Venue: Newland Room, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln
AGENDA
1. Welcome and apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of Branch AGM 2015.
3. Branch Officers and Workplace Stewards nominations 2016/17.
4. Branch Officer Reports 2015 – for approval.
5. Branch Accounts 2015 – for approval – to be tabled. 6.
Honoraria Payments 2015 – for approval.
7.
8.
Any other urgent business.
Welfare Raffle.
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Minutes of the meetings held on 10th & 11th March 2015
Present: Helen Stokes, Susan Mawer, John Irving, Neil Murray, Mick Barnshaw, Gary Padgett, Tracey Harrison, Helen Button, Paul McFarlane, Agness Padgett, David Davies, Matt Stephens, Hannah Gould, Kim Cammack, Rob Reeves, Sophie Whitehead, Jackie Kirk, Robin Renshaw, Lisa Loy, Stephen Pepper, Liz East, Vince Williams, Rowena Devonport, Jon Whitworth, Fay Houltby, Sean Bowler, Jo Tasker, Iain Scott-Burdon, Fay Smith, Gavyn Graham, Matt Boles, Jean Harris, Lesley Rose, Danny Wilkinson, Elaine Smith, Alison Spittles – 36.
Apologies: Tom Whitby, Paul Johnson, Clare Rowley, Janet Hutchinson,
Liz Harris, Gill Thomas. In Attendance:
Adrian Morgan – Regional Organiser Louise Bromfield, Dorinda Hudson, Sue Tomlinson – Branch Office Staff Tuula Scott-Burdon – BSL Interpreter
ACTION
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Welcome and apologies for absence
In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the two afternoon meetings were chaired by Helen Stokes and the evening meeting chaired by Sean Bowler. Everyone was welcomed to the AGM and the Branch Chair explained that the meeting was not quorate. It was agreed that the meeting accept the proposed and seconded agenda items 5, 6 & 8 and any objections should be raised at the branch office.
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Minutes of the previous meetings held 14th March 2014 The minutes were agreed as a true record, with the exception of two typing errors: minute 6 - seconder of
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motion should read Rob Reeves, not Rob Reeve. Minute 8 para 5 - date should read 2014 not 2104.
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Branch Secretary Election Result The Chair reported that Helen Stokes had been elected as Branch Secretary for the next 12 months.
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Branch Officer & Workplace Stewards Nominations Some of the directorate names have changed, branch staff to update. Workplace representatives who had not sent in their nomination forms for 2015/6 were encouraged to do so.
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Branch Officer Reports 2014 The annual report was approved and agreed by all at both meetings, subject to Branch Support Officer report written by James Hogan, clarification sought on para 1 as it can be interpreted in different ways. Typing error on Branch Support Officer report written by Neil Murray, para 1 should read 2014 not 2015.
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Branch Accounts 2014 Tracey Harrison explained the accounts reports and invited members to contact her with any questions relating to this year’s audited accounts. Thanks were given to Tracey for her continued hard work. The branch accounts were approved and agreed by all at both meetings.
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Motions to AGM For Election of all Branch Posts to be included into Branch rule book. The motion was proposed by Gary Padgett and seconded by Jo Tasker. Gary spoke to the meeting on the motion which is detailed in full on pages 27 & 28 of the agenda. At the evening meeting it was explained that the AGM was not quorate across the three meetings and so the
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motion could not be put into the branch rules, formalising the process, but the branch could follow it as good practice – this was agreed.
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Honoraria Payments 2014 Tracey explained that the honoraria had increased in line with CPI as agreed at the Honoraria Working Group. Gary proposed that the honoraria be approved except for the payment to Tracy Lamy-Edwards who has resigned from UNISON after submitting her Officer reports, this was seconded by Gavyn. Following lengthy discussions, a counter proposal was made by Neil Murray that the honoraria be approved except for the payment to Tracy Lamy-Edwards and if she contacted the branch to query this, a further meeting of the branch would be called. This proposal was carried. Tracey explained that as the meeting was inquorate, the honoraria proposals would be sent to the regional office for approval.
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Any Other Urgent Business The Branch Secretary thanked the Officers, reps and branch staff for their hard work over the past year and Sean Bowler for chairing the meeting at short notice.
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As per minute 5 the following was emailed to members – At the UNISON branch AGM last month Branch Support Officer James Hogan was asked to clarify the end of paragraph 1 of his annual report which could be interpreted in different ways. Original section and response below:
‘There has also been an increased number of cases from members who have come across from Eastern Europe, the increase may just be that they have strong links with Trade Unions in countries like Poland, Latvia and the Ukraine and further afield from Nigeria.’
Response: At the AGM an explanation of the above report was requested. I included the reference to the increase in membership from EU Citizens and other nationalities who are working primarily in the community sector, but often do not have English as their first language, but recognise the importance of being represented and in a union. I believe the branch needs to review its working across this sector to ensure full communication and engagement. UNISON General Secretary, David Prentis has made particular reference to this in his recent media interviews and communications with members in the Community sector’.
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BRANCH OFFICERS Branch Officer Nomination forms received for 2016/17 Branch Chair - Clare Rowley Vice-Chair - Vacant Branch Secretary - Helen Stokes Assistant Branch Secretary - Gavyn Graham Branch Treasurer - Tracey Harrison Assistant Branch Treasurer - Vacant Health and Safety Officer - Vacant Education Co-ordinator - Vacant International Officer - Vacant Equality Co-ordinator - Paul McFarlane (Diversity Officer) Welfare Officer - Paul McFarlane Environment Officer - Vacant Communications Officer - Gary Padgett Labour Link Officer - Vacant Life Long Learning Co-ordinator - Vacant Retired Member’s Secretary - Mick Barnshaw Membership Officer - Vacant Young Member’s Officer - Vacant
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The following positions will be elected at the first reps / SOG meeting following the 2016 AGM. Convenors Adult Care Convenor Children’s Services Convenor Serco Convenor Lead Convenor – South Holland District Council Lead Convenor – West Lindsey District Council Lead Convenor – Boston Borough Council Lead Convenor – North Kesteven District Council Self Organised Group (SOG) Disability Officer LGBT Officer Women’s Officer Black Member’s Officer
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WORKPLACE STEWARDS 2016/17 LEA SCHOOLS David Priest - Queen Elizabeth High School, Gainsborough Claire Pattison - St Christopher’s School, Lincoln ACADEMY SCHOOLS Matthew Boles - The Gainsborough Academy, Gainsborough Denise Gauntlett - Boston Grammar School, Boston Lee Hoggarth - The Gainsborough Academy, Gainsborough Paul Johnson - Barnes Wallis Academy, Tattershall Sharon Hoult - Spalding Grammar, Spalding CHILDREN’S SERVICES Graham Nicholson - Marshall’s Yard, Gainsborough ADULT CARE Gavyn Graham - Roman Way, Gateway Park, South Hykeham Alison Spittles - Eastfield House, Louth FINANCE AND PUBLIC PROTECTION Sean Bowler - Business Support, Marshalls Yard, Gainsborough Tracey Harrison - Finance, Orchard House, Lincoln Gary Padgett - Business Support, Orchard House, Lincoln Christian Barrett - YOT, Holmleigh, Horncastle ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT Ashley Behan - Highways, Witham Park House, Lincoln Natalie Gammons - Highways, Witham Park House, Lincoln Sophie Hammond - Transport, Witham Park House, Lincoln Kim Cammack - Legal, County Offices, Lincoln PUBLIC HEALTH Lisa Loy - Orchard House, Lincoln Dave Russell - Mobile Library, Nettleham
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SERCO Paul McFarlane - Thomas Parker House, Silver Street, Lincoln KIER Andrea Willis - Witham Park House, Lincoln COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR Richard Colston - Cambian, Broughton House, Brant Broughton SOUTH HOLLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL John Irving - Priory Road, Spalding WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL Paul Key - North Warren Road Depot, Gainsborough Karen Lond - Marshall’s Yard, Gainsborough NORTH KESTEVEN DISTRICT COUNCIL Yvonne Bridgewater - Kesteven Street, Sleaford Rhiannon Davies - Kesteven Street, Sleaford Michael Gadd - Kesteven Street, Sleaford Duncan Spencer - Kesteven Street, Sleaford
HEALTH AND SAFETY STEWARDS Andrea Willis - Kier, Witham Park House, Lincoln
UNION LEARNING STEWARDS Helen Button - LCC, Orchard House, Orchard Street, Lincoln Rhiannon Davies - NKDC, Kesteven Street, Sleaford Linda Page - National CE Junior School, Grantham Helen Stokes - UNISON/Lincolnshire County Council
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BRANCH SECRETARY – Helen Stokes Welcome to 2016 Thank you. I would like the opportunity to thank you all for your support through this year as Branch Secretary. As a team we’re reviewing the way we carry out our duties as our membership changes significantly with increasing outsourcing of historically public sector work areas. There is an increasing number of members from the voluntary and private sector and a decreasing number from the public sector, which mirrors the cost cutting effects of Government and Local Authority policies. We have looked at the way in which we contact the membership and continue to increase our online access. We have an active Facebook account and this now feeds directly onto our webpage following a successful regional funding bid. The investment in new technology 2 years ago continues to offer substantial benefits and cost savings (it also meant we weren’t hit by the recent malware attack on the Council network). I would like to acknowledge the unique skills of our officers and branch staff who have worked tirelessly to make a difference, often above and beyond their agreed times and role. It is difficult for me to list you all, but I sincerely thank you. The Branch said farewell to Anne Blakeley, our branch administrator for many years. We wish her well in her retirement. We’ve seen a change of Regional Organising staff as Adrian Morgan along with Gurbaksh and James moved on to Derby City Branch. We welcome Carol Brown, who has a long history with our branch, now our Regional Organiser. This year the serious challenge to our support for our members comes from the proposed Trade Union Bill, vicious unwarranted attack on our trade union rights. The branch continues to support our members and representatives in learning opportunities, these range from branch steward training, H&S to personal development courses held in the local area. The June 2015 UNISON National Conference was held in Brighton. Our delegates found this was a great opportunity to network and to hear interesting speakers and confident debating. Both our young member delegate and our female delegate made impassioned and well received speeches at both the Local Government and National Conferences. Sadly there have been many restructures affecting all of you as members. Just to name a few of these and to thank the officers for attending in Children’s, Adult Care, Communities, Fire and Rescue and more recently the Public Health consultations around the TUPE transfer of our Libraries to GLL. A vast number of private sector consultations and Academy transfers have added to the branch workload. Alongside this we have been dealing with a very high volume of difficult cases, some now at Tribunal stage.
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I truly appreciate all the support and hard work from everyone. I believe that only with everyone’s involvement will we make a difference to the challenges that are to come our way. Again this year I ask that you consider your involvement with your union;
We need more workplace stewards to support members with casework, across all our member groups.
We need to make sure we are fit to fight the challenges presented by employers, we need to respond more meaningfully to fight against further cuts to services and prevent job losses.
The branch remains committed to ensuring UNISON members remain meaningfully employed on good terms and conditions in healthy work environments.
L-R: Anne Blakeley (UNISON), Lisa Loy (National Conference), Library Consultation meeting.
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BRANCH CHAIR – Clare Rowley It is a short report I bring you this year, as I have spent a rather wonderful 2015 on maternity leave. Whilst away I followed the General Election as closely as one with small children is able to, but what gave me hope over the summer and autumn was the debate had within the Labour Party. A debate which led to the election of Jeremy Corbyn, with
the largest majority any leader of any party in this country has achieved for some years. The media and the ruling party continue to berate the Labour leadership for 'things' and 'stuff' that do not have an impact on the way an opposition leads, but what this does, is show the government and media up for the bullies that they are. With more plans to cut our vital public services, the role and voice of the trade unions is valuable. The austerity plans are ideological; taking our services away piece by piece, failing to put people first and leaving the most vulnerable to suffer. We have to work and fight together; across the trade union movement, political parties, and community groups, because we can achieve much more together than alone. ASSISTANT BRANCH SECRETARY to December 2015 - Gary Padgett JOINT COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER from December 2015 – Gary Padgett With the departure of the previous Assistant Branch Secretary in January 2015, I along with several other comrades in the branch council took on the role of Interim Assistant Branch Secretary. After the AGM in March I was elected as Joint Assistant Branch Secretary alongside Mark Teague. Unfortunately, owing to ill health, Mark was unable to take up the role so I assumed all the responsibilities of Assistant Branch Secretary. One of the first tasks was to lead our branches defence against the attacks on facility time for our officers. Facility time is hugely important in allowing UNISON Officers to be able to properly represent our members, both individually and collectively. After much negotiation we were successful in defending the 3 days allocated to the Assistant Branch Secretary. However, LCC are highly likely to continue to attack facility time year on year so we need to ensure that we are able to evidence the great work our activists are doing to make our case strong for the next round of attacks. Owing to Mark Teague's unfortunate absence, I found myself covering Children's services case work. Children's services certainly keep work place stewards busy. The case work has been relentless in volume, but I managed to support many members and achieve some notable successes in defending our members against some enthusiastic management application of HR policy. In my Assistant Branch Secretary role, I represented the branch at central panel, Serco "partnership" meetings and also at Regional HQ in a session on how to beat the Tories punitive and unnecessary (Anti) Trade Union Bill. I also attended Adult Care Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meetings as an Adult Care rep. I attended the UNISON National Delegate Conference for the first time in Glasgow in June. I attended many fringe meetings concerning fighting Racism, fighting austerity, but the undoubted highlight was leaving the conference hall with thousands
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of other activists and marching into George Square to attend a rally in support of the Glasgow Homeless Case Workers, who had been on strike for 12 weeks in a bitter fight for equal pay. A fight I am pleased to tell you they won, which goes to show that the courage to take meaningful action can yield real results. This was also demonstrated by the National Gallery Strike conducted by our colleagues in the PCS which also ended victoriously. In October, I spoke on the Trade Union Bill at the TUC Lincoln's event to gather support for the No to Austerity, Yes to Workers Rights march on the Tory conference in Manchester on October 4th. A huge event that attracted almost 100,000 people, but not so much mainstream press coverage. In November, I represented the branch at a lobby of Parliament against the Trade Union Bill. UNISON was well attended with some great speakers including General Secretary Candidate, John Burgess and the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell. There is no doubt that we are facing a further onslaught from the Tories both nationally and locally on our public services. We should take heart from the example shown by our comrades in many disputes up and down the country that if working people stand together united, we can win! I'd like to thank the branch admin staff for all their hard work and assistance over the past year, and a special thanks to Carol Brown, our new Regional Organiser for her hard work, enthusiasm and dedication to trying to get our branch on the right track in what will prove to be a very testing time for the Trade Union movement. WELFARE OFFICER – Paul McFarlane The role of Welfare Officer within the branch is an increasingly important one in times of cuts and zero hours or zero annual wage increase employment. UNISON members are finding themselves in a time of increasing uncertainty when it comes to job security and as everyday costs continue to rise employers within the public sector and increasingly the private sector, a growth area within the provision of local services as councils rush towards becoming mere commissioning bodies and our members are TUPE'd over to an unknown future where profits and the demands of shareholders are paramount. It is in this background that the requirement for each branch to have an active Welfare Officer comes to the fore. There is a recognition of this need, but as employers continually battle to decrease or remove completely the entitlement of reasonable paid time to do union work, there are vacancies for officer posts. I felt that it was important to step forward for this role. During the course of this my first year as Welfare Officer I have found that there is considerable support and training provided. The East Midlands has an active Welfare Officers group which gives access to both training and documentation required for the role and of equal importance, the support and experience provided by the other Welfare Officers throughout the East Midlands. I have been active within the group and have taken full advantage of the training offered in order to ensure that the information and support available to our members in Lincolnshire is correct
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and up to date. UNISON is unique amongst trade unions in so much as we have the availability of our very own charity set up specifically to assist members and paid for by our own union members. ‘There for You’ provides financial and emotional support to members and as Welfare Officer it is the need to inform members of this support and aid them in accessing it that forms the main part of the role. This has been the focus of my first year in the role and following the training and the links built with the regional Welfare committee, the aims of the coming year will be to communicate effectively the services of ‘There for You’, as the uptake of members within Lincolnshire is relatively low in comparison with other areas in our region. Due to the large geographical nature of our county and the wide distribution of members, this will be achieved through liaison with the Communications Officer and use of modern communication systems now available to the branch. I would also encourage members to invite myself as Welfare Officer to speak to members groups within workplaces throughout the county.
RETIRED MEMBER’S SECRETARY – Mick Barnshaw Having recently been re-elected to the Retired Members Regional Committee I am pleased to say that our document “Dignity and Security in Retirement” has now been published. The document looks at how the elderly and vulnerable are treated and gives some useful advice on “what to do” to attempt to ensure a better future. For us all! The government, despite its drive to balance the economy, mainly at the expense of the working class and the unfortunate souls who have to claim benefits has made much of its decision not to reduce “working tax credits”. However on the horizon looms “Universal Credits.” This comes under the mantra that there is a “strong case” for a more integrated system with a commitment that “no one” will be worse off as a direct result of these reforms! The government must be the only group who believe this. When the small print is ”deciphered” it would appear that it will have a negative impact on many people (members included). We need to show our dissatisfaction every way that we can, including through our Union at all levels. There are also some major issues around our underfunded welfare system! We are already witnessing “Bed Blocking” in hospitals which puts an extra burden on already overworked staff. When asked why this is happening the answer is that welfare and homecare support facilities have had their budgets dramatically reduced and cannot provide the essential and I might add the basic care for the vulnerable? Is this a “catch 22” or a cut too far by a government that is failing the vulnerable in our society? It all comes back to a very simple request. “Dignity and Security in Retirement.” This is, with some prudent changes to funding priorities a reasonable and affordable target for the government. At this point can I emphasise that our best way of having any influence regarding our future welfare is through our Union. We need to let them know how we feel and what we want! I am aware that it is a slow process but there has to be a starting point!
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Once again can I ask any member who would like to air their thoughts/views to contact me through the branch office (tele 01522 554910 or email [email protected]). I am happy to meet groups or individuals to listen and pass on their views to Region and hopefully onwards to National. LIFELONG LEARNING CO-ORDINATORS – Helen Button and Vince Williams Lincolnshire County Council provided time off and cover for a Learning Planning meeting in April for Learner’s week in May. Arranged Learning event 20-22 May with LCC/UNISON. Approx. 30-50 attendees a day. Linked colleagues with exhibitors / trainers. As a result of learning week, have put deaf/hard of hearing colleague in touch with BSL trainer to enable her to learn BSL. Which started January 2016. British Sign Language and Deaf Awareness Class Free Lunch and Learn Event - International Day against Homophobia,
Transphobia and Biphobia Early Presentation of Cancer (EPOC) Lincoln College- Lincolnshire Advice Network- Lincoln Credit Union UNISON - Lincs2Work Personal Travel Plans – Healthy Eating Advice Workshops – LCC and UNISON Promoted LCC Wellbeing event 8 June Approx. 30 attendees. Promoted ULR 1 course in April, May and June 2 applied to Nottingham for ULR 1 course in Lincoln. Attended Branch meetings in May, September, November. Promoted LGBT patient survey via email. Various donations of books to library. Arranged for TUC (Michelle Keaton) to send us Mary Alys books). 1 for library and 1 for branch office 9/4 emailed all Orchard House colleagues to advise them library has moved location and wrote about in our Business Support BIZNEWS and updated "George" intranet;
Vince arranged ULR meeting with Grantham ULR and City Council ULR. Arranged for TUC (Paul Clarkson) to send us more new quick read books: Distributed to ULRs and holders of book boxes. Worked with library colleague sourced trolley for Lincoln campus. (Still need someone to take a picture to promote it.) Worked with branch office to collate book boxes for new ULRs. Met Noel Tobin to send book box to St Giles. Put Sara Cook and Shelley French in touch with Mick Bell to arrange collection of book boxes delivered to Boston for ULRs. Encouraged colleagues in Orchard House to bring in unwanted books, borrow more and use Library. Arranged book box to be delivered to Lincolnshire Police ULR to Horncastle staff. Arranging another for Skegness staff.
Promoted all info on courses, grants, vouchers and learning info from UNISON / TUC / LCC emailed on to ULRs/colleagues ULR 1 course in July Aug and Sept, 3 new applicants. Held ULR meetings in September, October, November (to coincide with
ULR 1 training course / promote World Hello Day at Drill Hall) and ULC meeting in December. Supported Louth office to celebrate World Hello Day.
3 known participants for TUC on line course "Cancer in the workplace" in November/December.
Asked ULRs to confirm contact details so we have up to date records, but few replied. Vince saw Karl McCartney to lobby against the TU bill on 6th November where he said he’d look at supporting one of the amendments, but he didn’t! Helen had feedback from a colleague who had been on an assertiveness training course and said how it had helped in a number of scenarios at work already. Details of training courses have been forwarded on to ULRs to promote and to our own mailing lists as ULRs. Vince is still trying to find a space and bookshelf in Thomas Parker House to display library.
Linda Page, Grantham School ULR, ran an i-pad- Inspiring Learning session, courtesy of Union Learn on 24-11-2015. 8 people attended and found it useful. She completed ULR 1 course and attended the Mental Health Awareness course in Leicester on 4-12-2015. She runs a book exchange at school for staff and read in class alongside the children to model the attitude to reading that they want the children to adopt as well as at home. ADULT CARE CONVENOR – Gavyn Graham Looking back on the year just gone we have seen no end to the continuing crisis in Social Care and no positive solutions coming from AC Senior Management. The commissioning model enthusiastically pursued by Lincolnshire County Council is proving to be wholly inadequate to meet the needs of a growing aging population. AC have become totally reliant on private care companies to provide nursing, residential and community services. Last summer saw the re-tendering of Home Care contracts in a desperate attempt to solve a crisis in care created by LCC themselves by promoting and encouraging the growth of private Home Care providers in Lincolnshire. The new prime provider model of awarding 90% of contracts to 12 providers caused chaos as many of these providers were unable to fulfil the terms of their contracts and take on existing packages in what turned out to be a shambolic transition period. Many Social Work teams have had to place Older People in Residential/Nursing deficit beds for months on end at an increased cost to Council because of this reliance on private providers. None of this comes as a shock to many UNISON members who know that the lack of availability in the private sector is the result of low wages, bad terms and conditions, poor training, low morale, and high turnover of staff. All of this results in care calls being cut short as too few staff struggle to manage all the calls allocated to them. This is not a “natural” occurrence but is the result of the systematic dismantling of a relatively well paid, highly motivated, skilled and dedicated in house service and the awarding of public sector
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contracts to private care companies whose primary aim is to make profits. These lessons have not been learned by AC Senior Management as UNISON’s suggestion that LCC should consider an In-House service was dismissed out of hand. Learning Disability Day Centres have continued to be reduced in number in the County as they are merged together in one locality. This is a favoured tactic of LCC to close down services which it sees as “too costly” regardless of the immense benefits Service Users receive from these specialist services which are not readily replaced in the wider community. Last year LCC were forced to retain Day Services In-House following the embarrassing you-turn by LD management when the proposed transfer to LPFT collapsed at the eleventh hour. LPFT stated the buildings weren’t fit for purpose and now LCC have invested small amounts of funds in “refurbishment” projects. UNISON welcomes investment in the Day Centres but our members are acutely aware of LCC’s intentions to “offload” these services and so the fear must be that it’s just a matter of time before Day Centres are put out to tender again. At the time of writing Glen Garrod, Director of AC, has announced a series of roadshows in March to lay out LCC’s vision of AC into the future. Integration with Health will be at the centre of those plans as the Government seeks to deal with pressures in the NHS by moving health services away from hospitals and into the community. In Lincolnshire this process is being managed by LHAC (Lincolnshire Health and Care) which so far in its 2 year existence has only managed to create Neighbourhood Teams which have created MDT type meetings at lower management levels. LHAC will become a greater part of Care Management’s future as the Tory Government’s Austerity agenda moves to the NHS in the coming years. We don’t know the detail of integration yet but with pressure to provide “more for less” surely privatisation, further attacks on terms and conditions and 7 day working are all possibilities. Given these uncertainties one thing is certain is that we will need to respond to these attacks. For UNISON this means we must increase our membership to strengthen our voice, strengthen our organisation on the ground and increase our active Reps on the ground who can take UNISON’s message of opposition to the madness of cuts into every workplace. The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader and the ongoing Junior Doctors Strikes has shown very publicly what we have been saying since 2010 that the “austerity consensus” never existed and an alternative is possible. This alternative places workers striking back at its centre and rightly blames Bankers and the Free Market and not “greedy” workers, benefit claimants or war torn refugees for an economic crisis which the Government and their rich backers plan to continue to make us pay for. Finally I'd like to thank the whole of the UNISON office team for their continued support and help. In Solidarity
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WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL CONVENOR – Karen Lond
UNISON has continued to have a presence at West Lindsey’s Joint Staff Consultative Committee (JSCC) and has attended all committees and briefings in the last 12 months on behalf of our members: I was re-elected as Vice Chairman on JSCC for civic year 2015/16. This year has been particularly geared to the review of policies including shared parental leave, driving, difficult customer policy and the staff survey. UNISON has contributed to the reviews and made several comments and amendments which have been noted. UNISON did not support the Drivers Policy as it still permitted use of mobile phone hands free devices whilst driving which is contrary to safety advice from ROSPA (the Drivers Policy is for grey fleet only). Policies coming up for review in 2016 include the Travel Policy. Currently West Lindsey have only 2 representatives and as ever we’d welcome more members to play an active role. Carol Bond has now resigned due to changes in her role so I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Carol for all her hard work and support she has provided to UNISON members at West Lindsey over many years. Additional support has been provided to us for representing members by branch. Going forward we will be setting up a weekly hour long drop in session for members at the Guildhall, 1.15pm to 2.15pm on Monday lunchtimes starting on 8th February 2016. Posters are displayed on noticeboards across WLDC advertising these sessions and detailing the room. Following the restructure of the central management team, the new strategic leads are now in place at West Lindsey District Council. I have continued to input to working groups at West Lindsey on various policies on behalf of UNISON. Thanks to branch for their administrative support and to the secretary for her support and advice.
SOUTH HOLLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL CONVENOR – John Irving In the last year we have made good progress in improving UNISON organisation at South Holland District Council. I have been joined as an office rep by my colleague Shelley French. Shelley has also applied to do a UNISON Learning rep course. Our colleague Neale Campbell is the rep at the West Marsh Road depot. We hold weekly surgeries for members at the council offices in Spalding with the support of Neil Murray (Branch Support Officer). I have represented a number of members with a variety of issues over the year with Neil’s help as appropriate.
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We have met with the Authority in JCC meetings and have met UNISON colleagues from Breckland Council to discuss responses to management on issues which affect members at both councils. I meet new starters at Induction and explain the benefits of UNISON membership. In the next year we hope to continue improving the organisation of the union locally including improving our presence on the SHDC intranet. NORTH KESTEVEN DISTRICT COUNCIL LEAD CONVENOR - Rhiannon Davies 2015/16 has been a year of change for North Kesteven following our restructure into the Lincolnshire County branch early in the year. With an ever decreasing number of members willing to be active in assisting to run the branch, as well as the demands for representation and senior negotiation on the activists, it was no longer viable for us to run as an independent branch any longer. However, the restructure has had a positive impact by freeing up our time to deal with the real issues affecting our members. We have historically enjoyed a good relationship with our employer and this has continued this year despite the changes in the structure of the branch. We continue to meet regularly with both the HR and Corporate Management teams to represent the interests of members at a senior level. This year we welcomed new stewards Lisa Jackson and Duncan Spencer who join Yvonne Bridgewater, who has a wealth of experience. Thank you all for your continued support over the past year. Special thanks must also be given to Claire Taylor, our former Treasurer, who had to spend more time than was necessary over the past year resolving the transfer of our accounts over to our new branch. Early on in the year we consulted on proposed changes to the Essential Car User payments; a positive outcome was achieved for our members, with those who require a car to fulfil their role retaining higher rate payments (regardless of engine size), while those deemed to require a car but not to carry out day to day tasks (for example for attendance at meetings at locations not suited to public transport and to ensure time efficiency) are to receive middle rate payments (again, regardless of engine size). These changes will be implemented on 1st April 2016. We continue to be heavily involved in the Job Evaluation process following the implementation of a computerised scoring system (Gauge) and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Michael Gadd and Alan Gray for their continued assistance with this ongoing task. Looking to the future we will continue to work with management to agree a way forward to ensure that the Job Evaluation scheme is consistently applied throughout the Authority. NKDC continues to be an accredited Living Wage employer and UNISON continue to be part of discussions on the implications of the Living Wage on pay scales, and future management of this. Following the Authority’s accommodation review (leading to both Jobcentre Plus and some LCC teams moving into the Kesteven Street Offices) there has been a focus
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on Agile Working to maximise use of the space remaining for NKDC staff. UNISON have been involved in the development of the guidance around Agile Working, as well as dealing with individual issues for members as and when they have occurred. Looking forward, NKDC are currently drafting a new Lifelong Learning Agreement in conjunction with both recognised unions and we hope for this to be implemented as soon as possible. Several other policies are due to either be reviewed or drafted and we expect a number of consultations to take place regarding any amendments to these over the next year. Finally, we look forward to working with the Branch Support Officers to improve recruitment. BOSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL CONVENOR – Paul Chester Throughout the past 12 month period the staff who are the back bone of the Borough Council have been very demoralised, with the constant fear of staffing cuts being implemented due to cost cutting while the managerial posts appear to be increasing. Staff facing work related issues have consulted me on varying occasions but when asked if they would like me to take a more formal route and act on their behalf, the member or members as the case maybe have withdrawn due to the fear of reprisal from management. I attended a disciplinary hearing which resulted in the member who was a refuse lorry driver who failed to adhere to the prescribed route, crossing an unmanned level crossing (and by her own admission carrying out the practice on more than one occasion) this instance resulting in a near miss from a train and subsequently being dismissed from the Borough Council. A building control officer fined by the police and verbally disciplined for using a mobile phone whilst driving since he has retired from the Borough Council Throughout the past year weekly workshops have been held in the union room at the Borough Councils offices offering Unison members the opportunity to come forward to discuss any work place issues with a view to being resolved. The forth coming year I along with Neil Murry (my mentor) are looking towards recruitment drive encouraging new members not only from inside the Borough Council but from other companies. Neil and I are carrying on with the weekly walk in workshops, I/we are looking at trying to negotiate with the Borough Council to return to the Green Book in the near future so that the staff benefit alongside their fellow government workers. I will also be working on building a solid relationship with the HR department so any arising matters maybe resolved without members facing formal action if possible.
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BLACK MEMBER’S OFFICER – Paul McFarlane
As the branch Black Members Officer I have once again focussed upon being available to members when support is required and it has been a privilege to meet a number of members throughout this year and to assist them in their individual issues. Beyond this I have also taken a leading role within the regional Black Members Group. As such the main focus of the group this year has been to get out to the major events within the region for the black community and promote the union and the Black Members Group within UNISON. This resulted in our attendance of the Leicester Mela and the Nottingham Carnival, both of which I supported myself and the reports from each of these events are attached. Further to this I attended the Black Members Conference in Llandudno which featured speakers as diverse as Chuka Umunna MP, Dave Prentis and perhaps most impressively representatives from JENGbA (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association) including both a mother whose son was imprisoned under this law and a man who himself served many years in prison due to the law. The Supreme Court has recently ruled on this subject and it is a law that impacts especially upon the Black Community. The East Midlands Regional Group attended the social event and also held their own social event to support those attending from our region and this also helped to build links within the region. The conference was a big success and numbers attending continue to increase year on year, it would be great to see more attending from Lincolnshire and I would encourage anyone considering this to contact me for more details. The Black Members Group like all of the Self Organised Groups in Lincolnshire has found that holding meetings is not an effective way of communicating with members due to the wide dispersal of members throughout the county making a suitable meeting place hard to identify and the limitations placed upon members by employers when it comes to allowing members time off to attend. This combined with the shift work which many members are engaged in means that email and use of the branch webpage and Facebook page are essential. I will continue to use these mediums to communicate news regionally and nationally to members and would welcome any communication from members or any expressions of interest in attending regional or national events with me.
LEICESTER MELA 2015
THE UNISON EAST MIDLANDS REGIONAL BLACK MEMBERS NETWORK REPORT
The first event of its kind in the UK, the Leicester Belgrave Mela is one the most popular and established free community events in the UK. Back in 1982, when the local authority and Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre set about bringing together local community groups to help organise a one off festival called the ‘Belgrave Carnival’, it would not have been envisaged that it would grow to become what it is today, the premier event of its type in the UK, attracting at its peak over 120,000 people over the course of the two day event.
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There are now many similar Mela events taking place in other cities within the UK, following the form of the traditional Indian Mela, but Leicester which since 2005 has taken place in the city centre has become something of a bench mark. As a South Asian and Indian cultural festival which attracts mainstream media coverage the Mela has opened up to become a festival for more than the East Midlands Asian community, but all of the different ethnic groups citywide and regionally. A glittering mix of live music, dance, fashion and food, it was identified as a premier location for volunteers from the UNISON East Midlands Regional Black Members Network to have a stall located in order to raise the profile of UNISON and of the many unique services offered to members, such as the self-organised groups like the Black Members Network. The stall was placed within the lively Indian Bazaar held within Leicester City Market and volunteers from the Network along with their families were responsible for setting up the stall, with Black Members Network volunteers interacting with members of the local community. UNISON East Midlands Regional Black Members Network was welcomed by the community on the day which we attended and throughout the day the two volunteers present were busily engaged in discussions about the many advantages UNISON membership offers. It was an opportunity to recruit new members who were unaware of the varied roles unions have today, such as education and it became clear that attendance of such events gives an opportunity to counter the negative impression of unions often portrayed in the national media. As well as those new to unions, a number of people discussed the issues they had with their current union and expressed an interest in switching to UNISON. Perhaps of more importance was the interaction at the event with existing UNISON members who were not aware of all the services that their union offered to them, or who had issues which they wished to raise regarding UNISON and the profile and support given within their own place of work. This illustrated the fact that the experience of being a part of UNISON within the East Midlands region is very varied, with some pockets where the union needs to do more to support its members and encourage activists to step forward to ensure information and services are provided to members. The event was seen to have achieved the stated goals of the Black Members Regional Network as it allowed us to engage actively with the Black community, with UNISON members (a number of whom expressed verbally their support for us in bringing the union out to the community), and to recruit, a key issue for UNISON. Attendance allowed us a chance to engage with other community based groups, promote UNISON and highlight the ability of the Self Organised Groups to showcase the union and its benefits. The event was organised and executed entirely by volunteers from UNISON East Midlands Black Members Network, however I would like to thank the Leicester City Branch and the Branch Secretary Gary Garner in particular, for their support and assistance in making this event a success.
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BRANCH SUPPORT OFFICER – Mick Bell Another challenging and rewarding year! With the continuing transfer of Local Government Schools to Academies, my workload has increased accordingly and I am now unofficially titled 'Dan Dan the Academy Man!' I am extremely concerned with the upward trend in ill health management cases and the resultant distress and worry this causes affected members. It is also worrying that Teaching Assistants and Support Staff are constantly reporting that they are working above and beyond their contracted hours and I feel that their goodwill and commitment to work is being abused on a regular basis Safeguarding and Social Media issues continue to rise and the lack of consistent and adequate training of staff continues to concern me and I raise these issues with Headteachers and Managers whenever the opportunity arises! A considerable amount of my time is spent dealing with members queries/concerns by email and/or telephone but I am also engaged in personal meetings with members, representing them at disciplinaries, ill health meetings, grievances and individual issues. I am steadily building up a network of Academy Workplace Representatives and support and nurture them. In an ideal world, I would visit them all on a regular basis to:-
a) make them feel part of Team UNISON b) use the opportunity to meet existing members and recruit new members
To finish on a positive note, I have been humbled and 'chuffed' with the increasing number of personal thanks from members, we must be doing something right! BRANCH SUPPORT OFFICER – Neil Murray During the last year I have represented a number of branch members on a range of issues. Two members who have been unfairly dismissed were due to have their cases heard later this year at Employment Tribunals. The first, which was due to be heard in April, has been settled to the members’ satisfaction. The other is due to be heard in May. Another member has recently been offered a compromise agreement which I believe is a good settlement in the circumstances. The main part of my job for the branch is to represent members who do not have a workplace rep or where the reps are unable to take on the case. I work in the south of Lincolnshire and in Gainsborough but also in other locations as required by the branch.
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SOUTH HOLLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL I mentor our reps at SHDC and attend some meetings with SHDC HR to support our colleagues. I attend some of the weekly surgeries and, where necessary, represent members’ interests. BOSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL I mentor our reps at Boston BC and attend some of the weekly surgeries. I represent members when requested and meet with HR. WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL I have started to represent members at WLDC and have begun weekly surgeries from Monday 8th February. OTHER AUTHORITIES/COMPANIES I have also represented UNISON members in the community sector and in further education with a variety of issues. BRANCH SUPPORT OFFICER – James Hogan This year has been a very difficult year with the shortage of workplace reps to directly support members in their workplaces. Again this year, social media and other internet sites like Snap Chat and Vine, have resulted in members facing disciplinary action, especially if employers are placed in the social media spotlight. As the Branch Secretary says, think once to speak, twice to write and three times before commenting on social media sites! Our Communities and Voluntary Sector (Private) has had a busy year with an increasing number of members on zero hour contracts. UNISON successfully supported our members in the south of the county who were at risk of losing their sponsorship to work in the UK. I have been dealing with an average of 12 member issues each and every week, most requiring representation in the workplace across our very large County. In the past year I have represented members on a wide range of issues including gross misconduct, ill health and absence management to larger company consultations and redundancies. In many instances I’ve managed to directly resolve issues with employers on behalf of members. With the Trade Union Bill will bring new challenges and the very definite possibility of attacks on our member’s hard won terms and conditions, we have a difficult year ahead. I am very grateful for the team work and support from my UNISON colleagues during the past year.
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LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY UNISON PROPOSED HONORARIA 2015 - 2016
Branch Secretary £1,680 Branch Treasurer £1,680 Assistant Branch Treasurer £350 Assistant Branch Secretary £350 Branch Chair £350 Vice Chair £350 Health and Safety Officer £350 Welfare Officer £350 Retired Members Secretary £350 Education Co-ordinator £350 Labour Link Officer £350 Environment Officer £350 International Officer £350 Membership Officer £350
Equality & Diversity Officer £350 Communications Officer £350 Young Members Officer £350 Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator £350 Children’s Services Convenor £350
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Adult Care Convenor £350 Serco Convenor £350 District Council Convenors £350 (max. £1,400)
Boston Borough Council
North Kesteven District Council
South Holland District Council
West Lindsey District Council
Women's Officer £350 LGBT Officer £350 Disability Officer £350 Black Members Officer £350 ______ Total £12,810
Please note: as the CPI annual inflation in December 2015 was 0.2% there has been no increase, this inflation was approved by the Honoraria Working Group. The National rules of the Executive Council that apply to honoraria payments and for the year ended 31st December 2015 are that any activist holding more than one post can only receive an honorarium for one post, this will usually be the post with the highest payment.
Payment of the honoraria is subject to the receipt of the officers’ annual branch report and may be pro-rated to the length of time the post is held.
