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There when you need us

stewards required

Stewards Required!

Without stewards there would be no one there to act as the link between members and the union and to organise and support people in the workplace.

What rights do you get as a steward?

In workplaces where UNISON is recognised by the employer stewards have rights to time off for training and to carry out their work. This includes:

·         Meetings with members and management

·         Preparation and research

·         Keeping members informed

You will be entitled to training and mentoring.

All new stewards are encouraged to take advantage of the courses unison offers. There are a wide range of courses many of which are provided on a local level.

Support and advice are readily available.

Colleagues, workplace contacts and more experienced stewards, health and safety reps and branch officers will all help you. Most branches will make sure that reps have details of local union officers who can give prompt advice and guidance. Your regional organiser, regional education officer, women's officer and branch support teams are based in the regional office and can be approached for assistance through your branch secretary.

Contact office@oxfordcityunison.com or speak to your local steward for more information

Stewards are the backbone

of UNISON.

2017 AGM

Oxford City Branch

Annual General Meeting

17th February 2017

3:00 pm in the Assembly Room

Guest speakers include Dave Prentis and Maggie Ferncombe from UNISON

               Followed by Refreshments

At the AGM, branch members do the following:

• Ratify the election of Branch Officers

• Ratify the election of stewards

• Elect delegates to UNISON’s National and Local Government conferences

• Vote on motions

Please let your line manager know as soon as possible if you wish to attend the AGM.  You are entitled to paid time off to attend the AGM (up to one hour) and reasonable time off for travel to and from the meeting.

If you would like to stand as a steward for your area, or would like more information, please e-mail office@oxfordcityunison.com

Your voice will make a difference

BRANCH NOMINATIONS 2017

The nomination process for becoming a UNISON Branch Committee Member is now open!!

If you are willing to put yourself forward for a post, please return the nomination form to the UNISON office by 20^th January 2017.

If you are unsure if a post is for you, please contact office@oxfordcityunison.com or 01865 252672 and we will chat through what each post entails, alternatively, there are brief details on what each post involves in the attached job description document. For all posts full training and support is provided.

Time to have your say

Have your say on new pay

Dear Comrades.

You may have noticed in the latest council matters 255, that we at UNISION have, in partnership with Oxford City Council developed a questionnaire to help us understand what you would like to get from these Pay negotiations, the questionnaire is now online at www.oxford.gov.uk/paydeal2018. And we would like to encourage all our members to complete it, so we can work at getting the best possible deal for you.

For colleagues at Direct Services without access to a computer, printed copies are available from your steward. We would be grateful if you could complete and return to your steward or to HR, 1^st Floor St Aldates Chambers by 13 January 2017.

In Solidarity

 

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New living wage set

UNISON has welcomed the new living wage rates, announced simultaneously in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Manchester this morning.

They new rates are:

• £8.45 an hour for the UK outside London;
• £9.75 an hour within London, to take account of the higher cost of living there.

These rates are based on the minimum income standard for the UK – how much someone needs to earn for a basic but decent life.

They differ from the government’s so-called ‘national living wage’, which is a rebranded minimum wage for over 25s.

The announcements came at the start of Living Wage Week, “a time each year to talk about making work pay, while remembering that millions of people in our country still work for poverty wages,” as general secretary Dave Prentis noted.

He welcomed today’s announcement of new rates as “an independent and verifiable level of pay which meets the most basic needs – quite literally, a wage upon which someone can be reasonably expected to live – and then campaigning for employers to pay it.

“UNISON has been proud to support and campaign for the living wage from the outset,” he said.

“And the living wage has become an integral part of our own campaigning, whether in the social care sector or the water industry.”

Join today

Essential cover if you work in public services

With cuts, redundancies, restructuring and outsourcing, now is the time to join UNISON.
Call free on 0800 171 2194

We're the UK's largest public service union, with over 1.3 million members. Join today and you'll receive our support – with membership costing less than you might think. Before you get to work, get essential cover.

The 2016 School uniform grants now available

School uniform grants

Families on low incomes can struggle to make ends meet, especially just before the start of the new school year. UNISON’s scheme helps members on low incomes deal with the cost of school uniforms.

The 2016 school uniform grant is now available. You can find an application form in the Resources section below – please ensure that UNISON has received this by July 15.

Workplace conflict, do you know the signs?

Trade union bill defeated by lords

David Cameron's trade union crackdown in disarray after resounding Lords' defeat. A great result in the Lords on the Trade Union bill. Government defeated on facility time, e-balloting, and political funds. Ministers may have to rethink. Well done to all our members who have been working on this. Let's keep the pressure up!

Get involved

Want to do something more?

Help your colleagues and other members becoming a UNISON rep or workplace contact. Being a UNISON workplace rep gives you the opportunity to:

• make a positive difference to people’s work lives
• learn new skills and meet new people
• help create a fairer society

Get involved in UNISON

Support when you need it

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/services-support/there-for-you/debtline-support/ 

How to join unison

How to join /unisontheunion/videos/

Trade Union Bill could breach people’s human rights

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has advised Parliament that a number of measures in the Trade Union Bill may breach the right to strike.

Article 11 of the Human Rights Act gives everyone the right to form and join a union, and to protest peacefully. Some provisions in the Bill could contravene the UK’s obligations, including restrictions on how much time public sector employees can spend on union work and also increasing the notice of industrial action from seven days to two weeks.

The EHRC has also produced a parliamentary briefing on the Bill.

Visit EHRC website

EHRC trade union bill Briefing

Draft Corporate Plan and Budget 2016-20

Draft Corporate Plan and Budget 2016-20

The consultation for the City Council’s draft Corporate Plan and Budget 2016-20 is now live on our consultation pages. These strategic statements present our commitments to our customers as well as shaping our work priorities.

The consultation will be open until 24 January 2016 and can be accessed on oxford.gov.uk/corporateplanandbudget2016-20

If you have any questions please contact Hamera Plume, Consultation Officer on 01865 252057 or hplume@oxford.gov.uk.

2016 AGM

Annual General Meeting

 1^st March 2016

3:00 pm till 4:00 pm

Long Room

Oxford Town Hall

Followed by Refreshments

At the AGM, branch members do the following:

• Ratify the election of Branch Officers
• Ratify the election of stewards
• Elect delegates to UNISON’s National and Local Government conferences
• Vote on motions
• Ask questions about the Annual Report and branch accounts.

Please let your line manager know as soon as possible if you wish to attend the AGM.  You are entitled to paid time off to attend the AGM (up to one hour) and reasonable time off for travel to and from the meeting.

If you would like to stand as a steward for your area, or would like more information, please e-mail chair@oxfordcityunison.com

Your voice will make a difference

Advice for UNISON members affected by or worried about flooding

In the wake of recent flooding, UNISON Welfare has issued the following 

guidance for members and to assist branch officers who are advising them.

www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2015/12/Flood.advice.helpavailablebulletinT4U.pdf

Love unions

This government is determined to shift the balance of power in the workplace in favour of employers, and get its trade union bill through Parliament with as little scrutiny as possible.

There were some government concessions in the Commons stages, but the bill still fundamentally undermines the right to strike and hits at unions’ ability to represent their members.

It is essential we keep up the pressure during the crucial stages in the House of Lords – the committee and report stages during February may be our best chance to secure changes to many aspects of the bill.

But, to do this, we’ll need to keep the bill at the front of politicians’ and journalists’ minds and remind people why unions are so important.

From the 8 to 14 February, unions and the TUC will be running a special week of activities throughout England and Wales to showcase the amazing work unions do and build awareness of the trade union bill.

You can find out more at heartunions.org. In particular, check out our briefing for activists on the week and how you and your branch can get involved.

We’ll be back with more in 2016 but in the meantime, best wishes for Christmas and New Year from us atunionreps.org.uk.

Slice cards

Dear all,

UNISON are pleased to inform it’s members that the proposed changes to Slice Card charging (£20 per month charge planned for 04/16) no longer forms part of the Council Budget plans.

We are very delighted that Members listened to our concerns at our AGM.

Thank you.

Regards

Matthew Belbin I Communication Officer 

Helping one and all in UNISON

Getting help as a member of UNISON

Can't find the answer you're looking for here? Get help by:

• Talking to your representative
• Using our online enquiry form
• Calling the UNISONdirect call centre

Not a member? Join now for access our help services.

There for You (UNISON Welfare)

Members experiencing financial and emotional difficulties can contact our welfare charity, There for You, which provides a confidential advice and support service for members and their dependants.

click to get more info and help