Gregor Gall reflects on the life of the late Scottish print union leader Vincent Flynn and identifies seven core skills for effective trade union leadership:
- the ability to develop a national agenda for a union
- the ability to organise internally within the union - through caucusing and networking - to win the union to this agenda
- the ability to negotiate, most obviously with employers but also with other unions and the government
'Those who argue that unions wanting to negotiate – the majority – have ‘sold out’ and undermined trade union solidarity need to get to grips with the complexities of public sector pensions, serious areas of weakness in membership density and organisation, sectoral bargaining arrangements in the public sector. Only when they have done that should they decide whether there is a route to getting everything we want through industrial action', says UNISON's Heather Wakefield in a Red Pepper response to those who, despite the objective realities, believe their own propaganda that industrial action alone will safeguard decent public sector pensions:
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/n30-and-after-was-that-it/
UNISON's lay representatives covering members in the LGPS met on 10th January to consider the next steps in the campaign. Each of the Service Group Executives (SGE) separately agreed a motion to proceed with detailed negotiations.
UNISON's health care Service Group Executive (SGE) voted decisively to put the NHS Pension Scheme Heads of Agreement to the membership. By a margin of 5 to 1 the SGE rejected calls to throw out the agreement and take immediate and sustained industrial action.
Following the withdrawal of Tuesday’s letter by DCLG Minister Eric Pickles - which was seen as undermining the framework agreement for taking forward negotiations on the LGPS, UNISON will be consulting on the proposals - which ward off the 1.5% pension contribution increases due to commence next April:
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2559
In October the DCLG commenced a formal consultation on increased employee contributions for LGPS scheme members in England and Wales - proposing increased contributions for all scheme members in posts with FTE salaries over £15,000 - rising from 1.5% for those earning under £21,000 to a maximum of 6% for ‘high earners’. Negotiations on the LGPS have successfully averted the DCLG’s proposed increases – which were due to be phased in between April 2012 and April 2014.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/pensionconsultation
It is a sad reflection on the lack of integrity of certain unions present at Thursday's TUC Public Services Liaison Group (PSLG) meeting on public sector pensions, that lies and misrepresentations emanating from their ranks have been allowed to go unchallenged. Two basic facts about the PSLG meeting need to be stated:
A joint local government union statement issued yesterday reports that a “very positive framework" has been agreed with employer representatives which would enable full negotiations on a reformed local government pension scheme (LGPS) to start in January:
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/C7500.pdf
In Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT), one of the largest council’s in Wales, UNISON is battling to defend the terms and conditions of over 10,000 workers after the Labour controlled council issued a section 188 notice. Yesterday the branch has issued a briefing updating members on developments:
http://www.rctunison.org.uk/index.htm
