Our branch is supporting an important local initiative to counter the threat of racism and fascism (particularly the BNP) in the region. A launch event for "Manchester Against Racism" is being held:
7pm, Thursday 15th January, Manchester Town Hall
Speakers include:
Billy Hayes (CWU General Secretary), Tony Lloyd MP (whose constituency includes MAN05), Councillor Afzal Khan (Muslim Council of Britain), Councillor M Azam (Coalition against Racism), Julie Hesmondalgh ("Hayley" from Coronation Street), Father Gregory Hallam (St Aidan's Orthodox Church), Weyman Bennett (Joint Secretary, Unite against Fascism), Henry Guterman MBE (refugee from the Nazis), plus speakers from the world of football, an asylum seeker, music and poetry.
For more information, see http://www.manchester-against-racism.com
Members are encouraged to attend.
We previously reported that most members would be seeing a reduction in subs from 1 January, as members of the MSF and AEEU sections move onto common subs rates. The new subs rates are available here:
http://www.ourunion.org.uk/icl/join.htm
For most people, this means a reduction from £9.75 per month to £9.20 per month.
Anyone who pays by Standing Order (not Direct Debit) will need to change their Standing Order to the new rate.
Don't forget the important meeting of the Greater Manchester IT Branch. The business will include:
We also hope to have a speaker reporting back from the recent "European Social Forum" in Paris. This was a conference bringing together tens of thousands of campaigners from across the continent.
All branch members are entitled to attend and take part in the meeting:
6pm-7:30pm, Thursday 8th January
Upstairs, Hare & Hounds pub, Shudehill, Manchester City Centre, M4 4AA
(near the Shudehill tram stop)
This is a particularly important meeting, so a good attendance is required.
We're still waiting to hear what the company proposes to do to our final salary (defined benefit) pension scheme. Over 5000 UK employees will be affected by this decision. It's vital that we hold the company to its promises that they accept responsibility for the past deficit and so the changes will only concern future benefits.
Meanwhile, Amicus nationally is stepping up its campaign on pensions. You can read the latest press-release here: http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=114563.
Wahid Iqbal, one of our reps, is leaving MAN05 to take a new job (still within Fujitsu Services) in Bath. We wish him well.
The reps committee therefore stands as:
Ian Allinson, Phil Tepper, Lynne Hodge, Isabel Hay, Chris Morton, Dave Francis, Sulayman Munir, Zahid Ramzan, Alan Jenney
The current list of Health & Safety reps is:
Ian Allinson, Phil Tepper, Lynne Hodge, Chris Morton, Andy C Smith, Chris Gardner (Shield), Mike Bamford, Paul Marsland, Zahid Ramzan, Norman Renwick (Johnsons), Alan Jenney, Dennis Morris.
As you will see, we now have only nine reps, whereas we are entitled to eleven. For health reasons, three of the nine are unable to play a full part at the moment. Dave Francis is working full-time on the pensions issue, and the dispute continues to occupy our negotiating team, in particular Lynne Hodge and Ian Allinson.
We urge every member to consider either volunteering to fill one of the rep vacancies, or suggesting a colleague who might be interested. Reps are entitled to work time to carry out their duties, and full training is available. If you want to know more, please get in touch.
Volunteers to get involved as Health & Safety reps are also very welcome. Again, H&S reps have work time to carry out their duties, and full training is available.
As always, we are keen to involve members from outside MAN05 in the union. While they don't have the advantages of union recognition, there are still plenty of possibilities.
Reps held a further meeting with management in the week before Xmas, and draft documents continue to be exchanged. There are now only about fifteen outstanding issues to be resolved, across the various documents. Not all of these are necessarily controversial - just unresolved.
The biggest single outstanding issue concerns redundancy packages for employees who started work since the end of 1998.
Thanks to all the (MAN05 and HOM99) members who have already completed our survey. This is vital to help your reps take into account your circumstances. If you've not completed the survey yet, please do so urgently. All the details you need to access the survey were included in the email entitled "AMICUS: member survey - PLEASE READ" which was sent out on Friday 19th December. If you don't complete the survey, don't complain if your reps can't take your circumstances into account in the negotiations!
All Amicus members in Fujitsu Services who are based at MAN05 or HOM99 should have received an email giving them details of how to complete the survey.
It's important that you complete it, otherwise your reps won't be able to take account of your individual circumstances in the last stages of the negotiations.
It's up to YOU.
Talks with the company continue in an effort to find a negotiated settlement to the dispute. We are gradually narrowing the areas of disagreement, but several important issues remain outstanding.
As well as the gradual progress on the draft agreements, Amicus reps believe the process has been useful for both parties in clarifying their understanding, particularly in relation to:
a) How the company can handle its changing workforce requirements in a positive way
b) How the company can apply best-practice in dealing with individual employees
We expect to be issuing our survey of members this week, and urge every member to complete it. Without your input your reps will be unable to consider your individual circumstances in the final stages of negotiations.
Talks continue on Monday.
We expect discussions on the April 2004 pay review to begin in the New Year. Members should consider what claim they would like the union to submit on their behalf.
You will have heard that Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY) and Fujitsu Services have been successful in their bid to provide IT services to the Inland Revenue, through a contract known as "Aspire". We expect over 900 staff to transfer from EDS into Fujitsu Services during 2004 as a result.
What you may not have realised is that this will significantly increase the number of union members in Fujitsu Services, as many of those transferring will be members of the PCS union. Under the "TUPE" regulations, they will be bringing union recognition with them. PCS have announced a union recognition agreement with Fujitsu for these staff (http://www.pcs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=886711).
There are already several small groups of PCS members around the company from other contracts, and we maintain regular contact with them. Following the news on Aspire we've already begun to establish links with our PCS colleagues in EDS. Employees can only benefit from close cooperation between trade unionists, whichever organisation they happen to be in.
Amicus is providing representation for a series of court cases arising from the ICL redundancies in 2002 (mostly March).
There are also a group of individual cases, which will be heard in Manchester between 4 May and 7 May. These include Unfair Dismissal claims and some test cases for Breach of Contract.
As well as trying to secure some compensation for those who were wrongly treated by the company, Amicus hopes to ensure that any future redundancies are handled in a more satisfactory manner.
Amicus reps had a brief meeting with HR on Tuesday to discuss progress on the new "Manchester Village" site. The builders "broke ground" on the site on 1 December. The intention is still to make the new site the sole campus for Manchester in the long-term. However, the strategy for data centres in the north is still unclear, and we anticipate that data centres will remain at MAN05 and MAN23 for at least some time after the new site opens. How many staff would stay with the data centres is not yet decided.
Separate from the ongoing UK Pensions Consultative Forum (UKPCF) meetings, Amicus reps had a meeting with senior representatives from the company on Monday 8th December. We expected the company to have announced properly formulated proposals for the final salary (defined benefit) pension scheme by now, but they have so far proved unable to do so.
The company announcement on 9th December reinforced their promise that any change would only affect future benefits. Amicus is prepared to discuss how we respond to long-term changes in the cost of pension provision. However, we can see no justification for asking current contributing members to make good a deficit from the past, which is entirely the company's responsibility. It's important that we hold the company to this commitment.
We believe it is now unlikely that proposals will be announced until after Xmas.
Reps met with management again on Tuesday. Progress continues slowly on the draft union recognition and redundancy agreements. Further talks are planned for Monday and the coming weeks.
As always, updates on the dispute are posted on our web site at:
http://www.ourunion.org.uk/icl/FJSdispute
We are pleased to announce that our survey of members is almost ready to use. Members who are based at West Gorton or at home should receive an individual email explaining how to use the survey by the end of the week. Please complete the survey promptly - if you don't, your reps won't be able to consider your individual circumstances in the negotiations.
In Tuesday's talks, it was agreed that we'd start discussions about the April 2004 pay review early in the New Year. Reps stressed that they didn't want to see any repeat of the fiasco in 2003 where the company announced the pay "pot" while it was still denying they had any timetable or plan for taking decisions. The Amicus campaign this year seems to have brought this point home to the company.
The count for the elections to the new Amicus NEC took place earlier this week, and the old Joint Executive Council endorsed the results yesterday. For some reason the results haven't yet appeared on the union's national web site, but we understand they are as follows (NEC members listed by their constituency):
Our senior rep, Ian Allinson, was elected to one of the two seats for our industry. The candidate nominated by our branch for the North-West seat was elected, as were three of the four candidates we nominated for the seats reserved for women.
Ian says:
"Thanks very much to everyone who supported me in this election campaign. I'll do my best to ensure there's an effective voice for members in our industry. With the merger due to be completed on 1 January, this is a crucial period for our union."
The Greater Manchester IT branch held its Annual General Meeting last week, and elected officers for the coming year. Thanks to everyone who attended.
Members decided to support a local initiative from anti-racist groups, aimed at work together more effectively:
http://www.manchester-against-racism.com
The group is planning a launch rally at 7pm on Thursday 15th January, in the Great Hall, Manchester Town Hall. Speakers include Tony Lloyd MP (whose constituency includes MAN05), Billy Hayes (CWU General Secretary), Councillor Afzal Khan (Muslim Council of Britain) and even Julie Hesmondalgh (Corrie's "Hayley"). We understand that Manchester United Football Club are already supporting the initiative - come on City fans!
Members decided to send a delegation representing different strands of opinion within the union to a conference discussing the political representation of trade unionists. If you're interested in attending, get in touch.
http://www.cotul.org.uk
The next branch meeting will be:
6pm-7:30pm, Thursday 8 January
Upstairs, Hare & Hounds pub, Shudehill, Manchester City Centre, M4 4AA
All branch members are entitled and encouraged to attend.
As well as discussion on workplace issues, the agenda will include:
We'd particularly encourage any female members interested in attending the Regional Women's Conference to get in touch. There's no point us electing anyone who's already a rep or Health & Safety rep - they're entitled to attend in any case.
The decision on a "rule change" motion is very important. The new Amicus rulebook comes into effect on 1 January 2004, and this will be the first opportunity for members to amend it. The next chance won't come round until 2011.
While the company seems less than enthusiastic about union recognition, it now seems to be a convert to "employee forums". In discussions over updating the constitution for the company's UK Consultative Forum (UKCF), the company explained that they intend to set up these forums in many parts of the company.
Employee Forums can be a useful voice for people in areas where there is not yet union recognition. That's why Amicus has encouraged members to stand for, and take part in the UKCF. However, we're realistic about what they can achieve. With fewer legal rights and without organisation behind them, reps on an "employee forum" are in a much weaker position that union reps. Employee Forums are much more under the control of the company than a union, and don't have the levels of accountability and democracy you'd expect from your union.
The UKCF played an important part in keeping employees informed during the 2001-2 ICL redundancies. More recently, objections through the UKCF have persuaded management to postpone an unpopular decision affecting company car users pending further discussion.
There's already an employee forum in Mobile Engineering (with Amicus members on it). We now understand that PSS (Product Supply and Services - what used to be HPS and MCD) are planning to set one up in the new year.
Amicus members should keep their ears to the ground, and discuss any proposals for forums with their Amicus reps. Members can decide how to respond to each particular proposal for a forum, and agree which members (or none) should stand. Amicus can then help members organise around and in the forums.
Negotiations with the company continue. No further progress has been made on the biggest outstanding issue - redundancy payments for employees who joined the company since December 1998. We don't expect any progress on this until our survey of members is complete. Unfortunately technical problems have delayed the survey - we hope to have it ready soon. You can prepare for the survey now by digging out a copy of your contract of employment. If you had a VR quote last year, please dig that out too.
A leaflet giving an update on the dispute will be distributed to MAN05 staff next week. You can download the leaflet from the "MAN05 Union" Community on CafeVIK.
The leaflet is under "One-Per-Desk Leaflets - for MAN05 homeworkers".
A recent draft of the proposed new recognition agreement is available here.
Of particular interest to home-based staff is section 3.3. If a new agreement is signed on this basis, it will mean:
Though this isn't ideal, nobody has been able to come up with a practical alternative. The notion of an "admin base" is impossible to define properly for many staff, and both the company and Amicus need a clear and objective definition of who is covered by the agreement. You'll notice that we've used the term "home-based" rather than "homeworker", to include everyone HOM99 inside the boundary. On balance, your reps believe this is a significant step forward. As and when we win recognition in other sites, it provides a model upon which we could extend union recognition to more home-based members.
There are a number of knock-on effects for those who would fall within the new agreement, and who fall within the "collective bargaining unit" defined in 3.4 (people paid less than £35,836).
There are still significant outstanding issues to resolve, and we don't anticipate agreement being reached before the end of the year.
We hope this note convinces you that home-based employees have a lot at stake in the current negotiations, and that you'll continue to give your views to your reps.
Lesbian, gay and bisexual workers, who from Monday can not be treated less favourably than their workmates because of their sexuality, can find out about their new rights with an easy-to-use TUC guide at www.workSMART.org.uk. The site also includes lots of other useful information about working life.
The Amicus Greater Manchester IT branch is holding its Annual General Meeting:
6pm - 7:30pm
Thursday 4th December
Upstairs, Hare & Hounds pub, Shudehill, Manchester City Centre, M4 4AA
As well as the usual business, the branch will be electing its officers for the coming year.
All branch members are entitled and encouraged to attend. Some of us will be going for a meal after the meeting.
Ballot papers for the elections to the new Amicus National Executive Council (NEC) must be returned by Friday. These elections will have a great influence on the future direction of the union, and we urge every member to use their vote(s).
We expect that the results will be reported to the current Amicus Joint Executive Committee (JEC) for endorsement on 11th December.
Amicus reps have written to HR in Fujitsu Consulting and Fujitsu Services to start a dialogue about the impact of any restructuring of the companies on staff at MAN05.
This week Amicus represented a member made redundant from Fujitsu Consulting at a "Works Conference" - the final stage of the individual grievance procedure. Along with the reps was Debbie Brannan, our Regional Officer. The company was represented by the head of FC's HR, the President of their European operation and the Engineering Employers Federation.
The case hinged on two of the same issues which were at the heart of the dispute with Fujitsu Services. Indeed Fujitsu Consulting were heavily influenced by advice from HR Shared Services (part of Fujitsu Services) in previous stages of the grievance. The key issues were giving the member less than 90-days consultation for redundancy and dismissing him before fully hearing the grievance. If the current draft settlement with Fujitsu Services had applied, the member would have had 90-days, and would have had his grievance fully heard. We have informed Fujitsu Consulting of the current status of our dispute with Fujitsu Services, and they are now talking to each other before giving us their decision.
Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday's Extraordinary General Meeting. A short report (including the motions passed) has been posted on our web site:
http://www.ourunion.org.uk/icl/FJSdispute/archives/000084.html.
The key messages are:
a) Good progress is now being made.
b) A few very important issues remain unresolved.
c) The biggest areas of concern are redundancy payments for people who joined the company since 31 December 1998, and the legal enforceability of the agreements.
d) As long as progress continues, we hope further industrial action won't be necessary.
e) Amicus will issue a survey to MAN05 and HOM99 members soon - please take the time to complete it, otherwise your individual circumstances may not be taken into account in the final stages of negotiation. We will be entering everyone who completes the survey into a prize draw as an extra incentive.
f) The draft agreements are getting into much better shape. Members are urged to read the drafts we circulate - if you don't understand them, they need changing. One member has already spotted an important omission that crept in during the various edits. We need 500 eyes checking these documents.
g) Unity and determination has brought us a long way - we must maintain this to the end.
Today's Extraordinary General Meeting heard a progress report from the negotiating team. They were satisfied that progress continued to be made, and felt that satisfactory solutions had been found to many of the issues originally behind the dispute.
Nothing had yet been formally agreed (we expect any offer to be formally put to members for approval), and more work needed to be done in several areas. Many of these are not contentious, but there are still several key issues where agreement has not been reached between the negotiating teams. These are generally issues which weren't part of the original grievance, but which the parties have put on the table in the course of negotiations. In particular, the severance packages for people who joined the company since the end of 1998 have not been agreed.
The meeting unanimously agreed the following motion:
We note the progress made in negotiations since our last meeting.
We believe the main obstacle to agreement is defining which severance packages apply to staff who joined the company since 31st December 1998. There are also various other outstanding issues which appear to be less contentious.
We resolve to complete a survey to provide information to our negotiators on our current contracts and redundancy terms. The survey will help clarify the scope of various issues under negotiation.
We agree with the principle the negotiations started from - that the new redundancy agreement should aim to clarify severance packages, rather than change them, for existing staff.
We instruct our representatives to continue negotiations with the company, with this goal in mind.
If at any point the Company breaks off negotiations, or refuses to further extend the 8-week period, we authorise our reps to call action short of strike and up to four days further strike action.
It was emphasised that the impact on individuals depends on the wording of their contracts, date of joining etc. Members need to ensure that their personal situation is being taken into account in these late stages of negotiation. This means it is vital that members complete the survey that will be distributed, or their circumstances may not be taken into account.
The meeting agreed the following motion unanimously:
To encourage members to complete the survey, we instruct our reps to offer one or more prizes to be drawn at the next EGM. Members who complete the survey will be entered into the draw.
It was stressed that members had a responsibility to look at the draft agreements which are circulated from time to time. The negotiating team have been wrestling with these for some months, and we need a large number of fresh eyes to ensure nothing is missed and that the documents are clear and comprehensible. The earlier problems are spotted, the easier it will be to correct them.
We are holding an Extraordinary General Meeting:
3pm-4:30pm
Tuesday 2nd December
MAN05 restaurant
This meeting is for:
All Amicus members working for Fujitsu Services and who are based at MAN05, or who are based at HOM99 with a MAN05 admin base.
The negotiating team will report to the meeting on progress in the talks, and members will decide on the next steps to be taken. Please do your best to attend.
The "settlement document" won't be in a fit state for circulation in time for the EGM, so the two documents we'll be discussing are:
1) A new union recognition agreement. This is the latest draft.
We believe this document is very close to being acceptable to both sides, and that little will change now. The legal status is still under discussion.
2) A new redundancy agreement, which will be "Annex 1" to the recognition agreement. This is the latest draft.
This document is now getting closer to something acceptable, but there are a number of (highlighted) areas which still need serious discussion.
In particular, the severance packages for staff who joined after 31 December 1998 is a contentious issue.
We won't be printing off huge bundles of documents, as it's hard to predict the attendance accurately, which leads to a mass of wasted paper. Please print off your own copies and bring them with you. It will help the discussion if you have a chance to look at the latest drafts of the agreements before the meeting.
The negotiating team will also give a verbal report on the issues not covered by these two documents.
Don't forget the Extraordinary General Meeting:
3pm-4:30pm
Tuesday 2nd December
MAN05 restaurant
We've circulated draft agreements covering union recognition and redundancy to members for consideration prior to the meeting. We are currently awaiting an updated statement on pay from the company before circulating the third document, the so-called "settlement document".