Added: 18 June 2008

Recognition Campaign - Why the branch is campaigning for official recognition:

• The House of Commons should be setting an example of good employee relations.
• The only thing stopping the branch from being recognised in the past is the complexity of being jointly employed by MPs and the House authorities. House of commons staff have recognition, and senior Government ministers have said there is no reason we should not be recognised.
• Recognition would set out the rights the branch and its members now get on an ad hoc basis. The status quo is damaging to MPs and staff because staff representation is ad hoc and patchy.
• Over 100 MPs have signed EDM 1057 which asks for more consultation rights for the branch.

The T&G (Unite) Parliamentary Staff Branch have written to the GMB
to complain about their attack on MPs staff.

• The GMB Congress Advised House Of Commons Authorities To Abolish the Members’ Allowance Expenditure Schedule
• Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public Services told delegates: "MPs continue to flick through their posh shop catalogues to work out what allowances they can claim on top of their generous salaries – and it seems not a week goes by without another story that smacks of greed and milking the system."
• Kevin Flack, T&G (Unite) Parliamentary Staff Branch secretary, said, "who do the GMB think it is that answers the phone to their members when they take a problem to their MP? Who draft the letters and make enquiries on their behalf? It has taken years to get a decent staffing allowance for MPs, which is ring-fenced and can't be used for other purposes. It is sad to see such uninformed comments from a fellow trade union."
• Robert Atkinson a Caseworker who is changing his membership from the GMB to the T&G Parliamentary Staff Branch said: "I am pleased I will be a member of a union that understands that MPs staff do an important public service job."
• Another caseworker who is switching from GMB to Unite, Robin, said: ““Of course I don’t condone the misuse of Parliamentary expenses but our trade unions really should back up MPs office staff, the vast majority of whom work extremely hard, putting in long hours for low pay. The GMB seem to be moving away from representing their members and instead joining the opportunist tabloid bandwagon attacking all MPs offices”
• Unite is now taking this up with the GMB at a national level.

Some of the inaccuracies in the GMB press release:

• Members staff costs are ring-fenced, (not part of an open-ended system as said by the GMB).
• House Authorities do not make decisions about changes to the system of allowances, parliament does.
• The press release justifies the GMBs proposals saying Tory MP Caroline Spellman's payment of a nanny "should not be an allowable claim". However, this is why it is being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.