The strategy has involve a twin track approach of bargaining and campaigning, bargaining at a Wales and Local Authority level to minimise the effects of cuts on our members and their communities and campaigning by winning the Wales TUC to take the lead in developing a labour led anti cuts campaign.
The bargaining results have been mixed with defensive and complex battles in, ironically, the only two Labour controlled Councils: Neath Port Talbot (NPT) and Rhondda Cynon Taff RCT). These councils have taken a confrontational and intimidatory approach to negotiations with both issuing early S188 notices and both trying to steam roll through major cuts to Terms and Conditions and in NPT’s case a time limited cut in pay. The RCT battle is still ongoing but the NPT situation has now been settled following a ballot of members accepted a slightly improved but still severe package of measures.
Meanwhile, through the auspices of the Wales TUC, negotiation have taken place with the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and the Wales Local Government Association (WLGA) on developing a Local Government Cost Reduction Measures Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its purpose to “seek to limit the scope of local negotiations on cost reduction measures’.
The draft MOU, which the Trade Unions have pragmatically agreed to sign up to and which will be signed off by the WLGA at the WAG Workforce Partnership Council meeting today (20.1.11), contains commitments to:
- ‘Meaningful two-way consultation and negotiation with a view to reaching agreement at a local level, seeking to avoid the use of Section 188 notices’
- ‘transparency of information regarding the local financial position’
- ‘aims to avoid job loss and protect services by exploring all the potential options including, for example, service charges and Council Tax levels’
- ‘protect, to the maximum extent possible, and for as long as possible, the local government workforce in Wales from compulsory redundancies’
- ‘Equality Impact Assessments’
- Reducing the use of agency workers and consultants
- To use Voluntary Redundancy Schemes to reduce workforce numbers
- WAG ‘to consider how local authorities could be assisted with the cost of voluntary redundancy payments, for example, capitalisation of the funding of severance payments
This document is no magic shield against cuts, as there will still be hard local bargaining and local disputes around protecting Part Three conditions but it will help to reduce the scope of the attacks.
The campaigning initiatives have been more positive with the Wales TUC November 2010 special conference adopting a similar campaigning strategy as outlined in the RCT motion and, since the conference, working constructively to roll it out.
UNISON Wales, for its part, has identified a lead organiser, for each of the 22 Local Authority areas, to co-ordinate a cross TU, cross sector, TU led, community based campaign in their designated area.
The initial objectives of these campaign co-ordinators is for:
a) Local trade unions and other organisations mapped and contacted within 4 weeks
b) Public meetings and/or rallies, demonstrations, marches, conferences organised and scheduled for no later than the end of February 2011
c). Street activities, lobbies, events etc. organised in the area in the run out to the TUC demonstration in London
d). Establishment a database of anti-cuts activists
e). Identify and organise people to go on the demo on the 26th March equivalent to at least one bus for your geographic patch
f). Encourage branches to produce a ‘Pledge Sheet’ for members and activists re: sign up and attend the 26th March Rally. We will maintain a branch “roll of honour” for numbers pledged to attend.
Already branches have set aside thousands of pounds in campaign budgets, buses have been booked, street activities held, public meetings held and planned and two major demonstrations planned for Pontypridd on 19 February and for Cardiff on 5 March, the latter to coincide with the Tories and the Lib Dems being in town.
Whilst this is all going on a GPF funded anti cuts advertisement campaign will be rolled out, from February, on bill boards, in newspapers, on bus shelters and on the back of buses.
Whilst recognising the challenging times ahead, UNISON Wales has picked up the mantle and is gradually turning itself into a campaigning union, co-ordinating the resistance and leading the fight back.