UNITY-Spring-Summer-2014-FINAL.pdf-for-web

Branch Contacts
Branch Secretary
Steve Ryles
01392 383337
Email: branchsec@
devoncountyunison.org.uk
Office Manager/Case Worker
Cora Woodhead
01392 382539
Email: cora.woodhead@
devoncountyunison.org.uk
Admin Assistant
Catherine Hitchcock
01392 382530
Email: catherine.hitchcock@
devoncountyunison.org.uk
Admin Assistant
Lucy Roke
01392 382530
Email: lucy.roke@
devoncountyunison.org.uk
Communications Officer
Rachel Price
01392 383424
Email: rachel.price@
devoncountyunison.org.uk
UNISON Devon
County Branch
Room 20
Matford
County Hall
Exeter EX2 4QX
Tel: 01392 382530
E-mail: branchoffice@
devoncountyunison.org.uk
www.devoncountyunison.org.uk
© UNISON Devon County Branch
UNISON Devon County Branch
Many thanks to all our
members who voted in
that ballot - you sent a
clear message that a
meagre 1% pay offer
was not acceptable after
years of pay freezes and
below inflation rises.
The strike ballot will
start on 23 May and
finish on 23 June. Ballot
papers will be dropping
through letter boxes very
shortly, so keep an eye
out. As always, I’d
encourage members to
vote - it’s your chance to
have your say on your
pay, so don’t miss out!
We’ve got our
Special General
Meeting on 5 June
where, amongst other
issues, we’ll be
discussing the strike
ballot. So, if you’ve got
any questions on
industrial action or pay,
it’s definitely worth
Dates
for your
diary
Branch mag to be published twice a year
Message from
Branch Secretary
Welcome to UNITY. It’s going to be a busy few months
here at Branch Office following news that UNISON is
going to ballot its local government and school
members for strike action. This comes after 70% of
members rejected this year’s pay offer in April’s
consultative ballot.
coming along.
Like pay, equality has
always been a key issue
for UNISON, so I am
delighted to welcome
Warren Speed, the
Branch’s new
Equality Officer.
Warren has a wealth of
experience in equality
issues from his
previous work with the
NASWT, so I am sure he
will be a great support to
members and a valuable
addition to Branch Office.
A big thanks to
everyone who sent
us their comments on
Devon County Council’s
Adult Residential Home
proposals. The response
was unprecedented with
the number of signatures
on the petitions totalling
22,824. We’ve written
to councillors strongly
objecting to the proposal
and outlining the
5 June 2014
Branch Special General Meeting,
Coaver Club, County Hall, Exeter
15-16 June 2014
UNISON Local Government
Conference, Brighton
17-20 June 2014
UNISON National Delegate
Conference, Brighton
UNITY, the Branch’s quarterly members’ magazine, is now to
be published twice a year in a move to save money. Members
will now receive a Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter copy of
the magazine. If you’ve got a story for UNITY please get in
touch. All feedback welcome!
Contact: rachel.price@devoncountyunison.org.uk
concerns raised, so
watch this space!
Lastly, like most
organisations, the Branch
is having to tighten its
belt in a move to save
money. As a result,
UNITY will now be
published twice a year
rather than quarterly. So
from now on we’ll be
producing a Spring/
Summer and Autumn/
Winter issue. In between
times, we’ll continue to
post lots of news and
information on our
Facebook and Twitter
pages so I’d encourage
all members who haven’t
yet signed up to our
social media sites to do
so - that way you can
keep in touch with what’s
going on in your Branch
throughout the year.
Yours in solidarity
Steve Ryles
Octopus Draw
Play Octopus, UNISON
Welfare’s monthly prize
draw.
• £1000 first prize
• £500 second prize
• £250 third prize
• And 50 prizes of £25
each
Visit: http://www.unison.org.
uk/octopus/
Big thanks for AGM support
Many thanks to all those members who supported us at the Branch
AGM on the 6 March. We have updated the stewards list and
posted the minutes on our website: www.devoncountyunison.org.uk
County Hall Chronicle
Andy Bowman, Lead Steward at
Devon County Council and
Branch Chair, updates us on what’s
happening at County Hall.
One can be fooled by the
national press and politicians
- who seem cut off from the
reality of the rest of Britain
as they are contained in the
bubble which is London - who
say that things are getting
better. The last three months
have been dramatic for our
members and the public in
general with the announcement
of the impending closure of
residential homes, large parts
of the youth service and day
centres.
The county council has now
closed the children’s homes
and the further diminishing
of its role in the community
continues with the potential
closure of the smaller libraries
across the county and the
record office in North Devon
as part of the centralisation of
resources.
One wonders which of the
remaining services provided
by the county will be hit in the
2 3
Photo: Lucy Roke
coming months? The next
big animal in the cage is that
of highways management
and, given the state of the
local roads with growing
maintenance issues, who can
guess where the next £49m is
to come from?
Trying to anticipate where
the next changes will occur is
like looking into a crystal ball to
predict the future! As we head
to the next general election in
2015 things will get even more
difficult as national politicians
make even more extreme
statements in the pursuit of
Localism and the pandering
to the various wings of their
perceived electorate.
As always, UNISON Devon
County Branch will be here to
support our members during,
what continues to be, a tough
economic time.
As Winston Churchill once
said, “If you are going through
hell, keep going.”
Members invited
to special meeting
Branch
Special General
Meeting
5 June 2014
Photo: istock.com/YanC
Don’t forget to put 5 June in your
diary for the Branch’s Special
General Meeting at the Coaver
Club, County Hall, Exeter, at
5.30pm. The meeting will include
an opportunity for members to
ask questions about the local
government strike ballot.
Sign pay petition
UNISON’s ‘We need a decent pay
rise’ petition is now online.
We want to get a huge number of
our members and their families and
friends to sign the petition before
UNISON presents the signatures
to David Cameron at 10 Downing
Street.
Send this link to as many friends,
colleagues and family members as
possible and share on Facebook
and Twitter.
Let’s make the PM sit up and
take notice!
Find the petition at: http://www.
gopetition.com/petitions/localgovernment-workers-need-adecent-pay-rise.html