All North Somerset UNISON members need to attend one of the following meetings to find out more about the threat to our pensions and the cuts to our jobs and services:
28th September at 4.30 pm at Partnership House
4th October at 12.30 pm in the Old Council Chamber at the Town Hall
18th October at 12.30 pm in the Old Council Chamber at the Town Hall
18th October at 5.15 pm at Weston College, Knightstone Campus, room 168
19th October at 12.30 pm at St Barnabas Centre, Portishead
19th October at 5.15 pm at Weston College, University Campus, room S108
20th October at 12.30 pm in Waverley Room, Ground Floor, Academy, Weston General Hospital
25th October at 12.30 pm at Badger House, First Floor, Meeting room 2
26th October at 12.30 pm at Youth House, Nailsea
27th October at 11.30 am at Castlewood, rooms G08, 09 & 10
27th October at 12.30 pm at Castlewood, rooms G09 & G10
2nd November at 12.30 pm at Castlewood, rooms G09 & G10
8th November at 12.30 pm in the New Council Chamber at the Town Hall
10th November at 12.30 pm at St Barnabas Centre, Portishead
16th November at 12.30 pm at Badger House, First Floor, Meeting room 2
23rd November at 12.30 pm at Youth House, Nailsea
24th November at 4.30 pm at Partnership House
Updates and more details on the branch website www.northsomersetunison.co.uk
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Impact of Council Cuts
The following letter appeared in today's Weston Mercury:
I am writing on behalf of North Somerset UNISON, which represents workers at North Somerset Council. Last week the council put it’s budget proposals for the next 3 financial years out to consultation. I would urge every single resident of North Somerset to respond to that consultation by phoning, writing or arranging to see their councillor and then telling them what the impact will be on them. The council plan to make £50 million of cuts or a third of their budget for services, with £17.5 million of cuts already beginning to be made in the current financial year. It is just not possible to take this much money out of services without it having a serious impact, and make no mistake the impact will be severe, because the council plan to make massive cuts to services for the elderly, disabled, children and young people. In a study commissioned by Scope – a leading disability charity – North Somerset were ranked 145 out of 152 councils in the U.K in terms of the severity of cuts to services for disabled people. The council may also want to bear in mind that earlier this year a number of disabled service users took Birmingham City Council to the High Court over their cuts and won their case. North Somerset UNISON have advised the council on a number of occasions that that they may be at risk of legal action because of some of their cuts proposals.
North Somerset Council tell us that they have no choice but to make these cuts, because central government has reduced their funding. But the ruling party in North Somerset is also the ruling party at Westminster, and the council have also made some poor decisions in the past. For instance we have consistently opposed the council’s privatisation agenda, particularly the £10 million per year 10 year contract for Support Services which they signed just a couple of months before the Tory led government announced their austerity measures. This and other contracts has effectively put large parts of their budget outside the control of councillors and as a result other services are now facing larger cuts. We have also consistently opposed their decision to buy the Castlewood offices in Clevedon at a cost of £14 million, and to refurbish the town hall at a cost of almost £10 million – this money would have been better used for services, and certainly council workers would rather keep services and jobs than have a flashy new office. It seems that a number of Weston Mercury readers agree with me - it was interesting to read the recent letters in the Mercury, which have outlined concerns about the council spending large amounts of money buying the Castlewood offices and refurbishing the Town Hall. It does seem peculiar that the council is prioritising buildings over services at such a time, and no matter how many times the council claim the new buildings will make savings in the long term it really is now that they need the money to provide services to our most vulnerable citizens.
But the council make it very clear that they intend to provide less services directly. Instead they will simply not provide some services at all, they will privatise services or they will ask local communities to run services themselves. For instance, it looks likely that many of our rural libraries will close unless members of the community are prepared to volunteer to run them. The council leader often claims that Congresbury library is run by volunteers – but this is not entirely true – there is a paid member of staff working at Congresbury library who supervises the volunteers, and we would argue that without that paid member of staff there would be no library service in Congresbury. The so-called “Big Society” is one of a number of elements of the Tory led government’s vision for the UK which is taking us back in time to Victorian Britain where ordinary people had to rely on the philanthropy of the wealthy, and church and charitable organisations for their services.
As a trade union we are of course concerned that over the 4 years of cuts the council will lose 280 full-time jobs – and because the majority of council employees are women, and many work part-time, this probably means that between 400 and 500 people will lose their jobs. This cut in jobs equates to 25% of the council’s non-schools workforce. In addition the council are planning to cut the wages of some of its lowest paid staff, including home care workers, the majority of whom again are women. This is on top of the 3 year pay freeze that has been imposed on all council staff. The council is North Somerset’s largest employer and the loss of jobs is already having knock on effects for the local economy. All you have to do is walk down Weston High Street to see the shops closing, and also the type of shops that are taking their place.
Public sector trade union members, including UNISON members, throughout North Somerset will soon be balloted on whether or not to take industrial action on 30th November over the pensions dispute. I would like to make it clear to your readers that despite the government and media reports, public sector pension schemes are affordable and sustainable. It is simply the case that the government want to take money out of our pension schemes to pay off the deficit – it is effectively a tax on public sector workers on top of the council, income and other taxes we already pay. The government have not been negotiating in good faith with the trade unions and as a result our last resort may have to be industrial action. But I also want to make it clear that during industrial action, trade unions make agreements with employers over emergency cover. We are not heartless – we are public sector workers because we care about the people we serve and we will not leave them in danger. Our campaign is not just about our own pensions – it’s about decent pensions for everyone, whether you work in the public or private sector, and it’s also about protecting jobs and services. On 30th November we hope that millions of public sector workers taking industrial action will send a clear signal to the government that ordinary working people will no longer pay the price of cuts to jobs, services and pensions – a price which should instead be paid by those that caused the financial crisis.
I am writing on behalf of North Somerset UNISON, which represents workers at North Somerset Council. Last week the council put it’s budget proposals for the next 3 financial years out to consultation. I would urge every single resident of North Somerset to respond to that consultation by phoning, writing or arranging to see their councillor and then telling them what the impact will be on them. The council plan to make £50 million of cuts or a third of their budget for services, with £17.5 million of cuts already beginning to be made in the current financial year. It is just not possible to take this much money out of services without it having a serious impact, and make no mistake the impact will be severe, because the council plan to make massive cuts to services for the elderly, disabled, children and young people. In a study commissioned by Scope – a leading disability charity – North Somerset were ranked 145 out of 152 councils in the U.K in terms of the severity of cuts to services for disabled people. The council may also want to bear in mind that earlier this year a number of disabled service users took Birmingham City Council to the High Court over their cuts and won their case. North Somerset UNISON have advised the council on a number of occasions that that they may be at risk of legal action because of some of their cuts proposals.
North Somerset Council tell us that they have no choice but to make these cuts, because central government has reduced their funding. But the ruling party in North Somerset is also the ruling party at Westminster, and the council have also made some poor decisions in the past. For instance we have consistently opposed the council’s privatisation agenda, particularly the £10 million per year 10 year contract for Support Services which they signed just a couple of months before the Tory led government announced their austerity measures. This and other contracts has effectively put large parts of their budget outside the control of councillors and as a result other services are now facing larger cuts. We have also consistently opposed their decision to buy the Castlewood offices in Clevedon at a cost of £14 million, and to refurbish the town hall at a cost of almost £10 million – this money would have been better used for services, and certainly council workers would rather keep services and jobs than have a flashy new office. It seems that a number of Weston Mercury readers agree with me - it was interesting to read the recent letters in the Mercury, which have outlined concerns about the council spending large amounts of money buying the Castlewood offices and refurbishing the Town Hall. It does seem peculiar that the council is prioritising buildings over services at such a time, and no matter how many times the council claim the new buildings will make savings in the long term it really is now that they need the money to provide services to our most vulnerable citizens.
But the council make it very clear that they intend to provide less services directly. Instead they will simply not provide some services at all, they will privatise services or they will ask local communities to run services themselves. For instance, it looks likely that many of our rural libraries will close unless members of the community are prepared to volunteer to run them. The council leader often claims that Congresbury library is run by volunteers – but this is not entirely true – there is a paid member of staff working at Congresbury library who supervises the volunteers, and we would argue that without that paid member of staff there would be no library service in Congresbury. The so-called “Big Society” is one of a number of elements of the Tory led government’s vision for the UK which is taking us back in time to Victorian Britain where ordinary people had to rely on the philanthropy of the wealthy, and church and charitable organisations for their services.
As a trade union we are of course concerned that over the 4 years of cuts the council will lose 280 full-time jobs – and because the majority of council employees are women, and many work part-time, this probably means that between 400 and 500 people will lose their jobs. This cut in jobs equates to 25% of the council’s non-schools workforce. In addition the council are planning to cut the wages of some of its lowest paid staff, including home care workers, the majority of whom again are women. This is on top of the 3 year pay freeze that has been imposed on all council staff. The council is North Somerset’s largest employer and the loss of jobs is already having knock on effects for the local economy. All you have to do is walk down Weston High Street to see the shops closing, and also the type of shops that are taking their place.
Public sector trade union members, including UNISON members, throughout North Somerset will soon be balloted on whether or not to take industrial action on 30th November over the pensions dispute. I would like to make it clear to your readers that despite the government and media reports, public sector pension schemes are affordable and sustainable. It is simply the case that the government want to take money out of our pension schemes to pay off the deficit – it is effectively a tax on public sector workers on top of the council, income and other taxes we already pay. The government have not been negotiating in good faith with the trade unions and as a result our last resort may have to be industrial action. But I also want to make it clear that during industrial action, trade unions make agreements with employers over emergency cover. We are not heartless – we are public sector workers because we care about the people we serve and we will not leave them in danger. Our campaign is not just about our own pensions – it’s about decent pensions for everyone, whether you work in the public or private sector, and it’s also about protecting jobs and services. On 30th November we hope that millions of public sector workers taking industrial action will send a clear signal to the government that ordinary working people will no longer pay the price of cuts to jobs, services and pensions – a price which should instead be paid by those that caused the financial crisis.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Vote Yes for Industrial Action to Protect Your Pension
VOTE YES FOR INDUSTRIAL ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PENSION
The government are proposing changes to public sector pensions. They mean you will:
PAY MORE, WORK LONGER & GET LESS!
You will PAY MORE because for those earning £15,000 per year or more they want to increase the employee contribution by 50% so you will have to pay at least another 3%of your salary.
You will WORK LONGER because the government want to bring your retirement age into line with the state retirement age, which is increasing from 65 to 68.
You will GET LESS because the government have already changed the way they calculate yearly pension increases – they are now using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than Retail Price Index (RPI) – the CPI doesn’t take into account housing costs, council tax, TV licence and car tax – and because it’s always lower than the RPI this means your yearly pension increases will be lower – amounting to over a 10% reduction in the total value of your pension.
The government’s proposals amount to a MASSIVE PAY CUT, on top of our already frozen pay, and will hit six million workers.
The cost of losing a day’s pay by taking industrial action pales into insignificance compared to the amount you will lose if these changes are introduced.
More information at: www.unison.org.uk/pensions/protectour.asp
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Coping with the Cuts to Disabled Services
Check out this new research by Demos - Coping with the Cuts. The study was commissioned by Scope - a leading disability charity and looks at how severe cuts to disabled services are throughout the UK. North Somerset Council comes out 7th from bottom.
http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/copingwiththecuts
http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/copingwiththecuts
Weston Anti-Cuts Alliance meeting update
About 60 people attended a meeting of the Weston Anti-Cuts Alliance at the Blakehay Theatre on 14th September. Those attending the meeting included a number of North Somerset councillors and Tony Munden, who runs the Community café in Clarence Park, which has recently been burnt down. Mr Munden is angry at the council for stopping local people who volunteered to help him clean up. One of the councillors present agreed to take Mr Munden’s concerns back to the council.
The attendees heard a variety of speakers talking about the impact of the cuts in North Somerset. The speakers included:
Donald Davies, Independent councillor for Pill, and Julie Boston from the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, which campaigns for the reinstatement of the passenger rail service on the Portishead line - both talked about cuts to rural transport.
Michael Derbyshire from the PCS union spoke about the privatisation of the collection of criminal fines and other aspects of law enforcement.
Andy Prior from the NUT talked about the privatisation of schools through the academies programme.
John McLorinan and Helen Thornton from North Somerset UNISON spoke about the £50 million cuts being made by North Somerset Council and the massive impact on services for the elderly, disabled, children, young people and libraries.
Glenn Burrows from the National Pensioners Convention talked about the impact of cuts on pensioners, telling the audience that the current state pension is well below the poverty line.
The Weston Anti-Cuts Allliance will be lobbying North Somerset Council meetings in the run up to the budget being set in February next year, and they will also be planning events on Weston High Street and other areas of North Somerset. A spokesperson for the Alliance said: “The people of Britain, including those living in North Somerset, have not yet woken up to the dangers posed by the Tory led government’s plans for Britain, which amount to a complete dismantling of the welfare state, which was created to provide support and protection to our most vulnerable citizens and look after every one of us from cradle to grave. Already, many of our schools have been privatised and bills have gone or will be going through parliament to privatise our NHS and other public services. The government’s so-called “Big Society” vision for Britain is a return to the Victorian age, where ordinary people will again have to rely on the philanthropy of the wealthy, and church and charitable organisations for their services. Quite simply if government plans are not stopped then by 2015 there will be no safety net if you or a member of your family becomes sick or disabled, or loses their job. Your children’s education will suffer. If they want to go to university they will face huge debts, and there will be no decent jobs for them anyway. When you and your family get older you will find yourselves being forced to work longer than you’re physically able, when you do get to collect your pension you will be living well below the poverty line, and there will be no one to care for you in your old age.”
“We believe that the cuts are unfair because they hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest and unnecessary because there is an alternative to cutting the deficit and that is taxing the banks and other financial institutions that caused the economic crisis. Many of the members of the Weston Anti-Cuts Alliance are also public sector trade union members. If the result of the ballot for industrial action over the government’s plans to make changes to our pension scheme is a Yes, then there will be millions of public sector workers on strike on 30th November. This dispute is about the changes to public sector pensions, but our campaign is actually about decent pensions for everyone whether they work in the public or private sector. In fact our campaign is even wider than that – it’s about protecting jobs and public services, and in doing so protecting our welfare state, which in turns protects the most vulnerable people in Britain. If the people of North Somerset and Britain do not stand up to defend public services then the outlook for every single one of us is bleak. We have to act now before it’s too late.”
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Meetings for members affected by Council Cuts
ARE YOU A UNISON MEMBER AFFECTED BY:
ASS&H WORKFORCE REMODELLING
CYPS INTEGRATED SERVICES RESTRUCTURE
OR ANY OF THE OTHER CUTS PROPOSED BY NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL
COME AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN FIGHTING THE CUTS TO YOUR JOBS AND SERVICES
21st September at 4.30 pm at Badger House First floor meeting Rm 2
28th September at 4.30 pm at Partnership House
18th October at 12.30 pm in the Old Council Chamber at the Town Hall
19th October at 12.30 pm at St Barnabas Centre, Portishead
26th October at 12.30 pm at Youth House, Nailsea
27th October at 12.30 pm at Castlewood rooms G09 & G10
2nd November at 12.30 pm at Castlewood rooms G09 & G10
8th November at 12.30 pm in the New Council Chamber at the Town Hall
10th November at 12.30 pm at St Barnabas Centre, Portishead
16th November at 12.30 pm at Badger House, First Floor Meeting Rm 2
23rd November at 12.30 pm at Youth House, Nailsea
24th November at 4.30 pm at Partnership House
ASS&H WORKFORCE REMODELLING
CYPS INTEGRATED SERVICES RESTRUCTURE
OR ANY OF THE OTHER CUTS PROPOSED BY NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL
COME AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN FIGHTING THE CUTS TO YOUR JOBS AND SERVICES
21st September at 4.30 pm at Badger House First floor meeting Rm 2
28th September at 4.30 pm at Partnership House
18th October at 12.30 pm in the Old Council Chamber at the Town Hall
19th October at 12.30 pm at St Barnabas Centre, Portishead
26th October at 12.30 pm at Youth House, Nailsea
27th October at 12.30 pm at Castlewood rooms G09 & G10
2nd November at 12.30 pm at Castlewood rooms G09 & G10
8th November at 12.30 pm in the New Council Chamber at the Town Hall
10th November at 12.30 pm at St Barnabas Centre, Portishead
16th November at 12.30 pm at Badger House, First Floor Meeting Rm 2
23rd November at 12.30 pm at Youth House, Nailsea
24th November at 4.30 pm at Partnership House
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Weston Anti-Cuts Alliance Public Meeting - 14th September
The Weston Anti-Cuts Alliance is holding a public meeting at the Blakehay Theatre in Weston super Mare at 7 pm on 14th September. The Anti-Cuts Alliance was formed just over a year ago to fight the cuts to public services in Weston and North Somerset.
We are asking the people of North Somerset to come to the meeting to talk about how the public spending cuts are affecting their families and their communities. There will also be a variety of speakers who will talk about the impact of the cuts locally on children’s services, youth services, schools, libraries, police and emergency services, the NHS, housing, transport, and the effects on pensioners. We want anyone who is interested in finding out more about the impact of the cuts to public services, or who would like to get involved in our campaign to fight to attend the meeting.
North Somerset Council have already approved £17.5 million of cuts for the current financial year. These include massive cuts to services to older people, people with physical and learning disabilities, children and young people, people with mental health issues, people fleeing domestic abuse, refugees, and homeless people. Many of our Cultural and leisure services have been transferred to private companies – this includes the Winter Gardens, Playhouse, Tourist Information Centre, Churchill and Wyvern Sports Centres. The museum has been transferred to the Town Council. There have been cuts to Regulatory services such as Environmental Health and Protection, Trading Standards, Food Safety, and Commercial Health & Safety – impacting on the health, safety and rights of the people of North Somerset. The first round of cuts to libraries is just about to get underway – staff numbers will be reduced and staff replaced by self-service machines.
In the last week the council has announced how it plans to make another £30 million of cuts, amounting to almost £50 million of cuts over 4 years, or one third of their budget for services. We are particularly concerned by further massive cuts to Adult Social Services, which provides services to the elderly and disabled, and cuts to Children’s and Young People’s Services, including pretty much the complete decimation of the youth service. The council are also proposing a reduction in the numbers of already over-worked social workers. In addition it looks highly likely that most of North Somerset’s rural libraries will be closed. North Somerset Council tell us that they have no choice but to make these cuts, because central government has reduced their funding. But it is our view that instead of cutting vital public services, the leading group at North Somerset Council should be telling their colleagues in central government about the impact of the cuts on the people of North Somerset and persuade them to change their mind.
The cuts are really starting to bite in North Somerset with unemployment rising, and even those in work are finding their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. The police are reporting an increase in crime involving people stealing food, and a Food Bank is about to open in Weston. There have been riots and looting in other parts of the region. Ordinary people are seeing their wages, benefits and services being cut, while chief executives’ pay packets now stand at 75 times that of their workers, and their pension pay outs amount in some cases to £1 million per year. It is looking increasingly likely that millions of public sector workers will take industrial action in the autumn over cuts to services, jobs and pensions.
We believe that the cuts to public services imposed by the Tory led government are unfair because they hit the poorest the hardest, and unnecessary because there are other ways to cut the deficit. The Coalition government’s savage spending cuts have already slowed down the economic recovery, and increased unemployment. We believe that the cuts are not an economic necessity, but are politically motivated by a government, which wants to see a scaling back of the welfare state. We believe that there is an alternative to the cuts, and that rather than slash funding for public services, the Coalition government could reduce the deficit by bringing in legislation to close tax loop holes and tax havens. There is potentially £100 billion per year out there in uncollected taxes, and a Robin Hood tax, which is a tax on financial transactions could bring in £20 billion a year. Quite simply we believe that the government ought to tax the banks and other financial institutions that caused the recession, instead of cutting public spending, which hits the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest.
We are asking the people of North Somerset to come to the meeting to talk about how the public spending cuts are affecting their families and their communities. There will also be a variety of speakers who will talk about the impact of the cuts locally on children’s services, youth services, schools, libraries, police and emergency services, the NHS, housing, transport, and the effects on pensioners. We want anyone who is interested in finding out more about the impact of the cuts to public services, or who would like to get involved in our campaign to fight to attend the meeting.
North Somerset Council have already approved £17.5 million of cuts for the current financial year. These include massive cuts to services to older people, people with physical and learning disabilities, children and young people, people with mental health issues, people fleeing domestic abuse, refugees, and homeless people. Many of our Cultural and leisure services have been transferred to private companies – this includes the Winter Gardens, Playhouse, Tourist Information Centre, Churchill and Wyvern Sports Centres. The museum has been transferred to the Town Council. There have been cuts to Regulatory services such as Environmental Health and Protection, Trading Standards, Food Safety, and Commercial Health & Safety – impacting on the health, safety and rights of the people of North Somerset. The first round of cuts to libraries is just about to get underway – staff numbers will be reduced and staff replaced by self-service machines.
In the last week the council has announced how it plans to make another £30 million of cuts, amounting to almost £50 million of cuts over 4 years, or one third of their budget for services. We are particularly concerned by further massive cuts to Adult Social Services, which provides services to the elderly and disabled, and cuts to Children’s and Young People’s Services, including pretty much the complete decimation of the youth service. The council are also proposing a reduction in the numbers of already over-worked social workers. In addition it looks highly likely that most of North Somerset’s rural libraries will be closed. North Somerset Council tell us that they have no choice but to make these cuts, because central government has reduced their funding. But it is our view that instead of cutting vital public services, the leading group at North Somerset Council should be telling their colleagues in central government about the impact of the cuts on the people of North Somerset and persuade them to change their mind.
The cuts are really starting to bite in North Somerset with unemployment rising, and even those in work are finding their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. The police are reporting an increase in crime involving people stealing food, and a Food Bank is about to open in Weston. There have been riots and looting in other parts of the region. Ordinary people are seeing their wages, benefits and services being cut, while chief executives’ pay packets now stand at 75 times that of their workers, and their pension pay outs amount in some cases to £1 million per year. It is looking increasingly likely that millions of public sector workers will take industrial action in the autumn over cuts to services, jobs and pensions.
We believe that the cuts to public services imposed by the Tory led government are unfair because they hit the poorest the hardest, and unnecessary because there are other ways to cut the deficit. The Coalition government’s savage spending cuts have already slowed down the economic recovery, and increased unemployment. We believe that the cuts are not an economic necessity, but are politically motivated by a government, which wants to see a scaling back of the welfare state. We believe that there is an alternative to the cuts, and that rather than slash funding for public services, the Coalition government could reduce the deficit by bringing in legislation to close tax loop holes and tax havens. There is potentially £100 billion per year out there in uncollected taxes, and a Robin Hood tax, which is a tax on financial transactions could bring in £20 billion a year. Quite simply we believe that the government ought to tax the banks and other financial institutions that caused the recession, instead of cutting public spending, which hits the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest.
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