Fareham UNISON Branch

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Branch News

UNISON: Helping You Keep Safe And Warm This Winter

Winter is coming. That’s not a cheap Game of Thrones hook, it’s a fact – if you stand outside council offices reminding staff to join UNISON, you quickly realise that the weather is taking a chillier turn! That’s why UNISON Fareham branch invited staff to warm up with them with a lunch time ‘winter warmer’ drop in.

Staff at the council offices on Tuesday and at the Depot on Thursday were able to come in and get free hot chocolate in a UNISON mug and a fresh sausage roll from the local bakery to warm their hands on. But it wasn’t just a free lunch and some merchandise to show their membership of the UK’s largest trade union.

Members were able to get a free UNISON branded fleece blanket, an essential part of the AA winter driver emergency kit. March this year saw a cold front that brought unusual amounts of snow. Whilst it was fun to make snow men, it was much less fun if you were stuck in traffic, if you had to sleep on a train or if your car broke down. It was a reminder that although white Christmas’ remain rare, winters in the UK aren’t always mild.
Cold weather can be a health and safety risk, so the branch wanted to help make sure that members who were driving at least were kept warm if the worst happened and they found themselves stuck for an extended period.

Branch chair Cian Wagstaffe explained:
Given the recent cold winters, we wanted to show our support and consideration of our members by holding a drop-in session where anyone, not just members, could come and talk with us, join up and receive some useful items to help throughout the cold season.

Of course - for those not venturing out in the cold, the blankets are also useful for snuggling on the sofa.

New Members Benefit Partner

UNISON has partnered with savings provider, Shepherds Friendly to bring members a variety of tax-efficient plans, offering savings solutions for the whole family.

Click here for more info

Welcome and Farewell

The Branch Executive would like to Welcome Kerrie Bernice whom has agreed to fulfil the roles, Yes ROLES(!) of:

Women's Officer
Sports and Social Secretary
AND Floor 7 Steward

Sadly, we must also say Farewell to our Education Officer, Hugh Saich whom has given over 30 years of Service to Fareham Borough Council. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Pay UP Campaign - Accepted

UNISON has accepted the Local Government Association’s two-year pay offer, covering the period April 2018 – March 2020.
The key features of the pay offer are:

A 16% pay increase for those currently on the lowest scale point (SCP) 6, over two years.
A pay increase of between 15% and 4.3% for those on the current SCPs 7 – 28.
4.04% increase over two years, for those above the current SCP 29, including those above SCP 49.
A new pay spine from 2019, with new scale points 1-43 and even 2% pay gaps between SCPs 6-28.

What does this mean for you?
The offer will need to be applied to your local situation because each employer has their own grading structure.

What happens next?
This will be applied from April 2018 Payday.

Campaign: Moments of Truth

About the campaign
Moments of Truth is part of UNISON’S Public Service Champions campaign.
After nearly 10 years of government cuts all UNISON members know how hard it can be to provide good quality, effective public services. They see up close the effects of austerity on the communities that they serve.
The Public Service Champions campaign aims to help win the argument for a change of direction on cuts and for proper investment in public services.
Public Service Champions keeps real people – service users and workers – at the heart of the campaign. Telling their stories, showing the impact on people’s lives, is what it is all about.
Throughout the campaign we will continue to use the real experience of our members – experts you can trust when you don’t believe politicians or the media.
Moments of Truth is part of UNISON’s Public Service Champions campaign, which aims to win public support for proper investment in public services and pressure decision makers to reverse austerity. Among the measures needed to secure the future of our public services, UNISON is calling on the government to:

reverse the £2.4bn cut in the Settlement Funding Assessment for local authorities in England and provide funding to meet the 2019/20 budget pressures that local councils will face;
close the £2.5bn shortfall in social care funding;
proper funding for all public services, including the NHS and education;
halt privatisation and outsourcing of public services and begin the process of bringing services back in-house;
ensure appropriate levels of staffing across all parts of the public services – including in local government, schools and policing.

Key facts

The NHS is suffering the deepest financial squeeze in its 70-year history, with the decade 2010-2020 set to be its most austere ever
At least 12,000 NHS beds have been lost since 2010
Local government budgets have been slashed by nearly 50%, making it increasingly difficult for councils to properly fund street cleaning, libraries, leisure centres and community safety
Approximately 1,000 Sure Start centres have closed since 2009
Because of inadequate funding, nearly 80% of workers providing care to elderly people in their homes report having no option but to rush their work or leave clients early to get to their next call
The number of police community support officers has been cut by more than 30%, at the same time as violent crime and sex offences have been rising
The number of teaching assistants in secondary schools has been cut by 8%
Close to one million jobs have been cut across public services, with more than half of those who are left reporting that they now have to undertake unpaid overtime to keep services going
80% of NHS staff have raised concerns about there not being enough staff on duty to give patients the high-quality care they want to

Find more on this campaign here

Posts Still Available:
Assistant Branch Secretary
Branch Secretary
Assistant Communications Officer
Education Officer & Lifelong Learning Coordinator
International Officer
Labour Link Officer

Any of these roles may be job-shared

To Represent your Workplace/Department, if not already listed, please contact any member of the Branch Executive Committee..
(all nominations will be considered, however small the workplace/department)

Workplace Stewards and Health & Safety Reps needed for:
Floors 8/9
Leisure Centre
Ferneham Hall

exec_cttee_roles.pdf
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File Type:	pdf

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