Wirral Unison News

21 December 2011

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE BRANCH

Dear Colleague

FIFTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH 2012
PRELIMINARY AGENDA

I hereby give notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Branch which is to be held on Wednesday 14 March 2012 in the Civic Hall, Wallasey Town Hall from 12.15p.m. to 1.15p.m.

1. Departmental Representation

In accordance with Rule 19 Departments are entitled to appoint departmental representatives to serve on the Branch Committee.

Each stewards committee based on total departmental membership shall be

entitled to the following representation on the Branch Committee:-

Up to 100 members - 2 representatives

Every additional 100 or part thereof - 1 representative

Up to a maximum of 30

You are therefore, asked to elect from amongst yourselves the appropriate number of representatives and notify Branch Office, in writing, giving the name of the Department, and the names and addresses of elected members no later than 7 weeks before the meeting i.e. 5.00pm on Wednesday 25 January 2012.

Representation should be co-ordinated through Departmental Steward Committees and allocated Branch Officer(s).

2. Election of Branch Officers

The Branch Committee, each Stewards Committee represented in the Branch or any two members are entitled to nominate candidates for election to the following offices, and all nominations must be received at Branch Office, in writing, no later than 7 weeks before the meeting i.e. 5.00pm on Wednesday 25 January 2012.

  1. Branch Chair
  2. Branch Vice-Chair
  3. Branch Secretary
  4. Assistant Branch Secretary
  5. Branch Treasurer
  6. Branch Negotiator
  7. Communications Officer
  8. Education Co-ordinator
  9. Welfare Officer
  10. Equalities Officer
  11. Womens Officer
  12. Health and Safety Officer
  13. Membership Services Officer
  14. Sports and Social Officer
  15. International Relations Officer
  16. Young Members Officer
  17. Branch Auditors (2)

All members elected to the above offices with the exception of the two auditors are ex-officio members of the Branch Committee.

3. Notice of Motions

Any notice of motions for discussion at the Annual General Meeting should be duly proposed, seconded and forwarded to the Branch Office, in writing, not less than 7 weeks before the meeting i.e. 5.00pm on Wednesday 25 January 2012, so that such motions can be included in the agenda.

Yours sincerely

JOE TAYLOR
BRANCH SECRETARY

REGIONAL WELFARE NEWSLETTER

Click here is view the Regional Welfare Newsletter

INDUSTRAIL ACTION BALLOT RESULTS

On 3rd of November 2011 unison members voted yes for a day of Industrial action on the 30th of November this is a combined day of action with other trade unions in support of the attack on pensions if you feel that you are being pressured not to take action or any other queries about the strike please contact branch office on 0151-643-7007

WHATS HAPPENING WITH OUR PENSIONS?
PAY MORE WORK LONGER GET LESS.

Unison are currently taking part in extensive negotiations with the Government over the proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Similar negotiations are taking place on a pension scheme by pension scheme basis for the NHS, Teachers and the Civil Service pension schemes with the Trade Unions who represent members in those schemes.

These negotiations are happening as a result of the Government’s stated intentions to implement the proposals set out in Lord Hutton’s Independent Public Services Pensions Commission Final Report published on 10/03/2011. What these proposals mean for most current contributing members of the LGPS is that they will be paying increased contributions and retiring later for a reduced pension. As well as this LGPS members who are no longer directly employed by a local authority could lose their right to remain in the scheme.

The government has been anxious to make out that public sector pensions are no longer affordable. Unison and the TUC believe this is not true, a point of view that is backed up by the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee.

PAY MORE

Whilst detailed proposals for the increased contributions for the Local Government Pension Scheme have not yet been announced, from what we have seen so far many members will see their pension contributions increase by as much as 50% or even 100%. This could price them out of the scheme all together.

WORK LONGER

The Government has stated that the retirement age for public sector pensions will be increasing. If you are 34 or younger it will be 68, between 34 and 42 it is 67 and between 42 and 57 it will be 66.

GET LESS

The government is changing the way public sector pensions are increased by changing the method used to increase pension payments from Retail Price Inflation to Consumer Price Inflation. This is significant as CPI is typically on average 0.7% per year lower than RPI. The Office of Budget responsibility predicts that pensions will be 8.5% less by 2017. Lord Hutton said it represents a 15% cut in your pension.

Other proposed changes include the replacement of the Final Salary with Career Average Re-valued Earnings to calculate our future pension payments. This proposal will benefit some members whilst others could lose out. Unison are holding back their judgement on this proposed change whilst our negotiators establish the specific details of this proposal.

Please use the Pensions link on the Branch Website to keep up to date with developments.

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY

Wirral unison marked this day with the unveiling of a bench in Hamilton square in remembrance of Neil Beacall a former branch secretary and great Wirral trade unionist. We would like to thank everyone who came. Pictures of the unveiling are within our gallery.