UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch
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AGM 2004 Motions AGM Index AGM 2004 Index Previous Branch meetings 2003 Annual Report Back to About the Branch			UNISON City of Edinburgh Local Government & Related Sectors Branch AGM 2004 Motions passed Council Budget, Cuts and Redundancies (local) Composite A - Reorganisation of Social Work Services Emergency Motion 3 - Nursery Nurses Pay Dispute Service Conditions Issues Composite B (Motions 6 and 7, Amendment 6a and Emergency Motion 1) Social Work Retention Crisis and Remuneration Emergency Motion 4 - University Tuition Fees Emergency Motion 2 - Improving Public Services 8. Consultation on Pay and Gradings 9. Car Allowances 10. Congestion Charging Pensions and Superannuation 11. Access to Pensions Benefits Policy and Campaigning 12. No Quango for Criminal Justice Social Work 13. Opposition to Large Scale Stock Transfer of Council Housing 14. Access for Disabled Staff and members of the Public 15. Campaign for a minimum wage of £7.50 an hour 17. Trade Union Friends of Searchlight International 18. Mordachai Vanunu   top Council Budget, cuts, redundancies (local action) top Comp A - Reorganisation of Social Work Services (Motions 1 and 2 and Amendment 2a) CARRIED (as amended) This Branch deplores the sensationalist responses to the O'Brien Inquiry and supports its Social Work members against the lust for blame and the unfair attacks on them and their service. This Branch welcomes the measures taken by officers and stewards as outlined in the Annual Report and the key role UNISON has played in speaking up for Social Work staff and their profession. This AGM also extends its support to all members directly affected by the Inquiry and pledges to continue that through advice, representation, moral support and other action as necessary. While the effects on individuals have been devastating, the possible effect on the whole of the Social Work service is just as concerning. This Branch recognises the work already done by officers and stewards to challenge reorganisation and remuneration plans and commits itself to continue campaigning on the following principles:- a) A lack of resources is the key element and must be tackled before anything else. b) The O'Brien Report is a flawed document which must not be used as a basis for reorganising child protection. This must only be done on the basis of good hard evidence and with the resources to back it up. c) While not opposed to reorganisations in principle, this is not the time or the context to be embarking on wholesale restructuring. If money is available it must be firstly used to regenerate existing services. d) We oppose plans to split up the Social Work Department. Such a move flies in the face of findings by Inquiries and of the poor experience of authorities that have gone down this route. e) Fragmentation would damage the Social Work ethos which serves to protect practice from being compromised by resource pressures and political expediency. f) The only long term solution to the crisis in recruitment and retention is a Scottish review, similar but not identical to the McCrone review in Education. g) Any local initiatives for better remuneration must therefore only be seen as an interim measure and must be applied fairly and equally. h) The recognition that increasing workloads and unallocated work being dealt with on a "duty basis" continues to put pressure on social work staff. The workloads and pressures on social work staff must be addressed. This Branch therefore resolves to: 1. Oppose reorganisation of this type at this stage and demand a much increased consultation period. 2. Continue to campaign for an understanding that Social Work staff work with risk and need to be supported in that rather than blamed and vilified. 3. Continue to campaign for a national review and for an emergency injection of new resources. 4. Working alongside other organisations which share our aims and values, to promote the above via measures like submissions, conferences, lobbying and rallies. 5. To highlight the workloads of social work staff and the unallocated work that cannot be serviced. Limited social work resources results in pressures on social work staff and reduced service to the public. Our employers must take responsibility for work that cannot be done due to lack of and pressure of resources. 6. Take all measures possible, including a ballot on industrial action if necessary, to secure an extended consultation period and to defend members and their services. Furthermore, this Branch believes that the proposals contained in the Chief Executive's report on the 'Organisation and Management of Social Work Services' has serious implications for a wide variety of council employees. Although centred on the Social Work Department the options for change impact also on UNISON members in the Education and Housing Departments. However, there is a real danger that members will split along departmental lines rather than adopting a unified approach to the Council's proposals. There is therefore a need for all members in the departments concerned to be fully consulted and involved in the decision making process. As a first step this Branch will urgently set up a group comprising representatives from the Education, Housing and Social Work Shop Stewards Committees and from the Service Conditions Team to progress UNISON's response. Secondly this Branch will call a Special General Meeting where UNISON's position will be discussed and ratified so that all members will have an opportunity to air their views before the final UNISON response is made. top Service Conditions Issues (ie pay and conditions) top Emergency Motion 3 - Nursery Nurses Pay Dispute CARRIED This meeting congratulates our Nursery Nurse colleagues for the manner in which they have conducted themselves throughout a Pay Dispute which has gone on for over three years. They have shown a level of perseverance and solidarity which sets an example to others who may be in dispute with their employer. We note the employers' shambolic approach to negotiations having initially agreed to national negotiations then stating there has to be local negotiations only to seek further national discussions and finally stating the local negotiations are the only way forward. This led the Nursery Nurses to ballot for All Out Strike Action with the outcome being a resounding call for action. This Branch commits itself to support the Nursery Nurses in whatever way required to achieve a fair and equitable resolution to their Pay Dispute, this to include encouraging more members to contribute through collection sheets to provide additional financial support We call upon the City of Edinburgh council to recognise this dispute can only be resolved through national negotiations and to use their undoubted influence in CoSLA to persuade their fellow councils to initiate national talks immediately which would allow the threat of further disruption to services to be lifted. top Composite B (Motions 6 and 7, Amendment 6a and Emergency Motion 1) Social Work Retention Crisis and Remuneration CARRIED 1. The Branch has previously recognised a requirement to examine the issues of recruitment and retention of Social Workers and Occupational Therapists and instructed the Branch Officers to raise this issue with the Council with a view to achieving improvements to terms and conditions of employment for qualified Social Workers and Occupational Therapists. 2. This Branch recognises that initial discussions have resulted in proposals that do not meet the aspirations of all staff however it also recognises that the initial report does offer a salary increase to staff working in practice teams, this increase being three spinal column points, effective from 1 January 2004. 3. Whilst acknowledging this as an achievement this Branch recognises the dangers of creating a two tier workforce amongst Qualified Social Workers and Occupational Therapists. 4. Further, this Branch recognises that this regrading, while remedying one problem, creates anomalies in other areas (Senior Social Workers, Senior Occupational Therapists etc) and still leaves our highest paid Social Workers thousands of pounds less well off than their counterparts in many other authorities. 5. The Council gave a commitment to extend this to other grades and groups of Social Workers and Occupational Therapists. There is now information to suggest there will be no money in the budget for this. 6. This branch deplores the recent negative and opportunistic attacks on Social Work and believes that a political lack of understanding of the nature of the service, an unnecessary reorganisation and a woeful political delay in addressing pay and other recruitment problems has led to an even deeper crisis. 7. Edinburgh faces a 30% vacancy rate in Children & Family teams alone. As more and more staff leave Edinburgh's Social Work service every week, those who are left face an impossible burden of work in the knowledge that if something goes wrong our employers are more likely to take disciplinary action than support staff. This Branch recognises that a recruitment and retention problem directly affects the conditions of all staff, increases pressure and adds to stress in already overloaded areas. This AGM supports the call from a Social Work Departmental Meeting to:- A. Regard the current proposals as an interim measure and campaign for them to be properly funded and for the Council to honour its commitment to extend them. This AGM accordingly instructs Branch negotiators to pursue this matter with a view to achieving the same provisions for all Qualified Social Workers and Occupational Therapists and for the effective date for any regrading to be 1 January 2004. B. Prepare and lodge a local claim for a fair and equitable settlement across Social Work to reflect increased responsibilities, expectations and demands and to urgently address the serious recruitment and retention problem. C. Recognising that local disparities in conditions will only result in local authorities bidding against each other without addressing the base problem, we resolve to continue to campaign for a Scottish-wide social work review along the lines of, but not identical to, the McCrone initiative in Education. D. This Branch resolves to request a ballot on industrial action should the Council fail to meet its commitment to extend salary increases to all relevant staff. top Emergency Motion 4 - University Tuition Fees CARRIED This meeting notes with concern the recent passing of a Bill through Parliament which seeks to allow introduction of Top Up Fees at Universities in England. Furthermore, we note with disappointment that a number of Scottish Labour MPs chose to vote in this debate and that they chose to vote with the Government despite the fact that presently the Scottish Parliament does not intend to introduce Top Up Fees in Scotland. Their support of this Bill can only be seen to lend credence to those Scottish Universities such as Edinburgh who are calling for the introduction of Top Up Fees in Scotland. This Bill has still to pass through the House of Lords and as such the campaign against it must continue and in doing so the following should be actioned. 1. That UNISON re-affirms its opposition to the introduction of Top Up Fees anywhere in the United Kingdom. 2. That UNISON continue to actively support the National Union of Students in their ongoing campaign on a local and national level. 3. That UNISON members be encouraged to write to and lobby their members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords over this bill. 4. That the Affiliated Political Fund both in Scotland and in the United Kingdom as a whole be requested to try to use its influence in this matter. 5. That the Affiliated Political Fund through its interaction with the Labour Party be asked to raise the grave concerns we have that Scottish Labour MP's are being used as voting fodder for the Government over issues which do not directly concern their constituencies and furthermore that their actions in this case only serve to undermine the position taken by the Scottish Parliament on Top Up Fees. 6. That UNISON mounts a campaign for a review of how the United Kingdom Parliament conducts its business where it is clear that the issues being debated and voted on are already devolved to other Regional Assemblies or Parliaments i.e. "The West Lothian Question". 7. That the terms of this motion be submitted to National Delegate Conference. top Emergency Motion 2 - Improving Public Services CARRIED This Branch notes that the City of Edinburgh Council's budget meeting on 12 February 2004 announced a number of measures which it said were designed to improve public services. However, this branch has grave concerns that the Council's approach to reorganisation of departments, to PPP/PFI and to Housing transfer among other initiatives will actually serve to frustrate improvements in public services rather than facilitate them. On the broader front, this meeting views with concern the actions of the Scottish Executive which are leading to a growing percentage of Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) being ringfenced for initiatives determined by the Executive and not locally elected councils. It also notes the growing practice of short term funding for specific projects at very short notice. This undermines the principles of local government where councils are elected on the basis of local manifestos rather than national issues. It also creates havoc in services like Social Work where new short term funded initiatives have drained staff from core services. Such 'quick fix' solutions are not in the interests of long term planning and service delivery. We therefore believe that there has to be a national strategy to address these issues and this branch resolves to put a motion to UNISON National Conference in the following terms. National Delegate Conference shares the Government's ambitions of a future fair for all, delivering to all citizens world class public services based on need and not the ability to pay. UNISON members strive to meet the individualised needs of a diverse and complex range of citizens who need responsive services which offer them real choices whilst ensuring that they meet the key public sector principles of equity, universality, and public ownership and accountability. We welcome the additional money and resources put into Health, Local Government, Education, Crime and Disorder and other areas, although we remain concerned at the level of time-limited, ring-fenced funding which is often ill-thought out and wasteful and which limits flexibility and strategic planning of service provision. Despite the increased spending the much vaunted 'reform' agenda has not led to the massive improvements that such spending should achieve. UNISON believes this is directly linked to the dogmatic use of the private sector in our public services, dogmatic reorganisations based on structures rather than need and the lack of investment in training and skills. The fragmentation of the NHS and of Local Government has led to a marketisation whereby reforms cannot be acted upon because all too often services are led by contract compliance, not by need. The only compunction on private contractors is contract delivery rather than a commitment and ownership of the reform agenda. Marketisation has shackled the ability of the public sector to reform. It is therefore impossible for public sector managers to renegotiate contracts to meet a new improvement target, redirect spending into training and investment or comply with equal pay legislation when they are dominated by binding commercial arrangements and a plethora of inspections that are not imposed upon the private sector providers. 'Voluntarisation' whereby core functions which require secure funding are passed to the voluntary or independent sector on an insecure time-limited basis with increasingly narrow targets and service agreements has a similar effect on the ability to strategically improve services. The public sector needs a period of stability. A level playing field with the profit makers. It needs rigorous audits of those that seek to deliver our services but are only answerable to shareholders and not to stakeholders in our hospitals, communities, schools and our caring professions. UNISON members have been accused of producerism by Government. Government stands accused of dogmatism. It has tried and failed in its experimentation with private providers. It must now enable the public sector to get on with the reform and improvements it is committed to by directly employing and thus controlling the improvement agenda. This conference calls upon the government to:- 1. To fully review its public sector finance regulatory framework that debars the in-house options from many PFI and PPP routes. This should build upon the welcome reforms in the Local Government Act 2003 (which still falls short of UNISON's aspirations) and recognise the tangible benefits that in-house service provision brings to all our public services. 2. To compel all contractors carrying out public sector contracts to adopt minimum contract standards on workforce training, equal pay, profit capping and profit sharing, open accounts policies, service reinvestment and harsh penalties for none compliance backed up by legislative reforms where necessary. 3. To provide a skills dowry for each and every public sector worker, to capacity build and ensure that the quality of services is what matters not the lowest bidder 4. To provide public sector bursaries to fund equal pay, proofed pay and grading systems to deliver equal pay within all public sector bodies. 5. To allow independent audits of private sector contractors and other outsourced bodies delivering public services and publicly report the findings. 6. To commit to expand the workforce code achieved in Local Government across the public sector. 7. To ensure full involvement of service users and staff who directly provide services in any reorganisation or restructuring so that systems are designed to respond to evidenced need. 8. To finance public services in such a way as to allow them to plan strategically rather than through short term and ring fenced quick fixes. top 8. Consultation on Pay and Gradings CARRIED unamended In light of recent pay negotiations for the Recruitment & Retention of Social Workers & Occupational Therapists some social work shop stewards are concerned that the negotiations at that time were not congruent with procedures outlined in the Constitution Rules and Standing Orders as revised by the 2002 AGM. For Example Section E 8 1d states "the postholder (Branch Equalities Officer) should continually monitor the application of agreements to ensure that they are being applied consistently and in a non-discriminatory manner" Section B4 2 states "there should be ballots on major issues such as pay". The Recruitment & Retention package, which was, negotiated on behalf of the Social Work Shop Stewards Committee was divisive and against the principal of equal pay for equal work of equal value. In addition details and proposals put to the negotiators were never fully shared or discussed with the Social Work Shop Stewards Committee. For future negotiations on changes to pay scales/gradings we call on this AGM to instruct negotiators, in line with the constitution, to: 1. Fully consult with Stewards Committees openly & transparently 2. Ballot members for any significant change affecting pay structures, grading changes & pay reviews within the City of Edinburgh Council. top 9. Car Allowances CARRIED as amended Following consultation with the RAC and the AA the Social Work Shop Stewards Committee have been advised that these national Organisations calculate that the average cost of running a car is 66 pence per mile. It is the view of these organisations that this amount should be reflected in the recompense that workers receive for using their cars for work. However, this branch meeting notes that, at the current standard rate of tax, the 66p figure would only deliver 51p per mile net. With the incremental progression (for many Social Work staff for example) and if overtime is taken into account, taxation could be higher and result in a net figure of 39.6p - a reduction from the current non-taxable rate of 40p. Accordingly this AGM instructs Branch Officers to take specialist advice on formulating a car allowance claim that will properly reflect the true cost of car usage on official duties." top 10. Congestion Charging CARRIED This AGM notes that the City of Edinburgh Council intend to hold a referendum on the introduction of Congestion Charging. However, there remain a number of concerns which need to be addressed should Congestion Charging become a reality. 1. UNISON members who currently use their vehicle to carry out their duties and are authorised car users should not be financially disadvantaged. 2. That Congestion Charging should not discriminate against disabled members who, because of their mobility problems, cannot access public transport and require to use their vehicle to get to and from work. 3. That there are a huge number of members who live outwith Edinburgh and as such will experience difficulty in accessing adequate public transport, unless the Council resolve to significantly improve public transport facilities. This AGM therefore instructs Branch Officers to raise these concerns with the Council and seek agreements on the above. top Pensions and Superannuation top 11. Access to Pensions Benefits CARRIED This Branch welcomes the government's commitment to put in place legislation to allow same gender couples access to works pensions benefits equal to those enjoyed by married couples. Whilst this initiative is a major step forward we note with concern this provision is not to be extended to heterosexual couples who are not married. We call upon the union at all levels to continue campaigning for all members of works pensions to have equal access irrespective of the status of their relationship with their partner. top Policy and Campaigning top 12. No Quango for Criminal Justice Social Work CARRIED as amended This Branch opposes Scottish Executive plans which could remove Criminal Justice Social Work from local authority control and place it into a quango under the prison service. While it notes that there may be a change of thinking by ministers, it must continue the campaign by ensuring members and the public are aware that:- 1. Evidence shows that non-custodial sentences are more effective in addressing offending behaviour. 2. A new unaccountable body dominated by the Prison Service would be likely to place a greater emphasis on punishment and custody rather than the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders. 3. The removal of the planning, running and liaising functions of criminal justice from local control and placing them in a national centralised body would affect the crucial local liaison on issues like monitoring and exchanging information regarding community protection, risk management and child protection and flies in the face of the Executive's stated aim. 4. Current Criminal Justice services in Edinburgh are under-resourced and staff are under enormous pressures with escalating case loads for social workers, social work staff and admin workers. This Branch believes the Scottish Executive would be better to heed the Justice Committee's recommendation of more investment and resources and introducing a more radical approach to sentencing than seeking to create yet another quango with escalating case loads for social workers, social work staff and admin workers. top 13. Opposition to Large Scale Stock Transfer of Council Housing CARRIED In 2001, the Housing Department commissioned research into the options available to the Council for the future management of council housing. The result of this research was to retain the bulk of council housing in local government ownership. However, the Scottish Executive now has a target to transfer 75,000 Local Authority houses to other landlords and this has revived the debate around large scale stock transfer in Edinburgh. In light of this development we call on this branch to re-affirm its agreement with UNISON Scotland's response to the Scottish Executive's proposals for the Housing Scotland Bill regarding mass stock transfer as noted below:- UNISON Scotland believes that a policy of mass stock transfer, or so-called ‘community ownership' is unnecessary and damaging for the following reasons: It is an expensive and unnecessary means of resolving the investment crisis in public housing stock It will lead to less democratic accountability It will destabilise communities It will result in less diversity in housing tenure It may lead to increased social exclusion It will, over time, lead to an increase in rents And it will inevitably have a detrimental impact on jobs, pay and conditions of local government housing staff. UNISON Scotland believes that tenants should make real choices about the future management and maintenance of their homes - with the maximum possible information available to them. We therefore call on this branch, in the event of a decision to pursue large scale stock transfer, to:- 1. Promote a broad-based campaign to keep Council Housing in Local Authority ownership, including support for any tenants' campaigns. 2. Ensure members in the Housing Department are supported when they give UNISON campaign leaflets to residents in order that ‘tenants should make real choices about the future management and maintenance of their homes - with the maximum possible information available to them'. 3. Make use of UNISON's General Political Fund to finance this campaign. top 14. Access for Disabled Staff and Members of the Public CARRIED This Branch looks forward to the conclusion of the audit of all the council's properties in relation to Access for the Disabled but is concerned that, without major additional funding from the Scottish Executive, local authorities will not be able to initiate the works required to address the problem. We call upon the union to initiate a campaign along with colleagues in the STUC to call for the required additional monies and for the APF to raise this issue within the Labour Party. top   15. Campaign for a minimum wage of £7.50 an hour Motion and amendment referred to the Branch Committee for decision Proposed by Social Work Shop Stewards Committee This Branch condemns the appalling levels of poverty pay in Scotland. Things have got worse. Now the poorest 50% of the population own only 1% of the country's wealth - in 1976 they owned 12%. The employed, working poor is the biggest single group in officially-recognised poverty. In contrast the boardroom fatcats have awarded themselves an 84% rise in incomes over the last 3 years, putting the average chief executive of the FTSE-100 companies on an annual income of £1.68 million. UNISON rightly welcomed the introduction of minimum wage legislation, but we believe this legislation needs a radical overhaul to end poverty pay and specifically to end age discrimination. We condemn the exclusion of all 16-17 year old workers, who are left prey to exploitation. We see no justification for the lower rate for 18-22 year olds. And this union believes the current minimum wage level - set at 38% of male median earnings - is a recipe for low pay, with low-paying employers subsidised from the public purse through Tax Credits and other benefits. Nationally the minimum wage is just over £4 an hour. In the public sector we have achieved a rate of over £5 an hour yet even with this far too many of us still suffer from low pay. This branch calls for a campaign for a decent minimum wage for all workers over 16, without exception, and without age discrimination. We believe a £7.50 minimum wage is justified, based on two thirds male median earnings and widely recognized as the poverty threshold. We demand: a) that our national union conducts a campaign throughout workplaces to win support for this, producing material, calling meetings and including these measures in wage claims within the public sector. b) that Scottish UNISON initiates a Scottish demo on the theme of "end age wage discrimination - for a decent minimum wage for all over 16" - to be called late 2004 or early 2005. To then approach other unions; the STUC, and any other parties and organisations willing to support and help build the demo. c) that the STUC support such demo and provide resources to organise it. (if passed, this motion to be submitted to the Scottish Committee of the union and the STUC Conference through the national union, for April 2004 STUC Conference.) Amendment 1 Proposed Kevin Duguid (Finance), Douglas Linton (Finance) Para 4: Delete last sentence "we believe..." and insert "We believe a minimum wage based on two thirds male median earnings is justified as this is widely recognised as the poverty threshold. Furthermore we note that this would currently equate to £7.50 per hour. Delete point (b) and point (c) and all after and insert new points as follows: - b. That the Affiliated Political Fund be requested to promote this policy within the Labour Party. c. That the terms of this motion be submitted to the TUC National Conference with a call for a co-ordinated day(s) of regional demonstrations or publicity events, early in 2005, with the theme of "end wage discrimination - a decent minimum wage for all over 16". This motion to be submitted to National Delegate Conference top 17. Trade Union Friends of Searchlight Referred to the Branch Committee for decision Proposed by John Stevenson (Social Work) John Ross (Social Work) This Branch agrees to affiliate to the anti-racist organisation "Trade Union Friends of Searchlight". top International top 18. Mordachai Vanunu Motion and amendment referred to the Branch Committee for decision Proposed by Barry Carbis (Social Work) Elaine Wishart (Social Work) Mordachai Vanunu (an Israeli) was a technician at Dimona, Israel's nuclear installation, from 1976 to 1985. He discovered that the plant was secretly producing nuclear weapons. His conscience made him speak out and in 1986 he provided the London Sunday times with the facts and photo'' they used to tell the world about Israel's nuclear weapons programme. His evidence showed that Israel had stockpiled up to 200 nuclear warheads, with no debate or authorisation from it's own citizens. On 30 September 1986, Mordachai was lured from London to Rome. There he was kidnapped, drugged and shipped to Israel. After a secret trial he was sentenced to 18 years for ‘treason' and ‘espionage' though he had received no payment and communicated with no foreign power. He was held in complete isolation for 11 years, only allowed occasional visits from his family, lawyer and a priest, conducted through a metal screen. When Mordechai was released from solitary confinement in March 1998 Israel admitted he posed no threat to its security, yet his many applications for parole have been refused, because of his brave defiance and refusal to admit any guilt. Indeed Mordechai's opposition to nuclear weapons remains steadfast and his cruel punishment has not broken his spirit. Mordachai is due to be released from prison on 22 April 2004, but those campaigning on his behalf are concerned that he might "die or disappear" before his release date. We call on this AGM to instruct the Branch to: 1. Highlight at national level the plight of Mordachai Vanunu 2. Lobby the government to offer him political refuge on his release from prison 3. Support Amnesty International in their current campaign 4. Write a letter of support 5. Send a delegate to Israel on the day of his release. Amendment 1 Proposed by John Ross (Housing) John Stevenson (Social Work) Delete point 5. top   P&P by UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch, 23 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EN, tel 0131 220 5655, Fax 0131 225 9125. E-mail branchoffice@unison-edinburgh.org.uk Top