Negotiations on the proposals for the ‘new’ LGPS are moving closer towards a conclusion. We hope that it won’t be too long before we can let you all know what the outcome has been. Both the unions and the LGA team have done our very best to protect you – the LGPS members – and the scheme for the future. We want more people to join it and for it to be sustainable far into the future.
 
Thank you for your patience. The negotiating team realises that it has been difficult for you all to wait so long, but it has been a painstaking process and we needed to get it right. Negotiations are still ongoing on ‘Workstream 2’ – the new governance arrangements for the scheme and the ‘cap and collar’ arrangements. Obviously your negotiators are seeking to ensure what UNISON has long campaigned for – member nominated reps with real say within local funds – as well as at overall fund level. We have made it clear that we expect them to be nominated by UNISON and other unions so that there is collective accountability and established mechanisms for feed-back to members.
 
What happens next?
 
Once we have agreed the final details of the proposals and they are cleared by the Treasury and DCLG Ministers, we will make them public. We are already working on paper and e-materials so that they are ready to go out to you by every means possible!
 
Within UNISON, we will be holding briefings in Regions and there will be a PowerPoint which can be used at local level. The Service Groups with members in the LGPS – Local Government, Police and Justice, Higher Education, Water, Environment and Transport and Community – will then meet to make recommendations on the proposals which will form the basis of a ballot of all eligible members. We want to ensure that members know about the proposals and as many as possible vote in the ballot.
 
 
 
 
 
Public Service Pensions Bill – what does it mean for LGPS members?
 
Some of you have asked what the Public Service Pensions Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech yesterday means for LGPS members – or potential members?
The answer is that the specific announcement made yesterday about the ‘three largest schemes’ referred to the Teachers’, NHS and Civil Service schemes, although aspects of the Bill – including proposals for better governance – will apply to the LGPS. The LGPS Project Team has made a joint statement about the announcement which will be on the LGPS web site at www.lgps.org.uk today.
 
Keep Talking, Keep Recruiting!
 
The ballot will provide a very important opportunity to talk to members and non-members alike and let them know that UNISON has been working hard on their behalf.
 
Now is the time to tell non-members that they will not be part of that consultation ballot unless they join UNISON.  Make sure you talk to every non-member in your workplace and give them the latest on the LGPS and get them to sign up!
 
We need more and more members to show the employers that we have got the industrial strength to resist attacks on pensions, pay, jobs and conditions.  So carry on organising!  Contact Indira Patel, i.patel@unison.co.uk if you would like to be a UNISON pension contact or champion.
 
Join UNISON online www.unison.org.uk/join or call 0845 355 0845
 

 
 

LGPS NEGOTIATIONS – MOVING FORWARD IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION

 

 

After two further days of negotiations this week and more talks next week, we are moving closer to finalising the proposals for the new LGPS from 2014. Although it will not be possible to say what the final proposals are until all elements of the package are in place or say exactly when the negotiations will be completed, we are moving in a positive direction. UNISON negotiators, alongside GMB and Unite, have been working hard to get the best possible deal for LGPS members – and potential members. We know how important your pension is in these times of pay freezes and redundancies – not to mention increases in the State Pension Age.  We want the LGPS to remain a quality scheme that all employees want to join.

 

SO WHEN MIGHT YOU GET THE PROPOSALS?

 

We still have some work to do on aspects of the new scheme and have to get the final proposals costed by the Government Actuaries Department (GAD). We are working hard to get this phase completed as quickly as possible, but it may not be finished for a week or two. We need to ensure that we get every detail absolutely right. We will also be having an equality impact assessment carried out on the final proposals. The final package will then have to be ‘signed off’ by Ministers at the Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

 

Once that is done, we will make the proposals known as quickly as possible to members, pension contacts and champions, branches and Regions. Materials explaining the proposals will be posted on the Pensions, Local Government, Police and Justice, Community, Higher Education and Water, Energy and Transport Service Group pages of the UNISON web site. Written materials will be distributed as soon as possible, along with a special recruitment leaflet. We hope that non-members will want to join us when they see what UNISON has done to protect their pension.

 

As well as the written word, there will be briefings within Regions for activists and members. We want as many members as possible to know what is in the package before they vote for it. The Local Government Association will be consulting its members at the same time, as will the other LGPS trade unions.

 

 

 

SERVICE GROUPS TO MAKE THEIR RECOMMENDATION

 

The five UNISON Service Group Executives will each meet to decide on their recommendation to members over the final proposals once the ministers have signed them off. Once this happens, the ballot paper will be issued to every member within the scope of the five Service Groups. We will want to get the views of as many members as possible across occupations and pay bands.

 

RECRUIT AND ORGANISE!

 

The ballot will provide a very important opportunity to talk to members and non-members alike and let them know that UNISON has been working hard on their behalf. Make sure that you order the special LGPS recruitment leaflet and use it!

 

KEEP TALKING, KEEP RECRUITING!

 

Now is the time to tell non-members that they will not be part of that consultation ballot unless they join UNISON.  Make sure you talk to every non-member in your workplace and give them the latest on the LGPS and get them to sign up!

 

We need more and more members to show the employers that we have got the industrial strength to resist attacks on pensions, pay, jobs and conditions.  So carry on organising!  Contact Indira Patel, i.patel@unison.co.uk if you would like to be a UNISON pension contact or champion.

Members and activists will be wondering where the negotiations over the LGPS have got to…. The joint negotiating team and the Governance and Administration sub groups have continued to meet on a regular basis, the most recent meeting of the negotiating ‘Project ‘ team being – Monday 2 April.

The negotiations are moving in a positive direction, in line with the agreed principles agreed before Christmas. However, it is obviously crucial that we ensure that every possible element of a possible new scheme is fully considered and that we explore all options in order to get the best possible deal for members. This has required a significant amount of work by actuaries and others and it is therefore not yet possible to produce final proposals.

We hope that we will be in a position to give you full details before the end of April so that the all-member ballot can commence around the start of May.

 Keep talking, keep recruiting!

Soon we will be consulting members over the new LGPS from 2014. Now is the time to tell non-members that they will not be part of that consultation unless they join UNISON. Make sure you talk to every non-member in your workplace and give them the latest on the LGPS and get them to sign up!

We need more and more members to show the employers that we have got the industrial strength to resist attacks on pensions, pay, jobs and conditions. So carry on organising!  Contact Indira Patel, i.patel@unison.co.uk if you would like to be a UNISON pension contact or steward.

This first edition of the Disabled Members’ Network e-bulletin includes the following articles:
-          Take action for the NHS
-          Welfare Reform Bill – the latest
-          Becoming a recruiter
-          Getting involved with DMC
-          Dates for your diary
-          Campaigns update
 
Read it here! Disabled Members Committee e-bulletin

This week, ballot papers will start dropping through the letterboxes of UNISON’s 450,000 health-worker members. We have got as far as we can in months of tough negotiations, and now it is up to members to decide.

Along with the ballot papers, there will be the information needed to help make a decision.
It is vital that we get a good turnout and clear indication in the ballot, so we need all health workers to take the time to work out what the pensions proposals mean for them, make a decision and post papers back by 27 April.

Talks on the local government pension scheme are continuing. Once they have reached their conclusion, local government members will also be consulted in a full ballot.

Don’t forget your AGM 

on Tuesday March 20^th  from 4 – 6pm

in the David Hicks room,  Council Offices, Shute End

 

WOKINGHAM DISTRICT BRANCH

 

 

This year, our guest speakers are:

 

 Andy Couldrick, Interim Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services of Wokingham Borough Council

 

Teresa Donegan, Regional Manager and Head of Equality of UNISON South East.

 

We will also be electing our Branch Officers, Stewards and Health and Safety reps so this is your chance to stand for election and to find out more about the union.

 

All UNISON members are entitled to attend, but please make sure that you have checked with your manager first if you are finishing work early on the day.

 

There will be a free prize draw for all those who attend with great prizes such as a 2 night break for 2 people and high street vouchers, kindly donated by UNISON Croyde Bay holiday resort and LV Frizzell respectively.   

 

A light buffet and refreshments will be provided.  For catering purposes, please confirm your attendance by email to unison@wokingham.gov.uk  or phone the Branch office on the number below.

 

Put the date in your diary and bring a UNISON member with you!

 

 

For more information, please contact our UNISON administrator, Liliana Castle at unison.administrator@wokingham.gov.uk or call her on 0118 9746747.

Local Government Chronicle are reporting this:

Unite returns to pension talks

30 January, 2012 | By Ruth Keeling

Unite is set to return to pension reform talks in time for key decisions on a number of “big ticket” items such as the overall cost of the scheme.

The negotiations over changes to the local government pension scheme are scheduled to produce final proposals on the accrual, revaluation, contribution rates and retirement ages next week.

They will also decide whether the local government pension scheme will continue to be final salary or move to a career average earnings model.

Unite’s local government executive committee met last week and decided it should rejoin the talks which it abandoned following a row with ministers over the wording of a letter sent before Christmas.

Peter Allenson, Unite’s national officer for local government, said he would rejoin the negotiations “as soon as possible”, perhaps even in time for a meeting on Monday afternoon, in order to be involved in the first set of important decisions.

“The committee took the view that we should be in there influencing things,” he said.

Unite withdrew from the negotiations process after a letter from communities secretary Eric Pickles appeared to place limitations on the unions and employer negotiations, including a cost limit not agreed with unions.

Although the letter was immediately withdrawn, resulting in GMB and Unison returning to the negotiating process, Unite said they had lost confidence in the process and claimed the government had revealed its hidden agenda.

Negotiators for GMB, Unison and the LGA representing employers have been very keen for Unite to rejoin the talks ahead of the first set of big decisions about the new-look scheme.

Last week, GMB national secretary for public services Brian Strutton told LGC he was hoping Unite’s local government committee would agree a return to talks “otherwise we are going to run out of time and they will have missed the boat”.

27January 2012                                                                 LGPS Issue no. 12

NEGOTIATIONS ON THE LGPS BEGIN IN EARNEST

 

The project plan and ongoing documents for the joint trade union and LGA LGPS Project Team and Project Board will all be made public. They are available at http://www.lgps.org.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=15431012.

 

The LGPS members’ website (www.lgps.org.uk) will host all of the documentation and communications for the Project as it progresses. There will also be regular joint communications and the first of these is attached.

 

What happens next?

 

The weekly talks will continue until April. A lay member group comprised of representatives of each of the LGPS Service Groups is planned to support and advise the negotiators.

 

There will be regular communication with members and pension contacts through SGE’s and sector committees, this newsletter, the web site and regional forums and committees. It is important that activists and pension contacts talk to members – and non-members – about the negotiations and continue to recruit to UNISON.

 

Carry on organising!

 

Although we have a positive framework for the negotiations, they are just beginning and we need to show the government and the LGA that we are still angry, are still in dispute and expect a positive outcome for our members. We will be asking sympathetic MP’s and councillors to keep up the pressure in Parliament and within the LGA.

 

We will also be making links between our pay and cuts campaigns and the LGPS. Less pay means less ability to pay for pensions and fewer jobs means reduced costs for employers, so there is a clear link.

 

There is still a massive opportunity to organise and recruit members and stewards to UNISON. We need more and more members to show the employers that we have got the industrial strength to resist attacks on pensions, pay, jobs and conditions. So carry on organising!  Contact your Branch, unison@wokingham.gov.uk  or Indira Patel, i.patel@unison.co.uk if you would like to be a UNISON pension contact or steward.

 

 

NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME 2014

 

Joint communications update

 

This update has been produced by the Local Government Association (LGA), UNISON and GMB in order to keep members up to date with the progress against the joint principles document published just before Christmas.

 

Although this communication will be published at least monthly the unions and LGA will still continue to produce their own communications ensuring that all are kept as informed as possible of the process.

 

Firstly a couple of definitions so we all know what is meant:

 

The Principles Document – this is the document headed EMPLOYER AND UNION AGREEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF THE LGPS a copy of which can be found on the LGPS website by following this link: http://www.lgps.org.uk/lge/aio/15431141

 

The New LGPS 2014 project – this is the project by which agreement will be reached on the elements to make up the new scheme and the mechanisms for management and governance of the scheme in the future. The documentation relating to the project including the Plan, PID and Risk Register can be found by following this link: http://www.lgps.org.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=15431012

 

The LGPS members website (www.lgps.org.uk) will host all of the documentation and communications for the project as it progresses.

 

Update on progress

 

Representatives of GMB, UNISON, LGA and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are now meeting at least weekly in order to discuss options for the new scheme.

 

They are aiming to reach agreement (which will include full consultation with their respective memberships) by April on the following objectives (which are taken from the Principles document):

 

Objective 1: Confirmation of the basis of the scheme design (e.g. CARE)

 

Objective 2: Confirmation of the accrual rate for the scheme

 

Objective 3: Confirmation of the revaluation rate

 

Objective 4: Confirmation of the actuarial methodology for variation to benefits either side of the NPA (with the NPA being the later of age 65 or SPA)

 

Objective 5: Confirmation of the value, distribution and phasing of any employee contribution increases

 

Objective 6: Confirmation of the transitional protections

 

Objective 7: Confirmation of the parameters of the employer cap and collar

 

Objective 8: Confirmation of the mechanism for variation of the elements to maintain scheme costs within the cap and collar values

 

Objective 9: Agree recommendations on best practice in governance and procurement

 

Objective 10: Confirmation of the value of the ongoing scheme [principle 11] as measured using model fund data, assumptions and methodology [principle 4] which satisfies overall government financial constraints [principle 2]

 

The timescales for reaching agreement on each can be found in the project plan and PID. It is vital that these timescales are met in order that new regulations can be in place in time for the 2013 valuation. If not then the opportunity to roll the two stage process of reform into one step will have been lost.

 

Currently the project is gathering data in order to inform the discussions around the various options for the scheme including commissioning actuaries and setting up working groups.

 

Remember that whilst the project continues no changes will be made to the scheme which is, and will continue to be after the project is complete, one of the best ways available to ensure a decent income in retirement.

This is the full text of the Local Government Pension Scheme motion agreed by the Local Government Service Group Executive on 10 January 2012.

“This SGE applauds the action taken by UNISON members and other public service trade unions on 30 November 2011 to force the government into serious negotiations over public sector pensions. We also note that the results of UNISON’s ballot resulted in the improved Reference scheme/offer from the government.

This SGE notes that the action has given rise to the potential for detailed LGPS negotiations directly between the unions and the Local Government Association (LGA) which recognise the unique features of the LGPS and its membership.

We also note that those negotiations would take place on the basis of no change until 2014 and suspension of the formal DCLG consultation over employee contribution increases and accrual rates, the outcome of which will otherwise be implemented on 1 April 2012.

This SGE recognises that UNISON is still in dispute with the government and employers and that our ballot results are still ‘live’.

This SGE agrees:

1.To enter into detailed negotiations with the LGA to further pursue our campaign objectives

2. To reserve our position on the detail of the LGPS principles and timetable until firm proposals emerge from the negotiations

3. To ensure lay member involvement directly in those negotiations

4. To establish a cross-Service Group lay member liaison group to support the negotiations comprised of Chairs and Vice Chairs or their nominees

 5. To ensure that regular consultation and communication take place throughout the negotiations with this SGE, other SGEs covered by the LGPS, Regions, branches and members

 6.  To continue and intensify our campaigning activity to strengthen our hand in the negotiations, including informed and widespread lobbying of MPs and councillors and activities to highlight the impact of any changes to the LGPS on the standard of living of our members

7. To hold an all-member ballot of our members on any final package of proposals on the ‘Big Ticket’ items that would make up the design of the new scheme

 8. That industrial action remains an option if negotiations fail”

 Visit the Local Government page on the UNISON’s Regional Website – http://www.unison.org.uk/southeast/localgov.asp

Dear UNISON members,

The message below, dated 20th December 2011,
follows the update released by UNISON on Monday 19th December which is
also attached for your information.  Local government trade unions
suspend agreement pending further talks
The local government trade unions, UNISON, UNITE and GMB, have today
been alarmed by the response from Eric Pickles, to the joint proposal
from the unions and the Local Government Association (LGA), for
reforming the local government pension scheme.

We understand the Secretary of State’s response has subsequently been
withdrawn. In light of this confusion, we therefore suspend our
agreement, and are now seeking an urgent meeting with the government to
establish an agreed way forward.

Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said:

“The announcement today from Eric Pickles undermines trust and
confidence in the relationship with the government over negotiations
surrounding the Local Government pensions scheme.

“In order to re-establish confidence, and a way forward, we hope that
ministers will meet us as a matter of great urgency in order to get
negotiations back on track.

“We are disappointed that a positive way forward appears to have been
undermined in this way, and hope that government, the LGA, and the
trade unions, can reach agreement on a way forward.”

Regards,

Stephanie Maxwell
UNISON Branch Secretary