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Latest Branch
News - 27 March 2009
Pay 2009:
As part of last year's negotiations, it as agreed that
pay increases shall be 2.5% from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010.
Single Status: The first tranche of appeals
have now been completed and appellants should know the outcome in the very
near future.
The second tranche of generic appeals i.e. Admin and
Professional are likely to begin in May and if any member wishes
assistance with the preparation they should contact the Branch Office as
soon as possible after they have been notified of the date of their
hearing.
Click here
for Angus Council Single Status pages
UNISON Debt
Helpline: UNISON, in partnership with Payplan, have a new debt
helpline for members experiencing difficulties. The number is
0800 3893302 and you can contact them from 8.00am Monday to Friday,
and 9.00am to 1.00pm on Saturdays.
This is a
confidential service, for UNISON members only, however members should also
be aware that UNISON Welfare is always available from the Branch Office on
01307 468950
Branch
Secretary Retiral: The Branch Executive Committee wish to draw to the
attention of members that the current Branch Secretary, Kate Leiper, will
be retiring in the summer of 2009, and to date no one has expressed an
interest in taking on the role.
Kate will offer
assistance to any member who may show an interest, and has stated that she
would be willing to continue to support the new Branch Secretary for a
period of time after she stands down.
Members are urged
to seriously think about becoming more active in the Branch, as a "lay
controlled" trade union, like UNISON, will find difficulty in operating
without this post being occupied.
If you wish to
talk to Kate about the post, or to find out more then she can be contacted
at the Brach Office.
However please
remember that there's not much time left.
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UNISON: Angus Council Branch - Who are we?
UNISON Angus Council Branch represents over 1500 members, with the majority working for Angus Council.
However we also represent members in Rossie Secure
Accommodation Services, Tayside Valuation Joint Board, Angus Business Centre and the
Voluntary Sector. The members are concerned in every aspect of local government
in Angus, including housing, legal, financial, local assessors, registrars,
roads, planning, education, leisure, social work, environmental and consumer protection.
We negotiate for better pay and conditions,
help individuals in trouble and campaign for a safer, fairer society.
UNISON is Britain's biggest union, representing almost 1.3
million people across the UK's public services.
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Reasons why workers are better off in unions
Value for money
Most union contributions represent only
around half a percent of workers' earnings but the pay back is considerably greater.
Support at work
You have the legal right to be accompanied
by a trade union representative if you have a workplace grievance or if you are facing disciplinary action.
Better pay - especially for ethnic minority and women workers
Trade union collective bargaining produces
a better rate of pay for workers. Average earnings are around eight per cent
higher in workplaces where the bulk of the workforce is covered by collective bargaining.
Black and Asian trade unionists earn almost
a third more than their non-union counterparts. For white workers the union premium is ten per cent.
Pensions
Workplaces are more likely to have a
pension scheme where a trade union is recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining.
Sick pay
Workers in unionised workplaces are more
likely to get sick pay paid at higher than the statutory minimum than those in non-unionised workplaces.
Annual leave
The average trade union member in the UK
gets 29 days' annual leave a year compared with 23 days for non-union members.
Equal opportunities and family-friendly working
Workplaces with union recognition are 20
per cent more likely to have an equal opportunities policy than workplaces where
no union is recognised and 12 per cent more likely to have parental leave policies in place.
Women in unionised workplaces are better
off in terms of career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and support
for family responsibilities than women in non-union workplaces.
Job security
Trade union members are only half as likely
to be sacked as non-members and if they do they get better compensation.
Three quarters of union-organised
workplaces in an LRD survey had a procedure agreement on redundancy
consultation, 80 per cent had agreed measures to avoid redundancy and almost
three quarters had a redundancy pay scheme better than the statutory scheme.
Health and safety
Studies found there was a 50 per cent
reduction in major injuries in workplaces where there were trade union safety
reps and consultation. In trade unionised workplaces there was a 33 per cent
improvement in health and safety.
Legal Compensation
Unions won over £321 million in legal
compensation for their members who were victims of work-related illness and
injury in 2000 - an average of more than £6,000 per case.
UNISON won £35 million for its members in
personal injury cases alone in 2001 and many millions more in employment tribunal cases.
A majority of unions also offer legal help
in non-work related cases, such as claiming social security benefits,
representation in road traffic cases, free wills, and so on to members and their families.
Unions win or achieve settlements in 77 per
cent of cases lodged with tribunals compared with 45 per cent of cases overall.
Training
Workers in unionised workplaces are more
likely to receive job-related training than those in non-unionised workplaces.
Other membership benefits
Unions offer additional fringe membership
benefits such as cheaper mortgages and insurance, holiday clubs, shopping
discounts, credit cards, discounted car breakdown membership and so on.
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