Exempt Front Line Ambulance Staff From Working Longer e-petition now online

Joseph Conaghan our Sector rep has created a H.M. Govt petition entitled Exempt Front Line Ambulance Staff From Working Longer…………please sign by clicking link below

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/24722

Responsible department: Department of Health

John Hutton’s report in March 2011 exempted “uniformed services” from the working longer section of his report on Public Sector Pensions. Upon further clarification during the negotiations that the uniforms in question belonged to the Army, Police and Fire Service and that the Ambulance Services were not included. Subsequently there is a real concern that if ALL frontline 999 Ambulance Staff (Paramedics, Technicians and any assistant role) will be expected to undertake the full range of duties then the number of ill health retirement applications will increase and the vulnerability to assaults by members of the public is likely to increase and the cases of stress related illnesses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is also likely to increase and the associated costs will need to be funded from public monies. As a representative of Ambulance Staff I call on the Government to look to exempt front line Ambulance Staff from working longer and maintain their ability to retire at aged 60.

Guidance For 30th November Strike Day

Following a recent ballot, as you will be aware, the three unions are planning to take strike action on Wednesday 30th November. Any WAST member of staff who is a current member of one of these unions is entitled to take strike action, regardless of post they hold within the Trust.

We feel it is our obligation to provide emergency life and limb cover for the people of Wales, and therefore have agreed guidance with WAST for providing this.  

It is expected that any union member who is not providing emergency cover as defined in the guidelines below, will take strike action on the 30th  November.

2011-11-25 Staffside Notice WAST IA Protocol (2)

2011-11-28 Staffside Q&A about IA

 

 

Ready Reckoner…What The Pension Increases Mean To You

Uuhttp://www.unison.org.uk/pens

 

Sector Pension Debate

The Sector in Wales have discussed Pensions issues today

UNISON vote unanimously to take action on Pensions

At UNISON’s National Delegate Conference today members of all Sectors have voted unanimously to take action to defend it’s members Pensions against the changes the Government is proposing. Plans to ballot members for a co-ordinated wave of industrial action in the Autumn is now underway.
Delegates hope that the talks will resume and that a negotiated settlement can be achieved.

Update Your Records

We need you to update us of any changes to your details such as change of address etc.
Recently we sent out a copy of our 16 page Principality magazine to every UNISON member in WAST and we need to be sure all the details on our database are 100% accurate. This will be essential when we need to send out ballot forms.
In the South East region Please telephone Menna Evans on 01633 626262

Pension Champions

Three of our reps are now are accredited Pensions Champions and have undergone training successfully. They are Joseph Conaghan in the South East and John Preston and Jenny Bradley in the North.
Pension specific branch members meetings have already taken place and more are planned as interest from members heighten as they become increasingly aware of the impact the proposed changes will mean to their pension and retirement plans.

J

PENSION TENSION PART 2 “Buttons From Hutton”

Members are aware that Lord Hutton reported his review findings on Public Sector Pensions on 10^th March 2011.

Summary : Pay More, Work Longer…..Get Less

 

Pay More

 

Public Sector Pensions has been the subject of a Government commissioned review by Lord Hutton Labour Peer. In his 200 plus page report of findings there are few crumbs of comfort for Public Sector workers including members of the NHS Pension Scheme.

The immediate consequence is that Hutton has recommended members pay extra contributions starting in 2012. He has recommended a 3% increase on average overall phased in from April 2012 a 1% increase would kick in followed by another 1% in 2013 achieving the full increase by 2015. This will mean that most members of the scheme will be paying 50% more Pension contributions than they do now. The Government have predicted there will only be a 1% withdrawal from scheme membership by mostly low paid workers but are unable to supply any evidence. Information since Hutton has reported from surveys indicate that between 15 and 20% of people will leave the scheme before paying huge increases in contribution with plenty of anecdotal evidence on the internet and radio phone-ins that members are already looking at alternative provision or using the money for another big saving commitment that is paying off their mortgage early. It suggests that members earning under £21,000 will be protected.

The NHS is effectively a Pay As You Go Scheme without a central fund the Govt. pay members pensions from scheme members contributions. It states it has to make £2.8 billion a year savings by 2014/15.  This will come from the increases in employee contributions phased in from 2012.  The estimate of a flat rate increase of 3%+ will achieve this 40% savings in 2012/13; 40% in 2013/14 and 20% in 2014/15. 

       Work Longer

Hutton’s review links retirement age from the scheme to State Pension Age which will rise to age 66. It doesn’t stop there. It captures members who thought they could go at age 60 but from 2018 will stay on till age 65, from 2020 will stay on longer as the SPA will be 66 and even suggests thereafter that scheme members stay till their 68 years old. No provision for jobs that are in the frontline such as Technicians and Paramedics are included in the review.

Get Less

Even though accrued rights will be preserved scheme members will actually get less than they would get if they retired before these changes are implemented. Effectively the scheme will close preserving the rights you have already accrued and then the following day you will commence the terms of the new scheme, already paying more, having to stay longer and the sting in the tail is what will happen to your money.

Moving Pension Payments Increases to the Consumer Prices Index rather than the current Retail Prices Index. Currently State Benefits will increase in line with CPI and Pensions by next year.

Changing Final Salary to Career Average to calculate the rate of Pension for the rest of your life. The current scheme is based on the best 365 days payments of your last 3 years pay in work. For most people that is beneficial as they can choose to work unsocial hours a year or two before retirement knowing that the increase will boost their pensionable amount. The change Hutton has recommended moves the whole scheme to career average although the accrued rights to the current scheme means there will be slicing up of the pie to determine the pensionable amount based on how many years membership of the current scheme you have at final salary plus the remainder at career average. All new starters after the scheme is changed will be on career average.

A current consultation on the Fair Deal Policy and Discount Rate currently available by following the link which bodes badly for any member of the NHS at risk of being transferred or outsourced to the private sector or social enterprise. When you read the language of this report you realise the “Fair Deal” isn’t for NHS Staff at all but for  private providers to be more competitive when bidding against the public sector. Don’t read this link if you are in a bad mood already. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/consult_fair_deal_pensions.pdf

Pensions Choice has now become a dog’s breakfast with Staff aged over 50 already determining  their decision on the two schemes we currently have. The implications of changing to CPI means that the average overall public service pension of around £7800pa will be £117 a year worse off, an average pension of approx £4,100 pa will be £62 a year worse off and pensions may increase by 3.1% this year when otherwise would have been increased by 4.6%.

What Happens Next? The Unions are busting the myths about public sector pensions being gold plated and costing the country a fortune, neither is true. Average NHS Pensions are less than £4000 per year and for women and part timers the average is less again. The scheme is cash rich and provides H.M. Treasury significantly more revenue than it pays out. The changes are not required for the sustainability of the scheme. An early day motion in Parliament has been signed by 127 MP’s including 13 from Wales from Swansea East, Islwyn, Blaenau Gwent, Ynys Mon, Newport East and West, Torfaen, Caernarfon, Cardiff South, Vale of Clwyd, Gower, Carmarthen East and Merionydd/Nant Conwy. The template letter for your MP is below.

 The Early Day Motion states:  “That this House notes the Government’s proposal to use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Price Index (RPI) for the price indexation of benefits, tax credits and public service pensions; further notes that the CPI is consistently lower than the RPI ..”

Your MP, House of Commons London

SW1A  0AA

Dear

INDEX-LINKING OF PENSIONS AND BENEFITS

 

You will, no doubt, be aware that the Government proposed to change the index-linking arrangements for pensions and benefits.  The Government intends to replace the Retail Prices Index with the Consumer Prices Index.  This will leave millions of pensioners much worse off financially and will force some of them, particularly women, into poverty.

The Government makes much of its “triple lock” guarantee for the basic state pension but this will not apply to the Second State Pension, nor will it apply to occupational pensions.  Nor will it improve the lot of state pensioners in the short to medium term because prices are forecast to outstrip earnings for some time to come.

The CPI is usually about 1% less than the RPI.  The OBR forecasts that by 2017 the CPI will result in pension increases of 8.5% less than the RPI would have produced.  The Emergency Budget Red Book said that by 2015 pensioners would be collectively worse off to the tune of £6 billion.  Lord Hutton has said that public sector pensioners would be between 15% and 25% worse of over a life time.  These are losses too large for pensioners to bear.  The financial penalty will stretch far beyond the term of the Parliament, during which time the Government hopes to resolve the current financial deficit.
The Government has not consulted the UK Statistics Authority over the change and the Authority does not agree that the CPI, as it currently stands, represents a proper measure of inflation.  The Government, itself, is committed to including housing costs within the CPI index but does not expect to be able to do so before 2012.  The purpose of Section 150 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 is to protect the value of pensions against the ravages of inflation, which pensioners do not cause. A Minister who lays an increase order on the basis of a measure which does not reflect the “general level prices” specified in the Act would be acting outwith this legal responsibilities.
Therefore, a number of Members of Parliament have lad EDM 1032 in the following terms:

That this House notes the Government’s proposal to use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Price Index (RPI) for the price indexation of benefits, tax credits and public service pensions; further notes that the CPI is consistently lower than the RPI; expresses concern over the impact that this will have on the incomes of pensioners and other vulnerable groups; recognises the concerns held by the Royal Statistical Society and the UK Statistics Authority that CPI excludes many housing costs which are borne by the majority of pensioner households; and calls on the Government to take these concerns into account and postpone the change from RPI to CPI until the appropriateness of CPI as a measure of price increases borne by pensioner households can be fully evaluated.

 

This is a matter of grave concern to pensioners.  There is no good reason why we should suffer a lifetime of financial detriment to solve a short-term deficit, which is not of our making.

I, therefore, ask you to support EDM 1032 and to make suitable representations to Ministers.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

What Happens Next?

Assuming you’ve got friends and colleagues to fill up your MP’s in tray you can join our campaign to fight for our pensions.

Each branch to have a Pensions Champion indicated on the RMS system and a number of Pensions Contacts in the field distributing materials and speaking with members.

I am the Pensions Champion for our branch (11353 South and East Wales Ambulance Branch UNISON)

Become a Pensions Contact for your workplace

There will be Regional Consultations involving all staff and all branch activists.

When surveyed in consultation last year on the pay freeze over 90% of UNISON members stated there were prepared to take industrial action to protect their pension.

The Government will take the Hutton Report and consider it’s findings in June 2011 and decide what road they then take. It could get worse.

There is a Regional Leads Campaign with 16 points of activity and in our branch we are having our first Pensions meeting in April at Taffs Well Rugby Club on the 13^th April 2011. ALL WELCOME. I have shared the powerpoint presentation with many colleagues and happy to forward it to you. The UNISON branch has voted to share information with other Unions

Pensions was a big issue amongst members in London on the 26^th March 2011 for the “March for the Alternative” to Hyde Park

It affects you …..your retirement age will change….your plans will change too ….because you didn’t consider this…..

RETIREMENT AGE

For those now 34 or younger it would be 68.

For those between 34 and 42 it is 67.

For those between 42 to around 57 it will be 66.

That’s how long they want you to work for.

Joseph Conaghan

Elected member UNISON NHS Staff Council

UNISON Membership Boost Within Welsh Ambulance

The RMS system is UNISON’s membership database and has reported increases across all Sectors within membership of WAST.

PCS,EMS, Control and Students have the most significant increases whilst a number of “Support” staff ranging from Admin, HR and Finance have also joined both online, through this blog and through the branches. UNISON branch officials in WAST continue to have excellent working and collaborative arrangements in place with their colleagues from the other 3 recognised Trade Unions GMB, Unite and the RCN and note that the majority of the new members come from the recent student intake, new and replacement staff and the small minority of non union members who now feel they need a home and they will always be welcome with us.

New Chief Appointed

Following a successful eight month period as Intrerim CEO Elwyn Price Morris has now been appointed to the substantial position of Chief Executive in W.A.S.T.

During the next few months we will all be looking forward to a period of consolidation of our current position and establishing our resiliance to the harsh economic environment in which we operate within. UNISON believes that the appointment of Mr Price Morris by the Welsh Assembly is a sound decision based on his in depth knowledge of the NHS especially in Wales. His intention to stay coupled with the recent appt of the new HRD means that this Trust can start to make plans that last longer than a couple of months and develop the Services that we know the public deserve and our members have always been able to deliver.