branchnewsletter2011[1]

8/6/2019 branchnewsletter2011[1]

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The branch wishes to express thanks to all the UNISON

members who were able to join the demonstra on on

26 March.

In all, we lled 3 coaches from UNISON General Branch

in Wolverhampton, and included in this ar cle are

some quotes from those who came. (In total 9 coaches

went from Wolverhampton)

This was the rst na onal TUC mobilisa on for many

years and went some way to dispel the view that trade

unions are a thing of the past. Media reports of num-

bers a ending varied widely. The police reported

250,000 and it is widely known that they always under-

es mate numbers; a bit strange on this occasion as

those protes ng are also defending the police against

the cuts!

Later in the day some media ar cles put the march at

600,000, but we probably had in excess of 750,000

trade unionists and supporters on the march.

Dave Pren s UNISON General Secretary, addressed

protestors at the end of the march in Hyde Park, together

with other trade unions leaders and poli cians.

The marginal violence was not perpetrated by the tradeunionists protes ng, and was focused on by some in the

media and poli cs as somehow a way to discredit the

protest. Whilst it is understandable that a small minorityexpressed their anger at the bankers, their protest was intruth, nothing to do with the demonstra on.

Goto back page

"I came because I wanted to

tell the government how I

feel. It was educa onal,

even the police were like

minded."

"A good turn-out, well

worth coming. If it savesone job, as long as it isn't

Cameron's, its' been worth

it."

"I've been on one demonstra on before

(Save Our Pits), there were a hell of a lot

of people today, more of a family atmos-

phere. I saw no trouble. It's working

people who care, and I'm proud to have

been a part of it."

News from the

Wolverhampton

General Branch

E

WINTER 20102010

News from the

Wolverhampton

General Branch

Spring 2011


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On top of a pay freeze, rising in a on and the

threat of redundancy, public sector workers now

face a pensions raid. The Hu on Report is a Trojan

horse to a ack public sector pensions and make

public sector workers pay the price for the excess

of the bankers.

Including pensioners, ac ve members and their

dependents 20 million people will be a ff ected.

The report recommends that:

Sta ff contribu ons to increase by up to 50% - This was

announced by the ConDem government last year before

the report was released. Increased contribu ons will not

go into your pension schemes, they will go to plug a

funding gap caused by cuts. This is a direct tax on public

sector workers to bail out the banks!

The re rement age to be increased - for some people

this could increase to 68!

Pensions to be calculated on your career average salary

rather than your nal salary.

There should be a cap on employer contribu ons - this

means that any increase in pension costs will be put

directly on sta ff in the scheme.

Workers who are outsourced should not be allowed to

be members of the scheme.

Increases in pensions should be linked to the lower CPI

measure of in a on rather than the RPI measure of

in a on.

The report does make some recommenda ons which

UNISON would welcome such as greater transparency

and access to informa on rela ng to the pensionschemes.

If we didn t save for a decent pension we would have to

rely on bene ts in re rement which would cost the tax

payer more in the long term. It s worth no ng that

over 100billion is invested by public sector pensions

in the UK which supports the economy!

What you can do -

Pensions are your deferred wages! We need to de-

fend our right to a decent re rement and to do that

we need people to become pensions contacts in the

workplace to spread the message about the cam-

paign and keep members informed . We can

only win if we are strong in the workplace. This

means you ge ng involved in the campaign.

A CAMPAIGN THAT UNISONs LEADERSHIP BELIEVES

WILL LEAD TO POTENTIAL INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN

THE AUTUMN

You do not need to be an expert or have any

experience. All you need to be good at is talking to

your colleagues. You will be fully supported by

UNISON with training, brie ngs and advice and there

will be a network of pensions contacts across the un-

ion to back you up To express an interest contact

our o ffi ce.554096

This will not be a token skirmish, but a

prolonged and sustained war, because

this government has declared war on a

huge propor on of the popula on,"

Dave Pren s UNISON General Secretary


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It I

It is the policy of Wolverhampton General UNISON branch to oppose , where

we can , the reckless and unnecessary cuts taking place in Wolverhampton

City Council and across the public sector.

Job cuts not only a ff ect those who are losing their jobs , but also those who remain behind!

Job Cuts be they front Line or Support Services ( a dis nc on o en made by employers, but that

UNISON does not make!) or simply saving money by not lling vacancies , invariably leave work taskswhich have to be taken on by the remaining sta ff . This in turn can lead to stress and increased sickness-

absenteeism through increased workloads as well as a reduced service delivery.

We call on all our members to join our No CUTS NO COVER campaign of resistance to

against the cuts

Report threats to jobs and services in your area to UNISON

Let us know how cuts are a ff ec ng your workplace

Report to us posts that have disappeared so that we can keep a record

Refuse to cover for deleted services not in your job descrip on

Report any increases in workloads to your UNISON steward

Organise a workplace mee ng to discuss the cuts

Encourage non-union colleagues to join UNISON

Look out for our lobbies and an -cuts ac vi es


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On the same day, the ConDems (Tory and

Lib-Dems) were saying that they would listen, but they

con nue with their draconian cuts.

Be er they had said that they were not listening, un lwe force them to.

The TUC Demonstra on Against the Cuts was amagni cent start to protests up and down the country,which will also lead to localised industrial ac ons.Workers have the power to stop these unnecessary cuts,and if the coali on government is not going to listen andrespond, their days are numbered.

It is vital that the commitment of 750,000 people doesnot fri er away into the spring sunshine. UNISON mustincrease ac on in this campaign. All of our jobs and live-lihoods, as well as the services we o ff er to the most vul-nerable in society and our Poll Tax progress is at stake.

The ConDems only listen to the rich and powerful in oursociety, we need to make them bow to the power of theorganised working class.

"The demonstra on was huge, I would es mate the true gure about million strong or more. It shows that if a

lead is given, the anger and the will to ght back is there.

We need to call on the TUC to organise a General Strike

now, to bring the ConDems down and protect every pub-

lic sector job, every service, every job. Get our money

back from the arrogant bankers if the de cit needs imme-

diate remedy."

Join UNISON Today!www.wolverhamptonunison.blogspot .com

or Tel: 01902 554096

The TUC demonstra on to defend public services should be

used as a springboard for ac on in defence of services, our

communi es and the jobs and pay and condi ons of those

who provide them.

Hundreds of thousands of UNISON members who marched

on the day are now looking to our na onal execu ve coun-

cil to lead ther ghtback against these poli cally mo vated

cuts.

The Coali on Government has no democra c mandate to

a ack public services and UNISON alterna ve of the Robin

Hood tax on Interna onal bank transac ons and the call toaddress the vast tax avoidance of Big business has won

popular support.

It is es mated that 400,000 public sector jobs will go over

the next 4 years.

140,000 council jobs will be lost this year alone!. This will

destroy vital services that provide a safety net to some of

the most vulnerable in society and wreak havoc on our

economy.

It is inevitable that , in order to protect services or ourterms and condi ons, Industrial ac on will be inevitable at

some stage. Only by gh ng back will we win!

Ade Turner

Branch Secretary

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