THE ENFIELD BRANCH OF UNISON ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2015 3 Aggregate Membership Meetings will be held as follows:- Wednesday 11th March 2015 Civic Centre, Conference Room - Time: 12 noon to 2:00pm (Light refreshments will be available) Thursday 12 th March 2015 Enfield Homes, Edmonton Centre, Board Room Time: 12.00 noon to 2:00pm Wednesday 18 th March 2015 Civic Centre Restaurant- Time: 17.00 to 19:00 (Light refreshments will be available) 1. Election of Tellers AGENDA 2. Treasurer s report to receive the annual audited accounts for the year ending 31/12/14 3. To approve the Treasurer s Honorarium of 650 for the year 2014 4. Branch Secretary s Report 5. Election of Branch Officers for 2015 2016 6. Election of Representatives to the Pension Board 7. Election of delegates to Regional and National Bodies 8. Report of activities from the Self Organised Groups 9. Motions and any other local issues for discussion
AGM 2015 Report to Annual General Meeting 2015 Membership Membership has increased again over the last year with our current working membership standing at 3007 which represents an increase of just under 6%. The Enfield Branch has been acknowledged by Regional Office as having some of the best recruitment figures in London for schools staff. Recruitment and Retention Although our membership figures are improving we can always do more on recruitment. During 2014 we have initiated a recruitment project whereby UNISON organises a recruitment meeting in every school. This project has been resourced by the Regional Office and the Branch Office under the management of our Branch Support Officer. Retired Members Section We have a large active retired members section. It has a fully functioning committee which organised social events throughout the year including a Christmas dinner and an annual spring buffet attended by the Mayor. Apart from a grant toward the costs of the Spring Buffet, printing and postage, the section is entirely self-financing. Currently it membership stands at 597. Self-Organisation We now have two self organised group in the Branch, the Black Members Group which formed in 2012 and a Women s Group which had its first meeting in January this year. Organisation The Branch currently has 88 stewards/representatives/contacts including those in schools. Where possible stewards and representatives are encouraged to meet on a regular basis in their work place groupings. Health & Safety There are 14 active Trade Union Health & Safety Reps. who sit on safety committees with the Council and our other large employers. Our Safety Reps. also undertake Trade Union Health & Safety Inspections either jointly or independently of the employer. Employers Although primarily a Local Authority Branch we currently organise across 126 separate employers. Of our total membership there are now 593 who work for employers other than the London Borough of Enfield.
Branch Committee The Branch Committee meets every 6 weeks at the Civic Centre. All stewards and activists are members of the committee and are invited to attend. Casework Representation of individual members on employment related matters is our core activity. In the last 12 months we have represented 154 members at disciplinary, grievance and other management meetings. We estimate that over the same period we have given advice to members of over 1500 occasions. Our UNISON solicitors continue to represent members in a variety of legal matters. In addition our National Welfare Fund continues to make grants to members facing financial hardship. Branch Office and Staffing We have one Branch Office located within the Civic Centre. The Branch employs one parttime admin support officer, a part-time clerical assistant and a two part-time case workers. This year saw the retirement of Audrey Haffenden in December who had worked in the UNISON office for the last 42 years. We wish her happy retirement. Pay and Conditions This last year saw UNISON and the other Local Govt. trade unions take industrial action in pursuit of decent pay award. The result was a national pay agreement of 2.2% over the next 18 th months. Many of our members working for private sector firms received no rise at all unless they are being paid the minimum wage. Reorganisations and Restructurings within the Council As those members working for the London Borough of Enfield will know the Council is in the middle of making unprecedented levels of cuts in services and jobs. The savings target for 2015/16 is over 30 million. The Council has responded to these imposed cuts in its budget by fundamentally reorganising itself and the services it delivers. This reorganisation has been branded as Enfield 2017. As members will know many staff are being centralised into hubs which of course make it easier to select staff for redundancy. The shape of the council will change significantly by the end of 2017. UNISON and the other trade unions have insisted that we are fully consulted on all reorganisations and cuts. UNISON meets every fortnight with the Head of H.R. and the Assistant Director of Transformation to discuss and be informed of all the changes. This has given us the opportunity to challenge the plans and change the way things are implemented. Although the trade unions cannot stop the cuts as they are driven by government we can make sure that the way the cuts are implemented is as fair as possible and that where savings are being made all other options are explored before staff are made redundant. On the 1 st April the Council will be welcoming back staff from Enfield Homes. UNISON has been working with both the LBE and Enfield Homes to ensure that the TUPE transfer back is
done fairly. UNISON has worked hard to ensure that Enfield Homes staff have been reintegrated as one unit with all proposed changes being subject to formal consultation in the future. The London Living Wage The London Borough of Enfield is a Living Wage Employer and as such pays no less than 9.15p. We have been working with the council to include the payment of the London Living Wage in its external contracts. Home Care Last year the Branch joined the national Time to Travel Campaign which aims to highlight the fact that many Home Care agencies do not pay their staff for the time they need to travel between visits to clients. Legislation is clear that this time should be paid and the consequence of not paying travel time may mean that the hourly rate falls below the National Minimum wage level of 6.31. We are in contact with the Home Care agencies and are trying to persuade them to pay their staff the London Living Wage Pensions Local Government pensions have been a major issue for trade unions over the last few years as the government tried to reduce costs by reducing the benefits of public sector pensions. After a long and hard fought campaign, agreement was reached on a new Local Government Pension Scheme which comes into force in April 2014. As of April 2015 all Local Government Pension Funds will be governed differently and it is a requirement that the new local Pension Fund Board must have an equal number of scheme members as employer members. In Enfield s case we have negotiated that there will be 4 members on each side. This Pensions Board has the responsibility for assisting the Pensions Authority (Enfield Council) is discharging it responsibilities and running the pension scheme. This is a major change and is the first time scheme members have any votes on how the pension scheme is run. UNISON members are being asked to nominate 4 representatives to sit on the Board which should begin to meet in July 2015. ------------------------
Nominations for Officers, and Delegates to National and Local bodies Officer Position / Body Chairperson Vice Chairperson Branch Secretary Asst. Branch Secretary Treasurer Asst. Treasurer Auditor (1) Auditor (2) Communications Officer Welfare Officer Education Officer Sports and Social Officer Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator (1) Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator (2) Equality Co-ordinator Disabled Members Equality Co-ordinator Women Members Equality Co-ordinator LGBT Members Black Members Group Officer Health & Safety Officer (1) Health & Safety Officer (1) International Officer Young Members Officer Pensions Board (1) Pensions Board (2) Pensions Board (3) Pensions Board (4) Labour Link Officer Retired Members Officer Regional Council Delegates Regional Local Govt. Committee Name Monica Powell Yvonne Shelemy Paul Bishop Tracey Adnan Chris McClean Dave Bulger Dave Carter Kathleen Holder Miriam Mallick Kathleen Holder Jennifer Singh Shirley Wauchope Naci Natji Dee Johns Sheila Lahey via UNISON Office Roland Thomas Chris McClean Pauline Hooper Naci Natji Ella Goschalk Paul Bishop Pauline Kettless Martin Keenan Robert Ayling Chris McClean Barbara Bowery Tracey Adnan Monica Powell Roland Thomas Tracey Adnan Monica Powell Samantha Hartley Jennifer Singh
What s in the 2014 Branch accounts? This is my last year as Branch Treasurer having held the post for about 14 years this time. I will after March 2015 become a retired Unison member. I have said to Chris & Paul if they or the branch would like me to help with next years audit I am happy to assist. I am also grateful to Chris McClean for his assistance in auditing the 2014 accounts with his usual cheerfulness. Thank you Chris. Our income from HQ this year looks down compared to 2013 but 2014 income is about our average and 2013 was distorted by a large arrears payment from HQ as well as the DWP payment. Our membership numbers also matter in terms of HQ subs. In 2013 our membership had dropped slightly but in 2014 we have added 166 members to the branch. Whilst the accounts show a small surplus 621.61, because we are not allowed to accrue for honoraria now, this understates the actual expenditure which was a small overspend 28.39. We expect to be writing back a cheque without replacement for 39.25. So after that adjustment has been processed we will have made a 10.86 surplus. It has always been the branch aim to operate within our income and we have continued to do so in 2014. You will also remember we made a substantial surplus in 2013. In keeping with Unison conference directives the branch along with all Unison branches has produced a set of budgets for 2015 and a process for spending against those budgets. Whilst we have operated in a similar way in the past this is now more formalised. I am pleased to say we have never had any problems operating within our income. Similarly the branch is in it s second year of using the Unison (OLBA) Online Branch Accounting system. The accounts prepared for you to see give more information than the OLBA system which greatly summarises the transactions. The OLBA system also uses a netting off of some costs to income so in my opinion doesn t easily show what we have spent. The accounts you have therefore provide more information in a more readable format, well for a set of accounts. If you would like to see the OLBA version please ask me at the end of the meeting and you will see what I mean. We have made no large investment in branch assets this year and the 700.02 increase was for the purchase of racking for a sea container we rent for storage having had to vacate the store room we used at the old Carterhatch depot now a building site. This of course comes at an annual rental cost of 1,296pa which is cheaper than similar storage locally. The OLBA returns were completed and submitted audited on 5th March 2015 online and the signed copy certificates posted 1st class the same day. So we did comply with the appropriate rules and well within time. David Bulger Branch Treasurer 5th March 2015