Draft Minutes Branch meeting July 2018

Please see below the draft minutes for the branch meeting held on 1st July2018
These will be updated to agreed after the next branch meeting which is scheduled for October 2018 (final date to be agreed)

Unite Branch meeting 01/07/2018

7 In attendance

 Andrew Curtis (AC) Branch Secretary Report:

No requests for money or affiliation since last meeting.
The branch continues to grow with the number of joiners outstripping the leavers on our membership system, one member in Santander is eager to get active and will come to the next branch meeting.
Happy to have 3 members on the RISC (Mike Dyer, Stewart Wakelam-Munro and Andrew Curtis)

 Stewart Wakelam-Munro (SWM) Treasurers Report:

Over £8000 in branch funds, £2422.85 is to be paid into Capita Central Strike fund. Still attempted to get Unity bank to change details to him and set up internet banking. New forms will be sent again if no luck will send in new forms by time of next branch meeting

Mike Dyer (MD) Capita Report:
Members on other sites will tupe to dilligenta shortly.
5 people in Reading are being tupe’d to Earnst and Young MD is dealing with this tupe.
Brittania staff union members have voted to merge with Unite and we have two new sites in Leek and Plymouth. MD and Dominc Hook (unite national officer) will meet with the new members soon and they have been invited to the next NCC meeting.

Royal London report:
No one from Royal London in attendance

Santander Report:

No one from Santander in attendance but as reported by AC above we have a member who is eager to attend and get active from the next meeting

Money: 

Branch Draw- agreed this would restart from scratch at £50 per month in time for the next newsletter.

Fawcett Society-MD advised he believed we had previously agreed to affiliate to the Fawcett Society but this had not happened. The suggestion we affiliate was put to the meeting with no objections.
Affiliations-Branch agreed that, once the issues with the bank account are resolved, we review all of our affiliations.

Gifts for Members: Zoe Bryson (ZB) agreed to take lead on this and report back with progress at next branch meeting.

Branch Merger:

Branch meeting agreed that we would like to merge with the Glasgow Finance sector branch. MD said he would speak to the Agnes Tomlie and the Regional secretary about this to see if it is possible.

AOCB: NA

Meeting closed.

Minutes from Julys 2017 Branch meeting

 

 

UNITE 301 ST VINCENT STREET BRANCH MEETING 25^th July 2017

 

Attendance: 26 in attendance

Agenda

1.      Apologies

2.      Minute taker

3.      Chair for meeting

4.      Branch Secretaries Report

5.      Treasurers Report

6.      Capita Report

7.      Other areas report

8.      Motion

9.      Delegate to Edinburgh Central CLP

10.  AOCB.

 

 

 

 

 

1.      Apologies where received from Michael Campbell and Stephen Burke.

2.      Minute Taker: Andrew Curtis agreed to take minutes

3.      Elect chair for meeting: Meeting agreed branch secretary, Andrew Curtis to chair this meeting.

4.      Branch Secretaries Report:

Branch Secretary (BS) apologised for the length of time since the last branch meeting.

BS proposed that we hold, or attempt to hold, these meetings every two months and immediately after each meeting the BS will book the room for 2 months after the current meeting. No objections to proposal.

Mike Dyer (MD) then gave a brief overview of what the branch was and what its function was in the building and the wider union.

BS thanked everyone for attending and that since the last meeting the branch membership had continued to grow across all employers in the branch. Most people who joined during Capita industrial action last year continue.

BS advised we would like to see more reps in Capita side and for people to contact the Capita reps if people were interested.

BS also pointed out that commiserations to MD who was not elected on the EC for Unite.

Question asked from floor about branch membership numbers. BS confirmed the figure.

 

5.      Treasurers Report (MD)

Current Balance: £6163.05

 

Recent Expenditure:

Monthly Draws   £150.00

Reps Manuals      £312.00

 

 

Note that £2215 is owed to the central strike fund account.

 

MD went over figures above and explained central strike fund account.

MD also advised that the money, excluding the central strike fund money, is for the branch to spend so if anyone has any suggestions let us know and the members will decide at the next branch meeting.

 

6.      Capita Report:

MD updated the meeting on the current situation in Capita regarding the IT              and ITS industrial action as well as the ongoing consultations.

 

 

7.      Other areas.

BS advised we have members across all the business’s in the building, not just    Capita. No reports where received from other areas.

 

8.      Motion

     Stewart Wakleman- Munro asked the branch to support the motion below at Scottish policy conference.

 

Inclusive Language

 

Conference, it is noted that we have had a long tradition of addressing our fellow trade unionists as “brothers and sisters” at meetings, conferences, and communications, such as emails, minutes, etc.

 

This language, although showing camaraderie, excludes those that do not identify within the gender binary.

 

Whilst we do not wish to remove our history we believe we should be gender inclusive rather than exclusive

 

Conference calls on Unite the Union to:

 

·         Add additional language such as Comrades or Colleagues when using the terms Brothers and Sisters

·         Use gender neutral pronouns (they/them) in forms and documentation

·         Refer to more than just the binary male/female gender identities

 

 

Mike Dyer suggested it might be ruled out of order as it may be more suitable for national conference.

 

Branch Secretary, Andrew Curtis, suggested that if this was the case we could support the motion at national conference then.

 

There were no objections to this. Therefore the branch supports this motion at Scottish policy conference and if it is ruled out of order at national policy conference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.      CLP delegate

Mark Orrell elected to be clp delegate to Edinburgh central clp

 

 

10. AOCB

No other business put forward meeting adjourned.

lastest communication on pay in Capita

Pay 2016 and Price Increases

A key part of the work your union does in preparing our claim for the annual increase we negotiate with Capita is the economy.

Our objective, each year, is to ensure that union members’ standard of living is protected and improved if possible.

In order to do this, we need to look at how prices have increased over the previous year (the rate of inflation).

Measures of Inflation

There are two commonly used measures of inflation - Retail Price Index (RPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI). Unite believes RPI is a more accurate measure of price increases, and we generally use this value as a starting point for our claim.  Please contact us if you would like details of the differences between RPI and CPI.

The most recent RPI, for the year to January 2016, was 1.3%. So, the government statisticians tell us that the cost of living in January 2016 was 1.3% more than in January 2015.

Real Price Increases

However, the RPI is a measure of a selection of prices across the whole UK. It doesn’t include, for example, childcare costs. We know that the real price increases people are facing in their daily lives are much higher than this figure would suggest. To demonstrate this, we’ve tried to look at price increases union members are dealing with across the sites we represent.

For example:

• Childcare costs, already averaging £6,000 per year across the UK, are increasing faster than inflation - 2.5% in Craigforth and Belfast;

• House prices have increased by 3% in Stirling, 4.7% in Glasgow, 6% in Manchester, 7% in Belfast, 9% in Bristol and Bournemouth, 17% in Reading;

• Rent increases are Belfast: 5%, Bristol: 18%, Glasgow: 9%,Manchester: 5% and Reading: 12%;

• Council tax bills have gone up by 2% in Bristol, almost 4% in Bournemouth & Reading and 4% in Manchester, In Belfast rates are going up by nearly 1.5%;

• Public transport costs have gone up by at least 4% in Belfast.

So, while RPI might be 1.3%, this will vary regionally and people will have a range of different circumstances. However, it is clear that the price increases people are experiencing are higher than those the rate of inflation would suggest.

In addition, the UK Government’s decision (in the Pensions Act 2014) to abolish National Insurance contracting out will come into effect in April 2016. For employees in Defined Benefit pension schemes, this will result in an increase in their NI contributions – particularly for those who do not pay higher rate tax.

Given all of these factors, we feel that our claim of 3% for all employees is fair and reasonable.

If you have any questions on this or any other matter, please contact your local union reps or our central e-mail at uniteincapita@capita.co.uk.

Unite and Performance Related Pay

Your Union and Performance Pay

Particularly as we approach the annual pay ballot, Unite reps are often asked why the union is opposed to Performance Related Pay (PRP). Many union members only have experience of such pay systems, and we have been asked to explain why we are so against it.

Unite (and its predecessor unions such as Amicus) always had a policy position of opposing PRP – we could see that it was merely a method of keeping salaries low.

A majority of union members in Capita agree with this policy, as shown in successive pay surveys. (In the 2015 pay survey, only a third of respondents didn’t support the union’s position).

Unite believes that PRP is:

Divisive – in a working environment where we should be co-operating with our colleagues rather than competing with them, then PRP encourages the latter. An employee isn’t going to put down their task to help a colleague who is struggling if it means they will miss their ‘target’. A blame culture can develop, where we focus on who can be penalised for any mistakes, rather than avoiding mistakes in the first place.

Discriminatory – it is well known that being seen to go the ‘extra mile’ is a path to the elusive ‘1’ rating, and the potential £2 or so per week that this might bring. However, given that women generally have more domestic caring responsibilities than men, it is likely that more men than women will be able to create the impression that they have excelled. Therefore it is potentially more difficult for women to achieve a higher rating.

De-motivating and Demoralising – while it may bring a warm glow to those selected to receive a ‘1’ rating (think of that extra £2 per week!), then it has the opposite effect on the larger number deemed to be a ‘3’ rating. Most people, on being told that they are in the bottom 20% of employees, are not going to be motivated by this (regardless of how many times their manager insists a ‘3’ is a good rating).

Outdated – PRP is no longer the management favourite it used to be. The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) states that “in some circumstances, PRP has proved a rather crude instrument”. A number of well known companies have abandoned PRP - Accenture, Google, Microsoft, National Australia Bank.

Academic research on PRP has shown it can be counterproductive. It can deliver inaccurate assessments of employees’ capabilities, undermine teamwork and co-operation, and can lead to the creation of an often hostile work environment. There is significant potential for PRP to result in illegal discrimination.

In a submission to academic researchers in the US, Microsoft said PRP resulted in “capricious rankings, power struggles among managers, and unhealthy competition among colleagues”.

However, your union is not opposed to the principle that employees should be told whether or not their performance is meeting Capita’s expectations.

Our issue is with the idea that this should have a bearing on the pay which people take home, with people expected to tolerate real terms pay cuts so Capita can appear to reward those perceived to be the ‘top performers’.

Your union believes in fair pay. For all.

If you have any questions on this or any other matter, please contact your local union reps or our central e-mail at uniteincapita@capita.co.uk.

Mintues from branch meeting 28th May 2015 agreed at branch meeting 25th Nov 15

BRANCH MEETING 28/05/2015

　

No Apologies 7 people in attendance. Andrew Curtis Chaired Meeting

Reps Elections:

All the existing Capita reps (Mike Dyer, Stewart Wakelam-Munro, Andrew Curtis, Anton White, Lynsey Quinn, Gwen D Ferguson, Gerry Cosker) stood for re-election and no one objected so all the reps where re-elected. No one new stood for election.

No one from RL was present so no reps elected or re-elected - Branch sec to contact Michael about this

Santander-no one attended

Cleaners- recruiting going on need to approach someone to become a rep if possible.

Branch officers:

Gerry is elected chair, Andrew Curtis and Branch Sec, Lynsey Quinn is Women’s officer, Mike is treasurer and Gwen D Ferguson Assistant secretary- all positions start after meeting.

Affiliations

We re-affiliated to labour researched dept and Union solidarity international.

Treasurer’s report

Branch will start to get money in again. We sent money to ninewells porters and the personal safety alarms was a big spend in the past year. We have money in the branch funds to spare.

Branch prize draw continues to happen and is popular amongst members.

CLPS:

Paul Ryan, Mike Dyer and Stewart Wakelman-Munro re-elected as attendees from branch to local CLP

Capita Reps.

Mike Dyer and Andrew Curtis elected joint senior reps for Capita Capita NCC. Andrew Curtis, Mike Dyer and Gwen D Ferguson Elected to attend but Andrew to stand down in Sept once new NCC reformed after guidance from NISC.

AOCB.

Andrew Curtis reported still trying to get stall with Advance in shared area despite reluctance from facilities.

　

Date of next meeting TBC.

Meeting Closed

　

Notice of Branch Meeting

Notice of a Branch Meeting – Wednesday 26Th Nov, 12noon, Auditorium The next branch meeting of the Unite St Vincent Street Branch will take place between 12noon and 1pm on Wednesday 26th Nov in the auditorium. This meeting is open to all members in the building regardless of employer. Branch Secretary Stewart Wakelam-Munro