UNISON lobby against ‘silent slaughter’ of council services

Edinburgh UNISON will lobby the City of Edinburgh Council budget meeting on Thursday 21 January 2016 from 08.45-9.45 against 2,000 job losses and £160 million in cuts to services over four years.

Tom Connolly, UNISON Edinburgh lead negotiator, said: “On top of the existing quest to find £150 million in cuts, the recent Scottish Government financial settlement means Edinburgh has to find another £10 million in cuts to jobs and services.

“2,000 jobs are being lost – that’s seven times the number lost at Tata Steel in Scotland. The Scottish Government have rightly set up a task force on steel jobs but they say nothing about local government. It has become the silent slaughter of council jobs and services.”

Cuts on top of cuts - January newsletter

Come to the lobby on 21 January; UNISON fights off increment cut; more must be done to stop compulsory redundancies and keeping bosses to procedures. Click here for a PDF

Edinburgh signs up to UNISON Ethical Care Charter pledge

The pledge says: "The City of Edinburgh Council endorses the principles of the UNISON Ethical Care Charter and commits to working in partnership with UNISON towards its implementation.”

Amanda Kerr, UNISON branch secretary,
Ricky Henderson, Council Health & Social Care convener,
 Kirsten Hey, UNISON Health & Social Care steward,
and Andrew Burns, Council leader, sign the pledge

UNISON's Ethical Care Charter aims to establish a minimum baseline for the safety, quality and dignity of care by ensuring employment conditions which a) do not routinely shortchange clients and b) ensure the recruitment and retention of a more stable workforce through more sustainable pay, conditions and training levels.

Branch secretary Amanda Kerr said: "This is the first step on a long road to full implementation of the Charter. We congratulate the Council in signing up to this pledge and we know it is a tough commitment to make when the Council faces such huge cuts in its funding. However, there should be no greater priority than dignity and quality of care for those who need it, and dignity and quality of pay and conditions for those who deliver that care."

Come to the UNISON AGM on 22 Feb

The Branch Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 22 February 2016 in the Augustine Church, George IV Bridge Edinburgh, from 6pm to 8pm at the latest.

Branch secretary Amanda Kerr said: "This is a very important meeting. Please make every effort to participate. With all that the branch faces with cuts in jobs and services and possibly attacks on pay and conditions this is probably the most important AGM we have ever called.

"If anyone needs assistance or advice about submitting issues to the meeting, please feel free to contact the Branch Office."

A preliminary notice was issued on 15 December 2015. Click here to go to the AGM page on our website for deadlines and how to nominate for officer positions and submit motions.

What council cuts really mean - Tell your councillor and MSP 'enough is enough'

UNISON Edinburgh's latest cuts newssheet outlines how the cuts will affect you as a worker and you and your family as citizens. http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/un/undecember.pdf

What the cuts are doing to council staff...
Cutting 2, 000 jobs or around 10% of staff
Threatening compulsory redundancies
No plan to deal with the increasing workloads and stress.

Outsourcing of music instructors
Outsourcing a further 25% of home care work to lower pay providers.
Reducing wages in disability services whilst acknowledging  poor recruitment/ retention levels.

Season's greetings

from UNISON Edinburgh branch secretary Amanda Kerr, officers and staff - especially to those delivering Edinburgh's services over the holiday.

A happy and peaceful festive season to all our members. Amidst all the job losses and uncertainty for council workers, we hope you can still have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. You deserve to.

Transformation madness must stop

A new UNISON branch briefing says the acceleration of the City of Edinburgh Council Transformation programme in August from five years to three years created concern but to slash this again in October to 18 months came as a shock.

The madness increased when the latest papers show that the Transformation team must complete all the staff reductions, programmes and reviews (excluding Asset Management) in the next six months.

On top of existing reviews, 28 additional organisational reviews have been announced with no chance of 'meaningful consultation'. Half of the 1,500 VERA applications have been refused. UNISON is demanding an explanation and a slow down in the process.