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Council workers stage pay protest
7:12pm Wednesday 16th July 2008
About 350 council workers marched through Oxford today in protest over pay.
Libraries, schools and leisure facilities were forced to close as members of the Unison and Unite unions across the county walked out over a below-inflation 2.45 per cent pay offer.
Earlier in the week, Oxford City Council rescheduled its refuse collection services over the coming fortnight to cope with staff shortages.
The two-day national strike is set to finish tomorrow.
Oxfordshire County Council employee Marie Browning, 32, from Stanford in the Vale, carries out home visits for adults who are recovering from strokes, heart attacks and accidents.
The mother-of-four said union members were campaigning for a six per cent pay rise - or the equivalent of an extra 50p an hour.
She said: "Things are so bad I don't think I can afford to work.
"I can't pay for child care so maybe I should stay at home and collect tax credits.
"But I want to work, not live on handouts.
"The Government doesn't listen to normal working people. Hopefully they will now."
Colleague Mandy Page, 42, from Upton, near Didcot, added: "We just want a pay rise so we can do our jobs properly."
Unison office manager Eva Emmett, 54, from Blackbird Leys, picketed outside County Hall in New Road, Oxford, with her granddaughter Sophie.
She said: "We are not greedy, but 2.45 per cent is pathetic. People can't manage and are getting into debt."
Ten schools in the county were closed or partially closed.
They were John Watson School, Wheatley;Ladygrove Park Primary School, Didcot;Bardwell School, Bicester; Didcot Girls' School; Kingfisher School, Abingdon; Iffley Mead School, Oxford; Northern House School, Oxford; Northfield School, Oxford; St Nicholas Primary School, Oxford; and Church Cowley St James Primary School, Oxford.
In Oxford, public toilets remained closed, as well as the Museum of Oxford and council customer services centres in St Aldate's and Templars Square shopping centre at Cowley.
Ferry Sports Centre, Hinksey Pool (between 2pm and 8pm) and Blackbird Leys Pool were also shut.
Mark Fysh, Unison branch secretary for Oxfordshire, said: "I think we have successfully made our point. Schools and libraries are shut and I'm struck by the number of people who have stayed away."
However, Oxfordshire County Council played down the impact of the industrial action - although tonight, it was unable to say how many of its 2,600 union members had not shown up for work.
Spokesman Paul Smith said: "County Hall is operating as normal."
Your Say YourOxford
Mr Ison, England says...
8:17pm Wed 16 Jul 08
Ian Sternberg, Harwell says...
8:59pm Wed 16 Jul 08
lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run .
Solidarity will win !
GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .
Peter, Oxford says...
9:12pm Wed 16 Jul 08
Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today .
lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run .
Solidarity will win !
GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .
Get a grip man.
Unions have no power these days. Gordon Brown will not have even noticed there was a strike today. The only people once again affected by ineffective union action is the general public - unions such have yours have alienated themselves from the public and because of this get little or no support for what will be an inconvenience for them.
Cllr Ken Tiwari (Parish)independent, Oxford says...
9:42pm Wed 16 Jul 08
Labour Government, it's a new-labour!
In other words, I am alright Jack !
quote
Johhny, Oxford says...
10:23pm Wed 16 Jul 08
Ian Sternberg wrote:Sack the bloody lot - too many people employe pushing forms around anyway . County Hall was running as normal - says it all really
Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .
jan, oxford says...
10:49pm Wed 16 Jul 08
I love looking after my client group, adults with a learning Disability, a stressful sometime dangerous job, i work alone, as do my colleagues, we are all agreed that soon we will not be able to afford to work for OCC,and the jobs will go to untrained Agency Staff, and who will suffer, the most vulnerable People of course.
So before you start making silly comments(see above)about sacking the lot of us, swop jobs with us for a week and see how you get on, maybe you would agree we need a pay rise.
Mr Ison, England says...
11:02pm Wed 16 Jul 08
anon, oxford says...
11:52pm Wed 16 Jul 08
Mr Ison wrote:what? can u explain what you mean please.
I'll keep what i earn and give charity to those i choose.thanks anyway.
Peter, Oxford says...
6:37am Thu 17 Jul 08
jan wrote:Support Worker
I am a support worker i work a 24 hour shift, for being away from my home overnight and on call i get the sum of £30, i work weekends with no extra pay, I am not allowed to claim overtime, this is paid at standard time, or time off in lieu, unsocial hours payments are built into my salary, clever move by OCC, I love looking after my client group, adults with a learning Disability, a stressful sometime dangerous job, i work alone, as do my colleagues, we are all agreed that soon we will not be able to afford to work for OCC,and the jobs will go to untrained Agency Staff, and who will suffer, the most vulnerable People of course. So before you start making silly comments(see above)about sacking the lot of us, swop jobs with us for a week and see how you get on, maybe you would agree we need a pay rise.
Ref: SW329
Salary Details: £16,536 - £18,430
Job Term: Permanent
Appointment Type: Full-time
Hours: 37 hours per week
Taken from Oxford County Councils website and is a current vacancy ???
Minimum it works out at is £8.59 per hour and not the £1.25 the previous poster would suggest !!
anon, oxon says...
7:15am Thu 17 Jul 08
Ian Sternberg wrote:So out of touch. To have to strike means failure by the negotiators. In years gone by in times of real recesssion & subsequently, I negotiated substantially more also improved terms & conditions. This was done by proper negotiating skills & good relations with senior management which is not the same as colluding.
Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .
So often I am aware union officials have done "sweet heart deals".
To council worker above you are so right.Also the ordinary members should have the right to know names of managers who are of the same union as them because of conflict of interest.
The taxpayer / members have the right to know if council officials are members of unions if so what ones - again because of interest. Also they could be in a position to award their own union contracts
National pay talks / negs are so outdated because most companies operate each depot as profit centres within their own right.
But without national negs there would be no national union officers !
On the issue of the vote unless there is 50% min return of ballot then surely it cannot have any real legitimacy ?
paul, Oxford says...
7:44am Thu 17 Jul 08
Ian Sternberg wrote:Would this be the same GMB , that negotiated longer working hours and loss of incentives, and loss of overtime rate down to flat rate for staff at a previous job I worked ???
Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .
Peter2, Oxford says...
7:55am Thu 17 Jul 08
Peter wrote:no, not as it would suggest
jan wrote: I am a support worker i work a 24 hour shift, for being away from my home overnight and on call i get the sum of £30, i work weekends with no extra pay, I am not allowed to claim overtime, this is paid at standard time, or time off in lieu, unsocial hours payments are built into my salary, clever move by OCC, I love looking after my client group, adults with a learning Disability, a stressful sometime dangerous job, i work alone, as do my colleagues, we are all agreed that soon we will not be able to afford to work for OCC,and the jobs will go to untrained Agency Staff, and who will suffer, the most vulnerable People of course. So before you start making silly comments(see above)about sacking the lot of us, swop jobs with us for a week and see how you get on, maybe you would agree we need a pay rise.Support Worker Ref: SW329 Salary Details: £16,536 - £18,430 Job Term: Permanent Appointment Type: Full-time Hours: 37 hours per week Taken from Oxford County Councils website and is a current vacancy ??? Minimum it works out at is £8.59 per hour and not the £1.25 the previous poster would suggest !!
RMKOR, OCC says...
8:58am Thu 17 Jul 08
John, Banbury says...
9:24am Thu 17 Jul 08
me, here says...
9:28am Thu 17 Jul 08
Peter, Oxford says...
9:40am Thu 17 Jul 08
John wrote:I realise it means an extra £30.00 ON TOP of her normal salary. I am not attacking them for being on strike I am attacking the fact that these strikes which have repeatedly resulted in nothing extra being offered have no effect other than to me, you and the rest of the general public. It is not rocket science to work out that if they get paid more to do these jobs then ultimately who pays for it - me, you and the general public. We are ALL being overcharged for fuel, food etc and these pay claims will do nothing more than make everybody pay more in the long run.
Peter...you are a clever boy aren't you....the support worker says she gets £30 for being on call for 24 hours. You take the £30, divide it by the 24 hours worked and bingo! you have proved her wrong...well done. Except if you actually read what was written you might have understood that the £30 is a allowance paid for being on call and away from home for those 24 hours...not how much she was paid as a salary. Please re-read what was written....We lean on these people and expect them to deal with the issues we don't want to, the disabled, the elderly. If they were paid on the basis of how little the rest of us would like to do this work, they wouldn't need a pay rise. As it is we pay them as little as possible and attack them with fury when they dare to suggest that they should be paid more. I think it is also no coincidence that the vast majority of people doing thses low paid jobs in this country are women.
The fact that 'extra' on call payments are being made just pushes the basic salary on offer by the council (see my previous post) higher !!
jan, oxford says...
11:03am Thu 17 Jul 08
jan, oxford says...
11:09am Thu 17 Jul 08
Alan Page, Guildford says...
12:17pm Thu 17 Jul 08
Funny old world isn't it? Our poor starving bourgeois eh? Makes you want to weep, eh?
RMKOR, OCC says...
1:41pm Thu 17 Jul 08
mark, Oxford says...
2:19pm Thu 17 Jul 08
Alan Page, Guildford says...
2:29pm Thu 17 Jul 08
mark wrote:Please quote exact figures to back up your assertions re. Tescos.
Thanks Ian for your support we are fighting for some of the lowest paid workers in the country even Tesco pays more in some cases we have gone to the government and worked with the council to get better budget setlements for everyone in Oxfordshire year after year we have upgraded 5000 council jobs without a penny on council tax ONLY 48 jobs were downgraded i suggest the first commentator gets thier facts right I was PROUD to be on strike yesterday because it was for the right people for the right reason and by the way UNISON membership has INCREASED by 30% over the last three years
I think supermarket staff do a far more worhwhile job than most executive consultants etc.
If they went on strike, you'd know about it.
Of course their pay situation being what it is they could never afford to. Unlike the bourgeois here.
Sammy, Rosehill says...
2:43pm Thu 17 Jul 08
If they went on strike, you'd know about it.
Another fact - really what difference have you noticed about this strike other than the bins not being collected for an extra couple of days. ALL essential cover has been maintained so in reality the only loosers are the strikers who lost two days pay, and surely if they are that skint they cant afford to strike in the first place.
Uniscum non Member, Trap 2 says...
3:10pm Thu 17 Jul 08
mark wrote:Maybe Uniscum should fight some of the dead wood and needless posistions that career cival servents like in their little empires.
Thanks Ian for your support we are fighting for some of the lowest paid workers in the country even Tesco pays more in some cases we have gone to the government and worked with the council to get better budget setlements for everyone in Oxfordshire year after year we have upgraded 5000 council jobs without a penny on council tax ONLY 48 jobs were downgraded i suggest the first commentator gets thier facts right I was PROUD to be on strike yesterday because it was for the right people for the right reason and by the way UNISON membership has INCREASED by 30% over the last three years
Jobs are advertised on a regular basis which could be done by using existing resources rather than wasting more cash, that cash could be better used to improve staff pay for everyone. Cut the amount of consultant spending down, we have managers who crap themselves when asked to commit or make a decision so they pay HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS to private consultants to make decisions so they remain teflon coated. These are not the lower grades like the admin, bin men and library staff, but people who are on high grades.
Cut the wasted spending by getting rid of nonsense jobs for nothing posistions and improve the performance of existing management grades will produce huge savings.
Uniscum look after themselves, and use the workers as pawns in a power game until they get what they want.
Top union people with buy to let properties, socialist to the end brother but profiteering along the way!
Unhappy with Unison, OCC says...
3:11pm Thu 17 Jul 08
mark wrote:Mark, you'll find a couple of keys to the right of the letter m on your keyboard. These are called the comma and full stop keys. You use them to add punctuation to your writing which makes it easier for people to read. If you don't know what punctuation is (which is possible given you don't know the correct number of posts that were downgraded), sign up for an evening class such as "Punctuation for beginners".
Thanks Ian for your support we are fighting for some of the lowest paid workers in the country even Tesco pays more in some cases we have gone to the government and worked with the council to get better budget setlements for everyone in Oxfordshire year after year we have upgraded 5000 council jobs without a penny on council tax ONLY 48 jobs were downgraded i suggest the first commentator gets thier facts right I was PROUD to be on strike yesterday because it was for the right people for the right reason and by the way UNISON membership has INCREASED by 30% over the last three years
Mr Ison, Alabama bound says...
3:37pm Thu 17 Jul 08
Ex Unison member, Oxford says...
4:06pm Thu 17 Jul 08
mark wrote:You are seriously deluded my friend. Firsly you and your wretched excuse for a union did not upgrade 5000 jobs - you don't even have that level of membership in the County Council. And many more than 48 people suffered a down grade.
Thanks Ian for your support we are fighting for some of the lowest paid workers in the country even Tesco pays more in some cases we have gone to the government and worked with the council to get better budget setlements for everyone in Oxfordshire year after year we have upgraded 5000 council jobs without a penny on council tax ONLY 48 jobs were downgraded i suggest the first commentator gets thier facts right I was PROUD to be on strike yesterday because it was for the right people for the right reason and by the way UNISON membership has INCREASED by 30% over the last three years
Your pathetic crap union has done nothing for the ordinary worker - you conive and collude with the managers (whom you represent anyway)and refuse to acknowledge the real issues at stake. Stuff the payrise - you're talking of pence mate - the real issues are Job Evaluation or devaluation, moving staff to locations they were not happy with and representing our managers, who should be in a separate union.
Your 2 days off will have cost the low paid money they'll never recoup. How much more do you think you'll get - 6%? You are deluded and having a laugh. As for the 30% increase in membership - bullsh*t! You unions lie more than the politicians but then you aspire to become them anyway. Without your pathetic support, Nu Labour would collapse. Socialist? Socialist my arse. You make me puke.
jan, oxford says...
6:21pm Thu 17 Jul 08
RMKOR wrote:get double time my friend, and my day starts at 3pm and i finish at 3pm the next day I sleep in and am on call..please check your facts
Re: Jan, Sorry but you get paid 3 X your wage for xmas and New Years day. Not 2 X\\\\\\\'s, and from what I know of support works their day starts at 7:00am and finishes 3:00 the afternoon support worker work from 3pm to 10pm, that dies not work out to 24hrs only the managers are on call for 24hrs.
Mr Ison, England says...
11:20pm Thu 17 Jul 08
Ian Sternberg, Harwell says...
5:05pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Peter wrote:Yes - We are going to get a grip around the throats of Gordon Brown & Management - and then We are going to choke the living sh1t out of Them !
Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .Get a grip man. Unions have no power these days. Gordon Brown will not have even noticed there was a strike today. The only people once again affected by ineffective union action is the general public - unions such have yours have alienated themselves from the public and because of this get little or no support for what will be an inconvenience for them.
If Unions have no power how come You say that We can cause inconvienience to the public - You can't have it both ways .
Gordon Brown will certainly notice if The Trade Unions cut off funding to The Labour Party .
We are sorry if The Strike Action has inconvienienced the public , of which We are also members , but We have been forced to take this action to defend or pay from Gordon Brown's attempts to make Working people pay the price for the economic disaster that has been caused by His friends in big business & the City .
Strikers on the Picket Lines have experieced the massive support & goodwill from the Public Who support this Strike just like They support all the fightbacks against Brown & the Bosses !
Ian Sternberg, Harwell says...
5:13pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Johhny wrote:Dear Johhny ,
Ian Sternberg wrote: Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .Sack the bloody lot - too many people employe pushing forms around anyway . County Hall was running as normal - says it all really
How original ! Mayby someday You will get sacked & then You'll see how You like losing Your job .
Local Government Employees work hard for the good of the public - They don't push forms around .
How do You know that County Hall was running as normal ? Do You believe everything that Management tells The Oxford Mail ?
Ian Sternberg, says...
5:47pm Sat 26 Jul 08
anon wrote:Dear Anon ,
Ian Sternberg wrote: Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .So out of touch. To have to strike means failure by the negotiators. In years gone by in times of real recesssion & subsequently, I negotiated substantially more also improved terms & conditions. This was done by proper negotiating skills & good relations with senior management which is not the same as colluding. So often I am aware union officials have done "sweet heart deals". To council worker above you are so right.Also the ordinary members should have the right to know names of managers who are of the same union as them because of conflict of interest. The taxpayer / members have the right to know if council officials are members of unions if so what ones - again because of interest. Also they could be in a position to award their own union contracts National pay talks / negs are so outdated because most companies operate each depot as profit centres within their own right. But without national negs there would be no national union officers ! On the issue of the vote unless there is 50% min return of ballot then surely it cannot have any real legitimacy ?
If standing up to help Working People fight for Justice is so out of touch - then I'm proud to be out of touch !
Ian Sternberg, Harwell says...
6:00pm Sat 26 Jul 08
paul wrote:Dear Peter ,
Ian Sternberg wrote: Congratulations to all the Trade Unionists Who took this magnificant Strike Action Today . lets keep up the good work and keep Gordon Brown and His management stooges on the run . Solidarity will win ! GMB - Oxford & District Trades Union Council .Would this be the same GMB , that negotiated longer working hours and loss of incentives, and loss of overtime rate down to flat rate for staff at a previous job I worked ???
I am sorry that You feel that The GMB let You down in Your previous job .
Unfortunately a number of years ago The GMB was led for a short period by a leadership clique that did not properly fight for it's members & some of the clique were probably personally corrupt - fortunately that group is no longer in office & The GMB has returned to it's traditions of being a Inovatory & progressive Trade Union that is able to stand up to the employers & secure for Them the best pay & conditions .
I am proud to be a member of The GMB which for over a Century has led the Struggle to transform the lives of it's members & I am sure that We will achieve even greater advances in the 21st Century .
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Strikers at County Hall, with Unison's Mark Fysh, front
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Council worker not union shirker, Oxford says...
7:36pm Wed 16 Jul 08
Some people got huge paycuts of £10K pa - many had to suffer at least £2.5K pa pay cuts. Unison conveners including the venerable Mr Fysh refused to defend us properly - secretly colluding with the managers responsible. No surprise also that many old fossilised senior managers at the Council are also Unison members which ain't much good to you if you are plain old rank & file worker.
Unions are poison - most union leaders become crappy Nu Labour MPs or get knighted. It's all a power game. Dave Prentice earns a fortune and for what. Strikers - you might get another 1% if you're lucky. All I got was a £2.5k pa cut - thanks Unison!
The bottom line is - if you don't like it then do something else. I like my job and have learnt to live with the 2.5K pa pay cut by making changes here and there so a 2.45% or 6% pay rise is nothing to worked up over .