Industrial Action Ballot - Briefing Notes
13/09/2011
Please find attached a copy of a briefing note on the background to the NIPSA industrial action ballot which is designed to be used by speakers at NIPSA meetings and by branhces in their efforts to persuade members to vote "yes" in the forthcoming ballot.
Click here to download pdf circular
Click here to download pdf briefing notes
Dear Colleague
Please find attached a copy of a briefing note on the background to the NIPSA industrial action ballot which is designed to be used by speakers at NIPSA meetings and by branches in their efforts to persuade members to vote “yes” in the forthcoming ballot.
The information in relation to the position of the other trade unions will be updated as other unions make their decisions on balloting for industrial action.
Yours sincerely
BRIAN CAMPFIELD
General Secretary
BRIEFING PAPER ON INDUSTRIAL ACTION
This paper is designed to cover the main arguments as to why NIPSA members need to vote “yes” in the forthcoming industrial action ballot which will commence at the end of September 2011.
Q1 Why has NIPSA decided to ballot its members for industrial action?
A The Coalition Government at Westminster has declared that ordinary people will have to pay for the multibillion bail out of the banks and financial institutions. As a consequence the UK Government has targeted public services and public servants to bear the brunt of the deficit reduction programme. Public sector pay has, after many years of below inflation pay increases, been frozen for two years with the potential for further pay freezes. Public servants are being forced to pay more for their pensions; the pension scheme provisions are being diluted while pensions, once in payment, will be uprated by reference to the Consumer Price Index, leading to a substantial loss of tens of thousands of pounds of income over the life of a pension. In addition the Government is increasing the age when state pension will be payable from 65 to 66 by 2020 with incremental increases from 2016. Within the last week Ian Duncan Smith, UK Pensions Minister has announced plans to not only extend the pension age further but also to accelerate the timetable for making people work longer before they receive the state pension.
NIPSA along with our colleagues in a number of other public service trade unions has decided there is no alternative but to take strike action to let the government know we are opposed to these detrimental and unilateral changes to our hard won terms and conditions.
In addition the £5bn reduction in the Northern Ireland Block grant over the life of this Parliament will mean a loss of thousands of jobs across the public sector. These job losses are in addition to those which have been lost as a result of consecutive Comprehensive Spending Plans of previous governments. These cuts will destroy services, result in unacceptable levels of additional work and stress for those staff who remain in the public service.
Q2 Is there not an alternative to strike action?
A NIPSA only takes strike action as a last resort. We know that members prefer not to strike but we are really left with no alternative. If we do not take a stand then the UK Government and our own NI Executive which is rolling out the cuts, will regard NIPSA members as a soft touch. If there is no resistance to the current cuts and attacks on our pay, pensions and jobs then they will come back for more cuts.
In addition NIPSA has and will continue to be involved in building the broadest possible campaign across the whole community, in Northern Ireland and in the UK, cooperating with our colleagues in other public service trade unions.
Q3 What makes NIPSA think it can change the Government’s mind?
A Firstly we know that if we do nothing there will be no pressure on the government to reconsider any of its attacks on public servants. We also know that the government has already been forced by public opinion to retreat or dilute its plans in a number of areas. The UK Government has retreated on the privatisation of forests in England and on the abolition of funding for sports in schools. It has had to revise its plans to force greater private sector involvement in the National Health Service although the government is attempting to hoodwink the public about its real plans for the National Health Service.
Secondly this government is a coalition of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. It is inherently unstable and the more pressure that is exerted in opposition to the governments attack on public servants the more likely the government will change track or modify its proposals.
Thirdly more and more trade unions have decided to take a stand in defence of members’ interests and the services they deliver. Our colleagues in PCS, the National Union of Teachers, the Universities College Union and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers have already engaged in a one day strike on 30 June this year. Other unions including NIPSA have now decided to ballot for industrial action on a range of issues, including attacks on public service pensions. The next day of strike action is likely to be in early November 2011 and many more union members are likely to participate in this further action.
An increasing number of unions have now decided to ballot its members. The NAS/UWT and the Educational Institute of Scotland (Scotland’s main teaching union) have decided to ballot their members. Two UK civil service unions, Prospect and the FDA have also agreed to proceed to a ballot if the government doesn’t change its course on increasing pension contributions for civil servants.
Q4 Why should NIPSA be involved?
A Well, we cannot stand back and allow our colleagues in other unions to take action on our behalf. In any event the greater the numbers participating the greater the pressure on government and the greater the chance of succeeding in our campaign.
It’s our pay, pensions and jobs. We have a responsibility to defend these terms and conditions. We have a duty to our families to protect our livelihoods.
Our current terms and conditions of employment had been bequeathed to us by previous generations of public servants and trade union activists who have fought over the years for proper levels of pay, pensions and staffing levels.
We also have a responsibility to ensure that the next generation of public servants do not inherit poorer pay, pensions, etc than those that we have inherited.
Q5 Why are all unions in Northern Ireland not participating?
A The ICTU has been attempting to ensure that all public sector trade unions take coordinated industrial action in defence of services, pensions, pay and jobs. This work is still continuing. UNISON has decided to ballot its members in Health and Education with a view to commencing action in early October. This meant they had to start their ballot before the end of August. NIPSA took the view that it would be counterproductive to commence its ballot before the end of the summer period and that the month of September should be used as a preparatory time to persuade members to vote “yes” for industrial action. This is unfortunate but the objective of NIPSA is still to secure the maximum amount of cooperation and coordination across all public sector trade unions on industrial action.
It is likely that the FBU in Northern Ireland will link in with a UK wide FBU ballot along a similar timescale to the NIPSA ballot. Indications are that the teaching unions INTO and UTU in Northern Ireland will probably ballot shortly for industrial action. The Educational Institute of Scotland (Scotland’s largest teaching trade union) is also committed to a ballot of its members with a similar timescale to Scotland.
Q6 What type of industrial action will NIPSA members be asked to take?
A We want members to vote “yes” for strike action and “yes” for action short of strike action. This will give NIPSA maximum flexibility to determine the type of action we need to take. It will also enable the union to respond in specific areas where members’ jobs are under direct threat and/or where restrictions to pay are being implemented.
Q7 Will the action only involve a one day strike?
A The action is likely to begin with a one day strike in cooperation and coordinated with other trade unions. Whether there will be further action will depend on how the government responds to the legitimate concerns of trade unions. The option for further action will be available and again NIPSA will liaise with other trade unions to ensure maximum effectiveness in the campaign.
Q8 Will all NIPSA members be balloted?
A All NIPSA members in the public sector will be balloted. However NIPSA organises staff in the Voluntary Sector as well as in some private sector organisations. It is not likely that these members would be balloted although some consideration is being given to balloting members in the Voluntary Sector who are employed on NJC pay and terms and conditions and who have access to the Local Government (NILGOSC) Pension Scheme.
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