UNITE: T&G Section
May 2008: Membership of Parliamentary Branch now open to Interns at reduced rate
April 2008: Revised list of Branch Officers 2008
March 2008: Minutes of January and February Branch Meetings
February 2008: Message from the Branch Chair
January 2008: Further update on that Queue Jumping issue
December 2007: Click here for update on the Queue Jumping issue.
June 2007: Click here for the June 2007 Newsletter
April 2007: Click here for the Spring 2007 Newsletter
October 2006: TGWU Parliamentary Staff Branch Pay Up campaign - for the automatic uprating of staff salaries. Click here for full information.
Interns do a lot of work in parliament, so I am pleased that the Unite/T&G Regional Secretary has accepted our request that they should be able to join the parliamentary staff branch at a reduced rate (about £1 a week). Sometimes new interns are still left to sink or swim, which isn’t fair.
The amount of casework, letters and emails we deal with on behalf of MPs is increasing, but more should be done to ensure internships are of benefit to the intern, and they are not just left to do the photocopying and filing. Their rights need to be protected and this is a big step in the right direction.
What exactly the new T&G Interns Network will prioritise, will
be a matter from its members but I hope one of its aims will be
to increase the opportunities for people from outside London,
and off all different backgrounds, to intern in parliament. Unionised
workplaces are more likely to have equal opportunity and are
less likely to discriminate – and I hope that can now extend to
the recruitment of interns.
Dan Whittle, Branch Chair
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The TWGU Regional
Secretary has agreed that interns on the
parliamentary estate What do I get as a member? The T&G is Britain's biggest general union and can offer its members the very best services. These range from support and advice to financial assistance, both at work and at home, all for a minimal monthly subscription. In addition, the T&G has a number of top-class facilities for work functions and leisure use. T&G Care T&G members get unrivalled assistance from their union. T&G Care is a comprehensive package of benefits and services available, with support at work as well as special deals to let members make the most of their income. Support at work The T&G represents workers in every type of workplace throughout the UK and Ireland. Members benefit from legal representation and advice, research, journals and information, education services, and a dedicated health and safety team. The union also offers a unique support service to professional drivers: DriverCare. Find out more about how the T&G supports its members at work. Legal and financial support When accidents or illness happens, the T&G supports its members through its T&G Care Assistance scheme. It also offers a range of money-saving deals to meet insurance and financial needs through T&G FamilyCare. There are extra legal services available to members too, such as its legal helpline CareXpress. More details about legal and financial support. Facilities The T&G has superb facilities in London and on Britain's sunny south coast, in Eastbourne, suitable for conferences, seminars and holidays. Members convalescing after illness can also enjoy the recuperative amenities at its Eastbourne Centre. Eastbourne Centre The Eastbourne Centre offers premium holiday accommodation to members looking for reduced rate holidays and short breaks. Convalescent patients can enjoy up to two weeks' free accommodation, subject to conditions. In addition, it boasts professional, state-of-the-art conferencing and seminar facilities. A conference hall seating up to 150 delegates and four seminar rooms are available. London The T&G has excellent conference facilities in its state-of-the-art Diskus suite, which is centrally located within Transport House in Holborn. Members can also benefit from discounts at a central London hotel.
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Minutes of TGWU/Unite Parliamentary Branch meeting 15 January 2008 - click here to view
Minutes of TGWU/Unite Parliamentary Branch meeting 19 February 2008 - click here to view
Message from the TGWU/Unite Parliamentary Branch Chair, Dan Whittle - January 2008
We are in a great position starting the New Year in terms of membership, recruitment and campaigning. We can be proud of what we’re doing. We now have over 400 members and rising, and our lobbying of the SSRB paid off with an increase in the allowances MPs have available to pay us, which was agreed to last month.
I am very pleased to have taken over the Chair at a time when many of these things were about to come into fruition, because of the hard work of the former Chair and all of the Executive Committee. There are 3 campaigns I would like to update you on: The SSRB review, the queue jumping campaign and the campaign for recognition.
The SSRB review
I hope you managed to see one of our briefings on the SSRB report which I emailed to all MPs, and which set out the gains to staff, notably:
Recommendation 20 a Staffing Expenditure increase to allow MPs to employ up to 3.5 full-time (or equivalent) members of staff; Recommendation 21 that the ceiling should be £96,630; Recommendation 22: that the ceiling on be increased by £1,720 for each fulltime equivalent member of staff based in London, up to a maximum of £102,650.
The branch’s task now is to ensure that that expenditure increase is passed on to researchers and caseworkers. As it says in the briefing we sent round to MPs: 20% of MPs don’t pass on all of their staffing allowance to staff.
We are also continuing to push MPs on the automatic uprating of salaries. Their staffing allowance goes up every year but many of them do not pass this increase on. We are also going to push MPs on the starting salaries of researchers and secretaries which at around £13,000 are far too low.
MP of the year so far goes to Linda Gilroy MP, who in the debate on the SSRB argued that if MPs get their pay automatically uprated, so should staff. We get another chance to lobby MPs on this when some of the recommendations go to the Members Estimates Committee.
The Queue Jumping campaign – making the argument that the rule that MPs can queue jump staff should be abolished.
I hope you all saw or heard about the petition Lembit Opik MP presented in the House.
To quote from Hansard: “The 380 signatories know that the staff keep this place running in the democratic interests of the country. I thank Unite, the union, for its tireless efforts on this campaign and hope that the Administration Committee will soon abandon the regime of common discourtesy and restore courtesy to the Commons. ” So he did us proud.
We will pursue this campaign in 2008 because there’s nothing more petty than an employer passing a rule that lets them jump a queue in front of their employee, in no other workplace in the country would this be tolerated.
The campaign for recognition
We have over 400 members but no rights when it comes to negotiating pay and conditions.
I am expecting that an EDM be put down for us soon asking that the situation be improved, and this where you come in: Please be ready to look out for a letter we’ll be sending to MPs about it, look out for the EDM, make sure we get over 100 signatures.
Please get involved – and thanks for working with me so far, as the new Chair,
Dan Whittle
On the international working class holiday of 1 May 2007, TGWU and Amicus announced the formal launch of ‘UNITE’, the name for the union formed out of our merger.
A programme merging all aspects of the two unions will take place over the next few years, but initially members will notice little difference.
Work will now commence on drawing up a new rule book within the terms of the Instrument of Amalgamation which all members received with their merger ballot papers.
At Westminster and in the constituencies, we will continue as the Parliamentary Staff Branch but we have agreed to contact Amicus members working for MPs to invite them to our meetings. In time, it would make sense for all Unite members in Parliament to be in the same branch.
While the ink isn’t dry on this merger, Unite announced that it would be exploring a merger with the United Steelworkers’ Union to create the first trans-Atlantic union. This would form a union of 3.4m members in the US, Canada, Britain and Ireland. Initially the unions will coordinate campaigns and adopt common approaches to bargaining with multinational companies.
The TGWU Branch now has designated recruitment material specifically for the Parliamentary Branch. To obtain leaflets or A4 posters with their distinctive Big Ben picture, please contact the branch's membership Secretary, Anne Humbles, on ext 6273 or email humblesa@parliament.uk
Frequently asked questions about TGWU Membership. Added 22 August 2005. Click here.
Welcome to new staff March 2007
Now you've got a new job with an MP, you should think about joining a union. The Transport & General Workers' Union is the only union recognised as representing MPs' staff and they warmly invite you to join.
The more staff who join, the stronger a case they can put for improvements in pay and conditions. Union membership gives you the right to representation in times of trouble and legal advice through the union helpline on matters not related to work. They also hold social events to help you meet you colleagues at work. A third of their Parliamentary members are in constituency offices, so they are not just Westminster-centred.
For a form contact Max Freedman at freedmanm@parliament.uk
To find out more call Kevin Flack (Secretary) ext 6273 or Joanne Milligan x2779.
Introducing
the union…
Working
for an MP is an exciting and rewarding job, but at some point you may
face exactly the same difficulties as you would in any other workplace
– a dispute over your job description, a grievance against your
employer or simply the need to put a collective case for improvements in
working conditions.
That’s
one of the reasons the Transport
& General Workers Union (TGWU) has formed a branch to represent
staff of MPs and MEPs – whether they work at Westminster or in the
constituency.
You can now join the T&G online at www.tgwu.org.uk but please add to the form our branch number, which is 1/427.
Where
we fit in…
The
TGWU Parliamentary Branch is based in Region 1 of the union (London and
the South East) but includes staff from all over England, Scotland and
Wales. It has members who work for MPs of all the major political
parties and most of the smaller ones.
The
TGWU is the only union recognised by the Parliamentary Labour Party and
is regularly consulted by the Houses of Parliament authorities on
issues affecting staff. We hope that if you have not already done so,
you will wish to join.
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This autumn, the branch will be launching its most dynamic recruitment drive ever - watch this space for details! |
Campaigning…
The
union campaigns for better working conditions and pay for staff. The 5th
July 2001 decision by Parliament to provide decent pay, more staff for
MPs, provide better employment procedures, security in constituency
offices and 'ring-fence' the money allocated for staff wages (so you
don't have to compete with a new fax machine when asking for your annual
wage rise) was the culmination of 20 years' campaigning by the TGWU
branch. Obviously,
the more staff who join the union, the stronger our voice is.
The union branch has made representations to the Speaker's Advisory Panel on the implementation of these proposals and is arguing for the best possible contracts to be adopted. In the current climate, Health and Safety is obviously of major concern and we have pushed for improvements to staff safety, especially with relation to security and post.
Click here for a pdf version (22KB) of: TGWU PARLIAMENTARY STAFF BRANCH 1/427
SUBMISSION TO THE SENIOR SALARIES REVIEW BODY: REVIEW OF PARLIAMENTARY PAY AND ALLOWANCES. This was submitted in January 2004.War on Want Trade Union Campaign. One of War on Want's current campaigns is exposing the horrific situation in Colombia, "the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionists". Want to find out more? Want leaflets for your next local meeting? Contact the branch secretary for individual copies or for higher numbers and more details, Nick Dearden at War on Want would be delighted to hear from you: 020 7620 1111 or ndearden@waronwant.org. Please mention the union branch when calling.
Contact
us…
So,
if you have not already done so, please contact us to join the union –
it’s an old slogan but as true today as it ever was – “unity is
strength”. To join simply email Max Freedman, freedmanm@parliament.uk
or call him on x5989.
For
any other matter, please contact:
Chair:
Dan Whittle
Vice Chair: Russell Cartwright
Secretary: Kevin Flack
Intern Off’s: Adam Leeder, James Greene
Assistant Secretary: Karie Murphy
Membership Secretary: Max Freedman
Youth Officer: Daniel Carden
Social Secretary: Gareth Myton
Newsletter Editor: Chris Sweet
Health & Safety Officer: Vivienne Windle
Executive Committee members (without portfolio): Marion
Williams, Dan Crimes, Carol Wilson, Helen Newton, Gareth Myton
Auditors: Jennifer Scott, Peter Scott
Travel Office Rep: David Morgan
Website Officer
– Will Pomroy
How much does it cost to join?
The standard rate is £9.32 a month, cheaper if
you work part-time
My employer is anti-union - will they find
out if I join?
No. All correspondence is to you home address
unless you instruct us otherwise. No central membership list is kept by any
Parliamentary authorities.
What if I'm already in another union?
Joint membership is no problem. If you want to
stay in another union for historical reasons, no problem - but remember
unless you join the T&G we can't advise you.
What if I'm in another branch of the
T&G?
We can arrange transfer into our branch - just
send us your membership number.
I probably won't have time to attend
branch meetings - does that matter?
No. Just phone or email us with any issues you
would like to see raised - that's what many of our members in constituency
offices do. If you have a major issue to raise, you can write an article for
our branch mailing or newsletter.
Commons Cleaners Strike - “Makes me proud to be in the T&G”
That was the verdict of one of the branch’s newer members as they saw how much support the union gave to the House of Commons’ cleaners on their strike day in July.
Branch officers and members joined picket lines and were invited to the mass meeting at Parliament and we helped with organisational back-up and ensuring MPs’ support – not that most MPs needed much encouraging!
The Commons cleaners are in dispute over their pay and conditions, in particular the absolute minimum legal holidays their receive (12 days on top of 8 Bank Holidays), lack of company pension and a wage of a fiver an hour.
The cleaners’ reps and their Organiser, Rhys McCarthy, have met regularly with the branch and its officers and we will continue to support them. In the meantime, please urge your MP to sign EDM 434 (tabled by Shahid Malik who also joined the cleaners’ picket line), if they have not already done so.
Over the summer, T&G members were once again force to show their solidarity as the baggage handlers at Heathrow walked out in support of 670 Gate Gourmet staff who had been summarily sacked, apparently for staying too long at a staff meeting while waiting for union advice. Gate Gourmet has a history of poor treatment of staff and amongst those sacked were workers on holiday or on sick leave.
Without the action of the baggage handlers- and subsequent pressure from BA - there is little doubt that Gate Gourmet management would have refused to go to the negotiating table with the T&G.
The T&G is fast gaining itself a reputation as the champion of the low paid, which will stand up for its members when they need it.
By Kevin Flack
Branch Secretary
Last updated: 6 May 2008