News from the News from the

Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
General Branch

E
General Branch
WINTER 20102010 Spring 2011

The branch wishes to express thanks to all the UNISON

members who were able to join the demonstra on on
26 March.
In all, we filled 3 coaches from UNISON General Branch
in Wolverhampton, and included in this ar cle are
some quotes from those who came. (In total 9 coaches
went from Wolverhampton)

"A good turn-out, well

worth coming. If it saves
one job, as long as it isn't
Cameron's, its' been worth
it."
Dave Pren s UNISON General Secretary, addressed
protestors at the end of the march in Hyde Park, together
with other trade unions leaders and poli cians.

This was the first na onal TUC mobilisa on for many
years and went some way to dispel the view that trade
unions are a thing of the past. Media reports of num-
bers a ending varied widely. The police reported
250,000 and it is widely known that they always under-
es mate numbers; a bit strange on this occasion as
those protes ng are also defending the police against
the cuts!
"I came because I wanted to
tell the government how I
feel. It was educa onal,
even the police were like
minded."
Later in the day some media ar cles put the march at
600,000, but we probably had in excess of 750,000
trade unionists and supporters on the march.
"I've been on one demonstra on before
(Save Our Pits), there were a hell of a lot
of people today, more of a family atmos-
phere. I saw no trouble. It's working
people who care, and I'm proud to have
been a part of it."
The marginal violence was not perpetrated by the trade
unionists protes ng, and was focused on by some in the
media and poli cs as somehow a way to discredit the
protest. Whilst it is understandable that a small minority
expressed their anger at the bankers, their protest was in
truth, nothing to do with the demonstra on.
Goto back page

On top of a pay freeze, rising infla on and the
threat of redundancy, public sector workers now
face a pensions raid. The Hu on Report is a Trojan
horse to a ack public sector pensions and make
public sector workers pay the price for the excess
of the bankers.
Including pensioners, ac ve members and their
dependents 20 million people will be affected.
The report recommends that:
Staff contribu ons to increase by up to 50% - This was
announced by the ConDem government last year before
the report was released. Increased contribu ons will not
go into your pension schemes, they will go to plug a
funding gap caused by cuts. This is a direct tax on public
sector workers to bail out the banks!
The re rement age to be increased - for some people
this could increase to 68!
Pensions to be calculated on your career average salary
rather than your final salary.
There should be a cap on employer contribu ons - this
means that any increase in pension costs will be put
directly on staff in the scheme.
Workers who are outsourced should not be allowed to
be members of the scheme.
Increases in pensions should be linked to the lower CPI
measure of infla on rather than the RPI measure of
infla on.
The report does make some recommenda ons which
UNISON would welcome such as greater transparency
and access to informa on rela ng to the pension
schemes.
If we didn’t save for a decent pension we would have to
rely on benefits in re rement which would cost the tax
payer more in the long term. It’s worth no ng that
over £100billion is invested by public sector pensions
in the UK which supports the economy!
What you can do -
Pensions are your deferred wages! We need to de-
fend our right to a decent re rement and to do that
we need people to become pensions contacts in the
workplace to spread the message about the cam-
paign and keep members informed. We can
only win if we are strong in the workplace. This
means you ge ng involved in the campaign.
A CAMPAIGN THAT UNISONs LEADERSHIP BELIEVES
WILL LEAD TO POTENTIAL INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN
THE AUTUMN
You do not need to be an expert or have any
experience. All you need to be good at is talking to
your colleagues. You will be fully supported by
UNISON with training, briefings and advice and there
will be a network of pensions contacts across the un-
ion to back you up To express an interest contact
our office.554096
“This will not be a token skirmish, but a
prolonged and sustained war, because
this government has declared war on a
huge propor on of the popula on,"
Dave Pren s UNISON General Secretary
 It I

It is the policy of Wolverhampton General UNISON branch to oppose , where

we can , the reckless and unnecessary cuts taking place in Wolverhampton
City Council and across the public sector.
Job cuts not only affect those who are losing their jobs , but also those who remain behind!
Job Cuts be they ‘front Line’ or ‘Support Services’ ( a dis nc on o en made by employers, but that
UNISON does not make!) or simply saving money by not filling vacancies , invariably leave work tasks
which have to be taken on by the remaining staff. This in turn can lead to stress and increased sickness-
absenteeism through increased workloads as well as a reduced service delivery.

We call on all our members to join our ‘No CUTS NO COVER’ campaign of resistance to
against the cuts
Report threats to jobs and services in your area to UNISON
Let us know how cuts are affec ng your workplace
Report to us posts that have disappeared so that we can keep a record
Refuse to cover for deleted services not in your job descrip on
Report any increases in workloads to your UNISON steward
Organise a workplace mee ng to discuss the cuts
Encourage non-union colleagues to join UNISON
Look out for our lobbies and an -cuts ac vi es
On the same day, the ConDems (Tory and
Lib-Dems) were saying that they would listen, but they
con nue with their draconian cuts.
Be er they had said that they were not listening, un l
we force them to.

"The demonstra on was huge, I would es mate the true

figure about ¾ million strong or more. It shows that if a
lead is given, the anger and the will to fight back is there.
We need to call on the TUC to organise a General Strike
now, to bring the ConDems down and protect every pub-
lic sector job, every service, every job. Get our money
back from the arrogant bankers if the deficit needs imme-
diate remedy."

The TUC demonstra on to defend public services should be

The TUC Demonstra on Against the Cuts was a
magnificent start to protests up and down the country,
which will also lead to localised industrial ac ons.
Workers have the power to stop these unnecessary cuts,
and if the coali on government is not going to listen and
respond, their days are numbered.
used as a springboard for ac on in defence of services, our
communi es and the jobs and pay and condi ons of those
who provide them.
Hundreds of thousands of UNISON members who marched
on the day are now looking to our na onal execu ve coun-
cil to lead ther fightback against these poli cally mo vated
cuts.

The Coali on Government has no democra c mandate to

a ack public services and UNISON alterna ve of the ‘Robin
Hood tax’ on Interna onal bank transac ons and the call to
address the vast tax avoidance of Big business has won
popular support.

It is es mated that 400,000 public sector jobs will go over

the next 4 years.

140,000 council jobs will be lost this year alone!. This will
destroy vital services that provide a safety net to some of
the most vulnerable in society and wreak havoc on our
economy.

It is inevitable that , in order to protect services or our

It is vital that the commitment of 750,000 people does
not fri er away into the spring sunshine. UNISON must terms and condi ons, Industrial ac on will be inevitable at
increase ac on in this campaign. All of our jobs and live- some stage. Only by figh ng back will we win!
lihoods, as well as the services we offer to the most vul- Ade Turner
nerable in society and our Poll Tax progress is at stake.
Branch Secretary
The ConDems only listen to the rich and powerful in our
society, we need to make them bow to the power of the
organised working class.

Join UNISON Today!

www.wolverhamptonunison.blogspot .com
or Tel: 01902 554096