Wednesday 12 October 2011

The Branch Hardship Fund

A message from our Branch Secretary:

This ballot is probably the most important thing you will ever have to vote on in your working life: not just for you, but for every new employee in the future.

What this Coalition government is aiming to do with your pensions is nothing short of theft and is totally unfair. No other pension scheme outside of the Public Sector is being attacked in this way. Why should we have to Work longer and Pay more to Get less?

I cannot stress how important it is to get a really big yes vote if we are to make the government wake up and listen to us.

Of course everyone will suffer some degree of financial loss by striking. We are all going to lose a day’s pay and everyone will feel the pinch, especially given the current economic climate and our ongoing pay freeze.

If any member feels that they will suffer particular hardship as a consequence of taking a day’s action (maybe because they are already on low pay or receiving a means-tested benefit, have nursery fees to pay or large debts) they can make a claim to the hardship fund. There are no hard and fast rules. In the past we have had few applications, and every one has been successful.

There is a form to fill in. I know it looks rather intimidating but your steward will be more than happy to help you fill it in if you find the form particularly difficult. We will need to see wage slips showing the strike deduction and the one for the previous month. We cannot agree hardship fund applications or give out any money until we have seen these two wage slips. The deductions won’t come out until the December pay run, so we will be considering applications as early as possible in January. We will make payments as quickly as we can.

I can assure you that all claims will be dealt with sensitively and in the strictest confidence. Please Vote YES to protect your Pension!!!!

In solidarity,

Caroline Glendinning
Oxford City UNISON Branch Secretary

Monday 10 October 2011

Pension cuts: what could they mean to you?


For the latest on what the cuts to the LGPS could mean to you, please see UNISON's latest newsletter (click here).

Also, please click here to sign the e-petition against the change from using RPI to CPI to measure pension uprating. This sees a cut in all our pensions, even for those who have already retired.

Friday 23 September 2011

The latest news on pensions dispute

It has been announced that the ballot for industrial action over pensions will open on 11th OCTOBER and run through to 3rd NOVEMBER.

The latest regional news on pensions and other issues can be found in the regional newsletter (click here). You may also be interested in information from Channel 4 that shows Hutton is either an idiot or a big fat liar (click here).

Thursday 22 September 2011

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Hands off our pensions!

The TUC today unanimously passed a motion supporting strike action in defence of public sector pensions. The motion was proposed by UNISON's General Secretary, Dave Prentis. Read what he said here.

While some other unions took strike action in June this year, UNISON was one of the unions who held back while negotiations continued. We've been patiently waiting for 8 months now. As Dave said this morning, "there comes a time when we say 'enough is enough'".

Here are the key issues to remember when you are called upon to place your cross on the ballot paper in the next few weeks:


  • Our pensions were reduced in 2008 with the abolition of the "85 year rule" which allowed those of us with at least 25 years service to retire at 60 on an unreduced pension.


  • Savings made by that and other changes implemented in 2008 mean our pensions are now sustainable in the long term.


  • This round of pension cuts is purely about taking our money to plug the hole in the economy left by the £multi-billion bail out of the bankers.


  • From April 2011, our pensions have already been drastically reduced (by at least 15%) by simply changing the measure of inflation used when calculating the annual uprating. No one was consulted about this.


  • Those of us in the pension scheme are now being told to pay an additional 3% of our earnings in contributions. This money does not go to the pension scheme - it goes straight to the treasury. It is a tax on pensioners. If you aren't in the scheme, you don't pay it.


  • We are also being asked to work longer (until 67) and receive less at the end, due to a reduction in the accrual rate.

It's time to say "Enough is enough!" HANDS OFF OUR PENSIONS!


Please make sure you receive your ballot paper, by updating your details on-line.


If you have not used this service before, you'll need to register first. Please have your membership number handy. If you don't know your membership number, please ring UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

The Great Pensions Robbery

Robert Maxwell was a crook who stole from his employees' pension funds - but he had nothing on George Osborne who, within weeks of becoming Chancellor had raided the future pensions of millions of workers, in the public and private sectors, of billions of pounds. He did this by changing the future basis of uprating our pension benefits from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

This dramatic move had been in the manifesto of neither party to the Coalition of millionaires - indeed it directly contradicted promises made by all three main parties before last year's General Election.

Estimates of the cumulative loss for those of us not yet retired range upwards from 15% (or almost one pound in every six which we had been promised for the rest of our lives).

This is one element of the Government's attack upon pensions which not only applies across the whole public sector but also unites public and private sector workers. It is a move they show no sign of even considering stepping back from.

This is an opportunity to try to use the e-petition site in the interests of working people rather than for reactionary knee jerk populism - the petition is at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1535.

All trade unionists, and indeed everyone who believes promises should be kept, should sign!

Thursday 7 July 2011

Councillors speak up for Local Government Pensions

Today, some useful information about the benefits of the Local Government Pension Scheme went up on the intranet. It is a timely reminder of the benefits of joining the scheme. Anyone who is not already in the scheme should seriously consider joining. Apart from the security of a fully-funded final-salary defined benefit pension, membership of the scheme also includes life assurance, effective from the date of joining. 

Although most of us were not very happy with the changes to our scheme in 2008, those changes ensured that the Local Government Pension Scheme would be sustainable long-term.

However, the changes the government are now proposing could put the entire scheme at risk. Even the Tory-controlled Local Government Association can see this is the case and are worried. If our contributions increase by 50% (from 6% to 9% of earnings) many people will drop out, placing the future of the scheme in jeopardy.

At the Full Council Meeting on Monday 11 July, Oxford City Councillors will be debating a motion which defends the Local Government Pension scheme and attacks government plans to increase contributions. Oxford City UNISON thanks the Labour councillors who have agreed to put this motion to the council and hopes councillors of all parties will support this motion. The text is below.

Public Sector Pension contributions increase
(Proposer – Councillor Mike Rowley)
 
Council notes with grave concern the decision of the coalition government announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) to impose a 3.2% contribution increase on members of the Local Government Pension Scheme. Scheme average member contributions will increase from 6.6% to 9.8% next year. Additionally the value of all local government employees’ pensions will be reduced on a cumulative basis by the change in the basis of indexation to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Council shares the views expressed by the Local Government Association (LGA) in its letter to the Chancellor of February 16th 2011 where it pointed out that this level of increase will inevitably lead to a massive increase in opt-outs from the pension scheme by lower paid employees who form the majority of the local authority workforce.

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