Motions for AGM 2008
MOTION 6 - SHIFT ALLOWANCE
Under Single Status a shift allowance of 20% of the hourly rate
of pay for people who work shifts as a normal part of their job
was included. It soon became apparent however that the strict criteria
requiring to be met would exclude a large proportion of employees.
The criteria required is follows :-
1. You must have a permanent contract.
2. You must work on each of the seven days of the week over a 6
week period.
3. The time between your latest finishing time during the six week
period, and your earliest starting time must not be less than 12
hours. (i.e. a person whose earliest starting time is 7.30am and
latest finishing time is 7.15pm would not meet this criteria.
4. You must work across all of the hours between your earliest starting
time and your latest finishing time (not necessarily on the same
day), at some point over the 6 week period. For example if a person
works split shifts such as 7am to 2pm then 4.30pm to 8.30pm but
never work between the hours of 2 pm to 4.30pm, this person would
then be excluded from receiving shift allowance.
When the new Single Status terms and conditions came into force
it had the effect in Care Homes and other residential establishments
of splitting the workforce into the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.
People commented that things felt more unequal now under Single
Status than ever it was before it. Some relief Assistant Managers
find themselves working on practically a full time basis, supervising
permanent staff that receive shift allowance and are therefore earning
more than their line manager.
This motion seeks to propose the following three amendments to
the criteria which qualifies an employee to receive shift allowance
to make the system fairer, and less discriminatory.
a) The shift allowance should be paid to relief staff who meet the
criteria over any given 6 week period where their 6 previous time
sheets (or 4, which ever is the earliest) demonstrates their eligibility.
Aberdeenshire Council need to find an administratively simple and
effective way to do this due to the volume of relief staff employed.
b) The 7-day rule is reduced to 6.
c) Working split shifts is more demanding and anti social than most.
This rule should therefore be dropped in its entirety.
The Branch recognises that some managers have tried to adapt rotas
where an employee has been excluded, but in some cases this is just
not possible due to their complex nature. It also recognises that
there is an awareness of the disparity created and a desire to address
matters somehow.
Proposed Lesley Ogston
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MOTION 7 - REDUCE CHILD POVERTY
This AGM is seriously concerned that a quarter of Scotland's children
are still living in poverty. It notes that these children are significantly
less likely to do well in education, thus leading to a cycle of
poverty and disadvantage. There is a clear and increasing attainment
gap between children facing poverty and their peers, and this widens
at each stage of a child's development. Poor children are often
excluded from educational opportunities because of prohibitive costs;
fewer than half of children in poverty get free school meals; and
school uniform grants for low income families vary across Scotland
in both value and eligibility.
Furthermore it is recognised that much of our children's education
takes place outwith school, but that again, costs severely restrict
poorer children's access to cultural and social activities.
This AGM recognises that UNISON members in areas such as community
learning, education and social work have a key role to play in improving
the life chances of children who grow up in poverty, by increasing
their access to a range of cultural and social opportunities and
supporting their inclusion in education.
There is a need for increased resources to support the involvement
of disadvantaged children to make the most of their educational
opportunities within and outwith school. However, because they are
non-statutory, too often the services provided to these children
and their families are easy targets for cuts when local authority
budgets are under pressure. If the Scottish Government is serious
in its commitment to reduce child poverty, this needs to change.
This AGM calls for action by the branch at local level and UNISON
Scotland at national level to play its part in combating child poverty
by ensuring that these children have access to the full range of
educational opportunities on offer in Scotland today.
It urges the union to join with the Campaign to End Child Poverty
in Scotland, in pressing the Scottish Government to make improving
educational outcomes for children living in poverty a national priority,
and to develop a clear strategy for improvement in this area, to
include
- Action to address inadequate family incomes
- Action to reduce the costs that participation in school and
out-of-school activities imposes on families
- Action to support and improve the direct involvement of disadvantaged
children in their education and to develop their control over
their learning, alongside support to enable the parents of these
children to engage in their children's learning, recognising that
this will require additional and targeted resources.
The AGM further calls on UNISON members working with these children
to advocate for improved services to meet their needs whenever the
opportunity arises.
Proposed: Kate Ramsden
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