‐ PUBLIC SERVICE PENSIONS
GOVERNMENT’S ‘FALSE TIMETABLES’ AND ‘FINAL OFFERS’
LEAD TO GROWING FRUSTRATIONS AND ANGER
Firstly
, congratulations on the fantastic show of determination, confidence and increasing
anger by hundreds of thousands of public sector workers
‐ supported by a growing alliance
of our youth, pensioners and anti cuts groups
‐ in cities and towns across our nations on 30
November.
It was a day for our trade union movement to stand united and proud and we
did!
Secondly
, you will have read over the past few days of ‘deals’ being reached between
government and the joint unions over the future the schemes affecting millions of public
sector workers.
This is simply not true. Despite the rhetoric from government ministers, no
‘deals’ have been concluded in any of the schemes.
The position of your union,
Unite, is very clear. We have approached discussions in each of
the three schemes in which we have members; Civil Service, Health and Local Authorities,
in a professional and committed way in order to explore every option in an attempt to
convince government that its attack on public service workers is unjust and unacceptable.
In return, government has imposed changes, failed to negotiate in good faith, refused to
provide necessary information and forced deadlines and timetables into very complex and
difficult negotiations that are simply unacceptable.
In each scheme various solutions have been sought to address our concerns, this update
gives a brief summary of Unites position in respect of each scheme.
1.
Civil Service. Despite our best efforts and those of the joint unions we have not signed
up to the final ‘Heads of Agreement’ document put forward by government. This is a
position shared by the PCS union and follows extensive discussions with our leading lay
members within the sector who believe that the ‘offer’ is simply not good enough.
2.
Health. While we remain concerned about the lack of progress in key areas contained
in the final ‘Heads of Agreement’ document and have not had the opportunity to
consult fully with our senior lay leadership in the sector we
have not signed up and
have been clear that we will not be bounced into accepting anything by false deadlines
imposed by government.
We will be consulting fully with our national lay committee in the new
‐year on the
proposals in Health and our members will rightly decide our future course.
3.
Local Government. Only in Local Government ‐ where we are negotiating with the
employers directly and not government
‐ has any genuine progress on the real issues
between us been possible and a ‘Principles Document’ was agreed with the employers,
following full consultation with our leading lay membership, between Unite, Unison
and the GMB and the Local Government employers group.
This framework allows for further negotiations over the next year on a range of issues
that are of central importance to our membership. This agreement however,
has now
been suspended
following the issuing yesterday of a letter from the Communities
Secretary; Eric Pickles, detailing an imposed ‘cost ceiling’ for the employers and other
issues of serious concern.
We are now seeking an urgent meeting with Ministers and will not be lifting our
suspension before a reconvened meeting of our lay national committee has had an
opportunity to discuss and evaluate this development in the new year, we will be
guided as always by our members.
As you can see from the above, negotiations is all three schemes has been extremely
frustrating and with government refusing to lift its impositions on RPI/CPI, contributions
increases and an increased state retirement age, very difficult at best.
Whatever the outcome of actual detailed negotiations, if and when these finally start in the
new
‐year, it will be you, our members that will decide whether any deal is indeed
acceptable.
We are a proud lay democracy and your leadership is extremely proud of you.
Whatever develops on the many fronts we face as a labour movement as we enter 2012,
we wish you the best of wishes for the season and look forward to continuing our struggles
in the new
‐year.
In solidarity
Len McCluskey
General Secretary
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About rtuc
RYDE TRADES UNION COUNCIL:
THE TRADE UNIONS ARE HERE TO GIVE THE ISLE OF WIGHT WORKERS A VOICE!
The Ryde Trades Union Council opened its new office with the words, “We are here and here to stay!” The re-affirming of Ryde TUC last year shows the perspective of the Union on the Island. We do have a view and along with island people will add to the standpoint of ordinary folk making decisions about the future of the Island.
The NHS.
We are proud of our hospital, St Mary’s, and we will make every endeavour to safeguard it like the apple of our eye. Everyone, young and old, from whatever background needs St Mary’s sometime.
Along with hospitals up and down the country, the island NHS is faced with a shortage of cash. Ryde Trades Union Council insists that the decision making should not be the men in suits, the politicians from the mainstream political parties etc, but the people and that is why we say, “Not one part of the NHS to be cut, Not one job to be lost and Not one penny off the budget!” This is about our right to a fully funded NHS and we should demand it.
The government has gone on and on about how much money has gone into the NHS but we all know that Private Capital is draining money out again. A recent research pointed to the amount that Private Finance Initiatives (PFI’s) are sucking out of the system. It has emerged that the NHS will have to pay private sector contractors an incredible £53bn for hospitals worth only £8bn. Under new figures it has become clear that the taxpayer will have to cough up an extra £45bn for up to 30 years to pay for NHS hospitals built at a fraction of the cost. Private sector firms involved in the PFI projects will benefit from a massive 540% return on the initial agreement. This is at a time when the NHS is confronting a £500m deficit this year, leaving medical staff facing job cuts, wards facing closure, and patients facing further delays in securing treatment. It is high time to outlaw these PFI schemes. Another aspect of the financial problem has been the soaring costs of drugs from the profiteering pharmaceutical companies. For the sake of the public and those that work in the NHS, the local Trades Union Council is tackling this issue.
The Fire Service
There are other areas of public funding where jobs and the interests of the public are under threat. It is not that long ago that accident and emergency response centres were moved to the mainland. 999 calls are now handled off the Island and the latest proposal is to backtrack on commitments made on the fire services. The proposal is to amalgamate Fire services with Hampshire and more stations are in the pipeline to close. Cutting corners with the Fire Service is a dangerous game to play with people’s lives and property and the Trades Union Council will oppose these cuts.
Care Homes
As is widely known council care has been all but eradicated throughout the country. Workers, who have worked all of their lives, and are no longer able to care for themselves are faced with the limited availability of decent accommodation in old age. This is totally unacceptable. The huge problems faced by poor families who have had to take on the role of carers are a travesty of justice. Worker’s savings and houses are taken over to fund care in Private Care homes. The Trades Union Council will add its voice to the growing feelings about this problem and will campaign for the rights of our senior citizens.
Pensions
The Trade Unions have long fought for the rights of pensioners to a decent livelihood in old age. The cutbacks in Final Salary Pension Schemes in many jobs are well known and the Trades Unions will continue to fight for pension rights at the place of work and for a decent State Pension. The actions of Public Sector Workers should affirm recognition that an injury to one is an injury to all. The right to retire early is as important as the right to a decent income in old age.
End Low Pay
The Trades Union Council does not accept that low pay should continue to exist on the Island. Seasonal work is not acceptable as an excuse to keep pay low. There are many firms, hotels and shops operating unnecessarily with low pay. It is also not acceptable that immigrant workers have to exist on pay, which is below the National Minimum wage. We call on all unorganised workers to join a Trade Union and work on the basis of UNITY IS STRENGTH! and THE UNION DEFENDS US ALL!
Unemployment
Unemployment is high on the Island. The National figure of 1.7m unemployed does not take into account those who do not sign on; the number of unemployed is much higher. The Isle of Wight has a population of around 125,000 of which just about 40,500 are in employment The island has the lowest GDP per head in the SE region, and indeed, with the exception of Mid Glamorgan, the lowest in the entire UK. The impact of this shows itself on the island in the form of high levels of deprivation. The unemployment situation is the worst in the south east of England. Many people are living on poverty benefits, recently the decision of the government to slash incapacity benefits left many disabled reduced to poverty. The cuts were draconian and aimed at those perceived as not being able to defend themselves, many having both physical and mental conditions. The Trades Union Council denounces these Government moves and will fight to reverse this situation.
Against War
The Trades Union Council in Ryde, like most people, is against the war in Iraq and against any impending war on Iran. We believe that all international problems should be sorted peacefully and through dialogue. Much of the funding that could be used to fund social programmes is diverted towards financing wars. If we had a government that was truly anti-war we would not have many financial problems. Many young workers on the Isle of Wight join the armed services and end up in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. We do not want our children who join up to have to face these dangerous situations; we do not want the trauma to be pass to bereaved families who lose loved ones. Most wars are not in workers' interests as it is them that have to go and fight, often against other young workers in poor countries. We say that we should stop interfering in other countries' affairs and we should end the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and bring the troops home.
Transport
We believe that the island provides an ideal opportunity for the development of an integrated transport system and can model the development of one. The endemic problem of clogged up roads, parking and all associated problems has to be tackled. It is in our interests to have a regulated public transport system with reasonably priced bus train and ferries on the island, which are clean, safe and reliable. We do not think that this is outside the realms of possibility. We also are firmly of the opinion that this is essential in order to protect the environment, which we all deeply care about. It is from this standpoint that we support the re-regulation of ferries and buses on the island. We do not believe that it is in the interests of the people on the island that private monopolies such as Wightlink and Red Funnel should have total control of ferries and that the council should provide a cheap ferry service for islanders. We also are of the opinion that buses should be passed back to the council and bus drivers should be paid much higher than the £7 they have been offered at present. Ryde Trades Council fully supports the on line Petition for Cheaper Ferries.
