Latest news affecting staff in Health and Social Care.
Edinburgh Trade Union Council (ETUC) is hosting a public meeting on Tuesday 6 December 2022 from 6pm to 8:30pm. The meeting will be held with the Council Chamber, City Chambers, High Street.
We encourage everyone with an interest in social care and public services to attend—especially members working in this area and those who receive care in their family.
Continue reading “The Social Care Crisis in Edinburgh—public meeting on 6 December”
As won by the strike action of August 2022, councils will now pay Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) fees for local government workers across Scotland. These are mandatory fees for workers in social care that must be paid each year, so this victory puts money back in the pockets of, often low paid, workers.
The SSSC are working on how
We will update here as soon as we hear details of refunds. Read below for how registrations will work.
You will still have to re-register each year, but you will not pay a fee. When registering online select the option ‘I work for a local authority (local council)’.
The MySSSC payment screen will soon encourage local government workers not to pay a fee. In future MySSSC will recognise that you are a local government worker and not ask for a fee.
SSSC won’t issue invoices for fees due in December. Instead, they will send an email advising they do not need to pay a fee.
Unite members will be relieved to hear that the 2022 pay deal will now be implemented – finally!
Today COSLA confirmed that the sticking points of the 1 day’s annual leave and payment of SSSC registration fees will be in perpetuity as offered and accepted by a members’ ballot.
Despite pressure being applied to accept a partial deal, Unite would like to thank you all for your continued support and determination to get the full deal.
Together we will always be strong!
The new rates, and your backpay, will be paid on 22 December 2022.
One day annual leave will be added to your entitlement soon. As the pay deal takes effect from April, there was around a half day accrued in the last leave year. We are in discussions about how this will be added to your entitlement.
For details of the pay deal, and to see a rough calculation of what it will mean for you, see our post from September.
Today, Unite members accepted the latest pay offer from COSLA, with 71% voting to accept. Read details of the offer and see what it means to you.
Edinburgh waste and cleansing workers led the fight for Scottish local government worker pay.
The strike proved what we knew all along—the undeniable value of waste and cleansing workers, the city’s disease prevention team whose work benefits citizens, businesses and tourists immeasurably, and the power these workers have when organised to take action. The impact was noticed within 12 hours. Edinburgh was turned upside down and this shock made the Scottish Government sit up and take it notice. The action of the waste and cleansing workers brought the First Minister to the table to negotiate a resolution, despite the government’s prior insistence that it had nothing to do with them.
Overwhelmingly, the public stood by us and recognised that our fight is their fight. The attacks on working people in this country are being resisted and we are at the forefront, showing that organised, disciplined workers are ready for the fight for fair pay to weather the cost of living crisis. Edinburgh residents and visitors have shown their support and solidarity, recognising that local government workers are essential, yet unappreciated and unvalued by the Scottish Government.
Continue reading “Pay offer accepted—looking back on the strike”Workers in the Monitoring and Response Service of ATEC24, previously known as the Community Alarm Service, have endured understaffing, changes imposed without consultation and a toxic workplace culture. The service has experienced radical changes recently with the outsourcing of the call handling element of the Monitoring and Response Officers’ (MRO) job.
In much of this, workers have not had an effective voice. By excluding those that do the job on the ground and know the service best, we have seen a host of issues in the service.
Many workers believe the service is being ‘run into the ground’, with long-term understaffing and a refusal to recruit and exclusion from future planning for the service.
As a result of the on-going problems and the urgency of the risks to workers and vulnerable citizens, we are balloting for industrial action in the area.
The ballot went live on 20 July and closes on Wednesday 3 August.
We are calling for
Continue reading “ATEC under attack—Unite fights back!”
The ballot for industrial action over pay was issued on 10 June. Many of you have now returned this, however we need all members to have their say in this crucial vote.
If you haven’t voted, please do so now.
If you haven’t received your ballot, call 0131 556 9676 immediately to check your details with the office and get a replacement ballot.
COSLA’s offer of a 2% rise—in fact a dramatic pay cut, given that inflation is currently at 11.7%—is a slap in the face to the dedicated workforce in the Council. We must take a stand against this, so are recommending all workers vote YES for industrial action.
We have been non-stop raising the issue of Council worker pay and speaking to members to ensure the success of this ballot. Below you can see some of our actions over the past few weeks.
Continue reading “Vote YES for fair pay—week 4 of the ballot”
Complete the survey for home care workers
We have been meeting with home care workers to discuss the numerous issues in the area. To make sure all home care workers can have their voice heard on the issues that matter to them, we are running a survey for all home care workers in the Council.
Take the home care workers survey
We have collated a list of what workers have raised as the most pressing issues on our home care campaign page. These include:
