N28/2006
JMcK/JH

To: Branch Chairs and Secretaries
CAFCASS Co Convenors

Dear Colleague

Pensions Strike – Industrial Action Guidance

The purpose of this circular is to provide branches with initial advice on issues relating to the strike action on the LGPS dispute, currently planned to start on Tuesday March 28th.

Further meetings are being held next week with the other unions involved in the strike and with the employers and more advice will therefore be following.

1) Historical Significance of Strike

It is important to bear in mind the historical significance of this strike. If it goes ahead it will be the largest strike action in the UK since the 1926 general strike. Up to 1.5 million members will be called on to strike. The other unions involved in this strike apart from Napo are: Unison, TGWU, GMB, Amicus, AEP (Association of Educational Psychologists), CYWU (Community and Youth Workers Union), NIPSA (Northern Ireland Public Services Alliance), NUT, (National Union of Teachers), UCATT, (Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians) and the NUJ, (the National Union of Journalists).

All the unions involved have formed a national strike committee, JUST (Joint Union Strike Committee) and relevant advice agreed by JUST will be issued as soon as possible to branches.

2) Strike Committees

Branches are asked to ensure that they have strike committees to help organise the action in their branch. The Committees will be able to assist branch officers in circulating strike materials to offices and members, help plan picketing and dealing with queries from members.

3) Other Unions

Branches need to make contact with their local Unison and GMB/Scoop reps to discuss a concerted approach to the strike action.

Unison have balloted all members in the Probation Service and CAFCASS and having a clear majority in favour of action will be asking their members to support the action.

GMB/SCOOP, representing many ACOs and above in the Probation Service, should have balloted all its members in the LGPS, but whether or not they have actually been balloted varies around the country. GMB regions were responsible for organising the ballot and in many cases their membership records were not up to date. GMB overall, however, had an overwhelming majority in favour of the strike action and contact with the local GMB/SCOOP representatives should therefore be on the basis of how best to involve their members in the action.

Even if GMB/SCOOP members have not been balloted, for example, we are lawfully allowed to picket places of work and persuade people to abstain from working. More information on picketing follows and is attached.

Reps in CAFCASS should approach their local PCS branch and ensure they ask their members not to undermine our action in any way.

Reps in Northern Ireland should speak to the local NIPSA reps. NIPSA members have also voted to support the strike action.

Napo will be in contact with other trade unions as appropriate. These will include the Prison Officers’ Association and PCS, which represent staff in prisons.

4) Strike Materials

Placards, which should double up as posters for offices as well as strike placards, and stickers, are being sent to members to arrive early next week, and picket armbands will also be distributed later next week.

In distributing these materials branches are asked to remember that there may be further days of strike action, so materials should not be thrown away after March 28th.

Work is also in hand to produce common materials with the other unions involved in the strike, including leaflets to hand out on the day of the strike to members, and to the public.

5) Communicating with Members

Branches will be aware of the importance of regular communication with all members and it is vital that branches identify the location of all members, particularly those who are seconded away from their normal place of work, so that they are kept fully informed of local developments and are able to participate in any action taking place.

Members should also be told to watch Napo’s website and TV/radio news bulletins in the run up to the actual strike action. There is always a possibility that a deal will be struck on the day before the action is due to commence.

6) Midnight to Midnight

All the unions involved in the strike action have agreed to define the STRIKE period as midnight to midnight on Monday March 27th to Tuesday March 28th. If this causes problems, please let us know.

7) Employers’ Response

Employers will deduct one day’s pay for any day in which strike action is taken. It is likely that entitlement to individual days of leave coinciding with strike action will be extremely limited, unless they have been booked in advance.

Senior management are already asking middle managers to collect the names of those who will be on strike. This is not necessarily unreasonable but middle managers may wish to push this responsibility further up the management chain as far as possible. Indeed, branches can notify Areas that it is our expectation that all our members will be taking industrial action.

Practice in relation to sickness is usually to seek a sick note for a day that coincides with strike action. Employers are allowed to do that. Where necessary, such staff should ask for any costs involved in providing a sick note to be reimbursed.

During Napo’s workloads strike action in the Probation Service 2003, the NPD agreed that there would be no loss of continuity, and did not reduce employer pension contributions for that day. We are seeking confirmation that Probation and CAFCASS will maintain that position on this occasion.

8) Pensions

It should be assumed that absence during strike action will not count for pension purposes and so for that day, members will lose their own contribution and that of their employers. On average the cost is about 16% of one day’s wages to restore full pension rights. If this contribution is not made, the overall impact on the final pension for someone on £25,000 p.a is 0.85 pence per annum.

If someone is in the last three years before retirement, their pension is based on their best average salary in the last three years. Again it will be clear that the impact of the loss of one day is very small.

9) Members in Hostels

Napo is meeting with Unison and the NPD to discuss the position of hostels on Monday next, March 20th, and more advice will follow.

Our starting point is that members in hostels are not exempt from the action, but that it would not be our intention to close hostels.

The logic of agreeing that hostels should not be closed is also to recognise that we shouldn’t picket them. Picketing would also attract unhelpful press and community attention to hostels.

In the 2003 workload dispute we agreed that we wouldn’t stand in the way of management seeking to keep hostels open, and we proposed that branches discuss these issues with management in their Areas.

We also advised that hostel members on strike may wish to picket their nearest other office or the main Probation Area Head Offices.

More advice will follow in the light of Monday’s discussions.

10) TPO Members

In relation to strike action, Napo believes that there should be no detriment to TPO members joining a one-day strike and that it is reasonable that withdrawal from their training on that day will be recoverable subsequently. Napo will support any TPO members who are told that any element of their training is non-recoverable as a result of taking industrial action.

Branches should liaise with TPO members who are seeking support in obtaining the wholesale postponement of a lecture or seminar due to take place on a strike day.

It is important that TPO members specifically notify their line manager and, if they are due to attend university, the relevant person at the higher education establishment when taking industrial action

A model letter to be sent to higher education establishments is attached as Appendix 2. Branches should ensure that this model letter is sent to all TPO members.

11) Manager Members

It must be recognised that manager members can find themselves in a difficult position during periods of industrial action.

Branches should ensure that there is understanding of the responsibilities which manager members hold, which might include providing members with information, on behalf of the management structure, that relates to industrial action.

Manager members will be