Politicians from all parties are talking about cutting public spending. That could mean job losses for our members and cuts to the vital services that support our communities. That’s why UNISON’s Million Voices campaign is speaking up for public services.

Public service cuts are not inevitable, they are a political choice. We need to show politicians that the public does not want to see our services cut.

What can you do?

• watch our new campaign film and add your voice at
http://www.unison.org.uk/million
• rate our film on YouTube and send it to your friends
http://www.youtube.com/unisontv
• put this text into an email and send to 10 friends or colleagues:
“Hi, I’ve added my voice to many who are speaking up for local public services. I thought you might like to add your voice too, to show politicians of all parties that we do not support public service cuts. Enter your postcode to see where public service cuts could affect your local community at http://www.million-voices.org”

2010 is a time of change for everyone, not only will the country go through a general election that may result in a change of government, UNISON members will also be asked to elect a General Secretary. The current General Secretary, Dave Prentis is standing for re-election to the post he has held for the last 9 years he was re-elected general secretary of UNISON, in March 2005, with an overwhelming 77% of the vote.

Dave was born and brought up in Leeds and is a member of the TUC general council, TUC executive committee and the Trade Union Labour Party Liaison Committee.
Leeds Community Health Branch are proud to nominate Dave Prentis for General Secretary and a further term of office as in the nine years that Dave has been our general secretary, he has campaigned tirelessly for better public services and for better pay and conditions for our members.

We believe that under Dave’s continued leadership, we will go from strength to strength.  He is the best person to lead our union for the next five years.

Nearer to home, our own Karen Smales, Deputy Branch Secretary is standing as a candidate in the Service Group Elections for Health. The UNISON Health Service Group Executive is the governing national body for UNISON members working in health and is actively involved in negotiating and protecting employment and service pay, terms and conditions. As an experienced branch activist who is well known and respected at national, regional and local level for her work with UNISON’s women’s group as well as her work representing members throughout NHS Leeds, we are just as proud to nominate and support Karen in her bid to be elected. As a health branch, we consider Karen to be the best candidate to represent our members in health at the highest national level and believe her to have the knowledge, skills and experience to achieve this.

I have worked for the Trust for over 17 years, firstly, my role as a Copy Typist (part time) based at Meanwood Park Hospital.

My job entailed a variety of work, including, typing of reports, letters photocopying and other various office duties (including making the tea) for a department of 14 Clinical Psychologists. This role is very interesting and the work was sometimes sensitive and disturbing, but very diverse (never two days are the same) which for me helped the day go quicker.

After two years of being part time in my role, a position came available to be full time, as a Personal Assistant within the Psychology Department. I applied for the vacancy and was appointed in June 1993.

My role as a Personal Assistant is very different. The working relationship between both parties has to build up over time (as with the person getting to know you, and your working skills - plus you, working alongside them, with their working skills (which evidently, can on some occasions have some friction- as we are all human beings and have off days plus the clashes of personalities in some cases.

“How I motivate myself to get out of bed in the mornings”.
As well as working One to One with my Manager, I also cover the secretarial tasks of the other psychologists within my role to support them and their needs, plus helping with administration duties. Working within a team environment is vital to enable the smooth running of any team/department.

I am the first point of contact that Service Users see when reporting to reception for their appointments. This for some can be very stressful so I think that a caring nature and a friendly smile puts them at ease and I think this is very important to enable us to deliver the service they are looking for. Many colleagues and service users have commented on how “nice that lady is and she makes a lovely cup of tea” - thus enabling the person to be less stressful when entering into their therapy sessions. I do think that secretarial staff are the backbone of many a team and I do think that this doesn’t sometimes get the recognition it deserves.

The working relationship I have within the Trust and with Learning Disability Psychology is very rewarding and diverse which enables me to motivate myself every morning to come to work. The Trust becoming a ‘Foundation’ Trust has had some major and sometimes stressful changes in Strategies and New Ways of Working, which has impacted on my role within the Trust.

With the recession as it is at the moment, we are all lucky to have jobs, plus my job is especially enjoyable and rewarding and that’s why I “get out of bed in the morning”.

Marjorie Howard
Personal Assistant Psychology
(LD Directorate)

A credit card can be a great servant as long as you stay the master. Consumers who let their spending get the better of them are now facing the stark reality that whatever they bought with their plastic they will eventually have to pay back. However, providing they are used responsibly, credit cards can be an excellent financial tool – and, if you’re careful, you may not even need to part with a penny in interest.

Peace of mind
The clearest benefit of a credit card is the protection it offers consumers. For example, under the Consumer Credit Act, the credit card provider is equally responsible with the retailer or trader for any goods and services bought with the card.
This means if something is faulty, is not ‘fit for purpose’, or is just not what you ordered you have a right to claim a full refund from the credit card company if you are unsuccessful in getting one from the shop. When buying online with a credit card, you are also afforded the same protection if you fall foul to an unscrupulous online trader who takes your money but doesn’t deliver the goods. Furthermore, it prevents you from having to disclose your personal bank account details on the web.

Good habits
Adopting good habits is key when it comes to making your credit card work for you. For example, using your credit card to pay for things like your shopping and petrol and then paying off the total balance each month will not only mean you don’t pay any interest, but you can leave more of your wages in your current account untouched throughout the month. This reduces the risk of incurring bank charges and could even earn you interest.
On the other hand, if you rack up a balance and pay off just the minimum each month – usually the greater of £5 or 2.5% of what you owe – it could be expensive. For example it would take you a staggering 15 years and seven months to repay a balance of £1,000 charged at a typical 16.9% APR and cost more than £915 in interest, according to calculations from Moneyfacts.
It’s also crucial to keep on top of your expenditure by checking your monthly statements thoroughly. Credit card fraud is a constant battle and, though you will be protected by your card provider for the full amount, spotting it early can save a lot of time and hassle for both parties.

Top tips for you and your credit card

1. Pay for large purchases or those made online with a credit card. The card provider will offer protection for the full amount of the goods or service up to £30,000 should anything go wrong.
2. Pay off your balance each month. Not only will you save money in interest, it will leave your credit file in better shape when it comes to future borrowing.
3. Take your credit card abroad. You will be offered the same protection as in the UK and won’t risk losing large amounts of cash.
4. Check your bills: Make sure you don’t fall victim to ID fraud by keeping on top of your monthly bills.
5. Keep a card for emergencies: If the family car packs up a few days before your holiday, you might not be able to put your hands on the cash you need to fix it. This is where a credit card can prove a life-saver.

As Chair of the National Women’s Committee, I recently attended the UNISON National Pay Seminar, this was held in early January in a cold and snowy London. Karen Smales

This seminar has become an annual event for UNISON and is attended by key UNISON activists, members of the National Executive Committee, Chairs of Self Organised Groups and Regional organisers as well as senior officers from the national office.

Opening the seminar Jane Carolan, Chair of the NEC policy development committee, gave an overview of the day and explained the rationale behind the pay seminar. She went on to outline the day’s objectives around pensions and job security and talked about difference between the main political parties in relation to pay bargaining and public sector workers.
Before introducing key note speakers Jane concluded her opening address by highlighting our priorities as a trade union in relation to the challenging times post general election.

The first key note speaker of the day was Professor Keith Ewing from the Institute of Employment Rights, who went on to talk about the legal aspects around trade union rights and what changes we might face under a Tory government.

The next speaker was Larry Elliot who is the Guardian’s economics editor he went on to explain to delegates about the fears of a double-dip recession and a sterling crisis in the run-up to the election and immediately afterwards. Looking ahead to the general election he warned that if the Conservatives took power they would make deeper and faster cuts, sending the country into a double-dip recession.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said it was not right for public sector workers to pay the price for the recession, in a tough talking speech he said “It’s our job as trade unionists to use our industrial strength to get the best possible deal we can for our members”. He warned of tough times ahead saying the recession was far from over, and for public sector workers the worst was yet to come.

Dave called for an end to pitting public sector workers against their colleagues in the private sector, sparking a race to the bottom. Pointing to reports that US and UK investment banks will be paying out £40bn in salaries and bonuses - all on the back of massive taxpayer support - he called for the bankers and their bonuses to be brought into line.
Cameron and Osborne have promised that if they win this year’s general election, they will cut public spending faster and deeper. They could pitch us back into the recession in the process.

He told us “The Conservatives want to freeze public sector pay for the majority of public sector workers in 2011. And the tough pay rounds could last for for five years. They have made clear too, their hostile intentions for public sector pensions, and are adopting an increasingly combative and aggressive stance towards public sector unions.”

On public sector pay, Dave Prentis said: “We know that bargaining will be hard. As well as fighting hard to improve pay and defend jobs - in the current climate, we also need to think creatively about other ways we can win improvements in our members’ working lives, or even their lives outside work.’