Aberdeen UNISON calls on city council to do the right thing and keep services in house

UNISON Scotland news release

Date: 14 March 2012

Aberdeen City UNISON has called on councillors to keep vital public services in house and abandon flawed privatisation plans. The city’s powerful Finance and Resources committee meets tomorrow (Thursday 15 March) to decide on a report which recommends abandoning the Alternative Delivery Model – in other words outsourcing to privateers – and keeping the services in house instead.

UNISON Branch Secretary Karen Davidson told councillors:

“The ADM project is at a critical stage – you must now decide whether to plough on with it or back staff and management proposals to make efficiencies in-house.

“If services are retained in-house there will be no management time wasted on managing relationships and contracts with multi-national companies. There will instead be continued direct, democratic control of services. And you will be able to keep savings achieved for re-investment in public services, rather than providing private sector profits for multi-national companies that are not based in Aberdeen.

“UNISON is urging you to do the sensible thing and back the in-house option. Please now dump ADM, and show trust and confidence in us – your Council staff.”

ENDS

For further information please contact: 

Karen Davidson, Branch Secretary - 07917426931
Sarah Duncan, Regional Organiser - 07904 342 285
Malcolm Burns, Communications Officer - 0141 342 2877 / 07538 640 396

http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk

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Calling all Young Members

If you are under 27 then you can get involved with the Young Members committee and the next meeting is scheduled to take place on 12.30pm on Saturday 4 February and any young member who wishes to attend then please contact Karen Davidson the Branch Secretary or Graham Smith Chair of the Young Members Committee on gw.smith@unison.co.uk and he will pass on your details to the branch so we can offer assistance.

We also want to promote the Young Members AGM & Training Weekend which is scheduled for the weekend of 9-11 March 2012. This weekend is a great opportunity for any new young members to find out more about the trade union movement, about UNISON and to meet other like-minded young members.

If any young member who is interested then please contact Karen via unison@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Peter Smyth
Communications Officer

A Big Thank You

Can we thank everyone who joined us on November the 30th, the fight for decent pensions for all our members goes on and later on this week we will have a series of pictures from the day up and linked to the site.

We were proud of all our members who withdrew their labour on the day and thanks to you we were able to be part of the largest industrial action in the country in decades.

Peter Smyth
Communications Officer

A message from Dave Prentis

A message from Dave Prentis,
UNISON general secretary
250,000 vote Yes to protect their pensions

UNISON members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action to protect their pensions in the biggest ballot we have ever held.

Almost 250,000 public service workers including nurses, teaching assistants, social workers, care assistants, paramedics, police staff, school dinner ladies, probation workers and cleaners posted back ballot papers that said Yes to protecting their pensions.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the work you've done in getting that Yes vote.

A total of 245,747 voted Yes, comprising 171,428, or 76% in the local government pension scheme 73,930, or 82% in the NHS pension scheme and 389 or 87% in the principal civil service pension scheme.

Each service group executive - local government, health, police and justice, community, higher education and water, environment and transport - has unanimously agreed to go ahead with strike action on 30 November co-ordinated with other TUC unions.

That has been authorised by the union's industrial action committee.

Despite statements in Parliament, we have not yet received an offer on pensions, but we are willing to negotiate any time, any place.
Thanks again for the work you have done to protect public service pensions. Now let's keep up the pressure and work to make 30 November a resounding success.

Keep up to date with the campaign by visiting our website at unison.org.uk/pensions/protectour.asp.


Dave Prentis
UNISON general secretary

Posted by Peter Smyth communications officer.

Urgent Spam / phishing email

It has come to our attention that a number of members have received an email purporting to be from UNISON, asking them to register and download a form to update their membership details online.

The links within this email take users to a "phishing" site, which is a fraudulent copy of UNISON's 'update your details' pages and data entered here may be captured.

Please be aware that members should not access these links.

We are urgently investigating this incident and would like to assure our members that we make every effort to ensure that all online systems are secure.

Please also rest assured that this attempt to undermine members' confidence in UNISON's security network has not interfered with or affected our very stringent balloting processes and will in no way undermine the work we do to support our members during this very important time.

A warning message is being posted on the 'join online' and 'update your details' pages of the UNISON website, and a further security message will be added to these pages. This will remind members to only access their membership details by directly logging on to https://my.unison.org.uk and not via a link in any emails they may receive.



Dave Prentis
UNISON general secretary

Posted by Peter Smyth communications officer

Pensions Meetings

PENSION MEETING - Wednesday 19th October 5pm Committee Room 4
Your pension is under threat - VOTE YES

Your pension is under attack. Not because your pension scheme is
unaffordable or even because people are living longer - it's to pay for
the deficit caused by an irresponsible banking system.

That's why we're asking you to vote for strike action to protect your
pension.

You will be getting a ballot paper this week. Please come along to our
meeting on Wednesday 19th October at 5pm Committee room 4 in the Townhouse to hear why it is so important that you vote for strike action to protect your pension.

The UK government has already cut the value of your pension when you
retire by around 15% by changing the way inflation is measured from RPI
to CPI.

Following a strong campaign by UNISON members, the Scottish Government
has said it will not impose the UK Government's plan to increase
contributions by an average of 50% - and we welcome that. However, they
have not given us clear assurances that other changes, initiated by the
UK Government, will not happen in the Local Government Pension Scheme in
Scotland.

You are already suffering a pay freeze, redundancies, cuts in pay and
conditions and cuts in the services you deliver. This attack on your
pension is the final straw. We need to take a stand across the UK to
say enough is enough.

So, please come along to hear why you should Vote YES to protect your
pension.

A second Meeting has been organised for Wednesday 26th at Woodhill House Westburn Road between 4-6 (please note the different date from the letter sent out)

Peter Smyth
Communications Officer

Local Government Pension Scheme Ballot.

UNISON is asking its members to vote YES in the ballot for industrial
action to protect public sector pensions.

Scottish Ministers have said they will not impose the UK Ministers
plan to increase contributions. However,  they have given no assurances on
other changes including making you work longer and changing the way
your pension is calculated so you will get a smaller pension on retirement.
UK Ministers have already cut the value of your pension when you
retire and are also planning to impose further changes on Scotland through UK legislation.

Public service pay has been frozen while inflation soars. There have
been widespread redundancies, cuts to pay and conditions and closures
of the vital services our communities rely on.

This unprecedented attack on pensions is the final straw.

UNISON is balloting for strike action initially to start on 30
November.

We are also working with other trade unions and community groups to
organise local and national protests in support of public sector
pensions.

We need a big YES vote and a high turnout to send a clear and united
message to ministers that "enough is enough" and to help persuade them
to withdraw their current unfair and unjustified attacks on pensions.

The ballot opens on 11 October and closes on 3 November.

Please spread the word so that your colleagues in UNISON vote YES in
the ballot. There are posters and leaflets to put up and hand out, and
plenty of information on our websites. There will be a ballot hotline
open from 17-31 October on 0845 355 0845.
Please vote YES to protect your pension.