Return to sender – PCS members tell Govt to shove pensions letter

Union-News.co.uk

The active voice for trade unionists

by Pete Murray - 31st March 2012, 7.30 BST

Thousands of angry PCS members have returned to the government official letters notifying them of tomorrow’s pensions contribution rise.

Civil servants received the letter – which is for information purposes only – and in a spontaneous protest against plans to impose changes to their pension scheme popped them back in the post after adding their unflattering views on the scheme.

BSU Students’ Union Calls the Government to Come Clean on Student Funding

Following a vote at the last Student Council, Bath Spa University Students’ Union will join unions across the country to support the NUS Come Clean campaign and lobby parliament on 18 April.

The lobby will be followed by a rally at Roostein Hopkins Parade Ground with speeches from campaigners and union representatives, including members of UCU.

No more Higher Education Bill

The Government have said that they want to put students ‘at the heart of the system’ – yet the  recent shelving of the Higher Education Bill now leaves students facing higher fees with no additional protections or security.

The decision to treble fees to £9000 was forced through with no legislation to prop it up – rushed through to avoid deep controversy. A bill would have provided us with a platform to obtain additional rights for students – winning protections in the new funding regime and resisting further privatisation.

Backdoor Reforms

Many of the most damaging reforms the Government wants to push through do not require legislation and may never have been included in the bill anyway. This means that the Government is still able to push ahead with many of its most radical reforms – and can potentially continue to do so without opportunity for proper parliamentary scrutiny, public debate, or an opportunity for it to be defeated.

We cannot let this happen. We want a public debate on the issues – out in the open rather than behind closed doors. Over 130 Bath Spa students have already signed a ‘Come Clean’ petition and over 20 have written to local MPs.

If you would like to support our call for David Willetts to ‘come clean’, please find details on the Students’ Union website.

‘Name and shame’ threat to university low-payers

Union-News.co.uk

The active voice for trade unionists

by Tim Lezard - 2nd March 2012, 12.04 GMT

The NUS and UNISON today said they would name and shame universities who pay their staff less than £7.20 an hour.

The campaign, which calls on all colleges, universities and students’ unions – including private contractors on campuses – across the UK to pay at least a Living Wage to all of their employees, is being launched at UNISON’s Higher Education Conference in Brighton.

It will see the two organisations creating a ‘league table’ of the worst offenders – those with the biggest gap between the lowest and highest paid staff.  The unions will also award those that do the right thing by giving a ‘kite mark’ to the colleges and universities that agree to pay the living wage.

NASUWT refuses to sign “scandalous” pensions deal

By Tim Lezard - 29th January 2012, 8.00 GMT

NASUWT members have said the government’s “scandalous” Heads of Agreement document is set to “wreak a massive injustice to teachers”

The union, along with fellow teachers’ unions NUT, UCAC and UCU, refused to sign the agreement, saying it remains deeply concerned about the unacceptable nature of the process and the arbitrary timescales being imposed by the Treasury for completing vital and complex work which will have a profound impact on the teaching profession.

General secretary Chris Keates told UnionNews: “We think the process of drawing up the Heads of Agreement can only be described as a debacle.

“There are lots of basic equality issues, such as the impact on different groups of teachers, that haven’t been considered by the government.

“So we have decided to continue to press the government on contribution rates, on what rates of contribution employers will be paying – because we think the government is trying to depress those contributions to make employees pay more – and we’ll still be pressing on the normal pension age and the proposed increase, which we think is unacceptable from a teacher’s point of view.”

Manchester March For The Alternative

Date: Sunday 2 October
Assemble 12 noon Liverpool Road (off Deansgate)

This year the Conservative Party are having their annual Conference in Manchester and the TUC is organising a march and rally to show opposition to the Coalition Government’s disastrous policies of pay freezes, cuts and attacks on public services that are producing rising unemployment, cuts in living standards and stagnation. The march will also show the support for The Alternative. We need jobs, growth and justice for a sustainable future and this event will send that message loud and clear.

The TUC is calling for the maximum support and are encouraging all union members to attend. More details can be found here

If you would be interested in travelling by a UCU coach could you let me know ASAP and we’ll see what we can do in conjunction with Region and the other Bristol & Bath UCU branches.

UCUATBSU Members Make National Press

Three of our branch members were astounded to find themselves featured in a double-page spread in the Daily Mirror on 29th July 2011.

Branch chair John Newsinger is in the centre of the picture but also featured are Mike Johnson and Branch communications officer Chris Jury, who can just be seen ranting into his own personal megaphone. Those who know Chris insist a megaphone is not necessary.

In any event well done to everyone who joined us on the march in Bristol we at UCUATBSU really are punching above our weight!