Unite CEC Branch – Page 2 – City of Edinburgh Council trade union

Unions submit pay claim for 2023

Unions call for £15 per hour minimum rate and a pay rise of 12% or £4,000

On 26 January, the Scottish Joint Council (SJC – Unite, Unison and GMB) submitted its pay claim for local government workers to COSLA.

The pay claim is

a minimum rate of pay of £15 per hour
an increase of 12% or £4,000, whichever is greater,
pay based on a 35-hour week
no less than parity with other local government bargaining groups, such as teachers
expectation to implement the pay away by 1 April.

Other aspects include

Defend the right to strike on 1 February

On Wednesday 1 February, workers across the country are coming together to defend the right to strike.

If passed, the Tories’ Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill would effectively ban strikes in certain professions. The ability to withhold your labour is a fundamental human right—we need to defend this.

In Edinburgh there are rallies at:

Teachers’ strike on 25 January

On Wednesday, teachers in the EIS and SSTA in Edinburgh are striking as part of their on-going dispute over pay.

If you work in a school it is vital that you read our page about your rights and what to do when others are on strike. In short:

Crisis in Care—Another Edinburgh is Possible public meeting

Every cut in care makes the NHS bleed

Another Edinburgh is Possible is hosting an online public meeting on the crisis in care in Edinburgh on Saturday 4 March at 3pm. We’ll hear from

Nick Kempe on the the roots of the problems with social care in Scotland
a care worker
a nurse.

There will be lots of time for contributions and discussion.

See the Crisis in Care Facebook event

Find out more about Another Edinburgh is Possible at anotheredinburghispossible.org

Upcoming Learning Opportunities for Unite Reps and Members January 2023

There are a range of opportunities for learning available this new year:

Learn with Unite Free On-line Webinar :- Help to manage the Cost of Living Crisis

Dates :-

Thurs 19th January @ 1pm OR

Tuesday 24th January @ 7pm

This 1 hour on-line webinar, delivered by Money Advice Scotland will cover:-

• Understanding Energy Bills

• Mortgage Rates

• Rising Food, Fuel & Energy bills

• Tips & Advice

• Signposting for Support

• Q&A

To sign up/more info contact – wendy.skinner@unitetheunion.org

The Open University in Scotland has fully-funded places on their Microcredentials courses. Applications for these places are now open and will close on 5th February 2023. They have 19 Microcredential courses on offer which cover subjects including business and management, computing and IT and sustainability. These courses will start in March 2023.

More information, as well as the application form, can be found on The Open University courses website

Tomorrow Wednesday 18th January at 2pm. The TUC is hosting a webinar for TU reps’Preventing burnout and increase well being’ You can register for this on the TUC website

Then on Thursday 19th January the STUC are hosting an all day pilot event on the Cost of Living Crisis in Glasgow. To apply to attend the a web form needs to be completed and submitted to the STUC

As well as regular rep training there are online courses available through Learn with Unite and even if you don’t have council email you can register the City of Edinburgh Council’s myLearning Hub

If anyone needs more information about workplace union learning opportunities or some help getting registered for online learning, contact CEC Unite’s ULR Amanda Cunningham (Amanda.cunningham@unitetheunion.org & 0780 381 4411)

Unite’s pay claim 2023

You were recently surveyed on the terms of our pay claim for 2023. The results are in and Unite’s demands are listed below.

Unite’s pay claim for 2023 is below. This will be put to Unison and GMB, so we can agree what the unions’ pay claim to put to COSLA will be.

Unite calls for:

Council ‘thank you’ events and communications survey

Thank you events

The Council’s colleague thank you events kick off today. During the hour-long event, you and your team will hear from members of our senior leadership team, Council Leader Cammy Day and the Lord Provost. You’ll also find out what we’re doing to work together for the people of Edinburgh and what’s on the horizon in 2023.

Thursday 19 January – 9.30am to 10.30am and 11am to 12 noon
Wednesday 1 February – 3.30pm to 4.30pm and 5pm to 6pm
Friday 24 February – 3pm to 4pm

If you have questions, please email communications@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Communications survey

All members should complete the employee communications survey to have their say on how the Council communicates with workers.

The deadline for responses is 25 January.