News from your Branch Secretary and Chair to keep you posted on a couple of things.
Along with the many, many issues our many, many brilliant reps are dealing with currently, a couple of bigger ticket issues that are taking up a lot of mine and Eddie’s time is Rest Breaks and NQP/Paramedic changes.
Eddie and I have been invited to quite a few meetings with our senior management in the past few weeks to look at possible changes to address the lack of rest breaks. Our main standpoints are that we would like to keep as close to the current arrangements as possible, making small incremental changes and, where possible, without detriment to our member’s time or money but with a vast increase in breaks given.
Sounds impossible but we believe it is achievable. Whatever we come out with, as it is such a contentious issue, we will then need to consult with our members to decide whether it is something we can accept as a branch. I am hopeful, given the nature of our discussions so far, that we are able to find something that will broadly benefit our members.
Many of our reps have also been dealing with issues raised by paramedics affected by the introduction of the NQP program. As a result of this and similar issues being raised nationally, the UNISON National Ambulance official has written to the national employers lead at the start of May to request changes to the retrospective date of application and to solidify the specifics of a fast track program which is a feature of the existing National Agreement. We hope to hear the result of this negotiation in the next week or so.
If you need advice or info on either of these issues or on anything else please contact your local rep in the first instance. We’ll keep you posted of any further developments on these specific issue
Eddie and Tim
PS Please encourage our fellow members to join our area Facebook groups
- Central and South East https://www.facebook.com/groups/288802141472017/
- South West https://www.facebook.com/groups/798211173607518/
- East Central https://www.facebook.com/groups/LASEastCentralUNISON/
- LAS UNISON main FB page http://www.facebook.com/lasunison