connect sector magazine; £82,000 for death benefit; £133,000 being costs associated with Prospect’s website and intranet; £66,000 for recruitment/organisation expenditure; and £314,000 for costs associated with the running of the members’ legal, medical and profes-sional aid scheme.Prospect political fund. The balance decreased to £429,000 compared to £512,000 the previous year (Prospect) and increased to £180,000 compared to £140,000 the previous year (Connect sector). 78,941 members paid in a total income of £47,000 (Prospect), and 12,406 members paid in a total of £47,000 (Connect sector). Expenditure of £130,000 (Prospect) and £7,000 (Connect sector) was charged against the Prospect funds in 2011.Elected officer salary and benefitsName Position Details Amount
P NoonGeneral Secretary Salary £104,525
Pension contributions
£19,245
Car benefit £3,217
The president and members of the national executive committee are reimbursed for any out of pocket expendi-
ture incurred by them in the performance of their duties on behalf of the union, as is the general secretary. No member of the NEC is paid any allowance or receives any salary or taxable benefits from Prospect.
At December 31, 2011 Prospect membership was 118,843. The number of women in membership was 27,939.
The Prospect finance statement and accounts for 2011 were approved by the NEC and Prospect auditors in March. This statement to members is made to comply with the terms of the 1993 Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act. Copies of the Prospect Annual Report can be obtained from central services at New Prospect House.
AUDITOR’S REPORTWe have audited the financial statements of Prospect for the year ended December 31, 2011, set out on pages 28-43 of the Annual Report. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards (United Kingdom generally accepted accounting practice).
This report is made solely to the union’s members, as a body. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the union’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume
responsibility to anyone other than the union and the union’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Respective responsibilities of the union’s national executive committee and auditorsAs explained more fully in the Statement of Responsibilities of the National Executive Committee, the union’s NEC is responsible for the preparation of financial statements which give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on the financial statements in accordance with appli-cable law and international standards on auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s ethical standards for auditors.
Scope of the auditAn audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the union’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonable-ness of significant accounting estimates made by the union’s NEC; and the overall presentation of the financial statements.
Opinion on financial statementsIn our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the union’s affairs as at December 31, 2011 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended.
Matters on which we are required to report by exceptionWe are required by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amended) to report to you by exception in respect of the following matters if, in our opinion:
● a satisfactory system of control over transactions has not been maintained
● the union has not kept proper accounting records
● the financial statements are not in agreement with the books of account
● we have not received all the information and explanations we need for our audit.
We have nothing to report to you in respect of the above matters.H W Fisher & CompanyChartered AccountantsRegistered Auditor8 March 2012
STATUTORY STATEMENTA member who is concerned that some irregu-larity may be occurring, or have occurred, in the conduct of the financial affairs of the union may take steps with a view to investigating further, obtaining clarification and, if necessary, securing regularisation of that conduct.
The member may raise any such concerns with such one or more of the following as it seems appropriate to raise it with: the officials of the union, the trustees of the property of the union, the auditor or auditors of the union, the Certification Officer (who is an independent officer appointed by the Secretary of State) and the police.
Where a member believes that the financial affairs of the union have been or are being conducted in breach of the law or in breach of rules of the union and contemplates bringing civil proceedings against the union or responsible officials or trustees, he should consider obtaining independent legal advice.
INCOME
ASSETS
EXPENDITURE
RESERVES
■ Subscriptions £16,291,000
■ Investments £237,000
■ Rental income £249,000
■ Other income £249,000
TOTAL INCOME £17,026,000
■ Committees and conferences £239,000
■ Local democratic organisation and education £1,316,000
■ Employment costs £11,284,000
■ Property costs £1,145,000
■ Admin and other supplies £1,050,000
■ Benefits to members £1,653,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURE £16,687,000
■ General Fund £28,900,000
■ Political Fund £609,000
TOTAL RESERVES £29,509,000
■ Land and buildings £15,247,000
■ Office equipment, fixtures and fittings, motor vehicles £638,000
■ Investments £15,354,000
■ Net current assets £2,249,000
■ Pension scheme liability (£3,979,000)
TOTAL ASSETS £29,509,000
NEWS Profile
Aug–Sep 4/12 ■ 27
ONE OF the best known Prospect representa-tives never to sit on the national executive committee was awarded a Distinguished Member’s Award at the end of June by president Alan Grey and deputy general secretary Dai Hudd.
John Streeter (centre) clocked up 37 years’ service for IPCS, IPMS and Prospect during his time as a member in the Ministry of Defence. Elected to the civil service sector executive
in 2007, he was elected president in 2009 and presided over its most challenging period, including its response to the changes to the civil
service compensation scheme and then the pension scheme.
John was first elected a section councillor at Copenacre, Wiltshire,
in 1975. He attended national conference in 1983 and every year since, after being refused permission to attend in 1982 because of the Falklands war.
His base remained in MOD, where he served as vice-chair for the Navy (Weapons) branch and then as chair or president of its three successor branches during a series of reorganisations, culmi-nating in the Defence Acquisition and Maritime South branch in 2008.
OUTGOING PRISON Service branch president Steve Benson (left) received a Long Service Award in March from Prospect president Alan Grey for his dedication and service to the branch for over 15 years. Steve has left the service to pursue a career without fences, gates and keys and will be sadly missed. Recently retired branch secretaries Vic Pomeroy and Bryan Wakely travelled to the ceremony to see the presentation and to hand the reins over to new branch president Paul Cooper and branch secretary Victoria Smith.
New scheme for asbestos victimsPLANS TO compensate mesothe-lioma sufferers who have been unable to trace their former employer’s insurers were announced by the government in July.
After years of pressure by unions and the TUC, the Department for Work and Pensions is to create a special scheme for newly diagnosed victims of mesothelioma, almost always caused by exposure to asbestos.
It will help the 300 victims who fall ill each year but who are at
present unable to claim compensa-tion because they cannot trace their former employer or their employer’s liability insurer.
The scheme will be funded by a levy on insurers at an estimated cost of £25–35m a year. However, it will not help people diagnosed before July 2012 and is not expected to be operational until July 2014 at the earliest. Even this is subject to primary legislation being passed.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the announce-
ment but said it did not go far enough. “While this scheme will come as a relief to those with mesothelioma, it will provide no help to workers who develop other cancers or life-threatening diseases, and who find themselves with no means of claiming compensation.
“Insurers have been happy to take insurance premiums from employers, yet thousands of workers are unable to get compensation because of sloppy record-keeping on the part of insurance companies.”
He called on ministers to widen the scope of the scheme to make it fairer for all workers.
Mesothelioma kills over 2,300 people each year, but more than 10 per cent of sufferers currently receive no civil compensation because their employer’s insurer cannot be traced.
The DWP says membership of the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, hitherto voluntary, is to be made compulsory and an online portal is to be set up to register claims.
GCHQ UNION CAMPAIGNERS CELEBRATE 15 YEARS OF FREEDOMCHELTENHAM CRICKET festival in July was the venue for a reunion of those involved in one of the most bitterly fought recognition battles in union history. Trade unionists from across the country flocked to Cheltenham to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the
return of unions to GCHQ. Prime minister Margaret
Thatcher banned unions from the (then secret) spy base in 1984. Eventually 14 staff were dismissed for refusing to give up their union member-ship. The ban, which became a worldwide cause celebre, was only overturned with the
election of a Labour govern-ment in 1997.
Four of the GCHQ refuse-niks were at the festival, organised by campaigning website UnionNews and Cheltenham and District Trades Union Council.
Mike Grindley, who led the 13-year fight for re-recogni-
tion at GCHQ, said: “The whole union movement supported us in the UK and across the world. I always knew we were going to win, eventually. I never dreamt it would take so long, but I knew we would win.”
The festival saw a visit from Prospect members in QinetiQ, the defence research
company which de-recognised unions in April. National secretary David Luxton said: “Trade unionists stick together and show solidarity whether at home or abroad. We do not go away. Our fight for re-recogni-tion at QinetiQ is no different to the struggle for freedom of association at GCHQ.”
JOHN HARRIS
Profile
28 ■ Aug–Sep 4/12
RETIRED MEMBERS
MEETINGSCENTRAL SOUTHERN
Next meeting Tuesday September 4; annual general meeting Tuesday November 20. Guest speaker Dai Hudd, Prospect deputy general secretary. Both meetings at The Royal Maritime Club, Queens Street, Portsmouth, commencing at 11.00 am. Agenda, papers and refreshments will be available. If attending, please contact Rob Ridoutt (secretary) on 01983 525571 or at [email protected]. For members in postcodes SO and PO.
EAST ANGLIANext meeting Wednesday September 5, Red Lion, Whittlesford, Cambridge, 1.00 pm. Meet for a chat before the meeting – some new members have joined. Email Les Nicholls
(secretary) to put topics on the agenda or confirm attendance at [email protected] or call 01473 281389. For members in postcodes EN, NR, IP, PE, CB, CO, CM, RM, SS and IG.
NORTH-EASTNext meeting: Thursday September 20, 12:30pm, meeting, tour and presentation at research centre of former Reyrolles Works, Siemens Transmission & Distribution Ltd, Hebburn. Contact Peter Gilroy (secretary) on 01670 354613 or at [email protected]. Annual general meeting, Thursday October 25, 1.30 pm, North Biddick & District Social Club & Institute, Washington NE38 8AJ. Guest speaker Mike Clancy, general secretary designate. For members in postcodes NE, DH, SR, DL and TS.
Ted Edwards: forever looking after the welfare of othersTED EDWARDS, who passed away in June, was a trade union and Prospect activist to the end.
Ted started service in Portsmouth Royal Dockyard as an engine fitter apprentice in 1946 and remained there until his retirement. He was promoted to managerial roles at chargeman grade (PTO1V) and to inspector (PTO 111) in his engineering specialisation, which led to his lifelong trade union passion.
After he joined IPCS, which later evolved into Prospect, Ted became a key figure in the union’s development and played a very active part in the reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence branches.
Ted’s many appointments included branch secretary for the Navy Department Executive Technical branch, national executive committee member, Public Services Pensioners committee executive, chair of the Portsmouth non-industrial Whitley committee, and MOD group councillor. He was forever looking after the welfare and conditions of service of others, as well as his official engineering duties.
On retirement, he was elected president of the retired members group and was instrumental in 2001 in forming a larger retired group after the merger with the EMA. The RMG continues today as a thriving and influential force of over 21,000 members. Ted eventually stood down as president but continued as an RMG national representative and local area chair.
Ted was respected, well-liked,
passionate and knowledgeable. In recognition of his service, he was awarded Prospect’s highest honour of Distinguished Member’s Award.
As well as his trade union activities, Ted was a director of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund Trust, with a particular association with Osborne House on the Isle of Wight when it was the Trust care home. He was also a Justice of the Peace (JP) in Portsmouth, and a magistrate known for his fair but firm manner.
Those who were fortunate to meet him will know Ted was an articulate, calm speaker who never lost his cool and researched his subjects thoroughly. An inspi-rational person, Ted will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him, both as a colleague and a friend.
Robbie Riddout
JUNE 1–JULY 12Prospect regrets to announce the deaths of the following members, notified to headquarters between June 1 and July 12, 2012:
Mr B J Archer 25/06/12 British EnergyMr M Armstrong 12/06/12 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr A L C Barnes 12/06/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMiss S L Branch 29/06/12 National Library of WalesMr D J Bullman 25/06/12 NATSMr G J Bunch 04/07/12 British EnergyMr J Carney 18/06/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr V J Carter 03/07/12 South West Retired Members GroupMr M J Chapman 18/06/12 National GridMr D J Chappell 12/06/12 South East England Retired Members GroupMr W A Clark 05/07/12 London ElectricityMr J Clinton 06/07/12 Scottish PowerMr W A Coombes 10/07/12 Northern PowergridMr R Cunningham 26/06/12 East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr R G Davison 12/07/12 InnogyMr R M Du Feu 04/07/12 Jersey Civil Service AssociationMr T Edwards 18/06/12 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMiss B Ellis 15/06/12 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr C Emms 21/06/12 Office for National StatisticsMr P A Fairley 05/07/12 South West Retired Members GroupMr R F Farquhar 26/06/12 National GridMr F A J Ford 22/06/12 BAE Systems Global Combat SystemsMr J Galbraith 27/06/12 Northern Ireland ElectricityMr D C Grace 21/06/12 UK Intellectual Property OfficeMr C Hardiman 22/06/12 Hardiman AviationMr I Hodgkinson 02/07/12 Scottish PowerMr R W Hutchison 04/07/12 London ElectricityMr J A Jamieson 01/06/12 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr R T Jarman 12/07/12 InnogyMr M P Johnson 06/07/12 Central Networks – WestMr E W Jones 27/06/12 Southern Retired Members GroupMr A H Jones 21/06/12 National Library of WalesMr J S Kellett 10/07/12 Electricity Assoc. ServicesDr B King 18/06/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr R C Kynman 22/06/12 Northern PowergridMr K J Lane 12/06/12 Institute for Animal HealthMr R E G Langdon 09/07/12 Magnox Nuclear North & South SitesMr C M Leithead 09/07/12 JMP ConsultantsMr P F K Lightfoot 06/06/12 CMMDI Retired Members GroupMr A J Lillis 29/06/12 InnogyMr C A F MacKenzie 02/07/12 Southern Retired Members GroupMs K Mallows 15/06/12 British LibraryMr J H Marden 22/06/12 London ElectricityMr V J Marshall 18/06/12 E.On UKDr D J Martin 26/06/12 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr J S Melville 06/07/12 North West/North Wales Regional BranchMr R Metcalf 25/06/12 InnogyMr J G Midmore 25/06/12 Southern Retired Members GroupMr R M Mitchell 25/06/12 E.On UKMrs A Nelson 20/06/12 Burton FoodsMr R H Netting 26/06/12 South West Retired Members GroupMr J O’Connor 07/06/12 E.On UKMr E M Osborn 12/07/12 InnogyMr G Parker 22/06/12 Northern PowergridMr J Pearson 25/06/12 Scottish PowerMr W A Pedley 21/06/12 InnogyMr B Prescott 26/06/12 North West Retired Members GroupMr J Quirk 12/07/12 Highlands and Islands AirportsMs H Rae 03/07/12 National Museums of ScotlandMr S D Rhodes 27/06/12 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr M Rice 21/06/12 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr D M Routledge 06/07/12 E.On UKMr J W Scrowston 09/07/12 Northern PowergridMr K G B Simpson 13/06/12 E.On UKMr W H A Smallwood 25/06/12 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr S Smith 09/07/12 E.On UKMr S Sobolewski 22/06/12 London Central Retired Members GroupMr A J L Southwell 11/06/12 South East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr K G Stott 02/07/12 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr C Thornthwaite 13/06/12 E.On UKMr J E Vearnals 10/07/12 Wales Retired Members GroupDr A Wangoo 13/06/12 Veterinary Laboratories AgencyMr R G Westgate 07/06/12 Eastern GroupMr P H Williams 27/06/12 Aspire DefenceMr D P Wright 26/06/12 Scottish and Southern Energy Group
CLASSIFIED Profile
Aug-Sep 4/12 ■ 29
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Classified_AugSept12_Layout 1 06/08/2012 12:03 Page 29
Safety, Spanish style
The attached photos, which I took in Malaga, Spain in April this year, should serve as a reminder to those who think that health and safety is a waste of time and money. The photos are of an engineer fixing brackets for an air conditioning condenser unit to the outside wall of a tower block, at approximately 9th floor level, with no safety harness. I wonder if the reason we
LETTERSProfile
30 ■ Aug-Sep 4/12
UK’S MISERABLE TREATMENT OF KENYA VISITORSYour report about visa refusals (Profile 3/12)
struck a chord. I am an elder in the Benbecula Church of Scotland that is twinned with a church in Kenya. This has particular significance as it is located in an area where Dr Clive Irvine from Aberdeen some 80 years ago set up a clinic. Today it has a hospital, nursing college and primary and secondary schools.
In August 2011, six of us paid £30 for a Kenyan tourist visa and spent two wonderful weeks with our twinned church in Chuka. Last winter we started planning a return visit by a party from Kenya. Seven of them duly applied for visas paying the equivalent of £84 each. Their application required submitting original documents including marriage certificates, bank account statements, payslips and house title deeds.
Three of them were refused visas. As well as being deemed to have insufficient funds (as in the Prospect
case), the refusal noted that one lady is married with three dependent children and was perceived as unlikely to return home. I wonder what members of Prospect who are mothers would feel if this statement was made about them? This lady persevered and at the third attempt and £250 poorer got her visa.
The church was naturally very disappointed about these refusals and we have taken the matter up with our MP.
We established that: ● the visa application was determined
entirely by documents provided. There was no oral interview to clarify or expand on the documentation
● when the refusal letters were compared, it was evident they are based on a template that is cut and pasted to suit individual cases.
Our five guests all had a wonderful time with us in the outer Hebrides. Needless to say, they all returned to Kenya.
■ Wilson McKinlay, Isle of South Uist
my hearing loss was related to my time with BT. Sarah Patten of RJW brought the issue to a successful conclusion in a very efficient manner and in a short space of time.
■ Brian O’Donoghue, Morden, Surrey
Nuclear can carry the load that wind cannotRichard Phillips and Philip Trow rightly disparage wind power (ViewPoint 3/12), but perhaps they are too kind. This year our nuclear fleet has generated an average 87 per cent, with a high of 98.7 per cent, and a low of 63 per cent. Why was it so low?
All our most efficient machines give priority to summer maintenance slots, routine safety inspections and so on. These lowest-running cost generators are then ready to minimise costly fossil burn for winter peaks. Further, judicious under-loading of machines online gives security against unexpected breakdowns.
Sizewell B for example, needs two to three weeks off load for refuelling. Between those summer halts, it commonly achieves 94.5 per cent non-stop for the full 18 months.
In contrast to nuclear, our Grid-metered wind fleet has averaged 27.4 per cent, with a low point of 0.17 per cent, on February 29, within a week-long anticyclone. Denmark (winter max demand 4GW) has a 4GW wind fleet that clocked 7.5 per cent that day – they were importing power, probably French. Germany, covered by the same wide-spaced isobars, would have nothing to spare from its 30GW wind fleet, and their nukes are shut down.
In other words, wind power was poor because of uncontrollable meteorology.
■ Bill Hyde, Offham, Kent
Nuclear not so flexibleRichard Phillips (ViewPoint 3/12) may be right about the inability of wind power to adjust its output up to the maximum at any time demand requires it, but he
in Britain, who take health and safety at work seriously, find it more difficult to compete is due to the lack of regard for it by other countries in the EU.
■ Frank Seymour, Croydon
Swift and efficient helpI would like to thank Prospect for the success of my recent claim against BT for hearing loss.
This shows the benefit of still being a trade union member even though I left BT many years ago. I have had problems with my hearing for years and it was only through reading an article in Profile that I realised it could be as a result of my employment with BT.
Prospect referred me to their solicitors, Russell Jones & Walker, who arranged the medical tests which proved that
ACROSS1 Stores that had been greased no longer new (10)7 Visible impression’s remarkable inclusion (4)9 This woollen has a high turnover (8)10 Hit pole with lorry (6)11 Imprisonment under guardianship (7)12 Prisoner who cannot refuse what is offered (7)14 Case of blackleg and poet (8)15 Type of steak coming from rear (4)17 As many as there are behind western barrier (4)18 Lake position their leader leaves given leeway (8)21 Examine soft-hearted creature (7)23 Out-of-doors on a pier performing (4-3)25 The same hint preceded board-game (6)26 Heathen admits to being a procrastinator (8)27 Penny needing assistance having settled (4)28 Child behind Kate struggling as Kelvin starts to
tick off (4,2,4)DOWN2 Connect bent piece of metal completely (4,2)3 A topic I’ll rehash concerned with government (9)4 Cover one’s tracks (7)5 Man, the Parisian going round Britain (4)
CrossAug-Sep2012
6 Remove ring to break up union (7)7 Some rituals contained excellence (5)8 Retrieval from very core affected (8)13 One who signs contract at social gathering
(5)15 Somehow understand strike leader leaves
dismissed from work (9)16 Main goal removing bloomer (8)18 Do employers strike back with it? (7)19 Last thing painter has to put on (7)20 Second-class variety of spice giving
strength to one’s arm (6)22 Beg quietly to take star part (5)24 One cannot be sure if one takes it (4)
■ Solution to appear in the next issue
Answers Jun-Jul 2012 – ACROSS: 1 Platform 6 Sphere 9 Scheme 10 Fairness 11 Recruiting 14 Mine 15 Avocation 18 Requiring 21 Anna 22 Laboratory 25 Futility 26 Growth 27 Played 28 Retaking.
DOWN: 2 Lackey 3 Theory 4 Obeli 5 Mufti 6 Swing 7 Handmaid 8 Resonant 12 Taverna 13 No can do 16 Tranquil 17 Equality 19 At work 20 Proton 22 Laird 23 Buyer 24 Right.
Letters should be sent by email to profile@prospect.
org.uk, via fax on 020 7902 6665 or by post for the attention of the editor,
New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1
7NN. Emails preferred. Letters may be shortened
for reasons of space.
PrizeLetter of the month receives a £10
book token
LETTERS Profile
Aug-Sep 4/12 ■ 31
ProfileINDEX – Jun-Jul 201216-18 40@40 HSE case studies
4 Approved codes of practice
4 Aspect petition
20 Bill Brett tribute
11 Charity for Civil Servants
13 Civil service pay campaign
18 Civil service reform plan
22 CSMA Club Groups
4 CSMA free car
27 Distinguished Member’s Award
12 Dundee pay settlement
19 Energy bill response
8 EnergySolutions sale
5 Environment seminar
4 eProfile
5 EU pensions threat
11 Facility time protest
17 Fatalities at work
24 Fifty years ago
6 Forestry Commission report
27 GCHQ reunion
15 Harwell network
11 Home Office discrimination victory
24 In the News
12 Indicators
13 Jersey pay offer
5 Kenya visa refusal
25 LegalEase
5 Local government pension ballot
27 Long Service Award
7 Longtown stores campaign
24 Meet Paul Xuereb
27 Mesothelioma fund
7 MOD procurement GOCO
11 MOD tribunal victory
8 National Trust Tredegar event
19 Ofcom spectrum auction
13 PayCheck
8 Pension incentives warning
4 Portsmouth petition
26 Prospect 2011 Annual Report
14 Prospect learning fund project
20 Prospect political fund
7 Prospect subscriptions and tax
3 Prospect’s Olympics
12 Public service pay policy
22 Regional pay policy
28 Retired members
6 Roger Leakey’s book
9 Science higher education report
15 Talent Retention Solution
9 Tax-free savings scheme
21 TUC communications awards
21 TUC general secretary appointment
22 TUC regional pay report
25 Union recognition ballots
23 UnionEyes
14 Women in science survey
is wrong to imply that nuclear has the flexibility that wind lacks. Nuclear is unable to reduce its output as demand falls and therefore is only viable alongside other energy sources that can offer the full flexibility to increase and decrease output as demand varies.
■ David Wallis, Cirencester
Shale gas not a panaceaCould Rowland Pantling’s assertion that shale gas is a real alternative to green energy (ViewPoint 2/12) be right?
Annual UK gas consumption is about 90 billion cubic metres, with a third used to generate electricity (DUKES 2011). In 2010 the British Geological Survey estimated that we have up to 150 bcm of shale gas – less than two years’ supply. A much higher figure was announced in 2011 for Cuadrilla’s Lancashire prospect but only a small fraction of this is recoverable (New Scientist, 21/1/12).
Sadly, UK gas production is likely to continue to drop with imported LNG making up the shortfall. The International Energy Agency forecasts European gas prices will rise by a third to 2035 as demand growth outstrips supply.
Despite this, new gas-fired power stations are likely because they are relatively cheap and quick to build and, in answer to David Loxley (ViewPoint 1/12), can make up for variable generation from wind. On the other hand, renewables reduce our exposure to gas prices.
Just as the North Sea received substantial support from us to establish offshore oil and gas, it is in our interests to do the same with renewables. By far the largest contributor to rises in domestic energy bills from 2004-10 was wholesale gas – the independent Committee on Climate Change estimates that renewables would add just 2p/kWh to electricity prices by 2020. Provided vulnerable households are helped, this is an insurance premium worth paying.
■ Rick Morgan, Sheffield
Take the Grid back into public ownershipElectricity is the life blood of our nation. Something so vital to our survival
should not be left in the hands of foreign profit-making organisations. The National Grid should be taken into public ownership and, as in the days of the CEGB, should plan and operate power stations.
We do need some nuclear but they should be smaller plants, nearer the areas of demand. The whole nuclear cycle, from fuel production to fuel re-processing and waste storage should be part of a planned system.
It is absurd that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority should now be closing down Sellafield’s Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant. The only safe way to deal with spent nuclear fuel is to reprocess it, extract the plutonium and use it as nuclear fuel. The remaining fission products, which have a relatively short half-life, can then be vitrified and stored while they decay to environmentally safe levels.
To store spent fuel that is full of plutonium is just plain crazy. This could easily be funded by the Bank of England’s quantitative easing instead of throwing that money to the bankers.
■ Barrie Skelcher, Suffolk
Delivery fails to match up to the promiseI am intrigued by Donald Swift-Hook’s comments (ViewPoint 1/12) relating to the UK electricity supply system: “It is the interconnected system as a whole that
keeps the supply firm,” and “perhaps our less well-informed members will...listen to the power system experts among us.”
I am not sure what qualifies as a “power system expert,” but 36 years’ experience in the operations department in power stations, provides a very real insight into how dynamic the whole thing really is.
It becomes abundantly clear how the frequency swings when a large generator fails and is lost to the system, or when infamous load demands, such as a Cup Final, start its decline.
Aside from acute problems or failures, all this is only done to instruction given remotely by National Grid Control Centre, who still carry the responsibility to control the frequency by matching supply to demand at all times of the day.
How can a sudden loss of wind (or indeed an unexpected influx) be beneficial to that process? It is only tolerated because costly gas plant is running to provide rapid back-up, masking that effect.
How on earth is that saving fuel and costly imports as Mr Swift-Hook suggests? And where is the costing transparency of that?
We may well have 6.4GW of wind power installed, but for the year-end 2011, the truth is that the total wind output for 12 months provided a paltry 3.05 per cent of UK energy (http://www.bmreports.com/bsp/bsp_home.htm)
The first four months of 2012 have shown wind delivering an average of 3.4 per cent, so not much change so far. Surely it is time to wake up to reality?
■ Colin Southgate, Coddington, Notts
Not so elementaryIn Profile 3/12, clue 20 down of the crossword is ‘weight for leading elementary particle’. The answer is, presumably, ‘proton’.
But, according to current physics, the proton is not an elementary particle. It is made up of three quarks (which are elementary particles). The proton consists of two ‘up’ quarks and one ‘down’ quark.
■ Graham Nash, Poole, Dorset
Pensions ain’t what they used to beIn your article ‘We must increase take-up’ (Profile 3/12), you ask why some people do not save for a pension. Many members, like me, will have paid extra into their pension scheme, for example through added years, only to find the value of their pension cut by 20 per cent or more. With similar stories in the media all the time, I would urge members to be extremely cynical about whatever pension is being promised. Cash ISAs may be a better deal, particularly for younger members. Pensions are not what we thought they were.
■ Dave Marsay, Malvern
WORD
Aug-Sep2012
You have 15 minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters shown in the grid. Each word must contain four or more letters, one of which must be the letter in the central square. No letter can be used more than once in each word. No proper nouns, plurals or foreign words allowed. There is one nine-letter word in the grid, for which today’s clue is: GIVE UPWordCount: 20 average; 25 brilliant; 30+ amazing■ Solution to appear in the next issue
D E EN S RR R U
MIND Solution Jun-Jul12Answer: GLASS – All of the other words can be prefixed by SILVER to form another word
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