union for professionals • www.prospect.org.uk ISSUE 5 • OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2011

Facility time Veterinary laboratories Oxfam project Women in science TUC reports 2011

IS THATFAIR?

TWO YEARS OF

PAY FREEZETHREE YEARS OF

PENSION HIKES= 5 YEARS OF PAY CUTS

YOU DECIDE

Profile

2 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

GENERAL SECRETARY

profile@prospect.org.uk

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Winning the fight for pensions justiceThe decision to ballot 34,000 of Prospect’s working members over strike action because of the government’s damaging changes to public service pensions was not taken lightly. Our record shows that our preferred way forward is by discussion and negotiation, to go that extra mile to get to a position where members can decide on the acceptability or otherwise of proposed changes. This is what we did with a Labour government on the revisions to the civil service pension scheme in 2007, and again with the coalition government last year on redundancy terms.

The difference now is not a change of attitude on our part. It is the utter refusal by ministers to engage properly and the absolute disregard they have shown for the arguments put forward by Prospect and others about the impact of imposed detrimental change. For example, we are in a ‘consultation’ process about increases in employee pension contributions averaging 1.2 per cent on 1 April 2012 with further rises of 1 per cent coming in 2013 and again in 2014. But ministers and officials have made it crystal clear that the only point at issue is how the increases are shared around. What makes it worse is that they do not even pretend that this has anything to do with the sustainability of the schemes; it is a crude levy, an unfair and discriminatory extra tax on public servants to pay for budget deficits created by others.

The position is made worse by the fact that we also have a public sector pay freeze and soaring food

and fuel bills. But ministers will not even discuss when the pay freeze will end or give any guarantees about the resumption of pay negotiations. They will not discuss the imposed switch from RPI to CPI which will hit existing pensioners as well as reducing the value of future pensions by around 25 per cent. The only possibility of progress there is through our application for judicial review.

On ‘reform’ of schemes, we are told that these will have to be within Treasury-imposed cost envelopes – a process that looks to have only one objective at its heart, reducing employer costs.

So that is why we have to ballot. We are not alone and virtually all TUC-affiliated public sector unions and some organisations not even in the TUC have come to the same conclusion. Something certainly needs to be done to jolt the coalition out of its belief that it can treat public sector workers with disregard, and a massive demonstration in the form of a day of action on November 30, uniting people across the public sector, might just do it.

The alternative is for us to accept the unacceptable, to sit back and take it. In which case I have no doubt they will be back for more.

I want to reassure members, however, that the objective is still to make progress, not to strike. Nobody will be more pleased than me if, faced with this united stand by public sector workers, the government now decides to engage sensibly and show flexibility. It needs something to move them, so I am asking everyone balloted to vote yes. Not because any of us wants a strike, but because we want and demand pensions justice.

Paul Noon

The alternative is for us to accept the

unacceptable, to sit back and take it.

In which case I have no

doubt they will be back

for more

7 ANIMAL HEALTH Shutting down our veterinary laboratories will hurt the fight against animal disease, say scientists

9 FACILITY TIME Fears grow that government is gearing up for a major attack on the work of trade union reps

14 PENSION BALLOT Why the civil service sector is asking its 34,000 members to vote yes to the Day of Action

18 FACT AND FICTION Mike Clancy exposes the yawning gap between the UK’s foreign policy objectives and its defence capabilities

19 WOMEN IN SCIENCE How childcare responsibilities are still holding women back from pursuing a long-term career in science

20 PROSPECT AT TUC The union played a key role in debates on employment rights, public services, safety at work and the environment

22 HORTICULTURAL HEAVEN Restoring one of the UK’s most historic gardens is both a challenge and a delight, says Paul Stewart

25 SOCIAL MEDIA Take care before you take out your workplace grievence on Facebook – the law may not be on your side

IN THIS ISSUE ...

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 3

PROSPECT IS urging all affected members in the civil service sector to vote with a resounding ‘yes’ in the ballot for a Day of Action on November 30 against the government’s pension plans.

More than 34,000 members in the civil service and by-analogy pension schemes will vote in the ballot, running from October 24 to November 14. Similar votes are being held by almost all members of public sector unions.

On September 29, the civil service sector executive voted unanimously to recommend a yes vote, after hearing the latest report on the stalemate in negotiations with the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.

Reporting on the first meeting devoted specifically to the civil service scheme, deputy general secretary Dai Hudd said there had been no movement on:

● the government’s intention to impose an average 1.2 per cent increase in pension contributions next April

● the government’s intention to impose two further 1 per cent increases in the following two years

● the government’s intention to raise the civil service pension age to 65 and ultimately to the new higher state pension age

● the government’s decision to uprate pensions by the consumer

prices index instead of the retail prices index

● Prospect’s demands over transitional protection for existing staff and the accrual rate in any new scheme.

Progress in the negotiations has been hampered by the government’s refusal to provide key actuarial data necessary to update the cost of the civil service scheme and set fair contribu-tion rates for employer and employees, Hudd said.

“After four months of talks we are no further forward than in June,” he said. “If the government is serious about reaching agreement it has to listen to the views of staff and make moves in their direction, otherwise the so-called consultation exercise is just a sham.”

The sector meeting heard report after report on the rising anger among members at the relentless pace of govern-ment attacks on their jobs, living standards and pensions. Particular concern was expressed at the impact on families of having to endure five years of real terms pay cuts.

The consequence could be that thousands of staff will opt out of the civil service scheme because they can no longer afford the contributions, a fear borne out by a Prospect survey of members.

COMMON CAUSE: ATTACKS HIT PRIVATE SECTOR TOOPROSPECT’S PRIVATE sector members have good reason to stand behind their public sector colleagues.

Good quality pension provision is important for all workers wherever they are employed, said Neil Walsh, Prospect pensions officer.

“The task of improving the pension schemes of members in the private sector is not helped by the government’s attacks on the

public sector.”Millions of private

sector members are equally affected by the govern-ment’s switch in the basis for uprating pensions from RPI to CPI. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates the move will cut £73bn from the value of their pensions.

In addition, they will lose billions of pounds from the value of their state second pension benefits.

November’s action will also highlight the govern-ment’s drive to accelerate increases to the state pension age for all workers, first to 67 and then to 68. Every worker aged 52 or younger would have to wait years longer to draw their basic state pension.

Walsh warned that the government will seek to characterise public sector workers as a vested

interest seeking to protect gold-plated, unsustainable benefits. “Nothing could be further from the truth.

“The fact is that the median public sector pension is less than £6,000 a year.

“Crucially, government’s own projections show that the cost of the main public schemes is already projected to fall from 1.9 per cent of GDP today to 1.4 per cent of GDP by 2050.”

THE APPRENTICES who thumped rivets and nailed planks to HMS Belfast when she was being fitted out in 1939 would be astounded to learn that the Royal Navy cruiser would one day be used as a venue to promote the benefits of apprenticeships.

But that’s what happened in September when speakers from E.On, Cogent, the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network and TUC UnionLearn gathered at the vessel on the Thames for a Prospect seminar.

They were joined by Sellafield branch vice-president Barbara Shepherd and two apprentices from Sellafield and E.On, who gave first-hand accounts of their training.

The event highlighted the ‘rediscovery’ of apprenticeships among employers and government. Over the next four years,

government plans to spend £180m on a further 250,000 apprenticeships, alongside a £25m fund to support schemes in sectors like advanced manufacturing, IT and engineering. The union has produced an ‘apprenticeship pledge’, which aims to raise awareness among branches of apprentice-ships as a route to qualifications and skills for young people.

Tom Wilson, director of UnionLearn, praised the role of Prospect in promoting apprenticeships. The union punched above its weight in arguing for the benefits of training future generations of engineers and scientists, he said.

■■ Prospect’s■national■executive■has■approved■a■donation■of■£1,300■to■sponsor■the■Nuclear■Skills■Awards■for■2012.

PENSIONS: NOW YOU DECIDE... as right now it doesn’t look like talking is going to get us anywhere, says Prospect

Members face the biggest threat to their pensions in history.

Despite the strong evidence we have provided, the government has failed to listen or to address our concerns.

The unilateral imposition of increased contributions from 2012 onwards – coupled with scheme changes that mean paying much more for much less, and delivered much later in life – could cut the lifetime value of pensions by up to 50 per cent.

This is nothing more than daylight robbery. Our message to the government is that members will not put up with these ideological attacks any longer.John Streeter president, civil service sector

APPRENTICE SHIP

■■ Sellafield’s■Tom■Holding■on■board■HMS■Belfast■(inset)■–■■hoping■to■become■a■design■engineer■after■he■completes■his■apprenticeship

PICTURES: STEFANO CAGNONI

STEFANO CAGNONI

Pensions justice – pages 14 to 18

NEWSProfile

4 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

THE NATIONAL executive committee has agreed the timetable and arrangements for the election of a new general secretary to replace Paul Noon when he retires on December 31, 2012.

Applications are invited from Prospect members and staff to apply to be the NEC nominee in an election which will take place in early 2012 (see timetable).

Application packs will be available from Prospect head of HR, Becky MacCrimmon, from Wednesday November 23, 2011. Completed applications will need to be returned by midday on Wednesday December 21, 2011.

Applications will only be accepted on

the prescribed form. The role of the general secretary is set out in Prospect’s rules (see below right).

The NEC has agreed to appoint Electoral Reform Services to conduct the ballot. Once the NEC has selected its candidate it will also be open to branches to submit nominations in the timetable shown.

Prospect president Nigel Titchen said: “This timetable ensures that the general secretary elect will be identified by the 2012 national conference and can then work with Paul Noon, the newly-elected NEC, and everyone in Prospect to ensure a smooth transition prior to formally taking up the role in 2013.”

DUTIES OF PROSPECT GENERAL SECRETARYTHE DUTIES of the general secretary are described in Prospect rule 10.8 as follows:

“The general secretary shall be the union’s chief executive officer and shall be responsible to national conference when sitting and at all other times to the national executive committee.

The general secretary’s duties shall include: ■ advising upon and implementing policy and other decisions of national conference and the national executive committee

■ being responsible for the efficient administration and management of those powers and functions of the national executive committee detailed in part 9 of these rules

■ ensuring that minutes and decisions of all meetings are properly recorded

■ presenting an annual budget to the national executive committee

■ acting as a principal spokesperson for the union ■ managing all offices and staff of the union, and being responsible to the NEC and conference for finance.

The general secretary shall have power to delegate all such duties whenever necessary or desirable to do so.

The general secretary shall be responsible to the national executive committee for the fulfilment of all the functions of his/her office, including the signing of all documents and statements. The general secretary shall attend the meetings of the national executive committee, shall place before it all matters requiring its attention and keep a record of the minutes.”

ELECTION TIMETABLE ■ Application packs available Wednesday 23 November 2011

■ Closing date for applications for NEC selection Midday Wednesday 21 December 2011

■ NEC selection of candidate Tuesday/Wednesday 24/25 January 2012

■ Issue of calling notice for branch nominations Friday 27 January 2012

■ Deadline for receipt of branch nominations Friday 23 March 2012

■ Deadline for receipt of signed nominations Monday 2 April 2012

■ Deadline for receipt of election addresses (if more than one nomination) Wednesday 4 April 2012

■ Issue of ballot papers Thursday 12 April 2012 ■ Deadline for return of ballot papers Thursday 3 May 2012

■ Independent scrutineer’s report and declaration of result Friday 4 May 2012

Education professionals ‘good fit’ for ProspectTHOUSANDS OF professionals in education and children’s services are being balloted on a proposal for their union to transfer into Prospect from January 2012.

Aspect – the Association of Professionals in Education and Children’s Trusts – has 4,000 members, mainly school improve-ment professionals, many of whom are former head teachers or senior teachers now working for local authorities or as consultants.

Other members include early years professionals and advisers, advisory headteachers, directors and managers of children’s services, education welfare

officers, social care professionals, senior youth and community officers and Ofsted inspectors.

Prospect is seen as an appropriate union because many Aspect members carry out managerial and supervisory functions in relation to other teaching staff.

Prospect deputy general secretary Mike Clancy said: “We regard Aspect as a compatible organisation that would very much fit in with Prospect. The signifi-cant cuts in public spending, and in local authorities, mean that their members face many of the same challenges as our members.

“Their seniority and professional background also make them a good fit for Prospect. Like Aspect, our union acts very much as a professional voice for members as well as providing trade union services.”

Aspect general secretary John Chowcat added: “Bringing together our two unions will strengthen the voice of profes-sionals across industry and public service – including important education and children’s services. Aspect looks forward to a strong and fruitful partnership.”

Following transfer, Aspect, which has its headquarters in Yorkshire, would become a group within Prospect.

CIVIL SERVICE SURVEY: TELL YOUR STORYTHIS YEAR’S ‘civil service people survey’ is under way – and half a million staff have a chance to share their experience and views on a range of issues. Prospect strongly suggests members take a moment to comment on the impact of government policies on your workplace and standard of living.

The survey, which aims to measure ‘employee engagement’, runs until October 21. Civil service unions are backing the survey and say they regard it as “the most effective way of measuring attitudes and experiences of all civil servants on an annual basis.”

SAFETY WEEK’S COMINGTHIS YEAR’S Health and Safety begins on Monday October 24 and continues the 2010 theme of ‘campaigning on safe maintenance’. New posters on organising and women’s safety reps are available

from Hazards magazine at www.hazards.org. Prospect H&S material can be ordered from safetyreps@prospect.org.uk and reps are asked to notify Prospect of any local initiatives for the week of which they are aware.

BENEFITS TO MEMBERSJANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2011

BENEVOLENT FUND■■ Number granted 19■■ Total granted £27,307

DEATH BENEFIT■■ Number granted 67■■ Total granted £64,696

PERSONAL INJURY SCHEME

■■ Applications approved 295■■ On books 560■■ Number won 68■■ Value of awards £1,980,157

MARK CHILVERSElection of new

general secretary

■ Paul Noon, who will retire at the end of 2012, with Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, at a Show Racism the Red Card event in August

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 5

Light-touch safety regime will cost lives, union warnsA NEW framework for the Health and Safety Executive will spell the end of unannounced proactive inspections in a range of industries – including high-risk areas – despite a rise in workplace fatalities in 2010, Prospect warned this year’s TUC conference.

While the government may not view proactive inspec-tion as an effective tool, “our members and most of the industry bodies in these sectors disagree,” Prospect head of research Sue Ferns told delegates.

Attacking the govern-ment’s fixation with a dereg-ulatory agenda, Ferns said that even last year’s Young report had to admit that ‘perception, not reality, is a large part of the problem.”

At present the proportion of fatal and major injuries investigated by HSE had fallen to just one in nine. With the loss of 200 staff and a budget cut of 35 per cent the situation will get worse, she warned.

Slamming proposals for a new cost recovery system, Ferns said it would encourage employers to reduce contact with HSE in order to minimise costs. If the current Lofstedt review of health and safety regulation was an opportunity to develop “shared, creative and genuine solutions to reform, we would welcome it.

“But the new framework means that Lofstedt does not start from a level playing field and faces a huge challenge to deliver the right result.”

UCATT delegate Dennis Doody, who moved the motion, highlighted how just 30 per cent of fatal construction accidents result in a conviction. Mike Forbes, from Unite, demanded to know why deaths while driving were not considered workplace accidents.

TUC returned to the deregulation drive during a debate on maritime safety, which protested at the ‘chronic under-funding’ of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Seconding a motion from Nautilus, Prospect vice-

president Alan Grey said that “instead of trying to cut regulations they simply have not implemented them or resourced the MCA to enforce them.”

Already understaffed to meet its obligations, the agency now faced a 20 per cent cut in budget by 2015.

Management had made enforcement of the EU Directive on Port State Control impractical by failing to underpin it in UK legislation, failing to provide essential IT systems and the lack of mandatory inspections at

weekends.That was a false economy,

warned Grey. Failure to implement the directive “risks European infraction proceedings which could financially outreach any spending on personnel or equipment.” Congress backed both motions.

More TUC reports, pages 20-21

FOUR YOUNG reps with an average age of 27 are making their mark at the Marine Management Organisation.

For them, campaigning on environmental and global issues is vital, alongside supporting members at work.

In August the four, who work at ports around the country, visited Prospect headquarters for a meeting of their section committee.

Health and safety rep Katie Hall, 26, and section rep Jane Lister, 27, joined in February, becoming reps soon after. Section secretary Beshlie Pool, 29 (also an environment rep) and inter-national development rep Rebecca Korda, 29, joined in 2009.

Rebecca explained how they are working together. “Katie was at our meeting to discuss a project to source new protective clothing for women workers. We were being given men’s boiler suits, jackets, fleeces and T-shirts to wear, much too big

for women.“As fisheries inspectors

we jump on and off boats all day and there’s a risk of the clothing catching, so it’s a safety issue that the PPE was not fit for purpose.

“We agreed to use the opportunity to ask the

MMO to ensure any new clothing comes from ethical and environmentally sound sources.”

The reps drew up a list of potential suppliers, and management is now acting on their recommendations.

Rebecca said: “I’m proud

to be part of the committee. At first I didn’t know how the union worked. Now I see how the little things Prospect does make such a differ-ence. People should not be blasé about their union – it’s their last-stop shop protection.”

Also on the committee are Victoria Metheringham, 31; Jeremy Sooben, 43; Andy Banks, 35; and Andy Perry, 44, giving it an average age of 33.

Is your section younger? If so, contact profile@prospect.org.uk

CHANGING OF THE GUARDIT’S ALL change for members in the Prison Service, where a new branch secretary is taking over from one of the union’s champion recruiters, Bryan Wakely.

Twenty-five-year-old Vicki Smith says she is “really looking forward to the challenge”, having worked for six years in the service as a psychological assistant and three years as a rep.

Bryan is stepping down this autumn when he takes early retirement aged 56, and is delighted to be handing over to someone less than half his age.

During his time running the branch Bryan built it up from 650 members to its current size of close to 1,400, and has won a string of awards for his organising efforts.

“I personally recruited Vicki three years ago when she left PCS,” said Bryan. “She’ll do a great job and is just what the branch needs.”

Vicki, who works at Swinfen Hall, near Lichfield, Staffs, took up her new post in October. In her in-tray are a pile of issues, from the Prison Service job evaluation scheme to the prisons’ market testing programme.

■■ Working■together:■(l-r)■Katie■Hall,■Rebecca■Korda,■Beshlie■Pool■and■Jane■Lister

■■ Docking■at■Felixstowe■–■Maritime■and■Coastguard■Agency■management■has■made■enforcement■of■the■EU■Directive■on■Port■State■Control■impractical,■Prospect■warned■TUC

JOHN HARRIS/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.UK

■ Ferns – attacked fixation with deregulation

■ Grey – false economy

PICTURES: STEFANO CAGNONI

PROUD TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

NEWSProfile

6 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

THREE UNIONS have launched a Sellafield Workers’ Campaign to press for the construction of a new MOX fuel production plant and a future for the nuclear industry in Cumbria.

Reps from Prospect, Unite and the GMB gave out leaflets on the first day of TUC conference in London with their message –

“Let’s get on with it now!”They are calling for the construction of:

● a new nuclear power plant ● a new MOX 2 fuel plant to replace the

one closed down last month ● a state-of-the-art underground reposi-

tory for the UK’s nuclear waste.Giving these three projects the green

light would “lift the cloud of uncertainty and gloom that hangs over West Cumbria”

by creating thousands of highly skilled and scientific job opportunities for decades to come, they say.

The sudden decision in August by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to close the MOX 1 plant came after the loss of contracts from Japan.

The closure affects 800 jobs, including contractors and 602 full-time posts at Sellafield. Of these, 238 employees will stay for three years to clean up the site. Unions are negotiating for the remaining 364 to be redeployed to other work at Sellafield.

Plans to develop nuclear power in the region make it vital not to lose these people or their skills, said Sellafield branch secretary Steve Nicholson.

He added: “This campaign is about

PROSPECT EXPRESSED shock in September when the chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced his resignation at a critical time for the future of the industry. Tony Fountain, who joined the NDA just two years ago, is moving to a Mumbai-based private sector company.

Deputy general secretary Mike Clancy said the development must not be allowed to derail the NDA’s strategy. Prospect had a good relation-ship with Fountain, “which allowed for a robust

dialogue on the challenges facing the NDA and the industry. In particular, the move from micro- to macro-management of site licence companies has been a positive development.”

But Clancy added: “His departure is not good news as it suggests policy differences. A change in strategy would be unwelcome when the industry needs stability. For example, the government’s recent decision to close the Sellafield MOX plant, on the advice of the NDA, reflects the complex issues being grappled with.”

The NDA will soon decide on the future construction of a MOX 2 plant as part of its consultation on plutonium options, to be announced at the end of October. It is also due to choose a new parent company to run the Dounreay decommissioning site in Scotland.

Clancy stressed: “An early replacement for Fountain with suitable private sector experi-ence is essential. We expect the industry will want guarantees that NDA strategy will not be derailed.”

HIGH-PROFILE LINE-UP FOR PROSPECT SEMINARENERGY MINISTER Charles Hendry and shadow energy secretary Meg Hillier are among the high-profile speakers attending a Prospect seminar on energy policy on November 14.

The event – at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London – is being held under the theme ‘Energy Policy: Fit for Purpose?’ .

It will include a panel debate on the future after the publication of the white paper on electricity market reform.

Speaking on energy choices for climate change will be Vincent de

Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy.

There will also be a discussion on low-carbon energy, with Craig Bennett, director of policy and campaigns at Friends of the Earth; TUC senior policy officer Philip Pearson; and Andrew Jamieson of Scottish Power Renewables.

Mike Weightman, the UK’s chief inspector of nuclear installations, is set to speak on nuclear safety post-Fukushima.

■ If you wish to attend, please email jackie.moonan@prospect.org.uk no later than October 21.

SKILLS OLYMPICS COMES TO TOWNPROSPECT’S award-winning sponsorship of the World Skills International event rolled into London early in October.

The 2011 competition, again co-ordinated by Prospect, took place at the Excel centre in London’s docklands. The aim is to raise skills and awareness in science and engineering and

promote sustainable natural resource exploitation, sustain-able energy production, environ-mental protection and climate change.

This year the teams had to devise the best combination of energy supply for a generic island, for the next 30 years. They had to analyse data to produce a report

and complete a practical challenge to produce a source of small-scale energy production.

The competition was the brain-child of members – especially Dick Crofts – at Prospect’s British Geological Survey section in collaboration with sector skills councils, Natural England, UnionLearn and STEMNET.

■■ Taking■the■message■to■TUC:■Sellafield■branch■secretary■Steve■Nicholson■(far■right)■with■(from■left)■Unite■convenor■Craig■Dobson,■Prospect’s■Paul■Noon,■Unite’s■Kevin■Coyne■and■Prospect’s■Mike■Clancy

Let’s get on with nuclear renaissance, say workers

getting our ducks in a row. The nuclear renaissance in west Cumbria could lead to a project three times the size of the Olympics. It’s economically sound.

“A MOX 2 plant would be capable of producing fuel for any reactor type, whether in the UK, elsewhere in Europe or Japan.

“It also makes sense to build an under-ground repository near Sellafield, as most of the UK’s nuclear waste is stored there at a cost of £30m a year.”

A decision on the future of a MOX 2 plant is due in October (story, below).

■ Iberdrola and GDF Suez said in September they will each increase their stakes in NuGen

– the consortium planning to construct a new nuclear plant at Sellafield – after the withdrawal of Scottish and Southern Energy.

CHIEF’S DEPARTURE

‘MUST NOT DERAIL NDA STRATEGY’

‘It makes sense to build an underground repository near Sellafield, as most of the UK’s nuclear waste is stored there’

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 7

PLANS TO strip more than half the UK’s regional veterinary centres of their labora-tory facilities were confirmed last month after fierce protests by Prospect.

Lab services at eight of the 14 regional centres run by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency will close over the next two years, after environ-ment secretary Caroline Spelman gave the go-ahead to plans drawn up by the AHVLA.

The labs affected are at Langford (Bristol), Thirsk (North Yorkshire) and Truro (Cornwall) all by April 2012; and at Aberystwyth (Dyfed), Carmarthen, Luddington (Warwickshire), Preston (Lancashire) and Winchester (Hampshire), by April 2013.

In future, veterinary surveillance staff at the centres will have to send samples for testing to one of the six remaining regional or two central AHVLA laboratories.

National secretary Geraldine O’Connell said: “This announcement bears out our worst fears for the future of the laboratories, and we remain concerned about the long-term impact on the future of the lab sites themselves.

“We believe strongly that AHVLA must retain all the sites affected in order to maintain appropriate surveillance at local and regional levels.

“We are particularly worried about the situation in Wales, which will be left without a single lab and where we

UNION IN £589K BID TO EXPAND KENYA WORKPROSPECT AND Oxfam are proposing a joint new project in Kenya that builds on earlier work by the union with electricity workers.

In September the union applied to the Department for International Development’s global poverty action fund for £589,000 of backing for a three-year partnership.

Over the past two years, the Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers’ Union has been working with Prospect to share its expertise on organising to address climate change, empower women, tackle corruption and achieve decent work for young people. That project was sponsored by a TUC-DfID fund.

KETAWU has around 11,000 members, of whom just 1,240 are women. Kenya faces major challenges – only 22 per cent of people have access to electricity, and the vast expansion needed in the energy sector poses major environmental challenges.

Prospect international development co-ordinator Beverley Hall, said: “KETAWU is a forward-looking organisation whose members play an important role in their local communities.

“KETAWU has committed to empowering women, protecting the environment and preventing loss of life at work. This new project intends to provide practical support to help its members achieve these aims.”

The project links to the UN’s millennium develop-ment goals and has three strands:

● occupational health and safety, where Prospect has a great deal of experience and expertise

● climate change, where Oxfam can contribute on grassroots education, workplace activity and national-level advocacy

● gender equality at work, and addressing sexual harassment and domestic abuse.

200 DEFENCE AND ENERGY MEMBERS FACE LOSS OF THEIR JOBSAS PROFIL… went to press, over 200 members in the defence and energy sectors had just heard that they stand to lose their jobs.

Half of them work at BAE Systems, where the union warned that the latest round of 3,000 redundancies will devastate local communities in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Negotiator Tony Hammond said the cuts were a grim reminder that defence cuts were still filtering through to industry. “When the country is crying out for highly skilled

specialists to help kick some life into the economy, BAE is being forced to make job cuts because of the coalition’s defence policies. The government is sleepwalking through a skills crisis of its own making.”

The cuts are a body blow to defence manufacturing that will add to the UK’s economic woes, he said.

At E.On, members were left reeling after chief executive Paul Golby announced restruc-turing plans leading to the loss of 500 support

jobs by the end of 2012.The review was prompted by the sale of

Central Networks, E.On’s distribution arm, and the wider challenges facing the global energy industry.

National secretary Emily Boase said Golby’s commitment to work with unions and seek the redundancies through voluntary means was welcome. “We are relieved to hear that E.On are not proposing to close any business locations,” she said.

Fears of animal disease rise as vet labs are shut

will be making representations to the Wales Assembly.”

A further report by AHVLA called The Veterinary Surveillance Review is due at the end of October which is likely to be crucial in determining the long-term fate of the regional sites.

Veterinary science laboratories are responsible for ‘animal specific’ health testing, which includes the early diagnosis of diseases such as bovine TB and swine fever, as well as a range of other services including haematology, microbiology and biochemistry.

Defra claims the closures will save £2.4m a year. But that figure is dwarfed by the potential costs of failing to detect promptly a serious outbreak of any animal disease.

Ninety scientists and laboratory staff will lose their jobs as a result, said O’Connell.

“That’s one in three of all lab staff employed in AHVLA’s regional network. The country cannot afford the loss of so many skilled staff or the reduction in testing facilities.”

Speed of diagnosis is often crucial in preventing the spread of disease and saving farmers significant costs on antibiotics. Forwarding samples will cause a minimum 24-hour delay, and the longer the delay, the less likely that scientists will be able to culture the organism causing the disease. ■ Geraldine O Connell speaking to members at Luddington

PICTURES: JOH

N HARRIS/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.U

K

■■ Geraldine■O’Connell■tours■the■Luddington■lab■after■the■announcement

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 9

volunteer activism that long predates the prime minister’s ‘big society’.

The most recent assessment of the contri-bution made by union reps towards business performance was by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (now BIS) in 2007. Its report found that the work of union reps resulted in:

● savings to employers and the exchequer of £22m to £43m as a result of reducing the number of employment tribunal cases

● benefits to society worth £136m to £371m as a result of fewer working days lost through workplace injury

● benefits to society worth between £45m and £207m as a result of reductions to work-related illness.

In addition, using the same formulae as used in the BERR report but with updated figures, it can reasonably be estimated that the work of union reps results in:

● overall productivity gains worth £4bn to £12bn to the UK economy

● savings of at least £19m as a result of fewer dismissals

● savings to employers of £82m to £143m in recruitment costs as a result of fewer early exits.

But Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude sees it differently. He says that in parts of the public sector “the amount of facility time is running at around four times what you would expect it to be in the private sector. This has crept up over time. It has been growing and it must not grow. We will look to put it on a sensible basis.”

In Prospect’s experience, many union reps voluntarily put in far more effort and work many more hours than they are paid for. TUC research reckons that almost one in four reps have to use their own time to carry out their union duties – and almost 10 per cent get no paid time off at all.

■ How workplaces gain from union representation: http://tinyurl.com/69ceczw

■ The union advantage: http://tinyurl.com/6gulw9l

VISION EXPRESS recommends you have regular eye tests every two years, or as advised by your optometrist, so that conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes or any other potential medical issues can be identified early.

Just as you should consider exercise and a balanced diet essential, regular eye care should also be part of your general health regime. Vision Express has been the recommended optical provider for Prospect members since 2006 and we are perfectly placed to cater for each of your individual eye care needs.

With the new Vision Select scheme we’ll see you and your family are rewarded with the best eye care service, the right product and great value at one of our 330-plus stores nationwide.

As a Prospect member you have access to the following savings for you and your family:

✪ Free eye test including digital retinal photography when spending over £50

✪ 2 for 1 designer glasses or £30 off glasses and sunglasses

✪ Save £70 on contact lenses when joining the direct debit scheme Contact7

✪ Double Nectar Points Terms and conditions apply, see website for full details

In order to obtain the above discounts simply visit your new and unique website www.visionexpress.com/prospect where you can register for your vouchers. The voucher validity is three months from date of issue and can be used in any Vision Express across the UK.

Please contact the Vision Express helpline on 0115 988 2121 if you have any questions

(lines open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm)

TRADE UNION reps help to create a better working environment, improve industrial relations and save employers money.

But the volunteers who deliver those benefits – and the rights that enable them to be effective – are under fierce attack from Conservative MPs and right-wing pressure group, The Taxpayers’ Alliance.

Since late 2010, MPs have tabled a steady stream of parliamentary questions on the cost of providing facility time and other time off for trade union reps in public bodies.

The thrust of their attack is “why are taxpayers subsidising union activities?”

But they, and the media who reproduce their findings without any critical analysis, ignore the moral and financial benefits of this

Unpaid heroes of the workplace

Union reps only get paid time off for a tightly defined set of duties:

qnegotiating with employers qrepresenting members qperforming the duties of an accredited health and safety rep qperforming the duties of an accredited union learning rep qtraining to carry out these duties.

Reps may also carry out specialist roles in relation to: qhealth and safety qaccess to learning and skills q improving equality and diversity qmaking workplaces more environmentally friendly.

They cost very little – but Prospect reps are worth their weight in gold says Marie McGrath

■■ Dr■Jessa■Battersby,■from■the■Joint■Nature■Conser■vation■Committee,■receives■redundancy■advice■from■Prospect■rep■Vin■Fleming

PAUL MARRIOTT PHOTOGRAPHY

We’ll see you and your family

are rewarded

PROSPECT

CLAIMLINEIF YOU feel you have a personal injury claim or would like to talk to an expert, call the 24-hour Prospect ClaimLine on the number below. You will have the reassurance of knowing that a legal specialist will handle your claim quickly and efficiently.

0800 587 4543

VITAL COLD CASE ARCHIVE IS SAFE – BUT WHAT FUTURE FOR FSS STAFF?PROSPECT HAS welcomed news that the criminal ‘cold case’ archive, currently under the guardianship of the Forensic Science Service, will remain in public ownership after the service closes next March.

But the union has questioned who will have oversight of this national resource and the specialist scientists who maintain the data – essential to secure convictions in ‘cold case’ investigations – after FSS assets and staff transfer to the police and the private sector.

Deputy general secretary, Mike Clancy (right), said: “Our members were not alone in breathing a sigh of relief after hearing the news that the FSS archive will remain publicly-owned.

“But on the question of who will have oversight, we would like ministers to go one step further. The simplest and least disruptive solution would be to retain the archive in a reduced FSS along with the cadre of experts who preserve the samples and identify which will benefit from new forensic opportunities.”

News of the archive’s future allayed one of the concerns voiced by MPs, scientists, geneticists and other stakeholders in the justice system. But Clancy said fears remained over diminished R&D capacity, the lack of properly regulated accreditation for forensic laboratories and the loss of specialist skills.

Despite assurances from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the minister that the police and the private sector could deliver the full extent of FSS’ services, the minister has been unable to provide evidence that there is capacity to match the role of ‘supplier of last resort’ in the case of a sudden surge in forensic work, such as the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks.

Staff in other parts of the service who have been living with the threat of redundancy for over ten months are still no clearer over their future. Moves by private sector companies to recruit staff to meet the anticipated increase in demand have been hampered by the lack of planning for who would do the work post-FSS.

Negotiator Steve Thomas said the procure-ment framework drawn up for police forces by the National Policing Improvement Agency had fragmented forensic procurement to such an extent that opportunities for transfers under TUPE conditions are hard to identify.

“Since the declared intention has always been that FSS will not take on new work from October, we question the wisdom of risking the loss of other specialist skills and capacity outside the archive function. Private sector providers must first prove that they have the right staff and assets in place and that the market is sufficiently mature to sustain their operation,” he said.

A GROWING number of poor farming families in a remote area of Zimbabwe are benefiting from an irrigation project that has made it it possible to grow their own food.

The next step in the three-year Oxfam project, supported by donations from Prospect members, has been to irrigate new land in the Gutu area, after 100 tonnes of maize were successfully harvested earlier this year from the first 20 hectares (Profile 1/11).

The charity plans to train local people to irrigate and farm 60 hectares of land, enabling 240 families to produce and sell their own food.

Oxfam is focusing on families headed by women, elderly people or those with a member living with HIV or Aids. The area in south-east Zimbabwe is next to the government-built Ruti dam, which has run out of resources to irrigate nearby land.

In the second half of year two, local residents prepared the next 20-hectare tranche by digging irrigation canals and lining them with concrete. They also built a perimeter fence to protect crops from animals. A borehole was drilled and a hand

pump installed to provide drinking water for the farmers and other local families.

A 14-strong irrigation committee has been set up to manage and maintain the scheme, with woman farmer Sairosi Mazuru elected as chair.

With Oxfam’s help, a government department, AREX, is now providing technical support in crop production, harvesting, record-keeping, budgeting and marketing techniques.

AREX spokesperson Kudakwashe Mudhefe said: “Farmers are very happy with the project as their harvests have signifi-cantly increased through irrigation, compared to dry land farming, where they were realising nothing from maize production.

“Our technical expertise has also greatly improved through hands-on demonstra-tion plots and capacity building workshops organised by Oxfam.”

Local farmer Zvandasarira Mutimwii (pictured above) was among those who successfully grew maize in the first harvest. He said: “My life and that of my children will never be the same again.”

Profile

10 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

Thanks to you, my life will never be the same again

To back the Prospect Oxfam appeal, send donations, payable to ‘IPMS Oxfam Appeal Fund’, to Kay Lancaster, New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN, or visit www.cafonline.org and search for ‘IPMS Third World Welfare Trust’.

An Oxfam project supported by donations from Prospect members has reaped its first harvest of 100 tonnes of maize where farmers once realised nothing from the crop

PICTURES: OXFAM

■■ Carrying■a■moulder■used■in■the■construction■of■the■irrigation■canal

NEWS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 11

PROSPECT HAS protested strongly at the Scottish government’s plans to impose a pay freeze and to extract more savings from the public sector over the next year.

In late September, Jim Swinney, Scottish secretary for finance, published the public sector pay remit guidance for 2012-13 at the same time as the government’s spending review. Prospect said it was disappointed but not surprised that there will be a further pay freeze for the next financial year, apart from an increase of £250 for those earning under £21,000.

Anne Douglas, national secretary, said: “At a time when inflation is above 5 per cent and expected to rise further, when members face paying more towards their pensions and have had their pay frozen this year, it’s going to be really tough.

“Swinney acknowledged the contribu-tion that public sector workers make. But seeing that contribution translated into something tangible would have been good rather than expecting workers to endure a further real-term reduction in wages.”

Prospect and other civil service unions had argued to ministers that any increase in

SURVEY NOT A ‘DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE’SCOTTISH MEMBERS want a distinct identity north of the border, but don’t want it to affect the national unity of Prospect or drain the union’s resources.

A Prospect survey of members living or working in Scotland reveals that members are just as keen to see news about the union’s wider campaigning activities and other workplace issues as they are to learn about events at which Prospect Scotland is repre-sented, like the Scottish TUC.

The 1,700 respondents were overwhelm-ingly in favour of Prospect in Scotland focussing on Scottish activities, although some respondents argued that a Scottish focus would dilute union resources away from collective bargaining and fragment the

union’s national identity. Some erroneously thought the survey was a precursor to a breakaway union.

To keep in touch with members, respond-ents favour an emailed Prospect Scotland newsletter and a web-based enetwork where the union can tell members what is happening, and members can exchange infor-mation as needed. Respondents were less interested in the use of discussion forums, blogs and other social networking media.

National secretary Anne Douglas pointed out that activists wanted more inter-branch information. Members also wanted to see more about Prospect in the media and for the union to get its message across to the media.

“Scotland has an identity all of its own.

There is a lot happening up here that could affect members irrespective of their branch. This is borne out by the survey results so we’re looking to do things a bit differently and communicate better – we’re not talking about doing different things,” said Douglas.

Survey facts ● Respondents were 25 per cent women,

2.5 per cent from a minority ethnic group ● 39 per cent were from the civil service

sector, 17 per cent from the energy sector and 8 per cent from the Connect sector

● biggest employers by response were Scottish Power, BT Scottish Government

● over half of respondents had attended at least one Prospect event – from work-place meetings to national conferences.

SAADI WILL RUN FIVE CHARITY MARATHONS – ACROSS THE SAHARASAADI HUSSAIN has never run a marathon before, but next spring he’s planning to run the equivalent of five marathons back-to-back – across the Sahara.

Billed as the toughest foot race in the world, the 156-mile Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands) in April lasts six days, with runners competing in searing heat on rugged terrain.

“I’ve only been running for two years and I’ve not done a marathon, but I wanted to do something that was genuinely extreme,” said Saadi, the London-based head of commercial management for BT Global Services.

“I became interested in raising money for Mencap – the UK’s leading learning disability charity, and they offered two events – one in the North Pole and one in the Sahara. And I like heat better than cold!”

Runners in the ultramarathon carry all their own gear and food, with the longest stage coming in at 55 miles.

■ You can donate at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/saadihussain1

pension contributions – vigorously opposed by the Scottish government – could be offset by lifting the pay freeze. However, progression arrangements will not be frozen.

Douglas gave a cautious welcome to the commitment to a further year of the no compulsory redundancy guarantee. “It is conditional upon agreements on flexibility within bargaining units and we need to explore what this will mean in practice,” she said.

The spending review confirmed that further cash savings will be required from the public sector, despite saving £2.2bn in the last year compared to the efficiency target of £1.6bn.

“Any further efficiencies must impact on what work is carried out,” said Douglas. “With people leaving, albeit on a voluntary basis, we need to remember the people staying. People can work under signifi-cant pressure for a short time, but it is neither healthy nor sustainable to expect employees to deliver the same with signifi-cantly less resources over the long term.

“It’s time government told us what it is they don’t want to carry on doing.”

Protest as pay freeze spreads to Scotland

■■ Douglas■–■remember■the■people■who■are■staying

■■ ■Scottish■reps■met■up■in■Edinburgh■last■month■to■plan■the■year■ahead

MALCOLM

COCH

RANE PHOTO

GRAPHY

PAY

Pay deals travel at two speeds, but both are in the slow laneAS REPORTED elsewhere in this issue, the debate with the highest profile at last month’s TUC was on pensions. Much of the attention was on the future of public sector pensions, though Prospect made a particular plea for the change in the index used to uprate pensions from RPI to CPI to be reversed.

Of course, attacks on one part of the reward package are felt more keenly if other elements are also under pressure.

At the moment, pay settlements across Prospect are following the national trend of a two-speed economy. Private sector settlements have recovered this year, with a median settlement level of 3.14 per cent. By contrast the median level of Prospect pay settlements in the public sector is exactly 0 per cent – reflecting the impact of the two-year pay freeze.

The three-month rolling median for the whole economy recorded by Incomes Data Services is 2.4 per cent. In part this reflects the downward drag of public sector deals, but it also disguises variations in fortune across the private sector. According to IDS, business outlook and affordability are being weighed against high inflation, leading to sub-inflationary awards and late settlements.

There are some exceptions. Although the highest increases are in the finance sector where Prospect does not have members, energy sector settlements have generally also performed strongly with a 4.1 per cent average increase for the year to date. These include a 4.5 per cent headline settlement at British Energy’s Eggborough Power

Station, 4.9 per cent at Drax Power and 5.19 per cent at Western Power Distribution.

Elsewhere, a 4 per cent increase has been secured at BAA covering base pay, shift pay and allowances. At Transport for London the headline increase is 6 per cent in the final year of a three-year settle-ment linked to the RPI. With the exception of WPD, all the other settlements cited are part of multi-year deals which, at an average of 3.62 per cent across Prospect, continue to yield better outcomes than single year settlements – which average 1.46 per cent for the year to date.

Official data on average earnings showed a modest recovery in regular earnings until the end of June, with finance leading the

way at 5.3 per cent compared with 2.5 per cent in private services. However the latest figures, released in mid-September, indicate a levelling off or stagnation across most sectors, with even earnings growth in the finance sector dipping to 3.8 per cent. Finance and construction are currently the only sectors with higher rates of earnings growth than a year ago, though construc-tion started from a very weak position.

Wider pictureThese trends are not surprising given the weakened state of the economy and unemployment breaching 2.5 million, including one in five young workers. In the second quarter of 2011 the public sector lost an astonishing 111,000 jobs and, according to the Institute of Government, civil service jobs are being lost at an unprecedented rate.

The outlook remains undeniably gloomy, though there will doubtless continue to be better negotiating opportunities in some sectors. IDS have suggested that long-term deals may experience some resurgence in popularity in the months ahead, but with the important caveat that this is likely to require a higher level of confidence in economic recovery than exists at present.

Even so, lower inflation forecasts from early 2012 will create an expectation of lower settlement levels. So we may see a narrowing of the gap between public and private sectors, unless the government seeks to extend the public sector pay freeze. Of course, continuing austerity will do nothing to boost demand or stimulate the growth the economy so desperately needs.

Profile

12 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

Private sector is in the vanguard on pay but even here the trend is down, says Sue Ferns

KEY INDICATORS %Average earnings (inc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.8

Average earnings (exc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.1

Private sector (inc bonuses, year to Jul) 3.1

Private sector (exc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.2

Public sector (inc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.4

Public sector (exc bonuses, year to Jul) 2.0

Retail Price Index (year to Aug) 5.2

Consumer Price Index (year to Aug) 4.5

STEFANO CAGNONI

STEFANO CAGNONI

■ Air traffic controller, Paul Upton, at the Swanwick control centre

AIR TRAFFIC MEMBERS BUCK PAY SQUEEZEPROSPECT MEMBERS at air traffic operator NATS have voted overwhelmingly to accept pay offers from management for 2011.

After almost a year of talks, management made final offers to the ATCO (air traffic control officers) and ATSS (air traffic systems specialists) branches for two-year settlements.

ATCO members voted 76 to 24 per cent in the ballot for a 5.2 per cent increase to pay and allowances from January 1, 2011; and an RPI increase capped at 5 per cent – applicable to both pay and allowances – from January 1, 2012.

ATSS members voted 81 to 19 per cent in favour of a 4 per cent increase in pay and pay-related allowances, effective from January 1, 2011. Next year an RPI increase will be capped at 4.5 per cent, which will also apply to allowances.

Management originally tabled offers of 1.5 per cent to both groups and tried to switch the pay review date to April 1 rather than the usual settlement date of January 1.

National secretary Garry Graham said that since then both branch negotiating teams had worked hard to improve the offers. “The talks were difficult and very frustrating with issues that affected both sets of members. However, we stuck with it and the final offer was a definite improvement.

“Many of the strings attached to the original offer were dropped and given the economic climate the deal, while not ground breaking, was the best that could be achieved without industrial action.”

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 13

PAY

Members reject attempt to link pay to longer hoursUNIONS AT a key nuclear research organisation have resumed talks with management after members overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer that involved an increase in working hours.

The National Nuclear Laboratory is a self-funding, government owned, contractor operated (GoCo) organisation, operating at six sites in Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire and Oxfordshire.

This year unions were told that unlike last year, the organisation was now covered by public sector pay restraint.

NNL’s original offer was designed to be self-funded. It would have linked a pay rise to two extra working hours a week for most employees, plus reductions in other terms and conditions

and the introduction of a defined contribution pension scheme for new starters.

More than 700 employees were balloted on the offer, most of them Prospect members. On a 92 per cent response, 84 per cent of Prospect members rejected the offer, with overwhelming rejections from members of GMB and Unite.

Prospect branch president Glen McAlpine said: “Members gave us a resounding rejection, and we welcome management’s decision to return to the negotiating table. The employees have pulled out all stops to make the NNL a success and they deserve a fair reward.”

NNL is managed by SBM – a joint venture between SERCO, Battelle and Manchester University, though it is government owned.

QinetiQ on the brink – againMEMBERS AT defence research company QinetiQ were shocked to learn in late September that for the second time the company has given six months’ notice to withdraw union recognition and all collec-tive agreements after Prospect and other unions rejected its 2011 pay offer.

A ballot of Prospect’s 1,300 members in late summer produced a clear rejection of the offer, which amounted to a zero increase this year with a 3 per cent bonus, plus a ‘conditional’ bonus of 3 per cent in 2012. Now the union wants the company to return to the bargaining table.

National secretary David Luxton said members had sent a clear message to the company that the offer was not good enough, especially as chief executive, Leo Quinn, said last year in a message to staff that the company must take the views of employees seriously and that staff “should be able to expect and work for” a pay increase.

But Quinn has questioned whether the union’s ballot is representative of all the staff, despite the fact that QinetiQ’s employee forum was also unhappy with the offer.

“The offer does not contain a consoli-dated increase in basic pay, compounding the long-term decline in QinetiQ pay

rates compared to inflation. The condi-tions attached to the proposed 2012 bonus have caused resentment among members because it is linked to personal cost-saving suggestions,” said Luxton.

“There is a widespread feeling that QinetiQ staff are not being properly rewarded for the improved performance of the company – particularly when compared to the remuneration arrangements for senior directors.”

Luxton added that the company had sought to portray the offer as worth 6 per cent over two years with a promise of a review in 2012.

“This is misleading, as the offer is a one-off 3 per cent lump sum this year, with a conditional one-off 3 per cent lump sum next year, but linked to cost-saving by individuals with no clarity about the process or the criteria for success.”

The offer of a ‘market data review’ in 2012 provides no assurance of an increase in basic pay next year, causing staff to view the offer with some cynicism, he added.

A CONFUSING PAY ROUNDTHE GOVERNMENT’S ongoing public sector pay freeze has dominated the 2011 pay round in depart-ments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. In most bargaining areas the pay freeze has resulted in zero increases.

However, a variety of arrangements have emerged in different areas to pay members increases based on contractual progression or pre-existing bonus arrangements. Here are some examples.

At the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, members are in the second year of the pay freeze. However, progression payments were paid together with an underpinning £250 payment to those earning less than £21,000, in line with government policy.

At the Royal Parks, full

progression payments were underpinned by a consoli-dated increase of £500 for staff earning £21,000 or less.

At Trinity House, members received a non-consolidated lump sum payment of 2 per cent to all staff. The perfor-mance-related pay pot was set at 3 per cent of the pay bill.

At the Highways Agency, progression increases have been paid in the first year of the pay freeze – consoli-dated below the maxima; non-consolidated above the max.

At the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, non-consolidated perfor-mance payments were distributed from a pot of approximately 2.7 per cent of the pay bill. This was Dstl’s first award under the two-year freeze.

Apart from the ‘low pay guarantee’, the only new money available was for non-consolidated perfor-mance pay.

At the Department for Transport, in the second year of the pay freeze, consoli-dated progression increases were paid with non-consol-idated payments worth one step for those on their max. The performance pay pot was skewed even more towards those with ‘exceeded’ marks.

At the House of Lords, which is subject to the pay freeze, there is no contractual progression. However, in the House of Commons, staff earning less than £21,000 will receive a consolidated increase on a mark-time basis. Prospect is in dispute with HoC management over progression.

■■ Prospect’s■Ofcom■branch■executive■(l-r):■Andy■Hayes,■Phil■Mannion,■Pat■Tarpey,■Carole■Baker■and■John■Sullivan,■negotiated■a■2.5■per■cent■increase■(see■Paycheck■below).

ACCENTURELearning/HR/Business Support

Members have accepted an offer for 2011 pay worth 2.86 per cent overall, effective from September 1. Increases were distributed via a performance matrix.

OFCOMMembers have accepted an offer for 2011 pay worth 2.5 per cent, effective from July 1. Increases depend on performance.

TRANSPORT FORLONDON

Members have accepted an offer for 2011 pay worth 6 per cent, effective from April 1. The settlement is the third year of a three-year deal.

SELLAFIELD LTDMembers have accepted an offer for 2011 pay worth 2 per cent, effective from April 1. The deal is the first year of a two-year settlement.

Paycheck

■■ McAlpine■–■NNL■employees■deserve■a■fair■reward

QinetiQ boss

Leo Quinn said

staff ‘should be

able to expect

and work for’ a

pay rise

REX FEATURES

FEATURESProfile

14 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

www.prospect.org.uk justice on pensions

How the UK government has laid to rest one quarter of Miles Collins’ pension

Miles Collins is just four years old. He doesn’t even know what pensions are – but long before he retires he will learn all about them.

When he does, he’ll discover how 2011 did serious damage to the pension promises that were made by the UK government to the workers of today and tomorrow.

That’s because this year the government slyly switched the measure for uprating state and public pensions from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index.

CPI is normally around 1.2% lower than RPI. So the value of a pension will be cut by 25% over an individual’s lifetime. In the process, the government will save about £6bn a year on its pension bill and other welfare benefits, which will suffer the same fate.

That’s wrong. It’s wrong because: ● CPI excludes housing costs like rent, mortgage

payments and council tax which affect pensioners like everyone else

● CPI assumes consumers will switch to cheaper brands of goods, rather than measuring the increase in their cost

● Inflation is higher for pensioners than other groups because food and energy costs are a bigger part of their budget.

Just as bad, the government has allowed private companies to perform the same trick on their

scheme members as the public sector. Workers and pensioners with major employers like BT, BAE Systems and Babcock International have already been told their pensions will be uprated in line with CPI. Nationally, private scheme members will lose around £73bn in benefits, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

No one was consulted about the government’s decision. During last year’s election campaign both coalition partners pledged repeatedly to protect the value of accrued pension benefits.

The Office for National Statistics is now reviewing CPI to see whether it should be rebased to include housing costs. The Royal Statistical Society has declared: “We do not feel that it [CPI] currently serves the purpose of being a suffi-ciently good measure of inflation as experienced by households to be used in uprating pensions and benefits or for use in wage negotiations.”

Unions representing more than 2 million workers have lodged a judicial review of the government’s attempt to tamper with the uprating mechanism for pensions. It will be heard this autumn.

Whatever the result, Miles Collins will have learnt his first lesson in politics: when govern-ment makes a promise, it’s not for keeping!

JUSTICE ON PENSIONS

The government is not exactly falling over itself to offer concessions in the pension talks. So the more representations there are from members against the proposals the better. Here’s how to do it

MAKE IT PERSONAL – AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARDPROSPECT MEMBERS in every public sector scheme affected by the government’s attacks will be balloted on the November 30 action.

At the same time the union is encouraging members to keep up the pressure on the government to change its stance and come up with a better deal – see suggestions for how to do that below.

Who is affected? ● members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme in Classic,

Classic Plus, Premium and Nuvos ● those in schemes operated by analogy, for example members in the

research councils, museums and galleries, non-departmental public bodies, trading funds and arms’ length bodies

● some members who are in the local government, health and teachers’ schemes

● members in UK Atomic Energy Authority schemes.

What can you do?RESPOND TO THE GOVERNMENT’S CONSULTATION ON CONTRIBUTION INCREASESEmail the Cabinet Office with the reasons you are so worried about the proposal to impose an increase in

contribution rates. Include details of your personal circumstances, the effect on your take-home pay and your financial position. Prospect’s pensions officer has produced guidance notes on how to respond at http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2011/00867

■■ Send■your■response■direct■to■pensionreform@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk■by■October■20

TELL YOUR MP HOW THE INCREASE WILL HURT YOUWrite to your MP to object to the attacks. Again, share your personal experiences. Talk about the impact of increased contributions and the other changes on you and your family’s

living standards, bearing in mind the public sector pay freeze, job insecu-rity, higher utility bills, loss of child benefit and/or child tax credit, higher

national insurance contributions, or other things that affect you. ■■ A■draft■letter,■tips■and■information■on■how■to■find■your■MP■are■at■

http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2011/00771

SIGN THE E-PETITION AGAINST THE CPI SWITCHThe e-petition calls for the RPI measure to be re-introduced and supports a parliamentary debate on the issue. As Profile went to press, 58,128

signatures had been collected; once more than 100,000 people sign up, the subject is eligible for debate in the Commons.

■■ http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1535

REACH OUT TO A NON-MEMBERThis issue affects everyone’s future. Reaching out to non-members has never been more crucial. Urge

colleagues to join so they can be kept up to date and play their part in defending the future of their pensions.

■■ They■can■join■online■at■■www.prospect.org.uk/joinus/

UPDATE YOUR DETAILSMake sure Prospect has your correct address, employer and other contact details,

to ensure you get all voting papers and correspondence – page 17.

Vote yes in the pensions ballot

‘The crucial thing for us is fairness’Steve Webb, pensions minister

WHY MEMBERSSHOULD VOTE

IT FEELS as if the talks on pensions have reached a low ebb. Given the scale of detrimental changes being proposed by the government,

this could easily be described as one of our darkest hours. Each individual stands to lose a minimum of 25 per cent of the value of their pension benefits, for which they are being asked to pay substantially more. That’s real money and for many the loss will mean real financial hardship.

Prospect proved during last year’s talks on the civil service compensation scheme that it is possible to seek and achieve a negotiated settlement with this government. There were times during those talks when we felt that an agreement was not possible. Some members wanted us to go down the route followed by other unions, in the courts and on the picket line. Events subsequently demonstrated that the strong, at times courageous, leadership of our civil service sector executive was not just correct but led to decisions that best protected their

interests in a climate of job cuts and redundancies.Unfortunately, so far we have been unable to

achieve this during the talks on pensions. The sector executive has rightly decided to call on members to demonstrate their support for engagement, fairness and an acceptable outcome by taking part

in the TUC’s day of action on November 30, with the option for further action if there is no positive movement from the government.

As the leader of the opposition Ed Miliband has said, this government “should be engaging in proper, serious negotiations with the trade unions.” We

know that such an approach can work, as it did with the agreement reached on pensions with the last government in 2006-07.

This time, unfortunately, it looks as though we won’t even get proper negotia-tions without a strong show of support on November 30.

We need members to stand up and be counted if we are to show this govern-ment that we speak with your full support. Is this our darkest hour? I am not sure, but there is unlikely to be any dawn if we do not act quickly and decisively.

Voting on industrial action in this ballot could prove decisive for your standard of living in retirement. Please do so with a resounding YES.

■■Dai■Hudd,■deputy■general■secretary

INJUSTICE! ● An average 3.2% hike in pension contri-

butions on top of a two-year pay freeze

● Raising the pension age for existing staff

by up to 8 years

● Switching the uprating index from RPI to

CPI, cutting the value of pensions by up

to 25%

● Breaking the pledge to protect the

accrued pension rights of public servants

● Tearing up the 2007 agreement to reform

the civil service pension scheme

● Refusing to compromise on any key

proposals in four months of negotiations.

STEFANO CAGNONI

■■ Hudd■–■strong■show■of■support■needed■to■sway■the■government

■■ Phil■Bishop,■British■Library;■Catherine■Donaldson,■Animal■Health;■and■Mike■Collins,■Ministry■of■Defence

Survey says 15% will opt outMORE THAN one in seven Prospect members say they will opt out of their civil service pension scheme if the government insists on forcing through its planned contribution increases for staff.

Over the next three years the chancellor has announced that he intends to raise contributions 1 per cent a year by a cumulative 3.2 per cent – effectively a pay cut immediately after the current two-year pay freeze.

But an online survey of 4,500 members carried out by Prospect since September 1 reveals a growing revolt by members against the threat of imposed rises.

Just over 5 per cent of members say they will refuse to pay next year’s increase and will opt out of the scheme.

That figure rises to 15 per cent when members say how they would react to three successive increases over the years 2012-14.

If anything like that pattern were to be repeated in practice, the consequences for the government’s finances would be severe. There are 573,000 staff in the civil service and public bodies who belong to one of the four civil service schemes or linked by-analogy schemes.

The more people who opt out, the fewer contributions will be collected from members and

the higher will be the net cost to government of paying out current pensions.

“The proportion of staff considering an opt-out is worrying,” said Jonathan Green, research officer, who organised the survey. “What is particularly striking is that the proportion of respondents willing to pay the increases right up to 2014 plummets to just a third.

“The group that is most uncertain about paying this increase is female respondents. By 2014 only 29 per cent say they will pay the increase compared with 37 per cent of male respondents – and nearly 60 per cent don’t know what they will do.”

Neil Walsh, Prospect pensions officer, warned members that it would not be sensible to opt out of the scheme, “though I understand all too well the reasons why members might feel that way.

“Members still need to consider the overall value of scheme membership and think very carefully before making a decision that would have a long-term impact on their standard of living in retirement.”

Non-members get the pictureGROWING NUMBERS of Prospect members have attended meetings in recent weeks to protest at the government’s attacks on their pensions.

They have heard branch reps and full-time officers explain the situation and answer questions from members anxious about the outcome of the negotiations and their impact.

Prospect pensions officer Neil Walsh has travelled to meetings at the Food and Environment Research Agency, near York, Portsmouth naval base and the Health and Safety Executive in London.

At one meeting he addressed in September, at Diamond Light Source, Harwell, about 80 scientists attended for more than an hour and

raised questions about the government’s intentions and Prospect’s response.

Most gratifying, he said, was that after the discussion at DLS four non-members signed up to join Prospect. “There’s been a similar response at almost every meeting,” said Neil. “Once people understand the danger they’re in and what Prospect is doing to counter that threat,

even non-members start to smell the coffee.”

■■ They’re■listening■–■but■is■government?■Members■at■Diamond■Light■Source■at■a■pensions■meeting

■■ Walsh■–■every■public■servant■is■affected

■■ Green■–■opt-outs■will■cost■government

GOVERNMENT STAGES £73bn PENSION HEISTUNLESS YOU are very lucky, your pension benefits have already been slashed by up to 25 per cent.

That’s because the government this year shifted the goalposts and changed the benchmark for uprating pensions from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI).

The change for public sector pensions, tax credits and state pensions took effect in April. For the uprating of private sector pensions it took effect in January – unless your scheme has rules which specifically link uprating increases to RPI, in which case you escape the switch.

Why does this seemingly innocuous move make such a difference? For the simple reason that CPI nearly always lags RPI – by 0.75 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility calculated in 2010 – because of differences in the way the two indices are calculated.

This year the OBR raised its estimate of that differ-ence to 1.2 per cent for future years, with the effect of magnifying the already large savings to the exchequer and to occupational schemes in general.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions’ own assessment, the change will save private sector schemes a total £73bn on their scheme balance sheets. That staggering amount makes Gordon Brown’s famous ‘raid’ on pensions – worth app £5bn a year to the Treasury – look a veritable storm in a teacup.

In addition, according to the Treasury, the move will save govern-ment around £6bn in 2014-15 alone on its own pension liabilities.

For active members of schemes, the switch will mean a cut of up to 12 per cent in the value of their pension by 2027, and 20 per cent by 2050 – a permanent transfer of wealth from scheme members to shareholders.

Prospect and other organisations have lodged a judicial review of the government’s decision, announced in 2010 without any consultation with pension schemes or their members.

This will be heard in the High Court on October 25-27. A legal challenge is the only hope of reversing the decision since Labour leader Ed Miliband made clear at TUC that he would not commit a future Labour government to rescind the move.

In reply to a question from Prospect president Nigel Titchen (report, page 21) Miliband said: “I can’t promise to reverse RPI-CPI because I don’t know where the money would come from to do that.”

FORECAST PERCENTAGE INCREASES, CPI AND RPI

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Overall

CPI 2.7 2.4 1.9 2 2 2 13.7

RPI 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 22.1

SOURCE: OBR

MEMBERSHIP DETAILS – ARE YOURS UP TO DATE?To update them:

● call Prospect Membership on 01932 577007

● email membership@prospect.org.uk, or ● change your details online by logging

into www.prospect.org.uk and go to your personal profile page.

ROGERASKEWPHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UK

TEN YEARS ago Prospect produced a report that described the defence policy of the Labour government as “daft, damaging and demoralising”.

In that report, Prospect examined the deficit between foreign policy and defence delivery and expressed concern that the absence of an industrial strategy, which properly balances public and private sector outputs, could only lead to a damaging spiral of decline.

It is no consolation that much of what we said then has come painfully true and that the prospects for defence over the next decade are riven with still more uncertainty.

In representing members in both MOD and private sector companies, Prospect is uniquely placed to comment on the turmoil in the defence sector. Our defence, maritime and logistics group (DMLG) co-ordinates policy across our public-private membership and has been responsible for raising the profile of our work in defence in recent years by establishing a network of defence academic contacts, publishing reports and periodic seminars.

Time and again we have predicted the crisis in defence spending and the consequences for the UK defence sector.

At a time when the UK is crying out for jobs, the govern-ment’s lack of conviction for the future of defence manufac-turing and its technology base is a desperate indictment of short-term thinking. Whatever criticisms were levelled at the previous government on equipment over-spend, the fact that it had committed to coherent defence industrial and scientific strategies meant it had a clear view on the need for core onshore capacity.

Even in the context of an overall decline in defence spending, those strategies set parameters to which industry could plan and, if necessary, allow decline to be managed, so avoiding the current chaotic shedding of capacity.

Recent reports to the DMLG illustrate how defence companies are cutting back on both skills and capacity. Future govern-ments will be forced to buy abroad and we can only hope that we will be in the right place in the queue when it comes to foreign companies fulfilling our orders.

In parallel, MOD seems intent on winning the accolade for fastest shrinking government department. This year’s huge over-subscription for redundancy terms – 14,000 volunteers initially applied for 3,000 early release places – demonstrates the state of morale.

The department seems prepared to shed whatever numbers it can find funding for. This makes a mockery of any pretence that it can be an intelligent customer to a well co-ordinated industrial base. The instability generated by huge reductions in civilian staffing over short timescales cannot be the basis for a fit for purpose MOD.

Against this background it would be all too easy to give in to the inevitable. However, Prospect’s reps in defence are a resilient lot, not least because this is not their first experi-ence of unplanned decline.

I believe we must increase our efforts to give voice to the consequences of the current direction of government policy. There are clearly significant fears about the future right across the defence community. Prospect has proven before that it can be the hub around which many of these interests can coalesce.

At present, the government explains away its defence decisions on the grounds of needing to balance the books, due to the cost overruns of the previous administration. But we must press ministers on what shape the UK defence sector will look like in ten years’ time:

● it will be ‘daft’ to have an MOD so shorn of capacity and competence that it places the UK at risk because it cannot specify and manage its supply chain

● it will be ‘damaging’ to the UK if we have lost any real defence manufacturing capacity ●■■it will be ‘demoralising’ to UK citizens if we cannot respond to the security challenges of the day, and support our armed forces accordingly.

Defence – on a road to nowhere

Government’s chaotic management of its defence responsibilities is an indictment of short-term thinking, says deputy general secretary, Mike Clancy

■■ Clancy■–■we■must■look■to■our■needs■in■10■years’■time

■■ Fox■–■running■the■UK’s■defences■is■about■more■than■issuing■P45s

BIGGEST UNION PROTEST IN A GENERATIONTHE DAY of action on November 30 will be the biggest trade union protest for a generation.

The decision to ballot up to three million members was made by the TUC’s public sector liaison group – attended by 24 unions on September 14, immediately after the pensions debate at TUC conference.

The meeting took into account reports of the central talks held with ministers, as well as discussions across the various public sector schemes. They noted the lack of progress or any meaningful negotiation on the crucial issues, such as contribution rates, pension age, transitional protection or accrual.

Earlier, Congress delegates voted unanimously in favour of a pledge to “robustly defend public sector pensions and campaign for affordable pensions for all workers.” Provision should be based on levelling up and making private companies face up to their responsibilities rather than cutting public sector pensions, the motion stressed.

It called on the general council to “give full support to industrial action against pensions cuts, including action planned for this autumn, and maximise its co-ordination.”

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said afterwards that the TUC remained committed, in good faith, to seeking a fair negotiated settlement but the govern-ment “needs to understand the strength of unions’ resolve reflected in today’s decision.”

In addition to four affiliates (PCS and education unions ATL, NUT, and UCU), who took industrial action on June 30, ten further unions reported on decisions to move towards ballots for industrial action.

Among them were Prospect, FDA, Unison, Unite, GMB and the Fire Brigades Union. Even the National Association of Head Teachers is balloting members – if they vote yes, it will be the first time in its 114-year history that members will have chosen to strike.

Barber said each union was being asked to consider what it judged to be the most appropriate form of action, ranging from balloting on strike action through to lunchtime meetings, rallies and joint events with community groups and service users.

STEFANO CAGNONI

■■ Barber■–■ballot■decision■reflects■strength■of■resolve

DEFENCE POLICY

‘Many of the women we spoke to felt that they had only survived because they didn’t have caring responsibilities’

STEFANO CAGNONI

■■ Prospect■member■Dr■Kerry■Broom■was■recently■elected■the■youngest■Fellow■of■the■Society■of■Biology.■Kerry■is■a■principal■radiation■protection■scientist■at■the■Health■Protection■Agency■and■a■STEM■ambassador

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 19

WOMEN IN SET

Stay in or get out? That’s the dilemma facing women in science, says Sue Ferns

placed on a man. I’ve heard other women say they’ve felt the environment is hostile towards women – I wouldn’t go that far, it can however be intimidating and draining to be constantly championing a different perspective to the rest of your colleagues.”

Supportive line managers evidently make a huge difference to the quality of women’s working lives. Opportunities to network with other ‘strong’ women are one way to combat isolation at work, though one member commented: “There are so few women engineers and, with the geograph-ical spread, I am not likely to meet them.”

Sadly, women’s experience of work after having children continues to have a major influence. Many of the women we spoke to felt that they had only survived – let alone progressed – because they didn’t have caring responsibilities. However, a number did recognise that in this regard workplaces have ‘changed a lot over the years’, though there is still something of a presumption against part-time working, especially at more senior levels.

Most of the women we contacted expected to stay in SET, though their reasons ranged from the very positive to resignation about lack of alterna-tive opportunities. One member noted that she had personally benefited from a deliberate move out of SET at an earlier stage of her career, stating: “I found this a useful addition to my skill base, making me much more effective on my return to the technical world.” This contrasts with the view of another woman, at an early

WOMEN’S UNDER-REPRESENTATION in science, engineering and technology is not a new problem. But despite some slow progress in recent years, it remains pervasive.

In 2008 women accounted for 12 per cent of all employees in SET occupations, up from 10 per cent in 2003, but this compares with 45 per cent of women in the workforce overall. Women are even less well represented in some SET occupations, for example only 7 per cent of engineering professionals and 1 per cent of skilled tradespeople are women.

Furthermore, the ‘leaky pipeline’ ensures that a higher proportion of women than men either never use their STEM qualifica-tion in a SET role or leave for other occupa-

tional pastures: just under 30 per cent of female STEM graduates of working age are employed in SET occupations compared with just over 50 per cent of men.

These are not easy challenges. But, with growing evidence of SET skills shortages and gaps in the UK despite the key role of a STEM-qualified workforce in securing and sustaining economic recovery, there are also new opportunities.

Prospect is well placed to contribute, and there’s no better starting point than listening to the views of our own members. Earlier this year, we undertook some quali-tative research covering women scientists and engineers working across a range of sectors.

These members generally speak very positively about the enjoyment to be had from ‘doing the science’, ‘providing solutions’ and ‘making a difference’. They also highlight the importance of being ‘given credit for my work’ and ‘appreciated by colleagues’. Causes of frustration include ‘lack of inspirational leadership’, ‘lack of consistency’ across an organisation and ‘being sidelined’. Women are still frustrated that ‘all the managers are men’; ‘there is still an element of the culture of presen-teeism rather than output focus’; and that organisations don’t provide cover for gaps in staffing, including maternity leave.

One woman working in the private sector said: “There is a lack of women in the company in middle and senior manage-ment – I’m often the only woman or one of a couple of women in meetings. I have also in the past been accused of being emotional – a label that would never be

Set fair for women?stage of her career, who commented: “I am becoming more frustrated with what feels like fighting every day. An under-30 female science graduate is not an easy thing to be in my place of work.”

No doubt these perspectives reflect a combination of factors, including career stage, employment sector and quality of manage-ment. Some views will have resonance beyond science and engineering, but there is no doubting the particular challenges that emanate from working in highly skilled and highly competitive environments where women are so significantly under-repre-sented. Our members’ experiences confirm that more still needs to be done to deal with endemic problems, for example relating to work-life balance, the glass ceiling and the culture of SET workplaces.

Prospect is campaigning on all these issues, building alliances with other groups and seeking to mainstream gender equality on the bargaining agenda. There is a Prospect network for women in SET that is open to all members. But there’s more that we – and you – can do. Our members told us about the importance of family support, as well as the inspiration provided by women in leadership roles and peers who have worked their way up from the shop floor.

■■ SESAC■–■Prospect’s■new■Science,■

Engineering■and■Sustainability■Advisory■Committee■–■is■keen■to■make■a■difference■and■wants■to■hear■from■members■with■views■and■ideas■to■share.■Contact■Sue■Ferns■at■sue.ferns@prospect.org.uk

Profile

20 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

PROSPECT BACKS CALL FOR OLYMPIC UNITYPROSPECT’S ROLE in representing profes-sional referees led it to second a motion from the Professional Footballers’ Association calling for a Great Britain football team to take part in the 2012 Olympic Games.

A GB team would demonstrate the same national unity around football as there is in all other sports which did not have separate national teams, vice-president Alan Grey told delegates.

He believed competitors would be as patriotic competing for team GB as they would for any of the home nations. As well as sharing skills and experience, “the scope for UK-based officials to be selected for next year’s Olympics would be enhanced.”

Despite criticism from PCS of jingoism, Congress backed the motion.

Later in the day NEC member Heather Phillips spoke in support of the Playfair campaign, saying: “There will never be a better time to publicise and improve the conditions of workers around the world contributing to this spectacular event.”

Describing the Olympics as ‘a multi-million pound industry’, she said: “The £100m sponsorship fee paid by Adidas would pay 40,000 of its Chinese workers for a whole year.”

She called on unions to ensure employers used ethical and transparent supply chains, as Prospect had with Olympic sponsors BT and EDF. The motion was carried.

TUC

PRIVATE AND public sector workers were united in defence of public services and their importance to the economy in the key debate of TUC 2011.

After condemning the cuts to public spending for taking the share of national income spent on public services back to the levels of the late 1990s, delegates agreed to campaign for an alternative economic strategy of:

● investing in public services ● strengthening manufacturing

industry ● creating green jobs ● promoting progressive taxation ● a financial transaction tax ● opposing cuts that adversely

impact on living standards, jobs and pensions.

To build broad resistance to the govern-ment’s austerity agenda, the TUC called for a national day of action with pensioner, youth and community groups, supported by industrial and other action at national, sectoral or regional level.

Moving the composite motion, Unison’s Jane Carolan warned that ‘an ideological assault’ was under way that threatened the efficiency, equity and democratic account-ability of public services.

Wage freezes, job cuts, benefit cuts, rising unemployment, changes to the calcu-lation of pensions and other benefits – these amounted to “the biggest attack on living standards in the country since the 1920s.”

Workers, the poor and the most vulner-able in society were being asked to bear the brunt of reducing the deficit, Carolan said.

Supporting, Prospect speaker Helen Kenny condemned the argument that the

Green shoots ‘will not grow without state investment’A RALLYING cry from Prospect’s president for green jobs and sustainable green growth won overwhelming support from Congress.

Moving Prospect’s motion on a low-carbon economy, Nigel Titchen (right) contrasted the mismatch between the government’s rhetoric about being ‘the greenest govern-ment ever’ before the election and its ‘penny-pinching approach’ since. He urged a comprehensive investment plan involving:

● a green economy council with jobs, skills and growth at the heart of its mission

● a strengthened green investment bank

● a pan-government strategy for science, engineering and technology skills

● greater support for low-carbon R&D ● more backing for carbon capture and storage.

The motion, seconded by Community, recognised the roles of both fossil fuels and nuclear fission as part of a balanced energy policy.

While the UK economy had strong foundations on which to build its green credentials, it was rapidly losing ground to developing nations and other competitors, said Titchen.

Measures outlined in the white paper on energy would not reach the statute book until 2013; plans for a green economy council said little about how its aspirations would be delivered; and the government is “far too complacent” about ensuring the UK’s future skills base.

“It is simply not possible to make Britain greener without investing more,” said Titchen.

But instead of the Green Investment Bank promised before the election, “the coalition has backtracked, opting instead for a fund that might some day evolve into a bank.” The spending review envisaged backing it with £1bn of capital when analysts reckon at least £6bn is needed, said Titchen.

He cited the ‘massive impact’ of the cuts on environ-mental and sustainable development work, in particular the decision to cut funding for a string of bodies that meant government had “effectively lost the expertise that should be underpinning its environmental and sustainable policies.”

Titchen called on delegates to hold the government to account to ensure that the investment the UK needs is actually delivered.

Prospect paid a full – and some said pivotal – part at this year’s stripped down TUC in London

Day of action heads rising tide of protest

private sector would benefit from public sector cuts as ‘pure doublethink’. She pointed to £236bn of government procure-ment each year as vital to the national infrastructure and business confidence.

And she challenged the crude attacks on ‘back-office’ functions and the ‘misinforma-

tion’ put about by ministers that they could be cut back without impacting on frontline services.

“This is an artificial divide – support staff are vital and have specialist skills and expertise,” she said, using forensic science, climate research and the work of the Audit Commission as examples.

In the case of the Forensic Science Service, where Kenny herself worked, the government had resorted to ‘downright lies’, claiming that it was being closed because it was losing £2m a month.

“Setting aside the absurdity of expecting forensic science to make a profit, it is now clear that the real losses are a fraction of that amount. A major restructure had almost turned the organisation around before they pulled the plug with no notice and little consultation.”

Kenny warned that this was “the very human cost” of the government’s approach to public services – “hundreds of dedicated forensic scientists made redundant, and many choosing or being forced into a career change. It’s a knee-jerk, short-sighted approach that will devastate the profession.”

After hearing from speakers from other unions representing civil servants, lecturers, shopworkers, communications workers and teachers, congress carried the motion unanimously.

■ Phillips – ensure employers are ethical

■■ Kenny■–■absurd■to■expect■forensic■science■to■make■a■profit

■■ Prospect■general■

secretary■Paul■

Noon■is■interviewed■by■the■BBC

Pictures: Stefano Cagnoni

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 21

TUC

View from the galleryProspect parliamentary and campaigns officer Parmjit Dhanda sums up

THIS YEAR’S Congress was dubbed ‘TUC-lite’ by many observers, due to the smaller venue, fewer delegates and the cropped agenda.

These may be austere times, but from where I was observing among the organisers and the media, this year’s Congress packed quite a punch. A pay freeze, an attack on pensions, cuts to frontline public services, a change in pensions uprating from RPI to CPI – any one of these measures would be enough to send the blood coursing through the veins of the faithful in an ordinary year.

But this is no ordinary year and these are not ordinary times. Experienced hacks scurried around Congress House in a ferment as one general secretary after

another rose to condemn the coalition government and inform the massed ranks that they were preparing to ballot their members for potentially the largest joint industrial action since the 1920s.

The fact that Prospect is among the pack making preparations for a ballot was duly noted by journal-ists and delegates alike. Prospect’s decision may even prove to be pivotal. The fact that a union that is respected for wanting to win the intellectual argument has been forced into this corner in order to protect its members’ pensions is a potent indicator of the govern-ment’s inflexibility and arrogance.

So the 2011 ‘TUC-lite’ may prove to be one of the most significant ever held. But strike action or not, Prospect will need to use its reputation for reasonableness. That reputation can allow us to strike a heavy blow against coalition policies that are choking the life out of our economy and squeezing ever harder at our members’ living standards.

Our rights in the firing line, Prospect warnsTHE THREAT of a new assault on the employment rights of workers was highlighted by Prospect in a debate on the government’s deregulation agenda.

Deputy general secretary Leslie Manasseh (right) took the government to task for its assumption that employ-ment rights had created an unnecessary burden on business. The UK had one of the most lightly regulated employment markets in Europe, he pointed out.

The aim of the recent consultation on resolving workplace disputes was to reduce the number of employment tribunal cases, he said. “But instead of moderating the conduct of employers which gives rise to them, the strategy is to make it harder for workers to have their case heard.”

The fact was that poor or opportunist cases were a tiny minority and that applying to an ET was a last resort when all else had failed. There were plenty of safeguards to prevent weak cases taking up time – “that’s why almost 50 per cent of claims are settled before any hearing.”

Among the proposals opposed by the motion were the introduction of fees to initiate an ET claim, for claims to be struck out without the claimant being able to

present their case, for an increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal, for a reduction in the consul-tation period over redun-dancies, and for eroding the protections offered by TUPE transfers.

Taken together, those proposals represent a major attack on the right of

workers to get redress for unfair treatment, said Manasseh. “None of them works to the benefit of the claimant. All of them tilt the balance further in favour of the employer.”

Moving the motion, Paddy Lillis, from the USDAW shopworkers’ union, said the biggest losers from the ET changes would be the low paid and the most vulnerable in society.

Ged Nichols, from the finance union Accord, said the real challenge was to raise the standards of poor employers to those of good employers, which would resolve the problem completely.

RENEWED STATE CONTROL WOULD BE NUTS – NOONRENATIONALISATION OF efficient and well-run private companies would be ‘nuts’, Prospect told the TUC.

Opposing a call from the rail union RMT for renationalisation of key sectors of the economy, Paul Noon said it could not be supported by his union.

Prospect had members in energy and telecoms and they did not want to return to the public sector, said the general secretary. “Why would they, for the benefit of pay freezes, job cuts and under-investment?”

By any measure, in recent years private sector members had done better in negotiations than public

sector members.Renationalisation would damage

pension schemes that invested in those companies as well as the members who owned shares in them. In addition, it would “wreck the UK’s position as a trading nation,” he warned.

Noon stressed that Prospect fully backed other points in the motion, which included calls for government to give more support to manufac-turing industry, easier access to finance for industry and meaningful job opportunities for young people. It was carried overwhelmingly.

Prospect’s Nigel Titchen opened a question-and-answer session on pensions with Labour leader Ed Miliband.

He asked him if he would commit to reversing the government’s decision to switch from the RPI index to CPI for uprating state and public sector pensions.

Miliband said he would not make a promise he couldn’t keep and therefore, “I can’t promise ... because I don’t know where the money would come from.”

While admitting that Labour opposed the change, describing it as “an attack on the pensions of many workers,” he said it was too early to say what could or could not be afforded in future.

But his response to a call from PCS president Janice Godrich to support union members taking industrial action over pensions was barracked by delegates, after he praised the Hutton report on public sector pensions.

Listing its recommendations, Miliband said Hutton contained a message that was incredibly important. “Which is that government needs to engage in meaningful negotiations with you and that is what should be happening.”

But his promise to “stand up and say that government needs to properly negotiate with you on these issues,” was met with jeers from sections of the hall.

PRESIDENT LEADS CHALLENGE TO MILIBAND’S ATTITUDE ON PUBLIC SECTOR PENSIONS

exuberant Edith, Lady Londonderry.“By looking at each character area in detail, using old

photographs and plans, we’ve been able to get a detailed analysis of its history, and past and current planting. Now we can identify and prioritise what we need to do to ensure its long-term conservation and restoration.”

When the original gardens were laid down, many jobs were created for unemployed soldiers during the downturn that followed the Great War.

Today, in addition to the employment opportunities provided by the project during the current downturn, retraining opportunities are being provided by the property for the long-term unemployed who wish to learn the skills involved in garden maintenance.

The man with ultimate responsibility for the gardens at Mount Stewart is Prospect member and recently appointed head of gardens for the National Trust in Northern Ireland, Neil Porteous.

Neil said: “It is very rare, in terms of garden history, to have such a complete and detailed archive of planting plans, colour schemes, receipts and garden photographs. This is a less tangible part of Lady Londonderry’s legacy at Mount Stewart.

“By studying these primary sources it will once again be possible to use her plant associations and colour schemes. At the same time, we can bring the collection into the present by introducing some of the exciting new plants more recently discovered.”

There was always a spirit of empiricism at Mount Stewart and Lady Londonderry, by sponsoring plant hunting expeditions, was able to get the very latest plant introduc-tions, many of which survive to this day and are of intense cultural significance, says Neil.

“There are many examples of plants in our collection which are no longer to be found in the wild and rarely in gardens, so much of our work will be in conserving these plants for the future.”

Paul added that it was a joy to work with Neil. “He has a great deal of expertise and experience working in historic gardens and it is fantastic for us to be able to benefit from his horticultural knowledge.”

MOUNT STEWART is a world-renowned garden, a Northern Irish icon that contains one of the most extensive plant collections anywhere outside a botanical garden.

It is one of the most spectacular and idiosyncratic gardens of Western Europe, famous for the “extraordi-nary scope of its plant collections and the originality of its features, which give it world-class status” (excerpt from Mount Stewart’s listing on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage tentative list).

Famed for its grandeur and the bold planting schemes of the many rare and tender plants that thrive in the micro-climate of the Ards Peninsula, Mount Stewart’s garden ‘rooms’ reflect different Celtic, historical, cultural and idiosyncratic themes.

Paul Stewart, who is also a garden and park manager, says proudly: “This Irish garden is one of the most signifi-cant gardens in the world, certainly one of the most signifi-cant in the ownership of the National Trust, and is currently nominated for World Heritage Site status.”

The property enjoys almost 100 per cent Prospect membership and these members have worked hard at maintaining the property and slowing the decline of the gardens. But, says Paul, the point has been reached where serious investment is needed to restore them to health.

He explained: “Over the decades this garden has evolved and changed to reflect different gardening styles. Eucalyptus trees that were planted prior to the Trust taking over have thrived in the mild climate here, resulting in shady conditions and expanding root systems that have damaged garden infrastructure and mean planting schemes need to be changed. Some of the statues are beginning to crumble and collapsed drains have led to flooding.”

In response, the National Trust has just launched an appeal to raise funds for the conservation work required to rediscover this wonderful garden – forever, for everyone.

“By rebuilding the garden’s infrastructure we can recreate the inspired planting schemes and sumptuous colour combinations behind the passion and flamboyance that these gardens exude like no other,” says Paul. “In so doing, we will recapture the original vision of its creator, the

National Trust rep Paul Stewart is leading the rediscovery and restoration of a unique garden from the arts and crafts period

PLANTINGWITH PASSION

PICTURES: NATIONAL TRUST

■■ You■can■find■out■more■about■Mount■Stewart■and■contribute■to■the■national■restoration■appeal■by■visiting■http://beta.nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewart

■■ Left,■Paul■Stewart,■manager,■with■gardeners■■James■Donnan■and■Darrell■Harvey

‘By rebuilding the garden’s infrastructure we can recreate the inspired planting schemes and sumptuous colour combinations behind the passion and flamboyance that these gardens exude like no other’

Profile

22 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

CONSERVATION

FEATURE Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 23

WEBMAKING PYLONS PRETTY

The growing furore in mid-Wales and other regions about pylons being a blight on the landscape makes the recent competition to design the pylon of the future all the more apposite. Models of the six shortlisted designs have been on display as part of the London Design Festival at the V&A museum. More than 250 designs were entered from around the world after the call from the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change and National Grid. The six favourites certainly have interesting names – the Flower Tower, Silhouette, T-Pylon, Y-Pylon, Plexus and Totem. See them in all their glory at www.ribapylondesign.com

PEERS PEE ON PAPER

The draft business plan for the House of Lords contains the following comment on corporate responsibility for Hansard, the daily parliamentary record: “Many of the proposals within this plan fall under the general heading of ‘Print Less, E Better’ (which the House might, or might not, choose to abbreviate to PLEB).” Who said humour was dead – and in a business plan at that?

GONE WITH THE WIND!

Hurricane Katya demonstrated a key benefit of nuclear power over wind – reliable baseload versus intermittency – to Prospect staff as they toured power stations in Scotland in September. National secretary Alan Leighton, organiser Louise Staniforth and team assistant Robert Lauder were at Torness, where local rep Tony Hole said it had been so windy that he’d noticed the local windfarm was not operating. News reports later confirmed that 13 windfarms were taken off the grid overnight because of fears the excess power they produced could blow the grid in parts of Scotland. To cap it all, the hard hat Louise donned to go on site was blown off by a gust of wind and smashed to pieces.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

We are indebted to a Scottish mole, for this gem: “HR Update on Meal Allowance Payment: Where staff who are working overtime have incurred an extra cost buying a meal, reimbursement of the actual cost up to a limit of £4.90 can be claimed. However, reimbursement can’t be claimed where ingredients have been purchased but an actual meal hasn’t (for example, if a member of staff bought a sandwich, the cost of that sandwich would be reimbursed. However, where a member of staff bought extra bread and fillings and made a sandwich at home, the cost of the extra ingredients wouldn’t be reimbursed).” Sir Humphrey, eat your heart out.

SPECIAL MIKKI’S STORY

Scores of Prospect members and staff have chipped in £10 to buy a hand-made Special Mikki bracelet

to raise money for a little boy with cerebral palsy who needed an operation in America to help him walk. Together they raised over £1,000 towards the £45,000 needed for his treatment. Four-year-old Mikki attends the same primary school in Sidcup, south London, as the children of Prospect assistant

communications officer Tracy Thornton, who sold the bracelets at work that his mum Yana had

made. After a successful operation Mikki is now on the road to recovery, though his American doctors have since discovered he has a problem with his eyes, requiring more surgery

within four months. Find out more at www.specialmikki.com and see videos at www.youtube.

com/watch?v=DkOoO-RT834

MUSIC TO PROSPECT’S EARS

Prospect members at Sellafield were proud to sponsor the Maryport Youth Festival, held as part of the town’s annual blues festival. Local rep Colin Bell raised £250 from the branch to support the event in July. He said: “This is organised by local schoolchildren themselves – they run the show. I just get involved behind the scenes.” Colin’s son Adam, 17, is on the festival committee and performed in an acoustic duo, Two’s a Crowd.

WATCH THE CLOCK

The fight against a long-hours culture has clearly got some way to go. A weekly blog written by a senior civil servant gives some indication of the pressures on the UK’s decision-makers: “Last week was pretty typical. I worked broadly from 8.30am to 6.30pm each weekday, with additional time for travel, and some time over the weekend to tidy up from last week, prepare for this, write this column etc. I might also do the odd half an hour box work in the evening if needs must. I don’t find those hours excessive and they won’t be unusual in the senior civil service.”

THE CRAZY WORLD OF MOD

What should the Ministry of Defence do as it faces a £36bn procurement black hole, equipment and cost overruns, cuts to already overstretched armed forces and a cunning plan to cut 32,000 civilian staff? Why, employ consultants at £4,000 a day (£5,000 with a success bonus) to advise it on how to save money, of course. The department didn’t even advertise the contract before appointing a consultancy to undertake the task. MOD clearly needs help to break its destructive cycle of self-harm.

PROBING QUESTIONS

Back in 1941 the government appeared to think that the war effort hinged on a detailed survey of how many bras, corsets and suspender belts British women owned, how often they were washed and even what kind of underwear women were wearing at the time they answered the questions. The government claimed it needed to know whether the production of such ‘foundation garments’ was contributing to a national steel shortage. A good subject for a Donald McGill postcard, more like. It’s hard to imagine the Office for National Statistics getting away with such intrusive enquiries today.

Coming soon, to a screen near youThe launch of Prospect’s new website is just weeks away, reports Lynn Stephenson

Prospect is counting down the weeks and days to the launch of its new website. Barring last-minute technical problems, we hope it will be up and running by the end of November.

Over the next two months Prospect’s programmers, website team and communications department will be working flat out to meet the target date:

● writing, testing and tweaking the code that makes the system work

● creating templates for the redesigned pages ● re-organising our existing content and migrating it to the

new pages ● setting up a test version of the site and asking our

members’ user group for feedback ● sourcing photographs to use on the new layouts ● getting to grips with the online news system ● maintaining the existing website right up to the relaunch

– crucial in the run-up to the potential day of action on November 30.

If all goes well, December’s issue of Profile will showcase the main features of the new site. In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview of the news page:

UNiON

Profile

24 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

Calvin Allen questions whether low prices for phone users are always in the consumer’s interest

OFCOM, THE communications regulator, publishes an annual report on the state of the UK’s communications market, and the eighth such document emerged in early August. The report contains a welter of facts and figures on telecoms, the internet, radio and TV, and is an insightful and interesting publication.

Much of this year’s publicity for the report centred on the high-profile issue of smart-phones. The report published a research study by Ofcom that surveyed the nation’s increas-ingly rapid adoption of smart-phones – to which 37 per cent of adults and 60 per cent of teenagers are ‘highly addicted’.

Smartphones place consider-able demands on network capacity. But it seems that the mobile phone companies have yet to develop a model in which the exponential rise in volumes generated by our use of smartphones is reflected in revenues, which continue to bumble along without showing any real signs of growth.

For us as consumers, the ability to use ‘more’ without having to pay (much) ‘more’ is probably a good thing – and a sign of the regulator doing its job. But that is only likely to be the case in the short term. If operators are unable properly to finance investment in new capacity, with auctions of new spectrum on the way, it is unlikely to be a good thing at all.

A capacity and investment crunch generated by low

CRACKING SUCCESS IN BUSINESSPROSPECT MEMBER John Coyle has shared his experiences as a project and programme manager working with BT in a new self-help book, Outside the Nutshell.

Aimed at anyone engaged in business, it asks questions like: “Why do things not go to plan? Why is success elusive? How come positive outcomes are outweighed by negative issues? What do you do if you are nervous about a challenge?”

He offers advice on how to plan and execute your own personal devel-opment, while achieving a satisfactory work-life balance.

The book also enter-tains with anecdotes, hints and tips.

Many books try to convey something in a nutshell, says John, with around 1,290 Nutshell titles on Amazon alone.

But his book seeks to show the difference between just completing a task (following the nutshell guide) and success (stepping outside the nutshell).

■ See www.outsidethenutshell.co.uk

‘GREEN GOVERNMENT’ PLEDGE UPROOTED PROSPECT HAS accused the government of a cavalier disregard for expert advice on the environment and green investment.

Its actions have shown David Cameron’s pledge to be the greenest government ever to be ‘whitewash’, said Prospect president Nigel Titchen.

Since 2000 the UK had built up an interna-tionally recognised framework for sustainable development, but has lost ground in the 16 months since the general election.

Latest research from the Pew Environment Group shows the UK dropped from third to 13th position in the world rankings for investment in green growth in 2010.

Since May 2010, the government has: ● axed funding for the Carbon Trust and the

Energy Saving Trust from April 2012 ● closed the Sustainable Development

Commission, which saved £15 for every £1 invested

● closed the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. It cost £1m per year and will leave the government and the public short of ‘awkward advice’ on critical, complex environmental issues

● used its carbon reduction commitment scheme to attack low-carbon research

● put all of Britain’s 278 environmental laws on a ‘red tape’ list to be considered for the axe

● cut investment in marine energy from £50m to £20m

● cut the Forest Research budget by 34 per cent.There were some brighter spots, said

Titchen. Over the last year the government office estate reduced its carbon emissions by almost 14 per cent. But he questioned how it will be able to maintain that momentum if the expertise it had relied on until now was lost.

“Government is divesting itself of all the expertise that should be underpinning its environmental and sustainability policies,” he said.

■ Download Is this the lightest green government ever from: https://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2011/00949

Not so smartreturns is not in the consumer’s interest . Neither is it likely to be in the nation’s interest, since the UK will not want to be left seriously behind in the race to develop the technologies which generate further growth.

In Prospect’s view, it is hard to see how the current market provides the basis for a sustainable model. We would like to see Ofcom have a regulatory duty to promote investment as a means of reining back some of the more damaging aspects of its existing (and sole) statutory duty to promote competition.

We will continue to argue this as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s framework review of communications legislation continues its path towards a new Communications Act.

■ Calvin Allen, research officer

■ Smartphones place heavy demands on network capacity

■■ Allen■–■hard■to■see■how■current■market■is■sustainable

■ Coyle – difference between completing a task and success

■ Stephen Eales is a plant health and seed inspector for the Forestry Commission in west Sussex – its research budget has been cut by a third

STEFANO CAGNONI

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 25

Marion Scovell answers your questions about the world of work

LegalEase

ACCURACY OF REFERENCES

I left my job some months ago. I applied for a similar position with another company and was offered the post subject to references, but was told I had not got the job. I managed to get a copy of the reference and my old employer had said there were issues regarding my record keeping that would have been investigated had I stayed. I felt this was unfair as they had not investigated or made a finding of any wrongdoing on my part. Can I take legal action against my old employer?

This is similar to the circumstances of a recent judgment in the Court of Appeal, where the court held that a reference which referred to unsubstantiated allegations was not unlawful. It is clear from earlier cases that an employer does have a duty of care to the ex-employee when they give references and they must take reasonable care over the accuracy of what they say. However the court ruled that, as long as

the employer had made it clear that the allegations had not been confirmed, it was not unlawful to refer to this in the reference. The law around unfair references is complicated, so you should discuss your situation with a Prospect officer to consider your case in detail and to see if you can take legal action, or if there is a way of avoiding this occurring again. Unfortunately the recent Court of Appeal case may make it harder for you to succeed in any legal action over this matter.

SUPPORTING A COLLEAGUE

I have been supporting my colleague in her claim of racial harassment at work. I gave a statement to the director confirming that I had witnessed some of the incidents of discriminatory treatment. My manager has said to me that I should not have done this, as it will go down as a mark against me. What should I do about his comment?

The Equality Act provides that it will be

unlawful victimisation to treat someone unfavourably because they have supported someone else in an allegation of discrimination, as long as the information is given in good faith. This means that you do have some legal protection under the Act, even though it was not you yourself who was the original subject of the discrimination. However, proving that any problems in the future are related to this can be difficult. It clearly was not appropriate for your manager to have made this comment and you should ask your full-time Prospect officer to intervene to seek assurances that your support for your colleague will not be held against you in future. For more information about victimisation under the Equality Act see the Prospect Members’ Guide to Equality at Work.

These■are■brief■answers■to■the■issues■raised■and■should■not■be■taken■as■a■definitive■outline■of■the■law.■In■all■cases■you■should■seek■advice■from■your■Prospect■full-time■officer.

LAW AT WORK

Simon Cuthbert is a solicitor in the employment department at Prospect solicitors Russell Jones & Walker

Comments made by employees on social media are causing growing difficulty at the workplace, says Simon Cuthbert

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS must interpret UK employment law against the backdrop of the right to freedom of expression, granted by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Cases involving disciplinary action are highly fact-sensitive and depend on what is said and to whom. Whether the employer’s response, which may include dismissal, is fair will also depend in part on whether such behaviour is covered by any disciplinary or IT policy. Employers can prevent employees using office equipment and office internet connections for personal use and do place restrictions on the types of site to which employees have access on company computers. Indeed, many employers block the use of social media sites at work.

However, it is also clear that an employee who makes comments outside the workplace which are in any way connected to their work can face disci-plinary action and dismissal. For example, in Gosden v Lifeline Project Limited, an ET found that the dismissal of a drugs welfare worker who expressed sexist and racist views in a private email sent from his home computer to a friend’s private email, was fair. The same outcome would no doubt have resulted had the worker made similar comments on Facebook.

What about monitoring by employers of Facebook? The Regulation of Investigatory

Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) may apply if comments on social media sites are made using the employer’s IT systems. Section 3 of RIPA provides that interception of communication between two parties (for example, between an employee and a Facebook server) will be lawful where the employer has reasonable grounds for believing that both the sender and the recipient consent to the interception. It is arguable that a clear IT policy or contractual wording explaining that such interception could take place would be sufficient to demonstrate employee consent.

Employers will also potentially be able to rely on the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of

Communications) Regulations 2000. These provide that interception is authorised for the purposes of RIPA if it is to ascertain or demonstrate the standards which are achieved or ought to be achieved by people using the employer’s system in the course of their duties, or for the purpose of investi-gating or detecting unauthorised use of the system. In such circumstances, consent is not required.

However, given the ‘social’ and rather public nature of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, in which comments posted are usually visible to a large number of people, the question of ‘monitoring’ and whether this is lawful may simply not come into play at all. It remains to be seen how sympa-thetic courts and tribunals will be to legal arguments around monitoring of social media sites, which raises more difficult issues than the monitoring of emails, which by their nature are generally more private communications.

Other legal issues which may arise in this area, are:

■● employer recourse to a libel claim if an employee publishes comments in a public forum that are defamatory of the employer

■● the inability of employees to hide behind pseudonyms, as employers can generally obtain an order for disclosure from the host website, giving the identity of a site user who has posted libellous material about the employer

■● if a disgruntled employee reveals trade secrets in a blog or Facebook posting, the employer might seek an injunction ordering that the material be removed and damages for any losses resulting from the breach of contract/confidentiality. Any such breach would also be a disciplinary issue capable of leading to summary dismissal.

If there is any single lesson to be learned from the above, it is that social media sites are not the place for an employee to air grievances against their employer, colleagues or customers. Post in haste, repent at leisure!

Post in haste, repent at leisure

Melanie Cude is the members’ services co-ordinator in ChertseyDescribe yourself in four words.Chatty, helpful, methodical and respectful.What do you like or dislike about members?You’ve gotta love them all – their hearts are in the right place, after all, they pay my wages!

Which aspects of trade unionism particularly appeal to you?Being part of a like-minded group who understand and appreciate your issues, who campaign for positive change and are there to help in adversity.Would the grass be greener for you somewhere else?Definitely... would jump at the chance of relocating to Cornwall to own a ‘coffee and cake’ shop.Do you have any hidden talents?I used to work at a small local airport; while there I worked in the control tower and gained my private pilot’s radio license. So in theory I can fly a plane but just can’t land one.What is your most embarrassing moment?On the first day of work with a previous employer, I went into the canteen and promptly slipped on a wet floor. My skirt ended up over my head and the MD ended up with an eye full of my pants – so wrong!What or who gets you rattled?People who don’t use their indicators when driving.What’s on your iPod?I don’t own one but it’s on this year’s Father Christmas list.What’s your favourite book?Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres. This book is like marmite you either fall absolutely in love with it or hate it. It’s a witty, historical, romantic story which makes you feel you are right there on Cephalonia. Prada or Primark, Monsoon or M&S?Monsoon and M&S at the beginning of the month, Primark at the end! Sadly, my bank balance doesn’t run to Prada.What would you like to change most about the world?I would like to see democracy introduced to every country.What would you do if you were invisible for the day?I would follow my son around his new secondary school to see what he really gets up to.

MEET

TEAM

■■In order to enable the electricity supply industry to meet its future requirements for top level scientists and engineers

the industry is currently offering 61 university scholarships to outstanding school-levers. The scholarships provide for the payment of all tuition and other university fees (which may amount to £100 or more a year), plus a maintenance grant of £375 a year at Oxford and Cambridge, £360 a year at London and £330 a year at other universities. These rates are well above the level of corresponding local authority awards. The scholarships are particularly attractive to parents as there is no ‘means test’ and the full amounts will be paid to all scholars, irrespective of the parents’ income. Both boys and girls, aged from 17 to 21 who wish to become scientists or engineers, are eligible to apply.

Electrical Power Engineer, October 1961

■■A London Transport trolley bus was forced to make an emergency stop to avoid hitting a bubble car. This caused

one of our stationery office members who had left his seat on the bus to alight, to be thrown against the bodywork of the bus causing bruising and lacerations of his forehead. He was off work for two weeks. His claim against London Transport was settled for £100 which includes special damages and about £30 for salary paid by his department during his two weeks’ absence from work.

State Service, October 1961

1961

FEATURESProfile

26 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

TUC, pensions, veterinary labs, NDA boss, E.On job cutsTHE BIGGEST story for the union in recent weeks has inevitably been the government’s plans to change public sector pensions.

Prospect’s announcement, just as this year’s TUC Congress was about to start, that it will ballot members over strike action if the government presses ahead and imposes change, caught the attention of print and broadcast media across the country, including the Today programme, Radio Five news, the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Guardian, BBC online, and The Times, among many.

In an interview with BBC News 24, general secretary Paul Noon told interviewer Simon McCoy that the negotiations with government had been very difficult.

“We haven’t seen the proposals and even on the idea of increased employee contributions there’s no real belief that these are proper consultations and negotiations. We’re really just being told what’s going to happen and that makes people very angry.

“Many of our members see this just as an additional tax on public sector workers – the additional employee contributions – to pay for economic difficulties; nothing to do with the affordability of pension schemes.”

A personal account of the impact the economic difficul-ties are having on the ‘squeezed middle’ was featured by the FT in a video and newspaper article. Prospect member Lloyd Collier, a radiation safety expert on the Diamond Light Source synchrotron at the Harwell science campus, described how he and his wife have both been hit by a pay freeze introduced for Diamond workers, as well as the threatened rise in contributions to their pensions and later retirement dates. Lloyd said: “We’ve actually been

considering withdrawing from the pension completely so that we could have money now while the children are young and worry about pensions later on.”

News that the axe is to fall on eight veterinary science labora-tories captured headlines in regional and specialist titles and saw national secretary Geraldine O’Connell condemn the decision during numerous radio interviews.

The BBC website reported O’Connell say: “The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency acknowledges that there may not be the capacity for those [remaining] labs to absorb the extra workload, and that outsourcing some functions is inevitable.”

Prospect’s reaction to the resig-nation of the head of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority was also widely covered by national titles such as the Independent, FT, Press Association and The Times as well as regional print and broadcast outlets.

Most quoted deputy general secretary Mike Clancy say: “His departure is not good news as it suggests policy differences. A change in strategy would be unwelcome when the industry needs stability. For example, the government’s recent decision to close the Sellafield MOX plant, on the advice of the NDA, reflects the complex issues being grappled with.”

Finally, Prospect’s reaction to energy giant E.On’s decision to shed 500 support jobs also gained significant coverage. The Guardian, Press Association, Times, Independent, Metro and ITV Central West were among the national news outlets to follow the story, along with significant regional coverage among regional titles covering the company’s Coventry base.

Prospect■stories■

that■have■appeared■in■

media■across■the■country■

in■recent■weeks

FT

■■ Lloyd■Collier■featured■in■an■FT■video■and■article■on■the■‘squeezed■middle’

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 27

PEOPLE WHO WORK IN GLASS HOUSESNEW RECRUIT Olufemi Adesanya signs up to join Prospect at a recruitment event held in the trendy Qube building in London which houses the nuclear new build division of EDF Energy. Organiser Louise Staniforth said the interior of the building is mostly glass so people who came along and picked up leaflets and freebies could easily be spotted and chased up. “We put up recruitment stands on three floors and a PowerPoint presentation played on a loop on a large screen over one of the floors – it all looked very impressive.” Prospect is donating £10 to Britain’s 2012 Paralympics team for each new recruit in EDF Energy.

Members seek answers on nuclear pensions merger PROSPECT HAS been holding meetings at Sellafield and Risley to hear members’ concerns about a plan by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to change the pension arrangements of some workers from April next year.

Members are worried about plans to merge the GPS (Group Pension Scheme) into another scheme, the CNPP (Combined Nuclear Pension Plan), in order to save money on administration costs.

Also being merged is the Nirex Pension Scheme, a legacy scheme with 165 members, all of whom are pensioners or deferred pensioners.

Sellafield rep and Prospect executive member Audrey Uppington said: “We want to raise members’ awareness of what is happening and enable them to air their concerns.

“On the face of it, it looks like existing benefits will be protected. But members want a clearer explanation of why they have to move schemes at all, as they see no benefits and potentially increased risks in the future.” She has written to the NDA outlining these concerns.

According to the NDA, past benefits built up in the GPS and NPS will automatically be transferred to the CNPP on a like-for-like basis. It is consulting active members of the GPS until October 15, but is not obliged to tell pensioners or deferred members about the change until afterwards. Uppington said Prospect is pressing the NDA to consult these groups in advance.

Both the GPS and CNPP are fully funded private sector final-salary schemes. The NDA says they perform ‘essen-tially the same function’, with very similar benefits and an overlap of participating employers.

The GPS has about 800 active members at various nuclear sites. Most nuclear industry employees are already in the CNPP, which has 16,000 active members.

The changes will require the approval of the GPS trustees. The rules governing the trustees of the CNPP are different, and they are obliged to accept the merger.

Though the UK’s nuclear sites are now run and operated by private companies, the NDA still owns the assets and remains responsible for overseeing pension arrangements.

■ Uppington advised deferred members and pensioners to send any questions to the GPS trustee chair Peter Vaughan, c/o Tristan Claffey, Secretary to the Trustee, UKAEA Limited, Manor Court, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RN.

NAUTICAL BOOST FOR AIR RESCUERS59-YEAR-OLD PAUL Tomlin is celebrating swimming three separate one-mile events to raise money for his local air ambulance (inset). The senior wayleaves officer from Western Power Distribution was one of 9,000 people who joined in the Great Swim, organised by British Gas and filmed by the BBC.

Each of them had to swim in challenging open water condi-tions at London’s Victoria Docks, Salford Quays in Manchester and Alton Reservoir near Ipswich.

“Swimming in open water is much more challenging and places additional stresses on the body, particularly when temperatures are lower and the condition of the water is different,” said Paul. “I lost almost two stone in training!”

Paul’s effort raised £700 for the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, which copes with three or four call-outs a day with no government or lottery funding.

■■ Malcolm■Andrew■(right)was■last■month■presented■with■a■Long■Service■Award■by■Mike■Clancy,■deputy■general■

secretary,■at■a■branch■meeting■after■he■retired■in■July.■Malcolm■has■been■a■stalwart■of■the■UK■Atomic■Energy■Authority■branch■at■Harwell■during■its■many■incarnations■since■1979,■most■recently■as■branch■secretary■at■AEA■Technology.■As■AEA■has■gone■from■an■organisation■of■8,000■staff■to■fewer■than■500,■Malcolm■had■a■crucial■role■in■making■sure■redundancy■exercises■were■handled■fairly■and■was■a■tenacious■negotiator■in■many■personal■cases.

PROSPECT REGRETS that stocks of its popular CareerPlus CDs have been exhausted. Some of the information on the CD needs updating, and a replacement is not yet available.

In the meantime, the information is available on the Prospect website at www.prospect.org.uk/careerplus. You must log in as a member before you can access the content.CA

REER

PLU

S CD

■■ Basil■Clarke■(left)■was■presented■with■a■Long■Service■Award■by■Prospect■president■Nigel■Titchen■at■a■MOD■Central■branch■meeting■at■New■Prospect■House■in■September.■After■30■years’■membership■of■IPCS,■IPMS■and■now■Prospect,■Basil■is■stepping■down■from■union■activity■and■retiring■from■MOD.■He■originally■joined■the■union■on■transfer■from■GCHQ■and■represented■linguists■in■the■Defence■Intelligence■Service■before■holding■a■string■of■positions■on■his■branch■and■

the■MOD■group,■and■attending■numerous■national■conferences.

LONG S…RVIC… AWARDS

■■ Uppington■–■‘We■want■to■raise■members’■awareness■of■what■is■happening■and■enable■them■to■air■their■concerns’

RETIRED MEMBERS

AVON VALLEYAnnual general meeting, 2.00pm Wednesday November 9, 2nd floor lounge, Hampton Suite, Bath Rugby Club. Entrance under the Bath Sports and Leisure Centre, North Parade, through the car park and the iron gate to the building opposite (lift available). Coffee, tea and biscuits. Contact Pat Lomasney (secretary) on 01934 834510 or email pblomasney@tiscali.co.uk. For members in postcodes BA, BS, SN and SP.

CENTRAL SOUTHERNAnnual general meeting, 11.00am, Tuesday November 8, Royal Maritime Club, Queens Street, Portsmouth PO1 3HS. Speaker Prospect deputy general secretary Mike Clancy. Light refreshments available. Contact Robbie Ridoutt (secretary) on 01983 525571 if you wish to attend. For members in postcodes SO and PO.

CHESHIRE, MANCHESTER,MERSEYSIDE, DEESIDE,NORTH WALES & IOM

Annual general meeting, 1.00pm, Wednesday November 2, Campanile Hotel, Runcorn. Contact John Augoustis (secretary) on 0151 638 2498 or johnaa65@googlemail.com for any information. For members in postcodes L, LL, CH, WN, BL, WA, M, CW, SK, OL, IL and IM.

EAST ANGLIAAnnual general meeting, 1.00pm, November 23, Red Lion at Whittlesford, near Cambridge. Speaker deputy general secretary Mike Clancy. Reconnect members especially welcome. Please confirm attendance to Les Nicholls (secretary) at lesrnicholls@live.co.uk. For members in postcodes EN, NR, IP, PE, CB, CO, CM, RM, SS and IG.

EAST MIDLANDSAnnual general meeting, 11.00am, Tuesday November 15, Prospect Midlands Office, Unit 4, Midland Court, Central Park, Leicester Road, Lutterworth (junction 20 M1), tel 01455 555200. Members will elect the East Midland officers; submit nominations for the RMG national committee; appoint an area rep to the national committee; and nominate

RMG conference delegates. Motions for 2012 annual conference will be considered, please submit to the secretary, duly authenticated by the member, for inclusion in the agenda. Tea/coffee at 10.30 am, light lunch provided. Contact Tony Beech on 01283 585622 or tony_margy@btint-ernet.com. For members in postcodes CV, DE, LE, LN, NG, NN. All members welcome, but only members in these postcodes can vote.

NORTH-WESTAnnual general meeting, 10.30 am (please note the earlier start time), Thursday November 3, County Hotel, Carnforth. Speaker Jez Stewart, Prospect negotiator for the north-west. For further details contact Mike Duncalf (secretary) on 01524 732128. For members in postcodes CA, LA, BB, PR and FY.

SCOTLAND NORTHThe Scotland North area will meet on Wednesday November 23 in the Station Hotel, Guild Street, Aberdeen. Arrive 2.30pm for 2.45pm start, finish 4.30pm. Guest speaker: Denise McGuire, Prospect deputy vice-presi-dent. For members in postcodes ZE, KW, IV, AB, PH, DD, FK (postcode 7 et seq), PA (postcode 20 et seq) and KY.

SCOTLAND SOUTHAnnual general meeting, 2.00pm, Wednesday November 2, Holiday Inn Express, Picardy Place, Edinburgh EH1 3JT. Speaker Malcolm Currie from Prospect’s Edinburgh office. If you have an email account and have not registered it with Prospect, please do so by logging in to www.prospect.org.uk and updating your profile. Contact Cath Mitchell (secretary) on 07779 189015 or email cmitchell4@btinternet.com. For members in postcodes G, KA, ML, EH, TD, DG, FK 1-6 and PA 1-19.

SOUTH-EAST MIDLANDSAnnual general meeting, 2.00 pm for 2.30 pm Tuesday November 15, Friends Meeting House, 12 Southdown Road, Harpenden AL5 1PD. Lunches at the Silver Cup across the common or Harpenden Arms (200 yards), restaurants nearby in Harpenden centre. Limited on-site parking, but on-street parking in Southdown Road and by common. Trains can be met at Harpenden

station by prior arrangement. For more information phone Stuart Stearn (secretary) on 01727 837004 or Peter Welbank (chair) on 01582 763634. Pre-conference meeting on January 4 at the same venue. For members in postcodes AL, HP, LU, MK, SG and WD.

SOUTHERNAnnual general meeting, 11.00am, Thursday October 27, Lyme Regis Guildhall. The meeting will consider motions for RMG annual delegate conference. Contact Bob Milner (secretary) on 01202 291472 or tudorgrangehotel@googlemail.com. For members in postcodes BH, DT and TA.

SOUTH-WESTAnnual general meeting, 2.00pm, Wednesday November 17, Plymstock Inn, 88 Church Rd, Plymstock PL9 9BD. Contact David Perkin on 01803 842264 (secretary) or email david_cl@talktalk.net. For members in postcodes EX, PL, TR and TQ.

SOUTH-WEST MIDLANDSAnnual general meeting, 1.30pm, Wednesday October 19, Inn For All Seasons, on A40 near Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4TN. To share transport and for further information, contact Terry Clift (secretary) on 01235 526042. For members in OX and GL postcodes, members from other areas welcome.

THAMES VALLEYAnnual general meeting, tea and coffee from 10.00am, Thursday November 17, International Solidarity Centre, London Road, Reading. Buffet to follow meeting. Guest speaker Margaret Wastall, RMG president. Contact Elenor Hutcheson on 01344 305406 or email nellhutch@yahoo.com for further details. All members welcome but only members in postcodes GU, RG and SL may vote.

WALESAnnual general meeting, 11.00am, Friday November 11, Dockside Room, National Waterfront Museum, Oystermouth Road, Swansea SA1 3RD. Please confirm attendance to the Cardiff office: email wales@prospect.org.uk or call 029 2066 7770. Papers circulated on the day. Buffet lunch will be provided. For members in postcodes SY, SA, LD, CF and NP.

MEETINGS

Profile

28 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

JULY 5–SEPTEMBER 15Prospect regrets to announce the deaths of the following members, notified to headquarters between July 5 and September 15, 2011Mr M J Affleck 24/08/11 London Central Retired Members GroupMr J R Barlow 19/08/11 East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr A Battersby 05/07/11 British EnergyMr P U De Berker 14/07/11 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr W R Berry 01/08/11 CMMDI Retired Members GroupMr F E M Betts 18/07/11 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr F T Bond 18/08/11 South West Retired Members GroupMr L G Bower 16/08/11 Hyder UtilitiesMr F Broomhead 15/08/11 InnogyMr N Brown 25/07/11 British EnergyMr K G Burrows 06/09/11 InnogyMr M R Bush 12/09/11 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr T S M Campbell 02/08/11 Scottish PowerMr P Cassidy 12/09/11 Ministry of DefenceMr J W Clague 22/08/11 Scottish PowerMr B Clarke 26/07/11 Yorkshire Retired Members GroupMr A Cook 31/08/11 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr A R Cook 18/07/11 Glasgow Prestwick International AirportMr B B Corbett 12/08/11 E.On UKMr T Culley 30/08/11 Southern Retired Members GroupMr L P Curran 30/08/11 Home OfficeMr P J Derry 15/09/11 Flagship TrainingMr L H Devaney 18/08/11 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr I Douglas 30/08/11 Sellafield LimitedMr S C Downing 12/08/11 Wales Retired Members GroupMr G F Downing 16/08/11 Southern Retired Members GroupMr J H Dunaway 06/07/11 London Central Retired Members GroupMr J Easton 02/09/11 Scottish PowerMr G D Edgar 07/07/11 South West Midlands Retired Members GroupMr I W Ferris 12/08/11 National GridMr E Field 30/08/11 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr B C Fitch 06/09/11 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMiss B Flew 12/09/11 South West Midlands Retired Members GroupMr S P Fooks 08/09/11 Priory PhotographicMr R M Gardner 15/09/11 South East England Retired Members GroupMr S P Gibbons 11/08/11 Corporate Document ServicesMr J E Glover 08/08/11 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr J L Gray 18/07/11 Scottish PowerMr K G Greenhouse 31/08/11 Southern Retired Members GroupMrs R Hail 27/07/11 Sellafield LimitedMr C Hamilton 22/08/11 Ministry of DefenceMr K J Hooper 07/07/11 InnogyMr B F Huddleston 17/08/11 Central Networks - EastMr L D Irving 29/07/11 QinetiQMr D W Jackson 17/08/11 E.On UKMr G Jervis-Hunter 18/08/11 Roke Manor ResearchMr C T John 11/08/11 Hyder UtilitiesDr I C Johnson 08/07/11 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr R W Jones 19/08/11 Sellafield LimitedMr T S S Kathuria 23/08/11 E.On UKMr J D Kelly 18/08/11 Scottish PowerMr A Kershaw 26/07/11 British EnergyMr B Lilley 18/08/11 Electricty Assoc. ServicesMr P L Marshall 13/09/11 British EnergyMr J R Martin 21/07/11 South West Retired Members GroupMr J H Mateer 30/08/11 Northern Ireland Retired Members GroupMr E McCarroll 06/09/11 InnogyMr I N McRae 15/08/11 United UtilitiesMr R Miller 15/08/11 British EnergyMr H H Mitchell 01/08/11 InnogyMr D P Morgan 12/07/11 Serco Technical Consulting ServicesMr P J Morgan 18/07/11 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr P R Nash 02/09/11 British EnergyMr B A Naylor 31/08/11 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr J E Norman 19/07/11 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr O D Penzig 23/08/11 E.On UKMr K W F Phipp 15/08/11 InnogyMr D F Pooley 12/08/11 Magnox Nuclear North and South SitesMr J F Pulfree 14/07/11 Central Networks – WestMr B S Pym 11/07/11 Intergen Operating CoMr H Ross 15/08/11 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr P Soanes 07/07/11 Devonport Royal DockyardMr F C E Steer 15/08/11 South East England Retired Members GroupMr P N A Stickland 13/09/11 East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr F B Stirling 11/07/11 National GridMr B E Taylor 29/07/11 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr R S Taylor 16/08/11 South East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr H R W Thain 08/07/11 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr R I Warburton 05/09/11 National GridMr F H West 06/07/11 British EnergyDr R L Woolley 06/07/11 Innogy

CPI court protestA RIGHTS in Retirement campaign has been organised for the week of October 24–29 by the National Pensioners Convention.

It will include a demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London in support of the legal challenge to the CPI switch for uprating pensions being taken by Prospect and five other organisations.

The next day there will be a rally and lobby of parliament, starting at 1pm.

The NPC campaign will focus on: ● raising the basic state pension to at least

the minimum poverty level of £178 ● improving the quality of health and

social care services ● raising the level of the winter fuel

allowance to £500 for all pensioner house-holds to combat rising fuel bills.

●

Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 n 29

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LETTERSProfile

30 ■ Oct-Nov 5/11

Watch out for the looters in suitsIn no way do I wish to condone the civil disturbances of early August, but the reaction of the government was gross hypocrisy. They are heartlessly and systematically looting public sector pensions, redundancy rights, pay and conditions, the benefits of the sick and disabled, the NHS, and many more hard-won privileges of a civilised society (bankers excluded). The only comfort the workers of this looted society now have is that Australia is no longer a destination for protesting trade unionists. However, the looters in suits constantly surprise. Now, what’s my pension contribution next year?

■ Stephen Low, Southampton

Privatisation – a success?Before privatising any more services, perhaps it is worth looking at the success, or failure, of what has gone before.

My industry, the electricity supply industry, was privatised on the basis that competition would lead to a cheaper, more efficient supply of electricity. By allowing the industry to squander cheap North Sea gas, the price of electricity fell, nearly as fast as during the life of the CEGB. Since then we are all aware

continue to carry out its work, for which it is widely respected throughout Whitehall and the advertising industry.

I checked out the Cabinet Office website to see how it justified this decision. Apparently, it will “strengthen central coordination, prioritisation and strategic planning of communications across government” and “create a specialist communications procurement unit under the leadership of the Government Procurement” (sic). This sounds like COI under another name!

As another former COI colleague commented to me: “It is a sad day when hundreds of people are told they will lose their jobs. The resilient souls who have managed to survive the successive waves of cuts at COI deserve better than to be told of their fate in an announcement sheltering behind buzzwords masquerading as communication: ‘governance’, ‘delivery’, ‘transparency’ and ‘marketing hubs’.”

If Prospect cannot persuade the government to rethink this decision, then at least it should be able to ensure that as many as possible of COI’s highly professional staff can find alternative jobs in other departments.

■ Henry Langley, Gillingham

Pay is only half the storyThe article ‘Civilians: a bargain at half the price’ (Profile 4/11) is slightly unfair on servicemen and women. They are paid 24/7 and as such can be called into work at any time of day or night and do not receive anything extra for this. They do not have the opportunity for shift allowances or overtime etc.

Second, I do not think there are that many civilians who are sent out to war zones for six months to be shot at or put in harm’s way.

In no shape or form am I am trying to be negative about what our Ministry of Defence civil servants do – I have a number of friends who work for the MOD. However, it does upset me when people start talking about outranking officers.

For the record, I have two family members in the military and they work incredibly hard for the money they earn. My real hope would be that a more balanced article could be put together next time.

■ Steven Gill, Andover, Hampshire

Think twice before you blow the whistleI have recently been involved with my agency’s ‘whistleblower’ organisation

as a whistleblower. My experience has been nothing like that promised in the information I printed off from the portal at my place of work.

The information provided does not include the fact that, except for a quick initial investigation, the case will not be handled by whistleblowers but is handed straight over to HR to investigate for themselves. This is okay if you have faith in the integrity of your employer but not so good if you don’t! If the portal information had made this clear or if whistleblowers had told me verbally when I first spoke to them, I would certainly not have continued with my intended action.

Also, unlike the promises made by the portal, and despite contacting them myself to try and get updates, I was left without any information about how things were progressing until the investigation was complete. I was told that despite providing concrete evidence of my complaint as well as extra supporting information from colleagues, the investigation carried out by HR had found that “on the balance of probability, there is no case to answer.”

Employees beware, I am now suspended and the subject of a witch-hunt. Whistleblower organisations are not necessarily the answer to your prayers. You should think long and hard before contacting them – I certainly wish that I had never bothered.

■ Name and address supplied

Letters should be sent by email to profile@prospect.org.uk, via

fax on 020 7902 6665 or by post for the

attention of the editor, New Prospect House,

8 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN. Emails preferred. Letters

may be shortened for reasons of space.

PrizeLetter of the month receives a

£10 book token

of how effective free market competition has been in reducing prices!

The penalty has been the intended destruction of the mining industry, the destruction of the heavy engineering companies producing generating equipment in favour of imported gas-powered stations, and the elimination of world-leading expertise on all aspects of power generation. All but one of the suppliers is foreign-owned and technical staff have been replaced by marketing personnel.

With great successes such as this, we should obviously encourage the privatisation of the Forensic Science Service.

■ Martin Beaney, Shaldon

COI closure will leave professionals strandedAs a member who used to work for the Central Office of Information for 22 years, I was surprised and disappointed to hear of the government’s decision to close down the COI (Profile 4/11). While I could understand the decision to reduce the number of staff following the substantial cut in government advertising, this had already resulted in a large number of redundancies last year. But government advertising campaigns are still needed, so I was confident that COI would

ACROSS1 Longing, but not for a start, to be receiving

money (7)5 Fancy dress used for bathing? (7)9 Half gram, nothing more, with good spirit mixture (4)10 In place of occupant becoming military officer (10)12 Frequently poetical (8)13 Fruit always held by father (6)14 One paid for being experienced (12)17 Say boarding-house receives money after one has

retired (5,7)21 Centre route goes half the distance (6)23 Something added made lady cross river

in Yorkshire (8)24 One with lots to sell (10)25 Shop entrance features sign (4)26 Essential gap in the door (7)27 Greek hero loses us before last day in wandering

adventure (7)DOWN2 Small commercial break that is unconnected (6)

CrossOct-Nov2011

3 Notice another thing above place of entertainment (9)

4 Mole with bun moving about on water lily! (7)6 Work, after 31 days, on sea-creature (7)7 Some phaeton, uphill, travelling at 100mph! (3-2)8 Rich person dropped second purse (5-3)11 Ordered presence at a province in South Africa (7,4)15 Former pupil harmful and objectionable (9)16 Posture of a teetotaller, one arranging duet (8)18 List the people to be paid (7)19 Disregarded disastrous eroding (7)20 Economic measure of low degree (6)22 See it is strapped on (5)

■ Solution to appear in the next issue

ANSWERS Aug-Sep 2011 – ACROSS: 1 Skyscraper 7 Otto 9 Civilian 10 Safety 11 Eric the Red 14 Threaten 15 Easter 16 Spruce 18 Delegate 20 Bridesmaid 23 Agency 24 Brickbat 25 Stay 26 Derogatory.

DOWN: 2 Knit 3 Slip 4 Raiment 5 Pension 6 Rosette 7 Off-message 8 To the death 12 Shipwright 13 Redundancy 17 Essayed 18 Drawbar 19 Lodging 21 Skit 22 Lair.

LETTERS Profile

Oct-Nov 5/11 ■ 31

ProfileINDEX – Oct-Nov 20113 Apprenticeship seminar4 Aspect merger

27 CareerPlus CDs27 Charity swim18 Defence spending cuts27 EDF recruitment event

6 Energy seminar9 Facility time

26 Fifty years ago10 Forensic Science Service cold cases

4 General secretary election24 Green government26 In the News12 Indicators

7 Job cuts in E.On, BAE24 John Coyle book review25 LegalEase27 Long service awards

5 Marine Management Organisation branch26 Meet Melanie Cude15 Membership details

6 MOX jobs campaign13 National Nuclear Laboratory pay12 NATS pay 2011

6 NDA chief resignation27 Nuclear pensions merger12 Pay trends 201113 PayCheck15 Pension ballot appeal

16,17 Pension ballot preparations3 Pension campaign

18 Pension meetings16,17 Pension opt-out survey

5 Prison Service branch handover22 Profile Paul Stewart27 Prospect career CDs

7 Prospect Kenya project10 Prospect Zimbabwe project13 QinetiQ pay28 Retired members14 RPI-CPI switch15 RPI-CPI switch savings11 Sahara appeal11 Scotland spending cuts11 Scottish survey

4 Show Racism the Red Card25 Social media and the law24 Telecoms network investment21 TUC 2011 comment21 TUC employment rights debate20 TUC environment debate

5 TUC health and safety debate21 TUC industrial policy debate21 TUC Miliband question20 TUC Olympics debate

16,17 TUC pension campaign20 TUC public services debate23 UnionEyes

7 Veterinary science laboratories9 Vision Express

22 WebWise19 Women in science

6 World Skills International 2011

Renewables fuel tax does include nuclear subsidyThe writer of your star letter in ViewPoint 4/11 states: “There’s no money earmarked for nuclear” and, “Nuclear has only what the generating companies decide to invest.”

Perhaps he has forgotten that the nuclear industry has been subsidised by the government of the day since its inception.

He talks about “the large state subsidy for renewables.” If members look at the breakdown of their electricity bills, they will see these weasel words under the ‘cost of your electricity’ statement:

“11 per cent government obligation to help the environment.”

That is a massive tax on the consumer. It includes a subsidy to the nuclear industry.

Before we all started to go green, that ‘obligation’ was not extended to renewable sources of energy and was paid solely to the nuclear industry. The ‘tax’ has been extracted from us since the beginnings of nuclear power over 60 years ago.

Trust me – I’m a scientist! ■ Roy Froud, Bournemouth

Why should I pay to protect your pension?I suspect that my own circumstances will be similar to thousands of your members who may feel aggrieved by the outcry that is currently taking place concerning public servants’ pensions.

My contributions to my principal pension were on average 5.34 per cent of my gross salary per annum. For the last six years for which I have been drawing a pension, the annual increase averaged 2.32 per cent. CPI? RPI? I wish! And, of course, I pay tax on my pension and the normal retirement age for me was 65.

Is it right that I, and pensioners in similar circumstances to mine, should pay more tax so that others, who may well be better off than me, can enjoy a guaranteed, index-linked pension with comparably modest contributions (Profile 4/11, page 5) and a pre-65 retirement age? I think not!

■ Name and address supplied

My healthy pension scheme should not be ditchedI’ve been a member of Prospect since 1978, when I came out of a four-year apprenticeship at Risley to become an engineering draftsman. I then joined the principal non-industrial superannuation scheme and have paid my contributions ever since.

In 1997 I joined BNFL Engineering, by choice, and changed to the British Nuclear Fuels Group Pension Scheme, also by choice. It was a funded scheme, which I trusted far more than the politicians, even then, to pay out when required.

I am now told by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and through the GPS trustees that by April 2012 they intend to combine three pension schemes into one:

● the GPS ● the Nirex pension scheme ● the combined nuclear pension plan.

They say this is for ‘administrative efficiencies’.

My understanding is that my scheme, the GPS, is at present fully funded, with a

healthy surplus and on target to pay out on its future commitments (at least that’s what my statement said one year ago).

Having complained bitterly to my trustees – ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it?’ – I am now told this is pretty much a ‘fait accompli’. They have tried hard to ringfence the specific terms of the GPS but it is likely to happen anyway.

So, after 33 years in a healthy, well run and fully funded scheme heading in the right direction, my mind is thrown into turmoil worrying what the hidden agenda behind all this is.

■ Tony Roberts, Warrington, Cheshire

See story, page 27

It’s Gordon’s fault, suckersThe aptly named letter in ViewPoint 4/11 incites union leaders to combine to “terrify the Tories”, with the object of defending pensions.

In my lifetime, my fully funded pension scheme actively sought ways to reduce its surplus by improving its members’ benefits, and it was by no means the only one. This came to an abrupt end when Gordon Brown’s tax raid on UK pension funds destroyed the system and brought untold misery to millions. Even if they could, the current collection of politicians will do nothing to right this appalling wrong.

Pensionless private sector workers and impoverished private sector pensioners, forced to pay Gordon Blair’s unfunded final salary pension through taxation, will be the real suckers if they sit still for that.

■ Harry Clarke, Kirkcaldy, Fife

Mox plant shockerI too was shocked to hear of the closure of the MOX plant (Profile 4/11). But I got a bigger shock to see a picture of the Windscale AGR containment building labelled ‘The Mox plant at Sellafield’. Really you should do better. However there is a connection, as the first six experimental channels of MOX fuel were irradiated in this reactor to prove the viability of the project.

■ Eric Slater, Arnside

Our apologies to all concerned for failing to spot this error on the accompanying caption to the agency picture – Ed

Fit to hold public office?Looking through Profile 4/11 and the cycling theme portrayed on the cover, what jumps out at me is the prime example of the irresponsible cyclist (Steve Hilton) on page 12:

● I hope he was on a one-way street – or was he on the wrong side of the road?

● he has no audible warning device fitted ● he has no personal protective equipment

(a helmet at least is recommended, but any inadvertent contact with the road/other road user will be a lot more serious with uncovered legs, arms and hands)

● he appears to be cycling without due care and attention – using a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle is a serious offence, is it any less so for a cyclist?

If this is his attitude to the rules of the road/laws of this country, is he a fit person to hold or advise public office? On the basis of

this photo alone he should face the relevant penalties.

■ Peter Strawbridge, Bath

It’s not illegal for cyclists to use a mobile – Ed

Mobile prosecutionHow sad it was to see Steve Hilton, strategy director to the prime minister, on page 12 of Profile 4/11 riding a bike and operating a mobile at the same time. After proposing the abolition of maternity leave and all consumer rights legislation, it might be prudent for the Metropolitan Police to propose prosecuting him for “careless or inconsiderate cycling contrary to section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.”

■ Martyn Bryce, Cardiff

You have 15 minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters shown in the grid. Each word must contain four or more letters, one of which must be the letter in the central square. No letter can be used more than once in each word. No proper nouns, plurals or foreign words allowed. There is one nine-letter word in the grid, for which today’s clue is: BEFORE TODAYWordCount: 30 average; 45 brilliant; 60+ amazing■ Solution to appear in the next issue

TH NKS!Solution Aug-Sep11Answers – 1: Earnestness. 2: On the right lines.

D E ER A ST Y Y

WORD Oct-Nov11

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