Strike Special - Northumberlands' Day of Action

On 30^th November we saw the Public Sector workers of Northumberland come together in an unprecedented show of solidarity with a total of 22 picket lines. Anyone passing picket lines seen the strength and solidarity we showed on the morning of the strike. At Gateshead, where we took 3 coaches of activists and members, there was a sea of purple and green, a tidal wave of flags and deafened by a cacophony of vuvuzela’s and whistles. The Northern regions message to David Cameron was clear, ‘We have had enough!"

Commenting on the 30^th November, Branch Secretaries’ Ian Fleming and Joyce Guthrie said  “it was a great and proud day to see so many UNISON members stand side by side on the picket lines and to see the UNISON colours lead the way at the March in Gateshead, the public applause was very heartening and it clearly showed the public do support our fight.”

At the Rally at Spillers Wharf, speakers from the participating unions all had a similar message. The attack on our pensions is unfair and unjustified. Many of us have been subjected to a pay freeze for at least two years and have now been told that any wage rise will be capped at 1%. This means that in real terms our standard of living is eroded even further than it already has been. To then ask us to pay more for our pensions is ludicrous. Many of our members are already struggling to make ends meet as prices soar and the cost of living rises on an almost daily basis.

Many of the members UNISON represent are low paid, part time women who, rather than claim benefits, fit work around child care and family commitments. David Cameron now wants to penalise them by taking away what little security they manage to accrue for the future. The average pension for these people is less than £4,000 per year under the current scheme and to erode the schemes further will leave many of us struggling in our retirement.

As a branch we would like to say an enormous thank you to all those who turned out to show support, especially those who manned picket lines from very early in the morning. There was much stamping feet and rubbing of hands in the cold morning air, but the overwhelming attitude was one of determination and tenacity. We are not prepared to let the Con-Dem’s win this battle. Let’s hope that the Government will now see sense and enter into meaningful consultation with our negotiators.

A number of pictures were taken on the 30^th November and these will be available soon on our website at www.unisonnorthumberland.org.uk

Joyce Guthrie & Ian Fleming,

Joint Branch Secretaries

Jarrow Crusade

A symbolic procession is to be held at Jarrow Town Hall (front of the building) at 2:30pm prompt on Sunday, 9^th October 2011, where people are asked to assemble at the Town Hall on Sunday and walk across to the Christ church, Jarrow alongside our comrades, community and voluntary groups. Trade Unions are encouraged to take their branch banners and flags.

The commemorative church service will begin at 3pm to mark and celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the Jarrow March.  There will also be an unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the Church as a memento of the original march which set off from the Church to London on the 5^thOctober 1936, which will be unveiled by the Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Jim Sewell at the Service.

Please make every effort to attend this event to mark the Special 75th Anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade

Pension Briefings

UNISON are hosting a series of meetings relating to the up and coming pensions dispute.

See below a list of those meetings arranged for the Northumberland related branches.

All members and non-members are welcome.

Date	Time	Area	Venues
Tuesday, 4 October	12.30 pm to 1.30 pm	Sunderland	1st Floor Meeting Room, Monkwearmouth Hospital, Newcastle Road, Sunderland, SR5 1NB.
Tuesday, 4 October	12 noon to 2pm	Sunderland	Council Chamber, Sunderland Civic Centre, Burdon Road, Sunderland,      SR2 7DN.
Wednesday, 5 October	12.30 pm to 1.30 pm	Morpeth	Board Road, St George’s Park Hospital Morpeth,      NE61 2NU.
Wednesday, 5 October	12 noon to 2pm	Sunderland	Meeting Room, Jack Crawford House, Commercial Road Sunderland,      SR2 8QR.
Friday, 7 October	11.30 am to 1.30 pm	Ashington	Park Suite - Institute Building, Ashington Leisure Centre, Institute Road, Ashington,      NE63 8HP.
Friday, 7 October	12.30 pm to 1.30 pm	Morpeth	Modular Building – Large Seminar Room, Northgate Hospital, Morpeth Northumberland, NE61 3BP.
Friday, 7 October	2.00pm to 4.00 pm	Washington	Washington Leisure Centre, Town Centre, Washington      NE38 7SS.
Monday, 10 October	11.30 am to 1.30 pm	Alnwick	Northumberland Hall (Assembly Rooms), Market Street, Alnwick,      NE66 1HS.
Monday, 10 October	3.30 pm to 5.30 pm	Berwick	Council Chamber, Wallace Green, Berwick,     TD15 1ED.
Monday, 10 October	5.00 pm to 6.30 pm	South Shields	Reception Room Town Hall & Civic Offices Westoe Road South Shields,      NE33 2RL.
Monday, 10 October	12 noon to 2.00 pm	Sunderland	Council Chamber, Sunderland Civic Centre, Burdon Road, Sunderland,      SR2 7DN.
Tuesday, 11 October	12.30 pm to 2.00 pm	Blyth	Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Renwick Road Blyth,     NE42 2BX.
Wednesday, 12 October	11.30 am to 1.30 pm	Hexham	Council Chamber, Prospect House, Hallgate Hexham,      NE46 3NH.
Wednesday, 12 October	3.30 pm to 5.30 pm	Blyth	Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Renwick Road Blyth,     NE42 2BX.
Wednesday, 12 October	Evening?	Prudhoe	Prudhoe Labour Club
Thursday, 13 October	12.30 pm to 1.30 pm	Newcastle	Committee Dining Room, St Nicholas Hospital, Jubilee Road – Gosforth, Newcastle,      NE3 3XT.
Friday, 14 October	11.30 am to 1.30 pm	Morpeth	Storey Park Community Centre, St Mary’s Field, Morpeth,      NE61 2QF.
Monday, 17 October	12 noon to 2.00 pm	Sunderland	Meeting Room, Crowtree Leisure Centre, Crowtree Road Sunderland,      SR1 3EL.
Tuesday, 18 October	12.30 pm to 1.30 pm	Prudhoe	Skerne House, Prudhoe Hospital, Northumberland,      NE42 5NT.
Tuesday, 18 October	6.00 pm to 7.00 pm	Wallsend	Wallsend People’s Centre 10 Frank Street, Wallsend,       NE28 6RN.
Monday, 24 October (Half-Term Holidays)	4.00 pm to 6.00 pm	Morpeth	Council Chamber, County Hall, Loansdean, Morpeth,      NE61 2EF.

Get out the Vote

The key task facing the union in the next few weeks is making sure members vote in the pensions industrial action ballot - and making sure there is a massive yes vote for industrial action.

That was the single message from UNISON NEC when it met in London today.

"We've got 10 days to get a massive vote out," the union's lay leadership heard.

The ballot will be "the biggest ballot the county has ever seen," general secretary Dave Prentis told the meeting.

It is key that members do not receive the ballot paper cold, the meeting heard, but that they are aware of the issues and the need to vote before voting papers arrive next week.

Branches have received bulk supplies of leaflets urging a yes vote, enough for every member, and should already be using them to have conversations with members, urging them to vote - as well as recruiting new members.

Negotiations are continuing, Mr Prentis reported, but there has been little or no movement from relevant ministers.

They've got to be serious about negotiating if they want to avoid a strike, added the general secretary: about contributions increases, about the age at which pensions can be paid and about the new schemes they want, where ministers are refusing to even supply basic information on issues such as proposed employers' contributions or accrual rates.

"We need to put pressure on them with a massive turnout in the ballot and a massive yes vote," said Mr Prentis.

If action is necessary, the NEC agreed changes to the protocols to make it easier for branches to set up and fund industrial action funds allowing them to make hardship payments.

Though with more than a million members potentially taking strike action, it will not be possible for the union to pay strike pay.

The NEC was meeting in London as more than 20,000 members in Northern Ireland took part in aone-day strike, the largest action for 30 years.

The meeting sent a message of solidarity to Northern Ireland, as well as to members in Southampton, Birmingham, Barnet, Middlesex University and 20 other branches involved in campaigns of industrial action to protect members and the public services they provide.

The NEC also:

• thanked Plymouth branch and the South West region for their work in getting the union rerecognised by the city council;
• congratulated members who had played a leading role in TUC demonstrations;
• received a report on the use of the union's fighting fund in supporting branches and regions;
• heard the latest update on organisation and recruitment up to August;
• received updates on planning for the 2012 UNISON conference, and report from UNISON's contribution to the TUC congress and Labour Party conference;
• received a report on the union's six-month accounts to June and a verbal update on the accounts to August;
• discussed ways to counter the threat to union facility time in the public services coming from the Conservatives.http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=7264

Also read the UNISONActive report by clicking on this link and John Gray's Labour Blog on this link

Hardest Hit Protest comes to Newcastle

STOP THESE CUTS is the message from disabled people across the North East as people are encouraged to demonstrate, along with their families and friends in the streets of Newcastle on 22 October 2011. The Hardest Hit march will start at 10:30am, from the Bigg Market to the Monument to protest against Government cuts to disability benefits and services.

Join the demonstration and help to make sure all their voices are heard. Speakers include MP for Wansbeck Ian Lavery, Clare Williams from the Norther Public Services Alliance and Kevin Rowan the TUC Regional Secretary who will share their views on the proposed changes. The Demonstration will also be joined by a number of local people who can speak from their own experience about what the proposed cuts to benefits and services will mean to them as disabled people trying to live independent and fulfilling lives!

Please click on map of Newcastle City Centre showing where the Bigg Market and the Monument can be found.

The purpose of the Hardest Hit is to bring together disabled people from across the North East to allow them to stand against the cuts to DLA and unfair changes to Employment Support Allowance.
Whether your disabled or not you can show your support by joining Hardest Hit demonstration and listening to the stories of disabled people and hearing of the support of key local figures from politicians to civil society leaders. Together the North East can show that the people across the city and wider region are very supportive of the Hardest Hit campaign and send a clear message to this government.

Council pensions not gold plated

Evidence that workers in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) get lower pensions than those in private sector final-salary schemes was highlighted by the Trade Unions recently in a report by High Pay Commission showing that private sector final salary pensions pay on average £5,860 compared with £ £4,119 under the LGPS.


The Trade Unions have been saying this for months, but we have also been pointing out that the LGPS currently takes in over £4 billion a year more than it pays out, by increasing member contributions, which effectively reduces costs to employers, may cause many currently in the scheme to leave not that I'm advocating anyone does that but members of the scheme will question the affordability as many are financially pressed through pay freezes and the rising costs to living.


It shouldn't be that those in the public sector have to defend their pensions but the reality is that the media are often against us, the government are against us, so we are left to highlight some of the myths out there about our so called 'Gold Plated Pension'. Pensions busting the myths.


But that isn't the whole picture.


Public service workers are being asked to pay more in pension contributions by an average of over 50% - if you earn above £15,000. It's the equivalent on average of a 3% pay cut and this extra money isn't being used to improve pension schemes for the future, it's going straight to the Treasury to pay for the bankers' crisis.


If you work in the Public Sector vote YES to protecting your pension and if your not in a Trade Union sign up today preferably with UNISON of course to make sure your vote counts.

Default Retirement Age Scrapped

The previous regulations allowed employers to set a default retirement age (i.e. force employees to stop work) at 65 or higher.  However, it was unlawful to set a retirement age under 65 or retire an employee who is under 65 (or the employer's alternative selected retirement age if different), unless it was 'objectively justified' .  A default retirement age at which employers could force their employees to stop work is different from a 'normal retirement age' in a pension scheme, which is the age when pension benefits can be taken. 

From 1 October 2011, employers will not be able to compulsorily retire their employees unless the retirement can be 'objectively justified'


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12982824

http://unisonactive.blogspot.com/2011/09/work-till-you-drop-cause-for.html