Clarion doing its best to -increase- number of pensioners in poverty by its "unlawful & immoral decisions"

 

Check out Clarion UNISON Facebook "Our #Clarion indicative strike ballot is still open & a email reminder was sent out yesterday to fill out the ballot form

#Clarion is obviously still keen by their immoral decisions to increase the number of pensioners living in poverty.

Actions from yesterday's UNISON #pensions meeting will be sent out next week. A template email will also be included. Stewards will be responding to requests for reps at #Fire&Rehire 121s asap @UnisonHAB Unison Commvol"

2023: Year of Black Workers - Passing the torch to the next Generation

 Please check out this flyer for the Greater London UNISON Black History Month Event at the UNISON centre on 12 October. All members welcome. 

UNISON Greater London Housing Association Branch Executive Social (& putting our world to rights)

 

Great photo from last night's meal in London Bridge for branch elected executive members to meet our new organiser, Karl and discuss disputes and issues across our sector. We had representatives from most of the G15 Housing Associations and had a keen discussion and made plans for dealing with the many, many challenges facing our sector. 

Pay disputes are obviously number one followed by bullying, racism and other discrimination, then Pensions (strike action over pay and potential mass dismissals over pensions in Clarion for example), car mileage, health & safety, governance failures, accountability.... the list of problems is pretty endless and often inter connected. 

We also welcomed former branch organiser, Andy Robinson, (he arrived after the photo) who is now an extremely experienced and well qualified employment law advisor, who was able to give us some very helpful advice on issues. 

St Andrews Golf Course must withdraw ‘fire and rehire’ pensions threat to workers, says UNISON

 

Clarion UNISON have sent solidarity messages to these members and will be in touch regarding our own pension "Fire & Rehire" vile threats.  Hat tip CLarion UNISON Facebook page.

"Scotland’s largest union is demanding that St Andrews Links Trust, which operates the country’s world-famous golf course, withdraws its threat to fire and rehire around 70 staff over their pension rights.

The trust wants workers to agree to transfer from its local government pension scheme to a much more inferior one, says UNISON.

Staff have been told if they don’t accept the new pension scheme, formal redundancy notices will be issued. St Andrews has made clear it intends to sack employees and re-hire them on new contracts and a much poorer pension.

Unless the trust scraps these proposals, UNISON says it will ballot workers for industrial action.

The golf course can easily afford to keep its current pension scheme for staff, adds the union, warning that the threat of losing their jobs is putting workers under pressure to sign their rights away.

UNISON Scotland regional organiser  Ian Fitzpatrick said: “The proposed pension changes at St Andrews Links Trust are completely unnecessary.

“The local government pension scheme is more than affordable for the trust that’s behind one of the most successful golf courses in the world. St Andrews should be supporting its loyal staff through these difficult times, not issuing terrifying threats.

“No decent employer should be using fire and rehire scare tactics. This is nothing more than a weapon to force dedicated workers to vote to decrease their retirement income.

“St Andrew Links Trust board members must withdraw their vile threats and get around the table with UNISON to find a solution.”

Notes to editors:

UNISON is Scotland’s largest union. Its 150,000 members work across public services – in social care, local government, the NHS, education, emergency services, energy and water. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Around 300 employees work for St Andrews Links Trust. Seventy-one staff are affected by these changes and have been threatened with fire and rehire. Any changes to the local government pension scheme require the agreement of those in the scheme".

UNISON Survey on the charging of DBS checks to workers closes next Friday 4 August 2023

 

This is incredible to many people (myself included) that some employers charge their workers the cost of having a DBS check? These are mostly low paid care workers doing difficult jobs and some of them work for different employers, all of whom want them to pay for this check out of their wages?

Please check out this survey before Friday https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90571287/DBS-checks-survey

Well done to the London Vol Org branch for setting up this survey (and branch secretary Jordon)

Is it about time we broke up these "mega monopolies" housing associations?

 

L&Q is headquartered in Newham and is also one of the largest UNISON "shops" in my branch. So I have had a fair amount of contact (and sometimes conflict) with L&Q over the years. 

Check out this "Inside Housing" Report on Friday. I won't comment on the horrendous specifics and strongly believe that all large Housing Association bosses are thinking this weekend about L&Q "there but for the grace of God"...but isn't it about time we  consider whether these mega housing associations are just too large, too bureaucratic, too  unaccountable and should be broken up? 

Mind you I am convinced that the failure of the Government to properly fund the development of new social housing is equally to blame (making housing associations forget they are landlords and not just developers)

The Week in Housing: L&Q in the spotlight Good afternoon. This week, the Housing Ombudsman issued its highest-ever single set of fines – totalling £142,000 to be paid to more than 100 tenants – as it published an excoriating report into L&Q, the giant housing association. The report, which we cover here, paints a deeply troubling picture of a failure in landlord services affecting hundreds, if not thousands, of residents. Michael Gove, the housing secretary, has now summoned Fiona Fletcher-Smith, the landlord’s chief executive, to a meeting, telling her she has “failed your residents”. And a sharp reminder of the potential consequences of poor repairs was also delivered by a coroner. A report was sent to the association regarding the death, through hypothermia, of a tenant who was waiting for a boiler repair. Of course, long-term readers will know there is history here. In the 2010s, as housing associations diversified into market sale development and raised more private finance than ever before, L&Q soared above its peers. It posted the biggest surpluses, secured debt at the lowest prices, promised the biggest development and took on the hardest regeneration schemes. It seemed to be the A-student, the shining example for what housing associations could be with good corporate management. But beneath this surface, there were always problems – a steady drip of stories from tenants and leaseholders about disrepair, service charges and complaints going unanswered. To read the rest of the Week in Housing newsletter, sign up here".

"Out-of-date mileage rates are driving workers into poverty"

 

Hat tip Clarion UNISON Facebook page

See this report below by workers being completely ripped off by being expected to use their cars to go to work but not being compensated for the cost for "work related" mileage https://magazine.unison.org.uk/2023/07/18/out-of-date-mileage-rates-are-driving-workers-into-poverty/. 

Clarion Housing Group got rid of decent car allowances for most lower paid workers but kept them for higher paid bosses and they are now they are benefiting from their staff being forced into poverty to carry out their jobs.

Please sign the UNISON petition to ask your MP to act https://action.unison.org.uk/page/121245/action/1

 

Untruths, threats and actual ACAS advice on "fire and rehire"

Clarion UNISON Facebook link

So called "Social Mission landlord" Clarion Housing Association has bullied and threatened hundreds of its workers to accept losing their defined benefit pension schemes by telling them they will be sacked without compensation, if they do not "consent" to the closing of their pension entitlement.

UNISON has sent out advice to its members but let us be clear what the ACAS (independent public body to resolve disputes between trade unions and employers) states about such disputes.

For the many staff impacted who face losing their defined benefits pension who felt bullied into accepting the closure, we would suggest (advice only for unison members) they consider withdrawing that "consent".

But please see what the ACAS advice is below and compare to what your employer has threatened you with!

(Update meeting for members impacted Friday 1pm 4 August. Teams invites to be emailed out).

Note "work under protest"

https://www.acas.org.uk/.../if-employment-contract...

"However, if an employee does not agree with an imposed change, they might decide to:

• temporarily work to the new terms and conditions, but make it clear they are challenging the change ('working under protest') 
• Resign and make a claim of constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal, if they feel the change significantly breaks their agreed contract (a 'fundamental breach of contract')

If an employee works under protest

If an employee works under protest, they continue to work under the changed terms, but make it clear that they do not agree to the change and take steps to challenge it.

An employee should make it clear to you that they're working under protest. They should usually do this in writing on a regular basis, for example every time they get paid.

They should normally only work under protest for a short time so they can formally raise their concerns with you or take legal action if you do not resolve their concerns.

For example, depending on the circumstances, an employee could decide to make legal claims against the organisation for:

• damages for breach of contract at a civil court
• 'unlawful deduction of wages' at an employment tribunal, if the change affects their pay
• discrimination, if the change means they are treated unfairly in relation to certain 'protected characteristics' under the law

If you impose a change that makes an employee's terms and conditions significantly worse than before, they might be able to claim unfair dismissal while continuing to work under the changed terms. This is a very complex claim. You should get legal advice if you're in this situation.

If there's a trade union

If you impose a change after not being able to reach agreement with a recognised trade union, the trade union might consider:

• taking industrial action – for example a strike, refusing to take part in certain activities, or a 'work to rule' where employees do no more than what they're contractually required to do
• supporting individual employees to make claims to a court or employment tribunal

Forever Leeds: The Leeds Uni Reunion 1981-2023

This week I met up with Leeds University friends for a reunion, after in some cases, some 39 years apart. 5 of us shared a house in Headingley, Leeds (very close to the cricket ground). All of us (except Mike) had met each other as members of the local UOTC (training for a potential regular and territorial army officers unit attached to the University). 

By coincidence, on our visit to the Leeds campus on Tuesday there were graduation ceremonies for the present generation of Leeds graduates. Lots of happy new graduates, proud parents and family members. 

Leeds has been transformed since our time which was a pleasure to see but statistics tell us there are still deep rooted social and economic problems for many. 

See modern day picture of us sitting on steps in front of Leeds Uni student union (left to right - Mike, Claire, Me, Fiona (not in original photo but great friend of all of us), Vicki and Sue. 

Picture from 1983/84 (?) outside the student union left to right -me, Vicki, Mike, Sue (Ann, another great friend) and Claire. 

As you can see, we have all aged not a bit!

(I was also in Labour Students during this time and fairly active in the Students Union but do not recall anyone called Keir Starmer (Leeds Uni 1982-85), but since he had a very demanding Law degree to undertake, he probably did the sensible thing to knuckle down and concentrate on his course - unlike me). 

Elected to UNISON Labour Link National Committee (& Vote for Anu in regional elections)

 

On Monday I was really pleased to find out that I had been re-elected (after 2 year gap of course) to the UNISON National Labour Link Committee by NEC (National Executive Council) colleagues to the 12 seats that the NEC hold on that committee (the others by regional and self-organised groups).

Labour Link is the UNISON political fund that in principle supports the Labour Party (but not on everything if they get things wrong in our view) but wants a Labour Government to be elected asap.

Only NEC Labour Party Political fund levy payers "supporters" can vote in these elections and only Labour Party members can stand for Committee positions. 

I will be bringing up at this committee issues of grave concerns to my members such as fire & rehire, cuts to pay and terms of conditions (such as defined benefit pensions!!!!)

Of course, some hard left extremists who hate the Labour Party and only pretend to support them in order to vote or stand took part but but I think most of their candidates got nowhere.

Regional elections for delegates to National Labour Link Committee by all levy members will take place soon. My branch nominated  the excellent candidate, Anu Prashar,  for the Greater London seat.