Nipsa reports may 2013 issuu

SINCE the beginning of theyear, NIPSA has been activelycampaigning to retain theHousing Executive as an over-arching strategic housing bodywith an integrated landlord. The union continues to argue

that the fight to retain this body isan absolute must and a key featureof NIPSA’s Public Service DefenceCampaign.NIPSA has continued its series

of engagements with councils overthe last few weeks in a bid to putforward our arguments and pro-mote our campaign to defend theprovision of social housing by theHousing Executive. There has been fairly wide-

spread degree of support for ourcampaign at most of these meet-ings. A number of the arguments put

forward by NIPSA resonate withcouncillors – many of whom have along history of working on behalf oftheir constituents with the localHousing Executive staff over themany issues which tenants andprospective tenants have.

As one councillor told us: “I amsupportive of the Housing Execu-tive – while I may not always getwhat I want for my constituents, Iam always dealt with in a courte-ous and professional manner. Iknow who to talk to and the rele-vant member of staff always comesback to me. “This is in stark contrast to my

experience of working with variousHousing Associations who areoften remote and regularly do notrespond to the queries raised withthem”. During May, NIPSA also en-

gaged directly with the CentralCommunity Tenants Network – agrouping of key community andresident association members whohave strongly backed NIPSA’scampaign. NIPSA agreed to holdregular meetings with them as thecampaign develops.NIPSA’s NIHE Central Panel has

also reviewed the next steps in thecampaign – that will be to more ac-tively engage with local tenant/resi-dent groups to build the campaignwith tenants at grassroots level.

Deputy General Secretary AlisonMillar said: “NIPSA is determinedto continue this campaign over thecoming weeks, months and years.We have commissioned academicresearch to provide NIPSA activistsand local representatives with thearguments needed to build andsustain the campaign into the fu-ture. “We will not sit on our laurels –

but we must engage actively fromthe grassroots upwards if we are todefend the retention of the HousingExecutive as the main provider of

social housing in Northern Ireland. “This is a fight I believe with the

support of all members, tenants,political representatives, tradescouncils etc we can win. “Please support the defence of

the Housing Executive and the pro-vision of social housing in NorthernIreland by supporting the NIPSAcampaign. “This is not an issue for just

NIPSA members in the HousingExecutive – it must be an issue forevery NIPSA member.”On the negotiating front, NIPSA

has met with the Permanent Secre-tary Will Haire to ensure that theDepartment and NIHE manage-ment meet with NIPSA regularlyand in a structured basis to dealwith all issues that may arise out ofthe Social Housing Reform Pro-gramme – which is wider than theproposed abolition of the HousingExecutive. Two meetings have been held to

date. It is anticipated that formalnegotiating and consultationarrangements will in place by earlyJune.

the abolition of thestophousing

executive

NEWSPAPER OF NORTHERN IRELAND’S LEADING PUBLIC SERVICE TRADE UNION www.nipsa.org.ukTel: 028 90661831MAY 2013

NEWS INDEX PUBLIC SERVICES DEFENCE CAMPAIGNSPECIAL REPORTS

ANOTHER WORLD ISPOSSIBLE

MAY DAY PICTURES HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARECENTRAL PANELPage 4Pages 2/3 Pages 6/7 Pages 8//9/10/11

NIPSAReportsPSNI ScientificSupport staff ballot forindustrial actionAS NIPSA Reports goes topress, members working inPSNI Scientific Support areballoting for industrial action.

Despite efforts by NIPSA topersuade management toconsider increasing the on-callallowance and the introductionof a Scene and EmergencyAttendance Allowance for thosestaff, there has been areluctance to properly engage onthe issue.

C6 Scientific Support Staff(CSI, Mapping Section,Photography Branch andFingerprint Bureau) haveoperated an essential andcontractual on-call system sincecivilianisation 25 years ago.

Management insist that what ispayable is constrained by theNICS code and have said theallowance is “low” but“adequate”.

A NIPSA source said:“Previous discussions aroundimproving the allowance havefailed to lead to any concreteoffer and staff have now run outof patience.”

NIPSA members haveindicated at a number ofmeetings that they are preparedto withdraw from the ‘on-call’rota.

They point to colleagues withinthe Forensic Science Agencywho receive a much morerealistic payment for the majorinconvenience of taking part inthe rota and highlight how thatpayment has increased by 12.5%since it was introduced.

By comparison the £4.90 mid-week rate for staff in PSNI hasremained unchanged fordecades.

The source said: “NIPSA’sview is that these payments arepaltry when the commitment andprofessionalism of ScientificSupport staff is considered.During the period of call,members of staff are unable tolead ‘normal’ lives or plan familyactivities.

“Members quite justifiably feelthat they should be properlycompensated for theinconvenience this causes.”

It is understood managementhave suggested further talks,facilitated by the LabourRelations Agency and NIPSA hasagreed to enter that process.

The source added: “What isclear, however, is that membersare absolutely determined tosecure parity with their FSAcolleagues and properrecognition for their work.”

All NIPSA members are urgedto support their colleagues inthis dispute.

Housing Executive workers on theMay Day Festival parade in Belfast.More pictures on pages 6/7.

Picture Photoline: Kevin Cooper

DARD CONFERENCEFULL reports and pictures fromDARD Conference held over untilnext edition due to lack of space

FIGHT GOES ON TO SAVE HOUSING EXECUTIVE

NEWSPage 2 NIPSA Reports www.nipsa.org.uk

We must counter the daylightrobbery of our public services

NIPSAReportsNIPSA Harkin House, 54 Wellington Park,

Belfast BT9 6DP, Tel: 028 90661831 Fax 028 90665847or email: [email protected] Editorial contact details: Bob Milleremail: [email protected]

Correspondence should be sent to the above address.Unless otherwise stated, the views contained inNIPSA Reports do not necessarily reflect the

policy of trade union NIPSA.

REMINDER...Make sure your contact details arecorrect... membership update details on back page

PUBLIC SERVICES DEFENCE

CAMPAIGN SPECIAL REPORTS

DEBTS have been nationalised whileprofits have been privatised was thekey message hammered home at thelaunch of NIPSA’s latest research publi-cation.NIPSA President Patrick Mulholland,

speaking at the launch of ‘The Daylight Rob-bery of Privatisation: Private Profit FromPublic Loss’, said: “We have seen succes-sive governments nationalise the banks, thedebts from the fiscal meltdown and [are] nowengaging in privatisation of profitable sectorsof the public sector.”Claiming NIPSA was having to deal with

“privatisation by stealth”, he added: “Wehave seen leisure services being privatised,elderly care hit by the proposals to close res-idential homes and forcing residents into pri-vate care facilities, outsourcing of CivilService departments and educational needsalso affected.”He warned that “alarm bells” were going

off and the trade union had to be aware thatthe Assembly was “taking the road to privati-sation” by imposing the Westminster govern-ment’s austerity measures.“Our latest research counters the argu-

ment against privatisation and nailing the liesand myths put out by the government, theAssembly and the press that there is noother option and the only road we can go isthe private route.“We expose the reality of privatisation that

it is largely less efficient and largely more ex-pensive.”NIPSA General Secretary Brian Campfield

claimed privatisation was not a “faraway”threat but was “already here” in the CivilService, in health, education, local govern-ment and housing. “As our research highlights, there is an ex-

tensive international evidence and perform-ance base that exposes the false promisesthat mis-sold privatisation’s central tenets for

decades in the UK and European context. “Drawing on this NIPSA highlights what pri-

vatisation and outsourcing delivers – risingcosts with worse or withdrawn services deliv-ered by private companies that are not ac-countable and by staff whose terms andconditions are undermined.“Our research also shows how privatisa-

tion and ‘outsourcing’ represents a massiveredistribution of wealth. It is the ‘robbery’ ofwhat we, as a community own, being soldcheaply into private hands and grotesque re-wards being given to the companies involvedin these sell-offs, most of whom are nostrangers to the aggressive tax avoidancethe current Chancellor of the Exchequerclaims to be ‘morally repugnant’.”Report author John McVey claimed it was

significant that Margaret Thatcher had livedlong enough to see “the latest crisis of capi-talism”.He said the great advantage trade union-

ists enjoyed today in contrast to those whoopposed Thatcherism in the 1980s was thatall the “public relations garbage around mar-kets and market solutions” was now looking“pretty shabby”.After the Second World War, there had

been, he said, a “collective reaction againstfree market negligence” and part of the re-sponse to that was the setting up of publicservices “as the spine of a society and ameans, however flawed, of redistributing re-sources”.Mr McVey warned that this movement for

positive change after the war stood in con-trast with today’s privatisation agenda whichconstituted “a massive transfer of wealth toprivate corporate interests – most of all mo-nopolies –beyond national or democratic ac-countability”. He said: “We discuss [in the booklet] the

inequality that this economic model has de-livered founded as it is on grotesque rewardat the top, tax avoidance by the corporate

owners and minimum terms and conditionsfor the employees.“We look at the evidence at a local, na-

tional and international level and across arange of sectors. We look at how the bigpromises of privatisation – that competitionwould increase, savings would be delivered;that prices would be lower etc – are all lies. “Significantly, so bad has been this per-

formance that in the context of local govern-ment in England and Wales, some servicesare returning in-house – including in someConservative and no overall control authori-ties – because even they in some instanceshave come to realise that in the advent ofmarket failure, it is the state that picks up thetab.”Mr McVey quoting from a recent CBI report

– outlining its opposition to pay progressionand arguing for a debate on regional pay aswell as the ‘opening up’ of public services –pointed out that “their aims are modest…they only want the Earth!”He said: “In some ways we can take the

tone of frustration in the [CBI] document thatthey haven’t got it – as a back-handed com-pliment to the resistance we have shown, butas their perpetual whining about corporationtax shows – they keep coming back. This iswhy we have to be alert to their ‘permanentcounter-revolution’. “For example, you’ll notice they are still

fighting against the minimum wage and inthe wider assault on welfare – you’ll see theyare still fighting the class war that Bevan wastalking about. I think the breadth of the CBIambition should give us all food for thought.”Mr McVey said: “At the heart of all that we

do – in particular on this threat of privatisa-tion, we have to focus on getting the maxi-mum involvement from members anddeepening our links in the community. “We have to make sure that when the CBI

hear a slogan such as ‘Unity is Strength’ or‘The workers united will never be defeated’

they don’t console themselves thinking thatthis will never happen, we won’t behave in away that displays this unity or be able to mo-bilise enough people. “We have to make sure, therefore, that all

our activity is about building our confidenceand weakening that of our enemy.“To build our confidence will require disci-

pline, organisation and strategic planning.With this we can counter what we call thedaylight robbery of privatisation.”

the outsourcing of some roles would freeup police officers for front-line work butNIPSA Reports can reveal that, contraryto this assertion, police officers have beencalled in to carry out duties that should beperformed by Resource employees.These problems stem from the PSNI’s

decision to deal with austerity-linkedbudget cuts by privatising a number offunctions historically carried out by civilservants or civilianised under the Pattenrecommendations. Resource NI was awarded a contract

last September that will cost the public upto £180 million. NIPSA has been opposed to the move

from the beginning and has since ex-posed how private sector contracts haveled to a ‘jobs for the boys’ culture thatsees police officers leaving with enhanced

severance terms only to return to theservice under the guise of private compa-nies such as G4S.NIPSA members are angry that rather

than reduce the reliance on these compa-nies, senior management have signifi-cantly expanded the number of rolesbeing outsourced. NIPSA Official Ryan McKinney said:

“The writing is on the wall for decent payand conditions in the PSNI unless we canforce management to return to recruit-ment of permanent staff on the same payas their colleagues. “We have exhausted every avenue pos-

sible to challenge this practice and arenow in the final stages of preparing for ajudicial review hearing in June.“NIPSA representatives continue to re-

port instances where Resource do not ful-

fil elements of their contract and wherestaff are forced to relocate in order to fa-cilitate the arrival of Resource staff into apolice station. “Along with other NIPSA representa-

tives, I have continued to bring these mat-ters to the attention of the Policing Board.”The situation in the PSNI is another

clear example of how privatisation is in-creasingly seen as a way to managebudget reductions. But the ‘private sector good – public

sector bad’ myth is exposed once thesecontracts actually start operating. The public lose twice over as they are

paying more while the service actually de-creases. NIPSA will, however, continue to chal-

lenge these contacts.

PSNI outsourcing shows it’s time to arrest privatisationNIPSA members are increasingly reportingtheir concerns about Resource NI’s ability tomeet the requirements of a contract awardedto them by the PSNI. Police management have always maintained that

NIPSA’s researcher and author of the latest unionpublication John McVey

Some of the guests attending the launch of NIPSA’s ‘The Daylight Robbery of Privatisation: Private Profit From Public Loss’

NEWS Page 3 NIPSA Reports www.nipsa.org.uk

NIPSA joined with other trade unionsand staff side organisations to meetwith the Health, Social Services andPublic Safety Committee on May 1 todiscuss the role of the private sector inthe health system.Assistant Secretary Kevin McCabe, who

has responsibility for health, attended themeeting as one of the HSC Joint Secretariesand presented the union’s analysis of thecurrent situation.Despite concerted opposition, most of the

proposals in the ‘Transforming Your Care: Vi-sion to Action’ document are to be fully im-plemented.The union has also underlined the fact that

there are insufficient funds available in theHSC budget to finance such a radical reformprogramme. According to NIPSA, Trusts are now adopt-

ing these recommendations. In late April, the entire HSC system was

shocked to hear that the Northern Healthand Social Care Trust, under direction fromHealth Minister Edwin Poots, was planningto close every statutory residential homewithin the Primary & Community Care forOlder Peoples Services directorate.The closures are to start with Pinewood

Care Home in Ballymena in November thisyear and conclude with the shutting up ofRoddens Care Home in Ballymoney in2017/18. This is a Trust decision and NIPSA has

warned management the decision could re-sult in social isolation for elderly people aswell as deaths. NIPSA has argued that these closures

amount to nothing more than a cost-savingexercise and that the Trust is letting budget-ary concerns take precedence over thesafety and welfare of their service users. This is also potentially discriminatory and

may constitute an example of institutionalageism. NIPSA will be raising the issue withthe Trust’s Equality Unit. It is understood NIPSA will further press

the case that the Trust may also be in breachof their duty of care by not providing ade-quate residential accommodation when anassessment of need has been carried out byqualified multi-disciplinary teams of doctors,nurses, social workers, occupational thera-pists and physiotherapists. The management argument that service

users would prefer to be cared for at homehas been dismissed by NIPSA as “rhetoricand double speak”.A source told NIPSA Reports: “Of course

service users would like to be cared for athome, who would not? But if a service userrequires some level of residential care as pertheir multi-disciplinary medical assessment,then this option needs to be at least offeredto them. “If it is not because the service no longer

exists or is being diminished because ofbudgetary constraints as the current planoutlines, then the Trust is failing in its duty ofcare.”

And in a further demoralising blow, theSouthern and Western Health and SocialCare Trusts also confirmed plans to close allof their residential homes.Meanwhile, NIPSA is seeking to expose

the Northern Ireland Assembly’s privatisationagenda after the Executive’s decision to fundtwo £40 million health centres in Newry andLisburn. This development will funnel millions of

pounds of public money into the pockets ofbig businesses at the expense of essentialhealth services.Further privatisation within the NHS will be

carried out through the setting up of a Com-missioning Board and Local CommissioningGroups which will take control of budgets tobuy services for patients. They will be allowed to buy from any serv-

ice providers – and this will see a massiveincrease of big businesses tendering forservices as a way of making big profits at theexpense of health care. So far £1.4 billion has been cut from the

health budget, to be followed by cuts as highas £5 billion in 2015 due to job cuts alone.Mr Poots has previously acknowledged

that he has no idea how much public moneywill be paid to private developers – moneythat should be kept within the NHS and moreefficiently used to provide essential healthcare, create jobs and services. Finance for this is through a mechanism

known as third party development (3PD).Private sector companies will be allowed to

build facilities and lease the buildings back tothe health service at extortionate rates. Pri-vatisation has been roundly discredited as a

means to provide essential health services.The only people who benefit are sharehold-ers, big business and profiteers. If further evidence is needed to show how

the private sector is being appeased, youonly have to look at the recent developmentin the Western Health and Social Care Trustwhere the Trust was specifically challengedas to whether ‘3 Five Two’, an independentclinic and private health care provider, was touse facilities in the new South Western AcuteHospital. Trust chiefs were asked to confirm if Ward

4 and one of the theatres were being usedfor this purpose.They replied: “The Western Trust has been

approached by a number of independentsector providers to utilise facilities to deliverpatient care of which 3 Five Two is one. InNorthern Ireland a number of Health and So-cial Care Trusts have “licensed agreements”with independent sector providers to useHSC facilities to deliver services when addi-tional capacity is required”. The Trust’s discussions with 3 Five Two to

date have included the use of Ward 4 andone theatre.Kevin McCabe described these develop-

ments as “very concerning”.He said: “It is clear that privatisation is

being facilitated. NIPSA is committed to rais-ing media publicity around this issue locallyand regionally. “It is also NIPSA’s intention to ask further

questions of the Trusts about costs to the pri-vate provider for the use of Trust facilities,overheads, heating, lighting, rent etc. and wewill be examining all avenues to obtain de-

tails of the finances involved and exposethese costs to our members and the generalpublic.”Individually, each Health Trust is required

to conduct local consultations on all of theproposed closures or changes. These consultations are due to start

shortly. It is clear, however, that the consulta-tions are not to explore an alternative to clo-sures but are about how best to implementthe changes and not about whether theyshould happen in the first place. Trusts have already met with relatives and

residents of care homes to discuss their op-tions. And Health Trusts staff have also ex-

pressed concern that the opinion of thosewho are against the planned closures isbeing ignored. The union has asked its members to assist

the union in fighting the closures by makingthe general public aware of Mr Poots’ plansand by encouraging service users, their fami-lies and friends to contact local MLAs to ex-press strong opposition to the plannedclosures. A NIPSA source added: “This fight is not

over and it can be won if we work together togain media and political support. It isNIPSA’s intention to expose the issuesaround Transforming Your Care and to high-light the damage that will be done by its im-plementation.”At a recent NIPSA Health Conference a

very comprehensive and detailed strategy ofindustrial opposition to TYC was endorsed.

The fight is on as NHS privatisation gathers pace

Keep up to date and visit: http://www.nipsa.org.uk/Home

AT A time when the vast majority of the population,whether in work or in increasing numbers out ofwork, are under attack from what the Institute of Fis-cal studies has described as “unprecedented” cuts,the UK government chose in the last budget to cutthe top rate of income tax.

This gifted £42,500 a year to every millionaire in theUK. It could not have made clearer the deceit in the slo-gan used as the new age of austerity began – “we’re allin this together”

This point was reinforced both nationally and interna-tionally by the publication of the Sunday Times Rich Listwhich reported the total wealth of the 1,000 richest peo-

ple in the United Kingdom equalled almost £450 billion. In addition, the number of billionaires has increased

year on year since the list was first published in 1989.These UK-domiciled individuals are not included in theUnited States Forbes magazine’s annual listing.

Despite this, the wealth of the super-rich is listed byForbes at £3.6 trillion. This equates to such individualspossessing personal wealth equal to a third of the valueof the wealth the US economy produces.

These figures reinforce how a grotesque redistributionof wealth from the bottom to the top of the economicpyramid has been at the heart of neo-liberalism for thepast three decades. And this is most explicit in one ofits key policy drivers - privatisation.

NIPSA’s Policy and Research Officer, John McVey, toldNIPSA Reports: “The key element of privatisation is thatprofit is made by private individuals from services thatwere once publically-owned.

“In this way, instead of all of us as citizens benefiting,the attempt is made to turn us into consumers, payingfor what was once free at the point of use so that the al-ready privileged can enrich themselves from such trans-actions.

“Examination of the issue shows the privatised modelconsistently delivers grotesque rewards at the top, taxavoidance by the corporate owners and minimum termsand conditions for the employees.”

Austerity is working…for some

PUBLIC SERVICES DEFENCE

CAMPAIGN SPECIAL REPORTS

Big changes in the NIPSA DOE/DRD departmental office

OPINION

TWO major events occur in Fer-managh from late May to early Juneand the contrast between them couldnot be greater.

The annual conference of your union,NIPSA, the largest and most active tradeunion in Northern Ireland, will be held inEnniskillen from May 28 to May 31 and willbe attended by delegates elected by mem-bers of NIPSA branches.

There they will debate a range of mo-tions covering a wide range of issues, in-cluding privatisation of public services, thesuppression of wage levels, dilution ofpension entitlements, increased pensionage, job cuts and attacks on redundancyterms.

The delegates attending represent morethan 45,000 employees from across thepublic sector, but their work and activity iseffectively on behalf of thousands morepublic sector workers who benefit from thework of trade unions in the workplace.

As the trade union campaign againstwelfare ‘reform’ demonstrates, NIPSA andthe trade union movement generally, alsocampaign on behalf of the least well offmembers of society who are vulnerable be-cause they are not organised.

In addition, this broader work on welfare‘reform’ also directly benefits our mem-

bers’ families, as many of them – to theshame of their employer, the governmentitself –have to rely on various types of so-cial security benefits to bring their incomeup to a level on which they and their fami-lies can survive.

The decisions of the NIPSA Conferencewill inform how we build our campaign toresist the continuing attacks on workingpeople – attacks on their jobs, their in-come, pensions and on the public serviceson which they rely.

Fast-forward a few weeks to June 16 and17 at the Lough Erne Resort, Fermanagh.Here, the leaders of the G8 group of na-tions will meet to discuss the shaping ofglobal affairs.

While they have it in their power to takedecisions that could be in the interest ofmillions of people across the globe, in real-ity they will pursue policies which are de-signed to prop up and defend a systemthat is incapable of tackling world poverty,global hunger and unemployment.

The scale and commitment of the G8leaders to the wealthy, vested intereststhat they represent so well is staggering.All the rhetoric around measures to tacklecorporate tax evasion and avoidance, be-hind the use of words like “democracy”,“peace”, and “development” belies the re-ality that poverty and inequality continue

to increase BECAUSE of the system andthe policies they support.

The recent report by the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) found that Britain faces rising lev-els of inequality because it is pursuingausterity policies that are widening the gulfbetween rich and poor.

The report, which covers 2010, warnedthat the financial crisis is squeezing in-come and putting pressure on inequalityand poverty with the young and the poorbeing hit the hardest. If this was the posi-tion in 2010, the situation three years laterhas undoubtedly got worse.

The mantra that there is no money outthere is a falsehood.

This is demonstrated by the fact that thebank accounts of British corporations areoverflowing, with more than £700 billion,doing nothing for the economy or the peo-ple.

If the G8 leaders were serious abouttackling hunger, poverty or unemploymentsteps would be taken to force the releaseof some of these reserves for economicdevelopment and/or socially-useful invest-ment. The least that could be done wouldbe to tax these reserves.

However, that is not the mindset of theG8 leaders as they defer to the sacred cowof the free market, the interests of the large

corporations and the wealthy.The trade union movement in Northern

Ireland has been actively working with awide section of civic society (organisa-tions including Friends of the Earth, the IfCampaign and Amnesty International) touse the G8 summit in Fermanagh to high-light that a fairer world is possible.

But that won’t happen unless the greatmass of people organise for real change inthe way in which economic and social pri-orities are set.

The centrepiece of the opposition to thepolicies of the G8 will be a major marchand rally in Belfast city centre on Saturday,June 15. NIPSA is calling on all membersand their families to attend this event.

The hosting of the G8 Summit in North-ern Ireland is, at best, a dubious honour.We owe it to ourselves and to all thoseacross the globe, who are the victims of aneconomic system that cares nothing forworking people, to mark the G8 Summitwith a resounding message that there is,as the trade union movement has pro-claimed, a better and fairer way.

ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE – it isup to all of us to mobilise to achieve it.

Brian Campfield,General Secretary

WHY ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE…

NIPSA stalwart Damian Bannon return to the DOE atthe beginning of June after a number of years serviceas NIPSA Departmental Secretary covering membersin the Departments of Environment, Regional Devel-opment and Culture, Arts & Leisure.

He decided that the time was right for another chal-lenge having held a variety of posts in the section officeover the past decade.

Damian has amassed a wealth of knowledge duringhis tenure and will be an immense loss to the office andin particular members in areas such as the NIEA and NI

Water where he played a significant role in protectingNIPSA members’ interests when the GoCo was set up.

NIPSA’s loss will undoubtedly be DOE’s gain and weexpect they will take full advantage of his skills when hereturns to the department.

NIPSA Reports wishes Damian all the best in his newrole and hopes he doesn’t stray too far from his tradeunion roots!

As one era comes to an end another begins as JoanneVeighey takes up the Departmental Secretary role va-cated by Damian following a recent appointmentprocess.

Joanne has been an Assistant Departmental Secretarysince 2009 and will officially take up her new positionimmediately following the annual NIPSA Conference atthe end of May.

Having worked for a number of years in the NIEA,Joanne has had responsibility for members in DOEPlanning Service since coming into the section office.

While keenly aware of the challenges of taking onsuch a busy role and having to follow in the sizeablefootprints left by her predecessor, Joanne is relishingthe task ahead and looking forward to putting her ownstamp on the job. We wish her luck.

NIPSA has offered its full back-ing to three members who tookreligious discrimination claimsagainst Craigavon BoroughCouncil to the Fair EmploymentTribunal.In a statement released on

March 21, the union said it be-lieved the council workers, PaddyPrunty, Declan Brown and KieranCahoon, had been “the subject ofan orchestrated campaign of vilifi-cation and demonisation in themedia” and that subsequent to thecoverage some had even been“threatened outside of work”. The statement added that the

men had taken the action “in goodfaith” and in order to protect theirrights in the face of a “clear andcontinuing” failure by their em-ployer “to protect their rights andtheir dignity at work”.NIPSA said the Fair Employ-

ment Tribunal decision not toaward costs against the workerswas a total vindication of their mo-tivation in pursuing the claims.The statement continued: “We

feel it is important to highlight thatan important aspect of the Coun-cil’s defence of the case was anacceptance that these employeeswere the subject of unacceptabletreatment which caused themconsiderable stress.”Craigavon Borough Council had

employed a consultant to probethe allegations but had failed to

act on a recommendation that dis-ciplinary action be taken againstthe manager at the centre of theclaims. “It was only at the eleventh hour

when the Council produced state-ments which demonstrated thatthe same manager who hadtreated these employees in an un-acceptable manner had alsotreated co religionists in an unac-ceptable and unprofessional way

– albeit to a lesser extent – thatthe case of religious discrimina-tion was weakened.”At the same time the Council re-

ceived a statement from the man-ager directly contradicting thesetwo statements, denying that theywere mistreated.NIPSA said that if the Council

had initially met its duty of careand protected staff from harass-ment and bullying, then the threeworkers would not have beenforced to lodge the proceedingsas the only way they could protectthemselves from “constant andunacceptable behaviour”.The statement continued:

“These employees are committedto delivering public services onbehalf of all the people who live inthe Borough irrespective of theirreligion and we insist that they areallowed to fulfil their responsibili-ties without having to endure andsuffer bullying and harassment atwork.“While they have withdrawn

their tribunal cases, they remainconvinced that there was an ele-ment of religious discriminationbehind the unacceptable treat-ment that they experienced andthey reserve the right to havethese concerns properly ad-dressed by the Council or relevantauthority.”

TRADE union representa-tives in Belfast City Coun-cil have successfullynegotiated to have the£250 payment, recom-mended by ChancellorGeorge Osborne, be paidto staff on Scale 6, earningup to £23,708 – that ishigher than the £21,000 hehad originally set out inthe Budget.Talks on the issue started early

last year with NIPSA DeputyGeneral Secretary Alison Millarand local representatives arguingthat payments should be make tothose members most in need.Negotiations were described as“difficult and protracted” as the£250 payment was discretionary.However, NIPSA along with the

other trade unions were not putoff and continued to counter theemployer’s arguments.Tom Wilkinson, Trade Union

Co-ordinator at Belfast CityCouncil and Deputy Chairpersonof the Branch, led the talks team. He told NIPSA Reports: “It was

not an easy battle to win and seri-ous legal arguments were made

by the employer which had to beovercome. However, the tradesunions in the council were deter-mined to pursue this issue.“They worked collectively to en-

sure that not only those below thepay limit of £21,000 but alsothose just above the thresholdalso got the payment with somenegotiation around flexibility.“The outcome we achieved

couldn’t be altogether straightfor-ward, but as a result it includesemployees in the grade above£21,000 and the payment will bemade in full to part-time employ-ees, not pro-rata. “Pay is the single most impor-

tant issue for our members andeven more so for those on havelow pay and part-time workerswho have been particularly af-fected by the pay freeze. “Alison Millar was delighted by

what was achieved in talks.Shesaid: “This is an excellent out-come for all the unions in BelfastCity Council. NIPSA’s Tom Wilkin-son and those representing otherunions are to be congratulatedand commended on their tirelesswork to ensure that the lowestpaid members received a pay in-crease.”


NIPSA backs council discrimination claims trio

NIPSA has to deal withcountless issues on behalf ofmembers in the workplace.Many of these, by their verynature, remain beneath thesurface in order to protectthe members involved. As aunion we act on behalf ofmembers, without fear orfavour, irrespective of theirgender, religion or politicalviews. Where it is clear thatmembers are being treatedunfairly, we are proud to sup-port them. The followingstatement was issued on be-half of a group of membersin Craigavon who stood upfor their right to be treatedwith dignity in the workplace.

Here to serve you without fear or favour

Belfast City Council union reps in pay victory

Branch Organiserstraining event a first for NIPSAMORE than 40 branch or-ganisers attended NIPSA’sfirst-ever branch organis-ers training event atBelfast’s Wellington ParkHotel on May 2. Its primary objective was to

boost the profile of organisingand recruitment across theunion.Opening the event, NIPSA

President Padraig Mulhollandemphasised the new-found pri-ority given to organising by theunion’s General Council. In his remarks, General Sec-

retary Brian Campfield under-lined that while the union nowhad a dedicated OrganisingUnit, it was still vital for localbranch organisers and localcommittees to play their part. Andy Snoddy, Head of Or-

ganising with UNI Global Unionin Switzerland, was the mainspeaker at the event. He began his contribution by

stating that he came to organ-ising because he was tired oflosing and that he viewed or-ganising as a means of in-creasing union membership,union activity and unionstrength. Mr Snoddy spoke about his

own experiences in organisingworkplaces.He emphasised the need to

have long-term plans and flexi-ble strategies in place butwarned that these needed tobe backed up by pinpointingwhich issue was of most con-cern to members locally. Mr Snoddy said: ‘Sometimes

we, as union reps, think weknow the important issues in aworkplace. But this is not al-ways the case. “We need to put in the time,

speak to members and non-members and understand whatthe issues are.“Once we know the issue, we

can then develop a campaignaround that issue, involvingmembers, recruiting non-mem-bers and raising the profile ofthe union by campaigning andwinning on the issue.”Branch organisers then split

off into a number of workshops. The workshop delivered by

HQ Organiser Ryan Wilson fo-cused on Workplace Mappingas an essential means of in-forming local branch commit-tees where membership wasstrong or weak within a work-place. HQ Organiser Naomi Connor

took the workshop on Com-

monsense Communicatonsunderlining the need to raiseNIPSA’s profile through effec-tive communications – espe-cially face-to-face contact. The third workshop was de-

livered by Dooley Harte, who

oversees the Organising Unitat NIPSA HQ. The workshop, titled Being a

Branch Organiser, covered theduties of an organiser, updat-ing membership lists and re-cruitment. Following the workshops, or-

ganisers were given informa-tion on the additional benefitsof NIPSA membership fromsome of the union’s serviceproviders and the importanceof getting this information out toreps, members and potentialmembers. Speakers from McCartan

Turkington Breen Solicitors,Platinum Finance and Member-ship Plus were able to providedetailed information on theservices NIPSA members hadaccess to and how these serv-ices could be used to recruitnew members.The event concluded with

branch organisers being giventhe task of returning to theirbranch committees and agree-ing, planning and implementingtwo objectives before the endof June. One objective was to launch

a recruitment campaign leadingup to a public NIPSA Weekwhere each branch would seekto recruit at least 10 new mem-bers to the union. The other objective would be

for branch committees to con-sider how to improve their ef-fectiveness by consideringworkplace mapping, undertak-ing a review of communicationsor setting up new processes toimprove services to members. The meeting was told that

support for any initiative wouldbe given by Organising Unit butalso that it must be led bybranch organisers with thebacking of their local commit-tees.Feedback on the first-ever

training event for branch organ-isers was very positive. One branch organiser com-

mented that the event was“very enjoyable, well organisedand the new materials werefab, punchy and to the point”.Dooley Harte told NIPSA Re-

ports: “This training event hasgone a long way to improvingour support for branch organis-ers and feedback already re-ceived has been very positive. “The Organising Unit will pro-

vide what support it can andwe will be building on the posi-tive outcomes from the event inthe coming months.”

IN RESPONSE to repre-sentations made byNIPSA and the NIC/ICTUHealth and Safety Com-mittee to the AssemblyEnterprise, Trade and In-vestment Committee,Minister, Arlene Foster,has decided not to pro-ceed with the proposedchange to the triggerpoints under the Report-ing of Injuries, Diseasesand Dangerous Occur-rence Regulations (RID-DOR) that were due to

come into force on April1 this year.The decision not to pro-

ceed leaves intact the em-ployer’s duty to report anyaccident that has led to anemployee being absentfrom work for more thanthree days instead of theproposed move to morethan seven days.Assistant Secretary

Geraldine Alexander toldNIPSA Reports: “We aredelighted the Assembly hastaken this common-sense

approach and have nottaken the same path asGreat Britain where thechange was implementedon April 6, 2012.”The perceived need to

reform the regulations wasfuelled by claims fromsome business bodies thatreporting duties are toocomplicated and consti-tuted a burden to busi-nesses.Ms Alexander said: “This

decision has sent a clearsignal to employers that re-

porting over three-day inci-dents is not a burden onbusinesses. “RIDDOR reports provide

much-needed intelligencedata and there is a duty onemployers to comply withthis duty.”She added: “NIPSA will

continue to argue againstany future de-regulationagenda which poses athreat to the health, safetyand welfare of our mem-bers.”

NIPSA’s General Secretary BrianCampfield (above) with specialguest Andy Snoddy and seniorunion organiser Dooley Harte


NIPSA welcomes Assembly U-turn on RIDDOR Add your like toNIPSA Facebook page

The union’s Face-book page is nowlinked to theNIPSA website...please add yourlike. If you wish to pro-mote your branchor workplaceevents pleasesend the info to:[email protected]


Windy cities in Belfast and Derry asNIPSA banners fly on May Day FestivalNIPSA members, activists and familiestook to the windy streets of Belfast andDerry for the 2013 May Day Festival.They joined thousands of other tradeunionists in celebrating the movement’s100 year anniversary.

Pictures Photoline: Kevin Cooper


Windy cities in Belfast and Derry asNIPSA banners fly on May Day Festival

NIPSA General Secretary Brian Campfield is joined by ex-union President Maria Morgan and former GS John Coreyon the May Day march in Belfast.

Pictures courtesy of Andrew Flood

A spring in their steps

Health and Social Care Central Panel conference

IN HIS address to conference, NIPSA President Patrick Mulhol-land praised the union’s health service activists for all theirhard work on behalf of members.He added that – as the union’s top lay official – it was important to at-

tend conferences such as the HSCCP to find out the how activists areworking and dealing with members’ concerns.“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that our activists are doing their jobs

daily and then their union duties on top of that. “Our members do this because they believe in sacrifice and believe in

the principle of community and of social change.“This I believe gives our union a greater strength than some of our

sister unions because we have a lay membership prepared to carry outthat role on that basis.”He added: “I want to acknowledge our activists who carry out this out-

standing work and give them the praise they are due.”Mr Mulholland went on to highlight two issues that, he said, epito-

mised the work of NIPSA activists over the past year.He told delegates the union recognised the great work carried out by

Norman Gray, who won the ‘Health & Safety Rep of the Year’ award.“Health and Safety, until recently, was not one of NIPSA’s biggest

concerns until my branch in education and a number of others broughtforward a motion to conference to get it much further up the unionagenda.“Norman’s work over the past year is not only recognised by his own

union but by the wider union movement and indicates that NIPSA hastaken considerable strides forward. NIPSA would like to congratulateNorman on his success.”The second issue, he said, that demonstrated NIPSA different ap-

proach to other unions was the Lakewood dispute.Mr Mulholland told delegates: “The vast majority of people in North-

ern Ireland did not know that that dispute was taking place but it wasone of the most important industrial issues this union was ever involvedin.“It stands out because it wasn’t a day here or there of strike action – it

was 14 unrelenting weeks of strike action.“It brought home the message that when our members stand up and

fight for their rights, their union will stand with them.“It was a huge victory for that branch, a huge victory for the workforce

but a huge victory for our health group overall because it has inspiredthe militancy of the health service group which was reflected in that dis-pute,” he added.

THE health service is facing its greatest cri-sis since its inception nearly 60 years ago,chair Tanya Killen said in her address to dele-gates gathered for the HSCCP (Health andSocial Central Panel) conference in Dunadryrecently.Transforming Your Care, she told the conference,

was a radical attempt at clearing the way for privati-sation and putting profit before people.Congratulating branches, activists and members

for their relentless support of the union’s campaignsduring the last year, she said that NIPSA had putforward a “robust, comprehensive and scathing op-position” to the TYC proposals.She went on to attack the public consultation

process on the issue, describing it as “shambolic”.“Public meetings were kept at a very low-key and

poorly attended and not well-represented as a re-

sult. Therefore, the views of citizens – let alone car-ers, users and providers – were woefully under-rep-resented,” she added.Ms Killen said it was “extremely alarming” that

the trusts may have plans in place to implement thechanges but without the necessary finance to doso.“Already TYC has disgracefully led to A&E unit

closures, cuts to children, mental health, home helpand residential services with the loss of nearly2,500 jobs within the trusts.“The scandalous litany of Assembly cuts has

meant that people are waiting for more than a yearto receive immediate health and social care andA&E waiting times have soared.“Now they are considering removing children’s

cardiac services from Belfast.”All of these attacks, she told delegates, will con-

tinue with a cut of £200m in servicing NHS build-

ings and a further £200m cut in staff budgets for2015.“These proposals will have a significant impact

on the lives and wellbeing of people in Northern Ire-land. These wholesale cuts will lead to further pri-vatisation of services and delivering care on thecheap.“NIPSA needs to reinvigorate the opposition to

austerity and respond accordingly to defend serv-ices. We must go on the offensive,” Ms Killenadded.She went on to praise the night staff at Lakewood

who went on a 14-week strike to defend their termsand conditions from being eroded.Concluding, Ms Killen told conference: “We must

step-up up our struggle in defence of the NHS andpublic services against the austerity measuresagenda in the interest of our members. We musttake the Assembly to task if they implement them.”

TRANSFORMING Your Carecame under sustained attack atthe Health and Social Care Cen-tral Panel conference.It should be renamed ‘Taking Your

Care’, delegates were told, as it wasdescribed as a “cynical exercise inhealth service rationing and privati-sation”.The conference heard that the

cutbacks teamed with the anti-NHSapproach of the current Con-Demgovernment were been com-pounded by the Northern IrelandExecutive’s move to raid healthmonies in the block grant for otherpurposes.Moving Motion 1 on behalf of

Branch 730, Kevin Lawrensonclaimed TYC was not about provid-ing better services or about invest-ing funds to meet unmet need orsupport the elderly or disabled,rather it was, he warned, the“biggest threat to the NHS in nearly60 years” and predicted it wouldlead to job losses and widespreadprivatisation of the health service.“The important question about

TYC is whether it will transform theunions to fight for the people in oursociety and the rights of their mem-bers to provide a quality service tothe public.“I believe the opposition to TYC

should be a springboard for a wider

trade union campaign to opposeausterity measures.“I don’t normally praise NIPSA too

often but the union has raised itsmedia profile over the past numberof years. However, it has to beraised further in attacking those pro-posing and implementing the cut-backs.“We have to tell the truth about

what is going on and also exposethe lies and in doing that, we haveto call those who lie liars. “That’s the only way we are going

to get the local politicians out of thewoodwork at Stormont and respondto us.”He told delegates that rather than

fight his Executive colleagues andthe Westminster elite for proper re-sources to meet the needs of peo-ple in Northern Ireland, HealthMinister Poots had not only commis-sioned a review that fundamentallyattacked NHS principles, but hadalso used his powers to implementinitiatives that “create new realitieson the ground” ahead of properdemocratic debate and meaningfulconsultation. John Gillespie (Branch 734) de-

scribed the TYC as the latest NHSreform that promised to protect pa-tient care but that all these initiativeshad failed “because at the end ofthe day it is about cash savings”.

He told delegates: “TYC is aboutleading the way for multinationalcorporations to come in and takeover after being given tax breaks.These corporations will drive serv-ices and staff T&Cs to the very bot-tom.“We have to take our campaign of

opposition to TYC, which is a tippingpoint where quality services for allwill be destroyed if implemented, tothe wider community.”And he warned: “The politicians

will not do it for us.”The conference agreed that TYC

was little more than an exercise inwindow dressing and dissimulation.It also believed the core purpose ofTYC was not to meet patient need,but to balance the books. Lengthening waiting lists, closures

of A&E services, deliberately settingup hard-pressed acute and commu-nity services to fail are the hard real-ities on the ground andconsequences of TYC being imple-mented, conference was told. Delegates agreed that TYC was a

conduit to advance the privatisationagenda that went hand in hand withattacking the working conditions andliving standards of a committedworkforce.Damien Maguire (Branch 730) de-

scribed the offer of outsourcing ofservices to the voluntary sector as a

smokescreen for privatisation.He said: “The voluntary sector is a

cold house for trade unions inNorthern Ireland. Voluntary sectorworkers have the lowest pay andworse T&Cs in our workforce. Theseproposals to have staff transferredto voluntary sector organisationsshould be sternly opposed.”The conference also endorsed

NIPSA’s response to the TYC con-sultation.NIPSA Deputy General Secretary

Alison Millar told delegates that theunion’s General Council realisedTYC had to been addressed andfaced down.She said: “This is not an issue

about our members in the healthservice, it is an issue that affectseveryone in society from the daythey are born to the day they die. “We have to have a strategic plan

for the next 12 months. The GeneralCouncil has set aside a day, on April15, to discuss how we can promoteour campaigns in all our sectors andespecially how to get the messageof our public service defence cam-paign across to the wider public.”In the absence of effective strate-

gies from other unions, the confer-ence was told NIPSA is the onlyhealth service union that was in anyposition to challenge the StormontExecutive, Health and Social Care

Board and individual Health Trustson the outworkings of TYC.To this end delegates asked the

Central Panel to:l Develop a strategy of industrialopposition to TYC;l Develop a central information re-source on the impact TYC initiativeswill have that could be used as abasis for bulletins for branches touse with the public, the media andNIPSA members;l Deliver mail-shots to all healthmembers informing them about theoutworkings of TYC in their areaand the dangers it poses for them;l Make it clear to all HPSS employ-ers that NIPSA will ballot membersfor industrial action where there isan imminent threat of privatisation;l Meet the Health Committee to putforward NIPSA’s opposition to TYC; l Distribute press statements andprepare for press interviews to high-light the failed policies of TYC, assupported by the Stormont Execu-tive and Health and Social CareBoard; andl Expose the spin of misinformationabout TYC by using Freedom of In-formation requests and Assemblyquestions in a systematic manner.Motion was carried.


President: ‘Lakewood disputeshowed why we’re different’

‘We must step up our union struggle against cuts agenda’

Conference hammers out strategy to oppose TYCPublic Services Defence Campaign

President Patrick Mulholland

Chair Tanya Killen


THE Commissioner for Chil-dren and Young People has ac-knowledged to the HSCCPconference that Northern Ire-land social workers have toomuch casework to deal with.Earlier NIPSA official Kevin Mc-

Cabe in welcoming CommissionerPatricia Lewsley-Mooney to theconference, explained that theunion had invited her along to seehow NIPSA and her departmentcould work collaboratively togetheron issues of mutual concern.In a Q&A session following her

address Ms Lewsley-Mooney wasasked by Branch 730 rep KevinLawrenson if she was aware thatsocial workers were preparing totake industrial action because ofconcerns over work pressure andheavy caseloads.

“We are taking this industrial ac-tion to secure additional much-needed resources to provideeffective care and services forthose vulnerable families and chil-dren,” he said.The Commissioner replied: “I

know that the pressures that socialworkers are constantly put under.We know [about] the revolving dooron social workers, particularlywithin the child and family care set-ting because [of] the amount ofpressure they are put under withthe number of cases and the case-loads that they have to carry and itis totally inappropriate at times incomparison to other social workersacross the UK.”Speaking earlier, Ms Lewsley-

Mooney gave delegates anoverview of her office and the workthat it does.

She said the NICCY was set upto safeguard and promote therights and best interests of childrenand young people and had a num-ber of key objectives.These included raising aware-

ness of children’s rights, reviewingand advising government on devel-oping policies, services and legisla-tion in the interest of children andyoung people, using the power ofthe Commissioner to challengebreaches of children’s rights and to

garner the views of children andyoung people over issues that af-fected them.She told delegates: “In practice

much of NICCY’s work will be mon-itoring the work of the Northern Ire-land Executive and itsdepartments. While some ofNICCY’s work remains proactive,investigating issues as they arise,the Commissioner will also betracking political developments andscrutinising how government is de-livering for children and young peo-ple.”Ms Lewsley-Mooney vowed as

Commissioner to “focus her powersand duties on improving the lifeoutcomes of children and youngpeople” and to work towards ensur-ing the Rights of Children andYoung People, contained within theUnited Nations Convention on theRights of the Child (UNCRC), are“realised and respected”.She added: “It is clear that the

next few years will be challenging,not least due to the economic re-cession. There will be many threatsto services, and too often children’sservices can be the easiest to cut.“Now more than ever it is impor-

tant that there is a strong voice forchildren and young people who willhold government to account onhow it delivers for children”, she ex-plained.She told delegates that NICCY

staff would identify areas of workunder the following criteria:• Where there are significant

developments – new strategies,policy proposals and/or draft legis-lation that will have a significant im-pact on the rights and/or bestinterests of children and youngpeople;• Where NICCY has evi-

dence of significant violations ofchildren’s rights, particularly in rela-tion to groups of marginalised andvulnerable children and young peo-ple; and• Where structures and

mechanisms are not in place to en-sure the voices of children andyoung people are heard.The Commissioner said: “I want

to see how I can engage withNIPSA to see how I can help youmove forward on dealing with is-sues raised here. “I want to support those working

with young people and I want tomake sure you have the tools fromthe Convention of the Rights of theChild to challenge others when chil-dren are being denied their rights.“I want to make sure that each

passing week, each passingmonth, each passing year, moreand more of our children and youngpeople enjoy those rights.”She added that if NIPSA mem-

bers had concerns over a child’srights not being met, they couldcontact her legal and caseworkteam.Referring to the conference dis-

cussion on welfare reform, MsLewsley-Mooney said she had

been very vocal over how thesecuts were going to impact on chil-dren and young people.She told delegates: “Even though

they are not the recipients of thesebenefits, they will feel the affects ontheir lives when these cuts comedown the line. “I have been in the communities

and met the families that are goingto be severely affected by thesechanges. Families who are alreadyfacing excessive hardship – thesecuts will only make their livesworse.”

Ms Lewsley-Mooney said it was“interesting” that “all I hear” fromthe Minister for Social Developmentis that “we can’t break parity withthe UK”, adding: “But we can breakparity when it comes to CorporationTax which doesn’t affect any ofthese people who are [being] tar-geted. “So, if they can find the money

for that, they can find the money tohelp people who are most vulnera-ble.”During the Q&As, Branch 730

delegate Kevin Lawrenson pointedout that there were more than adozen social workers at the confer-ence along with a paediatric nurse. He asked: “Are you aware that I

as a social worker and others hadbeen in dispute with Belfast Healthand Social Care Trust for over twoyears now because of the pressureof work and the lack of effective re-sources to provide care for thosemost vulnerable families in thecommunity?”Mr Lawrenson went on to point

out that, following recent unproduc-tive meetings with management,they had decided to increase theirlevel of industrial action.He said: “We are not taking it for

selfish reasons. We are not takingit for additional pay. We are not tak-ing it so our terms and conditionscan be improved. “We are taking this industrial ac-

tion to secure additional much-needed resources to provideeffective care and services forthose vulnerable families and chil-

dren.“You did say and ask how you

could be of help and be supportiveof NIPSA members – therefore, I’masking is that when we do move into this level of industrial action weplan to take will you as the Com-missioner for Children and YoungPeople fully come out and publiclysupport the industrial action thatour social workers will be taking tofight the cuts against those mostvulnerable families and children?”Ms Lewsley-Mooney pointed out

that she had to be careful and seekadvice from her legal team, butadded: “There is a way I can sup-port you in being able to voice myconcern and the implication that thecuts will have on the very vulnera-ble if I refer to children and youngpeople.“I will try and challenge govern-

ment to make sure that whateverservices are delivered to those chil-dren is appropriate.”She said: “If NIPSA are to go out

because for whatever kind of actionhas implications on service given toa child, I will certainly be vocal inmy support of the need for the min-ister to take that issue seriouslyand to deal with and make surethat at the bottom of it all that thechild is not suffering.“I know that the pressures that

social workers are constantly putunder and we know the revolvingdoor on social workers, particularlywithin the child and family care set-ting because the amount of pres-sure they are put under with thenumber of cases and the caseloadsthat they have to carry and is totallyinappropriate at times in compari-son to other social workers acrossthe UK.“I will continue to raise that issue

which as I have in the past with theminister. And, yes, I would like tocome out and offer some level ofsupport for the action you will betaking.”Damien Maguire, Branch 730,

who works in adoption services,raised a number of issues with theCommissioner.He flagged up the delay in pub-

lishing the ‘Adopting The Future’ re-view which he claimed had beenheld back for the past six years.“This report has not seen daylight

and we all know why – there arepolitical reasons behind this, partic-ularly about gay people adopting.”He asked the Commissioner how

she could help speed the reviewprocess up?Mr Maguire also highlighted the

problem of media coverage of childcare services and explained that[frontline] professionals workingwithin the system were neverasked for their opinion of how itworks.He pointed out that any time an

issue was raised, senior manage-ment and voluntary sectorspokespersons were paraded onTV and radio to voice their opinionsbut that “those working on the front-

line or their representatives arenever asked for their input”.Mr Maguire went on to raise the

issues of assaults on care workersespecially by adolescents.He said: “It’s the care staff, espe-

cially those in residential sector,who have been seriously assaultedbut who then face the conse-quences of disciplinary actionagainst them. While those who car-ried out the assault are not held ac-countable for their actions,” he toldthe conference and the Commis-sioner.On the query over the delay in

publishing the ‘Adopting the Future’review, the Commissioner ex-plained that it was a discriminationand equality issue and was a mat-ter for the Equality Commission todeal with.But she added: “It’s absolutely

ridiculous that if you are a singlegay person, you can adopt a childbut if you are in a relationship as acouple you can’t.”On media coverage, she said

that bringing out senior manage-ment spokespersons was not al-ways the best way of dealing withthe media.“My argument is that people on

the coal face know more about theissues than anybody else.”She said that the concerns of

staff over this issue could be raisedthrough her office, where NICCYcould challenge on their behalf ifthere is evidence to prove that whatsenior management are saying [tothe media] is untrue.

Ms Lewsley-Mooney added thatstaff could also bring their concernsto politicians who are prepared toraise the matters on the floor of theAssembly.On the issue of assaults to staff,

the Commissioner said that thoseinvolved need to be taken thoughthe full process of the justice sys-tem so that they are held account-able for their actions.She added: “This should not be

brushed under the carpet.”On a point raised by Pat Lawlor,

Branch 730, concerning child car-diac services in Northern Irelandmoving to the Republic, she saidshe opposed this idea, adding: “Weshould build the new unit here.”


NICCY chiefoutlines children’srights vision

Guest speaker

Patricia Lewsley-Mooney, Commissioner for Children and Young People, addresses the conference.

Damien Maguire

Kevin Lawrenson

Pat Lawlor


CONFERENCE was told the current healthsystem was failing with private companiesthat are owed hundreds of thousands ofpounds issuing warnings that they will stopproviding services to the NHS.Damien Maguire (Branch 730), moving Motion

4, said members were telling NIPSA reps thatShared Services “was an unmitigated disaster”.He said: “The bargaining system has returned

with one ward with 500 gloves saying to another itwill swap 300 of them for 200 gowns. This is ut-terly disgraceful.”Mr Maguire called on the conference to affirm

its resolute opposition to the “continuing litany of

waste and failure that is Shared Services”.He said: “The fundamental issue here is our

concern how public finances are being used.When we seek information about the cost, man-agement roll out the ‘competitive tendering’process and say this has to remain private.” Mr Maguire claimed this was “just a mask to

hide behind”.The motion applauded all NIPSA members who

took part in industrial action over the introductionof FPL and HRPTS systems. It said that it was now time for NIPSA to re-eval-

uate its position about how to oppose this SharedServices initiative based on growing evidence of

the waste of public money as well as the incom-petence being highlighted by the rollout of thenew systems.The motion also called for the re-evaluation to

consider “all relevant options” in developing theunion’s strategy of opposition to the introductionof the FPL and HRPTS systems as well as expos-ing “the lies and myths” of projected savingsunder Shared Services. It also called on Central Panel to examine

closely “where there are serious misgivings aboutthe misuse of public funds” with a view to makingthis public.Motion was carried.

INDUSTRIAL action mustbe considered by NIPSAmembers to protect them-selves from the “turmoil”of Shared Services, con-ference was told.Michael Kane, moving Mo-

tion 5 on behalf of Branch734, claimed that sinceShared Services was beingrolled out regionally, the Cen-tral Panel had to consider alloptions and act with a unifiedpurpose.He told delegates: “We

have to move forward in unityand be prepared to take in-

dustrial action if necessary toprotect our members.”Kevin Lawrenson (Branch

730) said he supported themotion and the industrial ac-tion call but he also called fora second front to be openedup politically.“Shared Services is being

rolled out by the politicians inthe big white house [Stor-mont] and we should betelling them that if they carryout Westminster’s strategies,then we should be tellingthem we will no longer votefor them.”

Kevin McCabe, for CentralPanel, pointed out that mem-bers had already taken indus-trial action.He said: “NIPSA had taken

the lead in this issue and welooking at a unified approachwhere even other unions’members were looking at usfor direction and leadership.”Kevin McCabe said there

had been several areaswhere members had takenaction by non-participation. He claimed the union had,

during seminars, continuallyasked for members’ opinions

about what needed to betaken.“NIPSA has been leading

the way in its opposition toShared Services but the diffi-culty lay in getting otherunions to come on board.”Mr McCabe gave a detailed

breakdown of Shared Serv-ices many faults and wherethe union had responded.He told delegates: “We

have continually stressed tomanagement side that thewhole system is not fit forpurpose and that this wasadding extra stress on staff

who may be redeployedunder TUPE arrangements.“We as a union are holding

management to account andwe do not accept their veil ofsecrecy surrounding thecosts of adopting SharedServices. “We will seek under Free-

dom of Information the costof this failure. We will alsoforce other unions to adoptour approach in dealing withthis issue and, if necessary,take industrial action to pro-tect our members.”Motion was carried.

CONFERENCE applauded thenight supervisors at Lake-wood over their 14 weeks-long strike in defence of theiremployment rights.The motion pointed out that the

workers had no other option butto take action “to defend theirterms and conditions” and to pre-vent the South Eastern Trustfrom imposing “unreasonableand unjust working conditions”which would have forced them toundertake substantially morenight shifts and weekend work-ing. Geraldine Mullen (Branch 732),

moving Motion 6, recalling theaction told delegates: “Little didwe know that we would be out on

strike for 14 long and stressfulweeks.”Informing conference of the

background to the strike, shesaid a “dogmatic management”had demanded extra night shiftsand more weekend work from analready-understaffed workforce.The South Eastern Trust had

attempted to enforce thesechanges, she added, so that theycould address understaffing anda lack of resources within Lake-wood. The motivation behind what

was proposed was based solelyon finances and took no accountof the detrimental impact on thehealth and wellbeing of thoseNIPSA members affected by themove.

The strikers steadfastly refusedto accept this and fought back tooppose what were, she claimed,cuts to services by the back door.Motion 6 also paid tribute to the

“unwavering courage and re-solve” of the strikers who contin-ued the action beyond thestatutory 12-week protection pe-riod despite being made aware ofthe potential risks of doing so. Ms Mullen said: “This brave

group of workers are committed,caring individuals who take pridein their job of meeting the manycomplex needs of those placed intheir care. “One striker, who had worked

for more than 28 years as a nightsupervisor retired halfwaythrough her third week of being

on strike. “She is a lady, who alongside

the other 12 strikers deservesour admiration for her strengthand character. They all merit ourrespect and high regard. “The members are to be com-

mended for the courage clearlydemonstrated by each and everyone of them during this strike.Their courage was their strengthand resulted in a victory for themand their families.“Their actions and the subse-

quent success achieved presentus with an unambiguous fact thatsometimes we have no choicebut do whatever is necessary toprotect our working terms andcondition.”Motion was carried.

Industrial action must be on the cards


Public Services Defence Campaign

Terms and Conditions

Shared Services

TYC must be fully opposed

Back to barter under ‘disastrous’ Shared Services

Lakewood strikers’ unstinting courage praised

Pressure must beapplied over AfC pay outcomes

MEMBERS who had their jobevaluations in 2008 are stillwaiting for them to be imple-mented, conference was told.Michael Kane (Branch 734)made the claim while movingMotion 8, which called on theCentral Panel to apply pres-sure to employers in a bid toresolve outstanding AfC out-comes.

The motion set out how thecontinued delay had created anatmosphere of “discontent and

resentment” as living costsrose while members waited toreceive appropriate pay rises.

Mr Kane told delegates:“NIPSA has to keep the pres-sure up and do all in its powerto resolve this issue for ourmembers.

“The employers need to bechallenged and questioned atevery turn as to why theseevaluations are not being im-plemented.”Motion was carried.

NIPSA General Council was asked todo “all in its power” to opposechanges being forced on members andto look at initiating industrial action, in-cluding strikes, to stop the implemen-tation of Agenda for Change.

Ann Jordan, moving Motion 7 on be-

half of Branch 733, said that given therecent decisions of National StaffCouncil to attack and reduce the termsand conditions of NIPSA membersunder AfC, then industrial action wasneeded.Motion was carried.

We must act over AfC implementation

OPPOSITION to TYC atall levels, as proposedby Branch 733, was fullyendorsed by conferencedelegates.

Loughlinn Duffy, mov-ing Motion 2 on behalf ofthe branch, warned ofsignificant job lossesand massive changes toservices within localcommunities if TYC isimplemented.

He told delegates: “It’sheart-breaking to seefamilies denied A&E

services and having totravel 50 extra miles to ahospital that is strug-gling with over-capacityand under-resourced.

“The population is suf-fering while the staffhave to carry out morework. This is not offeringpeople a quality service.

“NIPSA must empowerits members to organisea way of action in op-posing its implementa-tion.”Motion was carried.

Exposing“the liesand

myths” ofprojectedsavings

‘

‘

Geraldine Mullen

Kevin McCabe

Margaret Dooley speaking to conference.


Southern Trust workers disadvantaged by new mileage ratesTHE ‘thorny issue’ of mileagerates was again raised at confer-ence.Delegates heard how domicilliary

and social care workers who travelthousands of miles each month stoodto lose out when new rates were ap-plied in July.Ann Jordan, moving Motion 9 on

behalf of Branch 733, pointed out thatthe Southern Trust had the largestelderly and rural demographic of allthe trusts.The new rates, she said, were a

further burden on staff and warnedthis would eventually lead to morebeing “squeezed out” as they couldnot afford to work and travel whilebeing financially penalised.Ms Jordan called on the Central

Panel to forge a strategy where mem-bers felt empowered to follow theunion’s position of opposition to thenew rates.

She told delegates: “Our membersneed the confidence to say ‘no’ attimes.”Damien Maguire (Branch 730) re-

minded conference that all memberswere asking for was a reasonablerate.He also told delegates that it was

not within domicilliary or social careworkers’ remit to transport elderly oryoung people.Kevin Lawrenson said it was a “divi-

sive issue” as members in Belfastwho did not have to clock up dis-tances travelled by their SouthernTrust counterparts were not as disad-vantaged.However, he argued that if the

union proposed a withdrawal of carsas part of a strategy then all memberswould need to show solidarity withthose who were financially disadvan-taged.Motion was carried.

CONFERENCE heard further evidence ofhow Transforming Your Care was having adetrimental impact on members.Margaret Dooley, moving Motion 11 on behalf

of Branch 733, called on Central Panel to in-struct the union’s General Council to do all in itspower to put pressure on employers to remindthem of their duty of care to employees underHealth and Safety legislation.Conference heard this was especially impor-

tant during times of huge change and uncer-tainty, as employees were employers’ “mostvaluable resource”.Margaret Dooley pointed out that all of the

trusts had stress policies in place “but as far aswe can see these are just tick-boxed for the em-ployers’ own standards.”She said: “We have faced so much change

over the past number of years and staff are nowfacing more challenges then ever in the forth-coming TYC.“With staff shortages, this is putting huge pres-

sure on our members. Members of staff on ma-ternity leave are not replaced at all and this hasresulted in increased workloads. Members sufferfrom stress at work as they are afraid of losingtheir jobs.“There are courses on dealing with stress but

members cannot get to them because of thesestaff shortages and many do not even know ofthe courses’ existence.”Norman Gray (Branch 730) urged union mem-

bers to use Health and Safety legislation to pro-tect their colleagues suffering from stress.Motion was carried.

DELEGATES heard how communi-cations with the wider HPSS mem-bership needed to be improved.It was noted that a lot of the work of

the Central Panel, Administrative andClerical Panel and Social Services Panelwas not being communicated to thewider membership. This was viewed as a weak link in how

the union communicated with membersin the HPSS. While NIPSA Reports and the NIPSA

website covered some issues of rele-vance to members in the HPSS, it wasnoted that these platforms did not coverthe general work of the panels. Motion 16 called on Central Panel to

look at producing a dedicated HPSSnews-sheet covering issues involving thethree panels to keep members fullybriefed.Gary Harris, moving the motion on be-

half of Branch 730, told delegates:“Given that we currently face on-goingissues with TYC and Shared Services toname just two, we will in no doubt facemore issues in the future.“It is key that NIPSA reaches our mem-

bership with information that is relevantto the issues concerning them in theirareas of work and what the union is

doing to protect them in their work.He added: “A production of a news-

sheet can be be an excellent recruitmentaid for branches.”Motion was carried.

THE growing threat of privatisa-tion in the NHS was highlighted atthe conference.Pat Lawlor, moving Motion 13 on

behalf of Branch 730, claimed the out-sourcing of services to the privatesector was having a devastating effecton the community.He warned delegates: “The continu-

ing under-resourcing of services bythe Con-Dem government and im-posed by the Assembly means thereis a plan to see those services fail andeventually [be] outsourced to the pri-vate sector.”The motion expressed the disgust of

NIPSA members at how public fundswere being channelled into the privatesector for treatments that should befreely available on the NHS. And the DHSSPS’s failure to ad-

dress double-jobbing and the misuseof NHS resources to enable privatesector ‘expansion’ was also slammed.Conference was told that the re-

ported £45 million given to the privatesector in 2012/2013 was only the “tipof the iceberg” as public services werebeing systematically manipulated to

set up more and more ‘opportunities’for private providers to be used acrossthe HPSS in areas such as learningdisability and care for the elderly. Mr Lawlor added the motion also

called on the Central Panel to look atthis issue, and to ensure action istaken to oppose and expose thosewho collude with profiteers in the out-sourcing of health services.Motion was carried.

THE Central Panel was instructedby conference to hold Regulationand Quality Improvement Author-ity to account as it was beingused to spearhead the TYC pro-posals.Michael Kane, moving Motion 12 on

behalf of Branch 734, reported thatthe RQIA had instructed the Trust toimprove nursing services at Slieve-more home.

The Trust’s reply was that it did notsupply nursing care and was nowlooking to close the home.Mr Kane asked: “We need to ask

why the RQIA – which was never in-volved with Slievemore before – wasbrought in? Who made that decisionfor their involvement?”He added: “The union also needs to

ask who regulates the regulator?”Motion was carried.

THE additional workloadsbeing shouldered by mem-bers as a result of cuts andposts remaining unfilled isa major contributory factorto an increase in workplacestress, conference heard.Norman Gray, moving Motion

10 on behalf of Branch 730,told delegates members in hisbranch were saying “enough isenough”.He said: “Management are

supposed to be trained torecognise the trigger points ofstress. But we have to ask asstress levels rise and more ofour members take time off todeal with it, how come themanagement fail to see thetrigger points?“Many people are suffering

from stress but remain in workand suffer in silence as the em-ployers operate a code of,

‘You’re a lucky you have a job’.“There is also the stigma at-

tached that stress is seen as asign of weakness.“While management operate

a lip service to the mechanismsin operation to deal with theissue, we as a union informmembers of their rights in rela-tion to workplace stress.“NIPSA must challenge the

negative perception employershave of staff suffering fromstress and ultimately challengecurrent policies as they are fail-ing.”Margaret Dooley (Branch

733) said that many of themembers did not know thatthere were stress policies oper-ating in trusts and she blamedthe employers for not imple-menting them or informing staffof their existence.Motion was carried.


Terms and Conditions

Social Policy

Communications

Health & Safety

Workplace stress – enoughis enough, conference told

Use Health & Safety lawsover TYC implementation

Questions needto be asked about RQIA role

Privatisation beingenabled within NHS

CHARLOTTEPollock, movingMotion 15 on be-half of Branch734, told dele-gates: “Muchmore work needsto be done to en-sure UnionLearning oppor-tunities arewidely availableto NIPSA mem-bers across theHPSS.

“This confer-ence asks theCentral Panel toexamine thisissue with a viewto having an on-going strategy toreview and de-velop UnionLearning whichincludes linkswith other tradeunions as well asemployers, sothat NIPSA mem-bers can benefitfrom opportuni-ties to extendtheir educationalopportunities.”Motion was car-ried.

UnionLearningfor all call

Pep up HPSScommunications

Reported £45million given tothe private sectorin 2012/2013 was

only the “tip of the iceberg”

‘ ‘Norman Gray

Gary Harris


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Across1 Reprimand man with crossbow at a distance (4 3)5 Spend money frivolously on a piece of batter (7)9 Two guys with a plant used as fodder (7)10 In jets I needed strong drinks (7)11 Drunk painter, say, and famous old NZ runnerseen in the circus (9 6)12 About to take article to the German Lecturer (6)14 Soft pet in food store starting to eat (8)17 Around end of hostilities pelted a new base (8)18We hear it's an intense time to set up base (6)21 Foul baked beans - trad cooking here ? (3-3-9)24 Lounge that's providing sweets (7)25 Being curious I taste old snack made from bread(7)26 Be sulky about shade (3-4)27 Stripe looking silly over new Church at first (7)

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Winner of the March NIPSA Reports crossword £50 prize is: Ruth McNeill (Branch 270),Belfast. Runners-up: Robert Brown (Branch 509), Derry; Patricia Thirgood (Branch 523),Enniskillen; Steven Hall (Branch 14), Larne; Kelvin McCallion (Branch 509), Derry; andSean O’Donnell (Branch 73), Derry.

Previous crossword answers: Across: 1 Bed of roses, 7 Page, 9Tolerate, 10 Emetic, 11 Repast, 13 Pedestal, 14 Will Scarlett, 17 Obstaclerace, 20 Lilliput, 21 Phenol, 22 Gandhi, 23 Run along, 25 Deny, 26 Easychairs. Down: 2 Esoteric, 3 Ode, 4 Roast, 5 Sleeper, 6 Speedwell, 7 Pieds-a-terre,8 Guitar, 12 All Souls' Day, 15 Cash prize, 16 Schooner, 18 Antares, 19Pirate, 21 Panic, 24 Lea.

NIPSA highlights UniversalCredit implications for staffNIPSA has called on MLAs to think about the seri-ous impact the Welfare Reform Bill will have onpublic servants before they vote on its implementa-tion.For more than a year, union representatives have been

trying to secure assurances on behalf of staff working atthe Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), HM Rev-enue and Customs (HMRC), Department of Education andLearning (DEL) and Social Security Agency (SSA).Workers there will be most affected by the launching of

Universal Credit, which replaces six benefits, including JobSeekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance,Housing Benefits and Tax Credits.NIPSA officials were alerted last May to advice being

given by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)lawyers that in their opinion staff would not be protected bythe Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employees(TUPE) legislation.TUPE protects staff transferring from one employment

area to another. The rationale for this opinion appears to be that there is

no “function” transferring and therefore as TUPE requiresa “relevant transfer of a function”, it cannot apply. While it is accepted that this is a tricky legal issue,

NIPSA is aware that the local government employers inEngland are threatening to challenge DWP over this as-sertion.Against this backdrop, NIPSA officials have expressed

alarm after they were told that a Programme Board meet-ing on April 22 had agreed a number of key principles re-garding staff.The Programme Board issued the following statement to

staff in organisations directly impacted by the introductionof Universal Credit: “The Universal Credit ProgrammeBoard has confirmed that permanent staff remaining withinHousing Benefit in the NIHE and the NI Benefits and Cred-its Directorate in HMRC should be given the opportunity totransfer to the Department of Social Development at theend of the planned negotiation period for phasing out ofHousing Benefit and Tax Credits.“Close working will continue with the Department of Fi-

nance and Personnel to manage through the implicationsand transfers will be subject to approval being obtainedfrom the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ire-land.”Deputy General Secretary Alison Millar told NIPSA Re-

ports: “The various Trade Union Sides and members areoutraged at the statement issued without consultation ornegotiation by the Universal Credit Programme Board.“NIPSA members, particularly those in the Northern Ire-

land Housing Executive, are very concerned about the im-plications for them. It is ludicrous that the ProgrammeBoard put this forward as a ‘positive outcome’ even thoughno discussion or approval has been sought from the CivilService Commissioners for Northern Ireland.”It is understood that even if this proposal is accepted by

the Civil Service Commissioners, it is not a guarantee thata suitable post will be available in specific locations, oreven if a post will be available at all.Ms Millar continued: “NIPSA is aware of a number of re-

form programmes being implemented across DSD/SSAwhich mean that there are anticipated job reductions inthose organisations. “This is on top of the job losses already expected in the

NIHE and HMRC because of the required efficiency sav-ings as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review(CSR) reductions.”She said the union was “at a loss” to understand how

the statement issued by the Programme Board reassuredstaff, adding: “The certainty that this statement providesfor NIHE staff working in Housing Benefit is there is noguarantee going forward of job security and for the 130staff currently employed on temporary contracts in theNIHE, the future is very bleak.”According to NIPSA, it does not believe the union or

those employees affected by the bringing in of UniversalCredit have been treated “fairly or with respect”. Given the severity of the impact on staff outlined in the

statement, NIPSA is seeking to meet with the Senior Re-sponsible Officer for the Programme Board, TommyO’Reilly; the Chief Executive of the NIHE; and Minister forSocial Development Nelson McCausland. A meeting with Corporate HR, which has responsibility

for the oversight of NICS-wide workforce planning has alsobeen sought as has a meeting with the Civil Service Com-missioner for Northern Ireland.A NIPSA spokesperson said: “This is a key issue for

NIPSA over the coming months as it is clear staff are notbeing treated fairly or with respect. NIPSA are also raisingthis matter with the Social Development Committee as thestaffing implications of the Welfare Reform agenda is notbeing highlighted to them. “It is vital before MLAs vote on the Welfare Reform Bill

they are made aware of the potential impact on staff.NIPSA – as the leading public service union in NorthernIreland – will ensure this happens.”

Nipsa reports may 2013 issuu

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campaignwith tenants

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