Pulse THE. Nottinghamshire Healthcare Branch. The Trade Union Bill The Living Wage Tax Credits Cuts Special Leave - Urgent Update

Transcription

1 THE Pulse Nottinghamshire Healthcare Branch The Trade Union Bill The Living Wage Tax Credits Cuts Special Leave - Urgent Update Staff will be well aware that there was a proposal from the Trust to make a significant reduction in the amount of special leave available to each employee. Under the previous policy you were entitled to six days for this sort of leave, which covers family/carers leave, bereavement absence and other such important and unplanned need for absence. The original plan was to reduce this down to two days. We believed that this went too far. So your UNISON reps, led by Trust Staff Side Chair Andrea Dickens and Forensic Side Staff Lead Alan Walton, lobbied hard and negotiated a management rethink. This led to the formation of a Policy Working Group between management and the Trade Unions. Through this Received nearly 500 responses, with a narrow majority in favour!1

2 Working Group the employer offered a new proposal of four days special leave that would be reduced to two days in two years time, something UNISON disagreed with. Instead a position was reached where you would keep four days special leave with the policy to be reviewed at some point in the future. Crucially there will be an expectation that managers will be flexible about this, so if circumstances require you to have more then this would be possible on a case by case basis. Andrea picks up the story whilst we were resistant to any change, we felt that getting an offer that was double the original proposal was pretty good progress. Nevertheless, it s what members think that counts so we surveyed our members and received nearly 500 responses, with a narrow majority of those in favour. So we felt at this point in a position to ratify the proposal and to Core Group, where management meet with Trade Unions, that we move forward. Alan concluded that This Policy has now been ratified by Core Group and will go forward. We re keen to make sure that it s applied properly so please let us know how it goes. Allot Of Fun Staff at Notts Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust deliver excellent care and it s important to the Union that this care is given in the best possible environment ensuring the service users get the most from their service. Your UNISON Branch was pleased to see the development of allotments at Highbury Hospital as we know that keeping an allotment can be therapeutic as well as providing good quality, healthy produce. Andrea, our Chair said, we wanted to show our support for this initiative so we donated the shed as we know they ll need somewhere to keep their kit. We wish them all the best. There will be an official opening in Spring Finger On The Pulse Noticed the new design? Keeping in touch with the 2,500 UNISON members in Notts Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is very important to us. We want to do so in a way that is relevant and interesting to you so we ve relaunched our bulletin as The Pulse. We ll keep tweaking as we go but please let us know what you think. This is produced by members for our members. If you re not a member you re still very welcome to read it hopefully it ll give you a taster of why joining UNISON would be important for you.!2

3 ESSENTIAL COVER IFYOU WORK IN PUBLIC PUBLIC SERVICES SERVICE This ll be our calling card across as many workplaces as possible so if you re willing to join our network of distributer let us know. This involves little work. We post a few copies of The Pulse to you four times a year and ask you to put it in the shared areas at work Incomes Under Attack You may well be aware that the Tory Government planned to break their preelection promise and make a massive cut to tax credits for hard-working people. For example by 2020 a medical secretary with two children earning 22,236 per annum would be 9,423 worse off as a result of these changes even after the planned increase in tax allowances. UNISON played a prominent role in the campaign against this. We believe it is unjust for people to go to work, contribute to society, and then live in poverty. Details of our campaign can be found here Alongside the campaign UNISON gave evidence to the Government on how these changes would damage the lives of low to middle income earners and how it would damage the economy. This proposal was aimed at reducing the welfare bill but actually would likely have done the reverse, the Union believes that better paid, secure jobs are the best way to reduce this welfare bill. And we re happy to say that justice has prevailed! In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor, George Osborne, has been forced to back down and this ill-advised cut will now not take place. This is great news for working people on low and middle incomes. It also shows the importance of having a strong collective voice in public services. But the campaign doesn t stop there. We will be keeping an eye on the forthcoming Universal Credit to make sure it doesn t introduce this cut by the back door. We will also continue our campaign for the proper Living Wage, not Osborne s knockoff version. Details can be found at Equality4Mental Health There s a growing understanding of the!3

4 need for parity of esteem between physical health and mental health. As a society we re increasingly more confident to talk about our own mental ill health or that of our loved ones. Similarly, there is a growing recognition that mental health issues are just as valid as physical ones. However, this soon falls down when it comes to funding. Government cuts are already leading to diminished health and social care budgets but they are also entrenching the historical imbalance between the money spent to meet physical needs and the money spent meeting mental health needs. As decision-makers cut budgets they find it even harder to address this imbalance. A new campaign has been launched to encourage the Government to address this imbalance. Called Equality4MentalHealth it addresses a wide range of issues such as funding, child mental health, prisoners and issues affecting different cultures and ethnicities. Its supported across all political parties as well as by clinicians, business leaders, authors, actors, sportspeople, journalists and many more. You can add your name to this by visiting Drop The Trade Union Bill UNISON is campaigning with the TUC and other unions to oppose the Trade Union Bill that is currently before Parliament. The Government is attempting to pass a bill which is unfair, unnecessary and undemocratic and a clear attack on the rights of working people and their unions. The Trade Union Bill will subject trade union to unprecedented levels of civil and criminal penalties, and regulations. It will restrict the time Trade Unions activists can spend on representing their members, damage undermine the right to strike, tie trade unions up in red tape and expect them to be subject to scrutiny and investigation beyond that expected of any similar organisation The proposals will lead to a serious imbalance of power in the workplace by severely restricting working peoples ability to organise, legally, to defend their rights and the services they provide. The Trade Union Bill could be law by February UNISON is campaigning against this Bill because we believe MPs should be focusing on the real problems our country faces and working with everyone, including trade unions, to solve them, rather than taking away people s right to be supported at work. Nationally UNISON have submitted!4

5 evidence to Parliament on why the Bill will damage good employee relations. We are urging UNISON members to write to or to e mail their MP s now to protest against this Bill. To find out more about our campaign and how you can get involved at unison.org.uk/tradeunionbill The Living Wage As a Trade Union we think that going to work and contributing to society ought to pay properly and allow all of us to lead decent, full lives free of exploitation. However we know that in Britain 6 million people are receiving less than the 8.25 per hour Living Wage meaning that they go to work, work hard but still live in poverty. UNISON think this is wrong and has joined with other groups to get behind the Living Wage Foundation s campaign for the minimum wage, currently set at 6.20 per hour, to be raised to the Living Wage. Recently the Government announced their own Living Wage from April 2016 which is set at just 7.20 per hour. The real Living Wage figure is set at the level people need to earn to live free of poverty, based on the cost of living, the Government s version is based on what they think business can afford to pay. Unison think that the Government should make tackling low pay a priority. If you want to know more please visit One Team - Patient Care We believe that what ever your role in patient care whether you re a nurse, administrator, home care worker etc you play a vital role. UNISON is campaigning to get this message out more widely. Increasingly we see an artificial divide between supposed front-line and back-office and that one should be cut to help the other. We don t believe that the front-line can operate properly without the functions that sit behind them. UNISON will continue to campaign for staff in health and social care and always stand up for staff in NHS support services. Call us on Join online at joinunison.org of a union in uncerta join UNISON today joinunison.org Or fill in this form!5

6 One of the ways UNISON works on your behalf is through political campaigning. Your subscription includes a political fund payment so you won t pay any extra, but in UNISON you choose how you want that money to be used. Please tick the appropriate box for your earnings before deductions. Annual pay Please tick one box only. Our Affiliated Political Fund takes UNISON members views directly into the Labour Party, working to promote UNISON policies. The General Political Fund is used to pay for branch, regional and national campaigns but is independent of any political party. Your subscription Up to 2, ,001 5, ,001 8, ,001 11, ,001 14, ,001 17, ,001 20, ,001 25, ,001 30, ,001 35, over 35, OR pay by direct debit: please complete the direct debit form below I wish to join UNISON and authorise deduction of subscriptions by direct debit EITHER deduct from salary: I wish to join UNISON and authorise deduction of subscriptions from my pay by my employer. Signature Date Please go to unison.org.uk/privacy-policy to see how we will protect and use your personal information Please fill in the form and send to UNISON, 130 Euston Road London NW1 2AY Service User Number Name and full postal address of your bank or building society To: The Manager Bank/building society Reference number (for office use only do not complete) Address Please pay UNISON Direct Debits from the account detailed in this Instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this Instruction may remain with UNISON and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my bank/building society. Postcode Name(s) of Account holder(s) Signature(s) Bank/building society account number Date Branch sort code Banks and building societies may not accept Direct Debit instructions for some types of account Join UNISON essential cover if you work in public services Simply complete the form below and post it to the freepost address on the back page First name Title Date of birth / / Surname/family name Home address Postcode National insurance number (from your payslip) Phone number (please indicate if home, work or mobile) Please give your ethnic origin: (tick one box) White UK Irish White other Black UK Black other Black African Black Caribbean Pakistani Asian UK Asian other Bangladeshi Chinese Indian Employer s name Your job title/occupation Workplace name and address Postcode!6 Payroll number (from your payslip)

7 Broomhill House and Heather Close - Final Update Readers will remember the Trust s proposal to close Broomhill and Heather Close Rehabilitation Units as they seek to meet more patients needs in the community. In October this proposal was agreed by the Trust s Board and the closure has gone ahead. UNISON opposed this change and campaigned against it. Since the decision we have worked with the affected staff to help them find suitable alternatives. This is a service open to all UNISON members during such changes. The Cost Improvement Programme may well throw up further challenges said Secretary David Brown we will stand with members to protect their jobs and to make sure further changes don t compromise the quality of the service we provide. Sickness Policy Members will also be well aware of the Sickness Policy that has been rumbling along for some time. This was imposed by the Trust with little input from elsewhere. Unsurprisingly it s proven impractical and unhelpful. it better. Through Policy Working Groups with management we ve developed new management guidance and we re rolling out training to managers so there s a consistent, positive approach and it s applied supportively rather than punitively. This has now been ratified at Core Group and training for managers is being rolled out on a monthly basis. If you require support or guidance please get in touch with the office. Be Part Of It Over 2,500 of your colleagues are already members of UNISON. This means that they are part of the biggest Union in the Healthcare Trust and get: A strong collective voice with management. This means that when changes come, your voice is heard. Personal representation from an experience rep during restructures, policy changes, grievances and disciplinaries. Financial assistance and debt advice in times of need FREE legal representation from the UK s Andrea says we ve never been a fan of this policy, which we believe to be to the detriment of both the organisation and our members. However, we believe that dragging our heels would not improve the situation so instead we ve sought to make!7

8 leading Trade Union law firm if your case needs to go to Tribunal. Lots of other benefits like free will writing, cheaper car insurance and other discounts What s On Dave s Desk? As Branch Secretary, David Brown leads for the Branch on a wide range of issues that seriously affect our members. Having David s experience and expertise in these matters is one of the reasons we think it s important to join UNISON. Here s just a little bit of what he s currently working on: CIPs trying to shield members from cuts CAMHS working to make sure the restructure works fairly for all Smokefree ensuring members views are heard erostering making sure the benefits are fully realised Working Age Dementia Service helping to ensure that people can access this vital service Apprenticeships fighting to make sure any apprenticeships are proper ones and not at the expense of current jobs Staff Partnership Forums putting your views to management These things might not directly affect you but with so much change going on in public services it s only a matter of time until something comes up that you ll want to have your say in or to seek representation and guidance on. Use the form on Page 6 to make sure you don t miss out. Return completed application forms to: Freepost RSKU-RRCA-HHSJ UNISON UNISON Centre 130 Euston Road London Call us on Contact the Branch: Join online at joinunison.org UNISON - Nottinghamshire Healthcare Branch Duncan MacMillan House Porchester Road Nottinghamshire NG3 6AA Tel ext unison@nottshc.nhs.uk!8