www.prospect.org.uk • Issue 2 – May ’13

union for professionals

National Library of Wales staff rally to save exhibits after fire

Amy’s pension success benefits 1,500 women

• Performance management• Meet the curators• Employment rights

Victory!Equal pay wins the day at IPO

profil

profile@prospect.org.ukwww.prospect.org.ukEditors: Marie McGrath and Penny VeversReports: Graham StewartKatherine Beirne

Published by Prospect fromNew Prospect House 8 Leake StreetLondon SE1 7NN020 7902 6600Fax: 020 7902 6667Printed by Wyndeham (Peterborough) Limited

Design and originationSimon Crosby (Prospect)and edition periodicals www.editionperiodicals.co.ukSubscriptionsUK £37 per annumOverseas £54Free to Prospect membersISSN 1477-6383

Pictures/distribution Tracy Thornton 020 7902 6604AdvertisingCentury One Publishing Ltd Alban Row, 27–31 Verulam Road St Albans AL3 4DGTel: 01727 739182 e-mail: d.murray@ centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk

Change of name, address or employment detailsMembership Department01932 577007membership@ prospect.org.ukeProfileTo receive Profile by email, log in at www.prospect.org.uk

Acceptance of advertise ments does not imply recommend ation on the part of the union. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Prospect.

Profile

2 ■ May 2/13

IN THIS ISSUE...8 OXFAM AND PROSPECT IN KENYA

Get involved with a new joint project to support domestic workers in the Nairobi slums

13 PERFORMANCE MANAgEMENT Survey shows climate of fear in BT

16 BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUMSThere are major exhibitions happening all over the UK, curated by or involving Prospect members

18 YOUR wORKPlACE RIgHTS IN THE FIRINg lINEA look at the government’s attacks

25 wHISTlEBlOwINg Are you worried about who to approach and what might happen if you do?

10+ NEwS FROM AROUND OUR INDUSTRIES Transport, energy, defence, civil service, science, Scotland, Wales

GENERAL SECRETARY

Effective collective voice – our bedrock in turbulent timesAt recent brAnch annual meetings across our sectors, I have stressed the need to support each other and maintain our commitment and belief in these very difficult times.

the howling gales of financial austerity, public sector constraints, tough performance management and diminished employment law make it difficult to believe that Prospect can make a difference. the hostile environment is accentuated by attacks on facility time and the work pressures that members are under.

In our 2012 annual report, I recognised that “we have had to defend more than advance.” nevertheless, I believe maintaining representatives’, members’ and staff morale is central to our success and we should reflect on what workplaces would look like without us.

the union model depends on volunteer repre-sentatives. the breadth of our work could never be financially sustained just by employing more staff. the value representatives add to the workplace justifies a proportionate employer contribution in time and facilities – it is political rhetoric to ignore this evidence.

this Profile demonstrates the breadth of our activity and successes. Some are collective like the equal pay victory in the Intellectual Property Office or the complex negotiations in national Air traffic Services.

Others are individual and show the determination

and courage of Prospect members and representa-tives. We must continue to remind ourselves and others of our successes and share our stories. these are the real workplace narratives and show what responsible unions can achieve.

the result and the high turnout in the ballot to retain our political fund is a tribute to the ability of representatives and staff to galvanise membership participation.

With the dismantling of employment law and the increasing absence of legal remedies, it is more vital than ever to resolve issues in the workplace – not in the courts.

there is no clearer signal of coalition intent than the decision to drive through ‘shares for rights’. the house of Lords resoundingly defeated this dismal proposition and employers do not welcome it, yet it will become law later this year.

As if this were not enough, the Institute of Directors wants further deregulation, removal of Working time Directive ‘burdens’ and the power to more freely dismiss people.

It would be good to know what the IoD thinks an ideal UK workplace should look like. We have tried heavily deregulated, financially-leveraged capitalism with little support for manufacturing. And look where that has left us. We have been deregu-lating for decades – isn’t it time to fundamentally reappraise our workplace approach to create a truly sustainable corporate environment?

Union workplace leaders, an effective collective voice and proportionate regulation are the key to an effective economy – not unilateral control of a workforce stripped of its rights.

Mike Clancy

We must continue to remind

ourselves and others of our

successes and share our stories

to show what responsible unions can

achieve

TONY KYRiACOU / REx FEATURES

wITH THIS PROFIlEEvery working member should receive a copy of Prospect’s Your legal rights at work 2013-14 factcard with this issue.

NEWS Profile

May 2/13 ■ 3

Six female Prospect members at the intellectual Property Office are celebrating after their equal pay claim was settled just as a Cardiff tribunal hearing was due to begin.

all employees in the same pay span as the claimants will now have their pay increased by £8,000 or to the maximum of the grade.

The claim by senior patent examiners is similar to other Prospect seniority-based pay challenges and the legal principle is based on the Cadman and Wilson cases against the Health and Safety executive.

legal officer marion Scovell said: “Where a pay system has a dispro-portionate impact on the grounds of gender, the employer must be able to show that the pay structure is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.”

Prospect argued that enhanced experience due to longer length of service could not justify significant pay leads beyond the first few years in the grade.

“The pay span was long and progres-

Making heritage internships fair to allProsPect’s heritage sector is getting set to tackle low pay and ensure interns are used properly.

National secretary alan Leighton said: “internships have a role in the world of work, but not as a substi-tute for experienced and qualified full-time specialist staff. interns themselves also need proper protec-tion from exploitation.”

the union is seeking a pragmatic approach, sharing good practice and setting parameters for interns’

sensible deployment to supplement full-time paid employees.

the British Museum already has an agreed policy on interns and volunteers. Prospect branch secretary amanda gregory said: “We have people undertaking structured work placements as part of their studies, and this is perfectly legiti-mate. We also have many unpaid volunteers who do useful work.”

the policy states no volunteer should undertake work done by

paid members of staff. “it is tricky as far more people want to work in museums than there are paid jobs, so people feel they need voluntary experience to increase their chances of getting paid employment.

“however, only those who can afford to work for free can do so, which is not ideal in terms of diversity.”

the intern aware campaign calls for all interns to receive the national minimum wage. see more advice at http://bit.ly/prospect_interns

Resounding ‘yes’ to keep political fundprospect MeMbers voted overwhelmingly to retain their political fund in the union’s ballot in March.

on a turn-out of 37.6 per cent, a massive 91 per cent voted ‘yes’. this compared to a very tight result a decade ago, when the majority was just 52.1 per cent.

Deputy general secretary Dai hudd (right) said the result showed the impact of the downturn and the government’s austerity policies on members.

“i hope politicians will take note of the significance and scale of this result in a trade union that is not readilly given to militancy and not affiliated to any political party.”

by law, all unions with a political fund must ballot members every 10 years. prospect is the first major union to reballot on this key issue. the successful result prompted the tUc to invite hudd to do a presentation on the campaign.

he said: “this result sends a clear message to the government about how our members, who represent the squeezed middle in society, are hurting. their pay is not keeping pace with the cost of living, their pensions are under attack, their jobs insecure and their workplace rights being eroded.

“this vote says that members want us to use the political fund to raise these concerns with politicians and employers.”

general secretary Mike clancy thanked hudd, who led the remandating project, those who organised the ballot and campaigned for a ‘yes’ vote, and all who participated.

the resUltsVoting papers distributed 117,838Papers returned to scrutineer

44,342

Turnout 37.6%Spoiled or invalid votes 77Valid votes counted 44,265

Valid votes in favour40,400(91.3%)

Valid votes against3,865(8.7%)

■ For a copy of the independent scrutineer’s report, email caitlin.kinsella@prospect.org.uk

■ Information on how to opt out is at http://bit.ly/prospect_political_fund

Prospect wins equal pay for senior patent examiners

sion to the maximum was slow. The public sector pay freeze in 2010 meant that progression was completely halted and equal pay audits showed that the gender pay gap within the band had consistently been over 5 per cent.”

five of the six had done more than five years in the grade but earned up to £10,000 less than the higher-paid male comparator with jobs rated as equivalent. The longer-serving staff, predominantly male, were clustered at the range’s top levels and women at the lower levels.

The settlement has radically shortened the pay span by raising the minimum significantly, and increasing the maximum slightly in line with the personal maximum of the comparators.

Negotiator Helen Stevens praised branch officers ele Wade and Nick mole for their tireless work in preparing the case, which will benefit over 180 people.

She added: “members are currently taking industrial action over pay. However, the strategy of litigation and collective action has been a great success.”

Stevens – “Equal pay audits showed that the gender pay gap within the band had consistently been over 5 per cent”

BoB Bowen

■■ Clockwise:■Ele■Wade,■John■Watt,■Fiona■Warner,■Rowena■Dinham,■Carrie-Ann■Williams,■Jim■Calvert,■Nick■Mole■and■Kathryn■Orme

Robin Smith remembers a colleague of principleIt was with great sadness that Prospect learned of the death of George toulmin at the beginning of april. George was an IPCs member at GCHQ in January 1984, when the thatcher government announced its intention to ban union membership there.

George had never been active in Prospect’s predecessor IPCs, but was among the first to oppose the ban which, like most people, he found undemocratic and unfair.

when the dust settled in early March (thatcher gave staff until the end of February to relinquish their

union membership or face the sack) George was one of those refusing to give in to the government’s blackmail.

as part of the campaign to restore union rights, meetings of the remaining members were set up on Monday evenings in a local hotel. George chaired these meetings with characteristic intelligence, humour and, importantly, sobriety for over four years.

In one sense he was unfortunate to be born when he was. In 1988 he turned 60 and had to retire. when the government moved to dismiss the remaining union members shortly afterwards he was disappointed not to be with them, although those sacked always considered him “one of us”.

In 1989 he was made an honorary member of IPCs,

George was an intellectual in every respect. He joined GCHQ as a mathe-matician in the early 1950s following army service and Cambridge, where he obtained a PhD for his thesis, Transfinite Dimensions in Topological Spaces.

typically, when despatched to Belfast to address a trade union rally, his report in the GCHQ union journal, Warning Signal, began: “My feelings about air and sea travel are those of Horace (“Coelum ipsum petimus stultitia”, Odes 1.3), …” In retirement he indulged his passion for music, curated the family archive and was active in the local Labour party.

TUC Takes To The road To fighT aUsTeriTyThe TUC is taking its fightback against austerity to a new level, and will go on the road with a campaign bus in the last two weeks of June.

The new campaign’s aims are outlined in a policy document (see www.tuc.org.uk/the_tuc/campaign1.cfm). There are five themes:

● jobs, growth and a new economy – in particular a job guarantee for every young unemployed person

● fair pay and a living wage ● good services and decent

welfare ● respect and a voice at work ● strong unions.

TUC general secretary

Frances O’Grady (right)said the victims of the economic crash were, and continue to be, those who did least to cause it.

“The need for a new economy that creates decent jobs and sustainable growth, and shares the proceeds fairly, grows more obvious each day. But we have a government that

is making it worse.” The TUC bus will be on the

road from June 17-29, touring england with meetings and other activities.

A separate bus will cover Wales and events are planned in Scotland. More informa-tion nearer the time at: www.austerityuncovered.org

Prospect organisers joined German workers at a London protest to highlight their campaign to save jobs. Catriona hughes reportsteLeCOMs wOrkers from Germany protested outside Vodafone’s London offices and flagship Oxford street store in March over the loss of hundreds of jobs and cuts to redundancy payments.

the workers used to be employed by fixed-line company arcor in eschborn, near Frankfurt am Main, but their work was transferred to Vodafone. Over three years, 750 jobs have been lost and a further 1,000 jobs will go in Germany over the next year, with further cuts across europe.

Vodafone also wanted to move 400 posts to Düsseldorf, more than 200km north – leaving those unable to relocate also facing redundancy.

the works council representing the workers came up with an alternative economic proposal, as is its entitle-ment in German law, and launched a campaign to keep work in eschborn. they protested in the Uk as it is Vodafone’s home nation.

Prospect advised them on practicali-ties and publicity and its organisers

those facing redundancy was moved from May to December.

Dr Vera schilling, works council representative, thanked Prospect, saying: “Our protests in London were crucial. they made the international management aware of our fight, and I don’t think we would have won concessions without that.”

Prospect members at Vodafone in the Uk work in retail stores, customer services and head office. though not formally recognised, Prospect has developed a relationship with employee relations managers allowing the union to raise collective issues.

In a fast-moving industry, where companies are constantly looking to restructure, members recognise the issues facing their German colleagues.

turned up armed with placards on the day of the protest, held in bitterly cold conditions.

the snow failed to dampen the protesters’ high spirits as they shouted slogans in German and english. works council representatives met a member of the London management team in the Paddington HQ.

Fresh negotiations with local management have since resulted in 45 of the 200 endangered jobs being kept in eschborn, with teleworking agreed for some others. the departure date for

‘One of us’ in the battle for union rights at GCHQ

Prospect in Vodafone Euro-protest

■■ Our■protests■in■London■were■crucial■said■Dr■Schilling■(below)

Pictures: Mark thoM

as

stefano cagnoni

stefano cagnoni

NEWSProfile

4 ■ May 2/13

NEWS Profile

May 2/13 ■ 5

Early yEars professionals in Prospect went to parliament in May to protest about government plans to change ratio levels for childminders and nursery staff and introduce new qualifications.

In the morning they met sharon Hodgson, the shadow minister for children and families, who has raised parliamentary questions on the issues. she advised Prospect members to write to and lobby their MPs in advance, if there is an MPs’ vote on this issue.

later they saw government repre-sentatives from the Department for Education.

at the DfE meeting, negotiator Claire Dent asked why the govern-ment was proposing to change the early years professional status quali-fication to a new early years teacher qualification.

Dent said the government’s own appointed expert, Cathy Nutbrown, had opposed this change because improved status would not be

Prospect urges government U-turn on childcare attacks

Stefano Cagnoni

Equality InBrief■ GENDER PAY GAP –the european

Commission website provides informa-tion about the gap, explains why it exists and what the Commission is doing to close it – http://bit.ly/eC_gender_pay_gap

■ NEW AND EXPECTANT MOTHERS –the tUC has produced a factsheet outlining

employers’ responsibilities and what help is available to employees – www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-22167-f0.cfm

■ CANCER AND WORK – almost four in 10 people returning to work after

cancer treatment experienced some kind of discrimination from their employer or colleagues – compared to just under a quarter in 2010. employers can order a free toolkit to help them manage people living with cancer, and their carers – http://bit.ly/cancer_toolkit

■ WOMEN’S ROOM – if you’re a woman and an expert in your field, yet feel under-

represented in the media, how about joining the Women’s Room? Launched in april, it already has over 2,000 women registered – http://thewomensroom.org.uk

■ WEEKLY UPDATES – to keep up with the latest news on equality issues,

read Prospect equality officer Sandie Maile’s weekly briefings, which are full of information, resources and ideas. Members can access them all at http://bit.ly/equality_resources

■■ Dent■–■■government’s■own■expert■opposed■the■change

■■ Amy■Hoy■at■home■with■her■sons■Fred■(left)■and■Oliver

BT makes up maTerniTy pensions conTriBuTionsBT has begun contacting about 1,500 female employees to tell them about additional pension contributions it believes they are entitled to.

The women were all members of either the BT Retirement Plan or BT Retirement savings scheme and had taken one or more periods of maternity leave between april 2001 and February 2011.

While on leave they correctly continued to pay their own pension contributions based on actual pay received. But BT’s matching employer contributions were also based on actual pay, rather than full salary the women would have received if they had not been on maternity leave. This resulted in an under-payment of contributions during the periods of leave.

The error does not affect women taking maternity leave since February 2011. Nor does it affect members of, or service in, the BT Pension scheme.

Prospect member amy hoy, a business improvement manager in Openreach, first spotted that there was something wrong with the way her pension contributions had been calculated.

With Nick Toombs, a Prospect

pensions champion in Global services, and other affected colleagues, the problem was raised with management.

“I was very surprised when I worked out that my pensions payments had not been calculated correctly following maternity leave,” said hoy.

“however, I always felt confident that BT was a responsible organisation and

would make amends for the error once it had been acknowledged.”

Toombs added: “This was the most unusual and intan-gible pension query I have come across.” he and hoy did a lot of research, raising questions with accenture, which

provides human resources services to BT, and BT itself.

BT is now seeking to put the error right by calculating the number of investment units in the pension scheme that affected individuals would have had if the correct contributions had been paid on time.

Calculations will vary from individual to individual with BT contacting those affected over the next few months.

Members who think they may be entitled to the payment but do not hear anything, and those who may have left, are urged to contact the company.

achieved simply by changing ‘the name on the tin’.

However, the officials argued that since Nutbrown’s comments, the landscape was changing in relation to national terms and conditions and the academy agenda within schools. They did recognise that support for improvement in early years settings was vital, without committing to how this would be achieved.

On child ratios, Prospect argued that if ministers had listened when members first raised the matter, it would not have become a national issue. “We stressed the need for them to consult the experts – those who actually work at the coalface – before any further change,” said Dent.

Meanwhile, Prospect welcomed concerns raised by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg on the ratio proposals. Deputy general secretary leslie Manasseh said in the light of Clegg’s comments and other opposi-tion, “it’s time for a swift U-turn.”

“I always felt confident that BT was a responsible organisation and would make amends for the error once it had been acknowledged”

New law is a ‘charter for rogue employers’PrOsPeCt Has condemned a government decision that will make it harder for workers to claim legiti-mate compensation for injuries at work.

In March the House of Lords rejected the detrimental changes to civil liability laws in relation to health and safety duties. these had been put forward by the government as an amendment to the enterprise and regulatory reform Bill.

But in april the Commons voted by 316 to 241 to overturn the Lords vote and reinstate the change to the law. when the Bill returned to the Lords on april 24, a second vote accepted the government change by 170 to 112.

the effect is that workers will be unable to rely on an employer’s

breach of health and safety law to win a personal injury claim. Instead they will have to prove negligence.

Prospect health and safety officer sarah Page said: “the government’s proposals to remove civil liability from breaches of

health and safety law will make it harder, if not impossible, for people with legitimate claims to be compensated.

“It signals Victorian neglect for injured workers and plays to rogue employers, who will willingly leave

our already overstretched health services to pick up the pieces.

“this is a miserable decision by a government that is spinning the myth of a compensation culture which even its own advisors have said doesn’t exist.”

the government has argued that its change arose out of a recom-mendation in Professor ragnar Löfstedt’s review in November 2011.

However, Prospect and the professor himself say it has gone much further than Löfstedt recom-mended. see www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-21579-f0.cfm

● Prospect represents more than 1,600 inspectors and specialists in the Health and safety executive and Office for Nuclear regulation.

PEER PRESSURE Lord Stevenson (Labour): “The require-ment to prove foreseeability is a very high bar of proof for an individual injured, or killed, through no fault of their own. There has been no consulta-tion on this proposal ...”

Lord McKenzie (Labour): the changes will “assist the unscrupulous to ignore health and safety law by reducing the chances of successful civil action. That is going to lead to more workplace injury in the future.”

Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru): “planned changes will turn the clock back to Victorian times for injured workers’ rights to compensation.”

Baroness Turner (Labour): “If the government are really concerned about safety, they should strengthen the hSe instead of cutting resources and thus cutting hSe inspections, which are so necessary to maintain health and safety at work. This clause, if enacted, will encourage employers to abnegate their responsibilities and rogue employers will get away with it.”

A day of tribute to those killed at workPrOsPeCt MeMBers across the Uk joined other union colleagues and families of those killed at work to mark International workers’ Memorial Day in april.

In Cheshire, National trust branch president Paul stewart and north-west rep Paul Delaney joined forces with the trust’s director general, Dame Helen Ghosh, to plant a heritage variety apple tree ‘scotch Bridget’. the tree was provided by the trust’s gardening team at acorn Bank in Cumbria.

a minute’s silence was held to mark people killed or injured in the workplace. Paul said the trust, and Prospect, would “continue to ensure that the health, safety and

welfare of our employees remain a part of our business goals, just like the wonderful places we look after, for ever, for everyone.”

Connect sector executive member Philip O’rawe and National trust rep Patrick Lynch represented Prospect at an Irish Congress of trade Unions event in Belfast, where family members of David Layland, a trade unionist killed while working at a waste services site, stressed that current cuts should not be allowed to affect safety in the workplace.

In Manchester, 150 people gathered at an event organised by the Greater Manchester Hazards Centre. after speeches from victims’ family members and others, they marched to the People’s Museum.

Prospect NeC member

and health and safety inspector Neil Hope-Collins addressed the gathering about the impact of budget cuts on the Health and safety executive and tweeted from the event.

at Devonport royal Dockyard in Plymouth, union members gave out leaflets to reiterate

the unions’ and Babcock management’s commit-ment to a health and safety culture.

and in edinburgh, retired member Hilary Horrocks, vice-chair of the city’s trades council, persuaded the National Gallery to fly its flag at half-mast during a lunchtime ceremony.

■■ Philip■O’Rawe■and■Patrick■Lynch■by■a■tree■planted■in■memory■of■David■Layland

■■ Manchester■protesters■provide■a■stark■reminder■of■what■can■go■wrong■without■proper■H&S■regulation

■■ Above:■Dame■Helen■Ghosh■with■Paul■Stewart■and■Paul■Delaney.■■Left:■leafletting■outside■Devonport

■■ Sarah■Page■–■Victorian■neglect■for■injured■workers

nick green/greater Manchester hazards centre

Profile

6 ■ May 2/13

heaLth & safety

NEWS Profile

May 2/13 ■ 7

Stefano Cagnoni

Digital championsOver 8m people in the UK have never used the internet. Prospect wants to play its part in reducing this number by recruiting ten voluntary digital champions to help others get online. They will be offered six months’ bespoke training starting in September 2013, with on-going support.

Digital champions give their time on a voluntary basis to help others, whether that be family, friends, colleagues or people within the community.

●● Find●out●more●at●www.go-on.co.uk

Retiring or unemployed?Prospect will also run programmes for members approaching retirement and those who are unemployed. There are two workshops in London on June 25 and July 30 for those retiring. Members will be able to

review and enhance their current IT skills alongside a practical introduc-tion to the digital world.

For unemployed members two workshops are planned where they can review and enhance their current IT skills and receive practical advice on job hunting and networking online. These are in London on June 24 and July 31. Reasonable travel costs will be refunded.

●● Email●nikki.simpson@prospect.org.uk●if●you●are●interested●in●these●workshops

Mentoring programmeA programme giving members the opportunity to work with independent mentors who can support them in their personal career goals will run from July 2013 to February 2014.

Priority will be given to homeworkers, shift workers, redundant colleagues and women

in science, technology, engineering and maths. The programme aims to support members who want to leave an organisation, broaden their horizons, reskill or look at career transition.

Spaces are limited so please apply before June 6. Successful applicants will be contacted by email by June 19. If you want to take part, you will need to be available on July 16 to meet your mentor and attend a workshop. If you applied for a place on the pilot scheme last year but were unsuccessful please get in touch.

●● Email●kate.antoniou@prospect.org.uk●to●express●an●interest

■■ These■offers■are■restricted■to■members■living■or■working■within■the■nine■English■regions.■Scotland■and■Wales■run■their■own■schemes■–■see■www.scottishunionlearning.com■and■www.wtuclearn.org.uk

InBrief■ ANNUAL REPORT

– Prospect’s annual report and accounts for 2012 are now available on the website from http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2013/00584

■ AUTO-ENROLMENT GUIDANCE – advice

on the government’s pensions auto-enrolment programme is now available in a new members’ guide, which describes the programme and suggests ways to get the best out of it – see http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2013/00685 You can request hard copies of Prospect publications by emailing centralservices@prospect.org.uk with your name, address and member-ship number.

■ MOVING ON? – are you changing

employer, facing redun-dancy, temporarily unemployed or between contracts? You don’t have to resign your Prospect membership. We can continue to provide you with support and services. those not earning or on a low income will pay a reduced subscription rate. Read our ‘Moving on’ leaflet at http://bit.ly/moving_on_leaflet or see http://bit.ly/union_for_life

NEw LOOk fOR PROfILEPRofile will have a fresh new look from July. As part of the redesign we will create more space for features and articles about our members and their fascinating jobs. if you have a story to tell us, please get in touch at profile@prospect.org.uk

Some regular items will move to the website, including ‘in the news’ and the list of deceased members.

The retired members’ group will have their own newsletter twice a year – initially in hard copy and circulated with Profile – and a bigger presence on the website.

STAffing chAngeS TAke ShAPe AcRoSS PRoSPecTthe fiRSt half of 2013 has brought a number of staffing changes in Prospect.

Bristol-based negotiator Philippa childs has been promoted to national secretary running the Lutterworth office, and national secretary emily Boase has moved from Lutterworth to Chertsey.

Boase now has direct responsibility for natS air traffic controllers and air

traffic systems specialists. Childs has direct responsibility for members at national grid, Big Lottery fund, eDf eSCS and the fire Service College. these changes arose from garry graham’s move from Chertsey to new Prospect house as a deputy general secretary.

Meanwhile, negotiator kevin McAlonan has trans-ferred to the heritage, law and energy pitch, and negotiator

Dave Allen has moved from heritage to the defence, security and Channel islands pitch.

kevin warden, former branch secretary at VoSa, has been appointed a negotiator in Bristol. caroline hemmington has been promoted to be a Connect sector negotatior in Wimbledon, while Connect negotiator Sarah ward is transferring to heritage.

in other moves, John

Sinclair has been appointed organiser in Scotland, and Jenny Tingle promoted to organiser in Wimbledon.

caitlin kinsella is the temporary head of the general secretary’s office, where Bridget lauder has been promoted to senior executive assistant. Juliet weller has become executive assistant on the agriculture pitch and Jenny Arnold an ea on the defence pitch.

Learning projects open new doorsProspect is offering members in england exciting opportunities to enhance their skills and improve their career prospects as part of its union learning-funded skills projects

■■ Members■taking■part■in■a■Prospect■digital■

champions■workshop■at■

London’s■Geffrye■Museum■in■May

Profile

8 ■ May 2/13

InternatIonal

Unions call for global action after bangladesh factory tragedyMore than 1,100 people, mostly female garment workers, were killed and thousands more injured in the collapse of a building in Bangladesh in May.

the collapsed eight-storey rhana Plaza factory near Dhaka had been illegally constructed and contained five garment factories with 2,500 workers.

they produced clothing for several well-known western brands, believed to include Mango, Primark, C&a, KIK, Wal-Mart, Children’s Place, Cato Fashions, Benetton, Matalan and Bon Marché.

UnI Global Union and IndustriaLL, the global union federation that organises affiliates in the garment and textile industry, launched a petition calling on the Bangladesh government to:

● guarantee freedom of association ● improve building and fire safety ● ensure a minimum wage for the

country’s 3 million plus garment workers.

Sign the petition at http://bit.ly/bangladesh_petition.

IndustriaLL and other union and campaign groups, including War on Want, joined forces to call on

the relevant clothing companies to pay compensation to affected families and sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety agreement to prevent the future deaths of garment workers – see who signed up at www.waronwant.org/news/latest-news.

Meanwhile, within days of the tragedy eight people were killed in a garment factory fire in the Mirpur district. and in november 2012, 112 garment workers died in a similar fire.

In Britain, tUC general secretary Frances o’Grady said multinational companies bore responsibility rather than high street consumers.

“they are the ones who must change their behaviour and encourage their overseas suppliers to pay higher wages and improve working conditions, not UK consumers.”

Prospect and the tUC are among those working with other campaigning organisations and progressive employers in the ethical trading Initiative to ensure that workers’ rights are respected in Bangladesh.

Prospect’s national executive committee voted to donate £1,500 to IndustriaLL to support victims and their families.

ProsPect is to support a ground-breaking new oxfam project to bring employment rights to women in two slums of Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

the decision to back the project, named ‘From Day Bugs to Dignity through Work’, was made by the union’s national executive in May.

More than 60 per cent of Nairobi’s three million population live in slums. the project title draws on the name for women seeking casual domestic work in two eastern slums: Korogocho and Mukuru.

Alongside a million domestic workers employed in and around Nairobi, thousands more casual workers walk around door to door, estate to estate, seeking domestic work and being paid by the job.

Under Kenyan law, domestic workers are entitled to a living wage, annual leave, sickness and maternity benefits. But these legal protections are rarely enforced.

Most women doing this work are illiterate or have only a basic primary school education. Many are exploited and face violence or abuse.

the project forms part of oxfam’s urban governance programme in Kenya, and its key aim is “empowering women through enhancing income security and promoting participation in public leadership.”

A pilot in early 2013 included research into the conditions of the women and future employment prospects.

the project’s second phase, from June 2013 to May 2018, will promote:

● sustainable income security by strengthening women’s entrepre-neurial skills and capacity to engage with trade unions, the private sector and government to improve their livelihoods

● women’s participation in public governance processes and more women in leadership positions.

other project partners include the KUDHeiHA domestic workers’ union, Kenya’s National commission on Gender and Development and the Kenya institute of education.

Prospect’s international develop-ment officer, Beverley Hall said: “Last year we celebrated the 25th anniver-sary of Prospect’s relationship with oxfam. this new project will build on that powerful link.

“the focus on labour rights as well as urban poverty makes this an exciting project. We aim to develop ways for members to contribute their knowledge, expertise and experience via their branches and workplaces, as well as collective and individual fundraising.”

Women’s labour rights central to Oxfam project

hoW yoU can donateProSPeCt aIMS to raise £100,000 over the next 12 months. If every working member donated £1 a year, the target would be easily reached. Donations can be made via two routes:

● through Prospect’s long-standing oxfam appeal – send a cheque, payable to ‘IPMS oxfam appeal Fund’, to Kay Lancaster, new Prospect house, 8 Leake Street, London Se1 7nn. Please state that you want your donation treated as gift aid so that tax relief can be reclaimed. to donate every month, email beverley.hall@prospect.org.uk and she get a standing order form sent to you.

● via a dedicated donation page at: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/daybugs

■■ Above,■a■woman■negotiates■the■streets■of■Mukuru■slum;■below,■life■in■the■slums■of■Korogocho,■Nairobi

PIctures: oXFaM/andy Hall

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 9

HealtH & Safety

In a presentation to a recent International Monetary Fund conference on macroeconomic policy, the economist Paul M Romer ruminated on the need for the world’s regulatory authorities to develop dynamic rules

to cover financial trading mechanisms.Romer, who is professor of economics at new York

University, highlighted the way controls on trading in shares and bonds are always playing catch-up with technological innovation.

He gave as an example the Wall Street ‘flash-crash’ of May 6, 2010, when the Dow Jones Index, already dropping because of market worries about Greece’s debt crisis, suddenly went into freefall, plummeting 600 points in five minutes and losing 6 per cent of its value.

Romer said the crash was probably exacerbated by a practice known as ‘quote stuffing’, where traders use dealing software to create artificial congestion by submit-ting and quickly withdrawing hundreds of thousands of electronic share quotes within milliseconds.

The authorities can simply develop rules to stop quote stuffing, and any other distorting practices, as they emerge, said Romer, but the controls will always lag behind technological change and human ingenuity. The alternative to such a plodding, process-based approach to regulation, he argued, is one based on meta-rules.

The US Federal aviation authority, he said, manages the rapid evolution of aircraft design, not with a set of constantly updated technical codes about how planes are to be constructed to ensure passenger safety, but via a simple overarching requirement that makers demonstrate to its officers that new models are airworthy.

“This not only changes the burden of proof from the regulators of a new technology to the advocates of the technology, it also gives the Faa examiners a large measure of flexibility,” he observed.

Romer contrasted this approach with the process-based system of micro-rules for workplace safety operated by the Occupational Safety and Health administration, the US equivalent of the Health and Safety Executive.

OSHa relies on screeds of detailed regulations that extend to the minimum temporary stair rail height on construction sites, and reduces safety inspectors to

UK’s safety culture sets global example

the financial markets could learn a great deal from the UK’s ‘meta-rules’ approach

to safety regulation and the responsibilities of dutyholders, argues Louis Wustemann

box-tickers, checking on the letter of the law with little discretion.

The most adaptable and dynamic regulatory model, he said, is the one, like the Faa’s, based on a meta-rule, where the duty to comply with a principle is placed squarely with dutyholders, and the enforcers have discre-tion to interpret whether a given set of controls fits the bill.

“air travel is much safer than working on a construc-tion site,” Romer observed, going on to suggest that the Securities and Exchange Commission should draw on the Faa’s approach in setting a new framework for the financial markets.

In the UK, occupational health and safety has been governed by such a meta-rule – the requirement to reduce risk as low as is reasonably practicable – for almost 40 years. Our enforcers, in the form of Health and Safety Executive inspectors and fire officers, among others, are well trained and given a high degree of discretion to decide whether employers have taken appropriate steps to control risks to their workers and the public.

Government-led discourse here has been dominated for years by the supposed shortcomings of our risk management infrastructure. The prime minister has tried to deepen tabloid press-inspired public misconception about the work of safety managers and enforcers with his talk of a ‘health and safety monster’ menacing UK business.

at times like this, it’s salutary to see that the UK’s principles of safety regulation are held up elsewhere as an archetype of sophisticated governance.

■■ Louis■Wustemann■is■managing■editor■of■Health■and■Safety■at■Work■magazine■–■www.healthandsafetyatwork.com/hsw/

■■ An■HSE■inspector■surveys■damage■after■the■2005■explosion■and■fire■at■Buncefield■oil■depot■in■Hertfordshire,■where■fundamental■safety■management■failings■were■identified

Stefano Cagnoni

In the UK, occupational health

and safety has been governed by such a meta-rule – the requirement to reduce risk as low as is reasonably practicable – for almost 40 years

Profile

10 ■ May 2/13

MORE TALKS NEEDED ON TRUST JOBS ShAKE-Up Prospect has questioned management at the National Trust for Wales over whether a radical shake-up within the organisation will deliver anticipated savings.

Under the Wales Transformation Plan, many members have had to reapply for their jobs, with some being moved into different or lower-graded posts and 20 facing redundancy.

Commenting on the new structures proposed at each property, negotiator John Stevenson said the plans lacked any real rationale or details about how they would help towards the organisation’s £2.85m financial shortfall.

He called for the consul-tation process to remain open, saying that despite good dialogue before the plans were launched, recent approaches lacked opportunities for genuine negotiation.

extend beyond the museum as there is a real fear that access to the specialist knowledge of staff, which is used by other institutions in Wales, could be permanently lost if the cuts go ahead.”

The ballot asks whether Prospect’s 200 members at the museum would be willing to take strike action or other forms of protest.

It comes at a time when there is growing unease over the way the consultation has been handled, said Howells.

“Morale is at an all-time low as there has been virtually no dialogue between the director general, David Anderson, and staff since he first announced his intentions in November 2011, begging the question whether he is sufficiently well informed about the work they undertake.

“Prospect believes that the people of Wales deserve a world-class national museum, with world-class staff to support an institution they can be proud of and rely on. But these cuts will deliver a severe blow to this key cultural icon.”

Wales

MeMBers IN the National Museum Wales are being balloted on whether they would consider strike action over planned cost-cutting measures across all of its seven sites.

The museum announced in January that it is to implement a restructuring programme, resulting in the loss of 35 specialist posts, in a bid to find £2.5m in

savings.Prospect negotiator

Gareth Howells (left) said that while the museum has just completed a 90-day consultation exercise with unions

and staff over the proposals, concerns remain that the jobs cuts will impact unfairly on specialist staff.

“The main impact will be on 160 posts in the curatorial, conservation and learning departments, resulting in the loss of unique expertise to Wales, downgrading of posts and a reduction in capability,” he said.

“We believe the cuts are being applied disproportionately, with some departments facing budget reduc-

All hands on deck after fire sweeps library ProsPect members and staff at the National Library of Wales pulled out all the stops to get their library open – just three days after a fire destroyed part of the roof and office space in one of the buildings.

the library has millions of books plus manuscripts, archives, maps, pictures, photographs, films and music.

the fire did not destroy any of the collections in the storage areas but there was some water damage, which was dealt by the conservation unit very quickly.

Iwan ap Dafydd, chair of Prospect’s National Library of Wales section, said: “the salvage recovery team worked tirelessly over the weekend to recover collections and equipment and there was very much a blitz mentality.

“Despite the disruption, the library was able to open its doors on the tuesday and it was more or less business as usual.”

their efforts also won praise from Welsh culture minister John Griffiths, who said they and the fire crews had worked to “safeguard the rich heritage of our nation.”

Specialists and curators singled out for Wales museum cuts

■ Above: staff who gave up their free time over the weekend to clear up after the fire and get the library re-opened to the public. Right and below: the fire and its aftermath

tions of 35 per cent, while no cuts are proposed among senior managers.

“In addition, the impact could

NATioNAl MUSeUM WAleS SiTeS

● National Museum Cardiff ● St Fagans: National History

Museum ● Big Pit: National Coal Museum,

Blaenavon (pictured above) ● National Wool Museum,

Carmarthenshire ● National Roman legion Museum,

Caerleon ● National Slate Museum, Gwynedd ● National Waterfront Museum,

Swansea

Jonathan eeles; natIonal lIBRaRY oF Wales

Prospect leads call for study of state pension age Graham Stewart reports from the Scottish TUC in PerthPrOsPeCt sPOke and scotland listened – even if the Scottish Daily Mail took exception to one of the union’s motions carried at the scottish tUC in Perth in april.

the motion called for a study of the factors that might justify a separate state pension age for scotland.

Mover Clive Davey, scottish rural University College,said that the Uk government’s plan to increase the state pension age would have a dispropor-tionate impact on scottish workers.

“the starting point for the motion was the announcement in the Uk govern-ment’s white paper that there will be a review of state pension age every five years, with a view to adjusting it in order to maintain the proportion of adult life spent over state pension age,” said Davey.

the motion instructs the stUC to analyse factors such as healthy life expectancy, regional variations, socio-economic factors and labour market conditions to assess the case for setting a separate state pension age for scotland.

Prospect also asks for the practicalities of such a move, as well as any other impacts, to be

thoroughly investigated, with a report published before next year’s stUC.

National secretary anne Douglas said: “the principle behind the Uk government’s proposed review of state pension age is that the propor-tion of adult life spent in receipt of state pension

should stay constant over time. the logical extension of that policy is that the proportion should be consistent between the nations of the Uk.

“Given that life expectancy is lower in scotland than the rest of the Uk, this would imply a lower state pension age is necessary for scottish workers. the issues are complex and that is why we have called for a thorough study of all the

relevant factors so that everyone in scotland can judge the case for themselves.”

Prospect’s other motion, on the future of the Forestry Commission, was also carried. It called for the scottish government to establish clear plans for the future of forestry by continuing its

functions in scotland. Mover David Avery, scottish

Government, said the stUC should campaign to ensure the scottish govern-ment engages with the welsh assembly and westminster to make sure its functions are not fatally compromised.

“throughout the debate in england and wales, the scottish government has remained silent on the inevitable impact on scottish forestry. a long-term approach to forestry research is essential, one that is not subject to the whims of politicians, but is established and run for the benefit of forestry and the economy.”

Anne Douglas moved a composite motion on the economy on behalf of the stUC general council. It called on the government to better control tax evasion and avoidance by multina-tional companies and others – worth £50bn per annum. It also called on the stUC to co-ordinate industrial action across scotland and the Uk, campaign for a just welfare system and for a progressive taxation system in scotland.

National Trust members vote for industrial actionwItH a world heritage site, several islands, thousands of hectares of countryside, seven national nature reserves, 26 castles, palaces and country houses, four battle sites, and lots of gardens and holiday properties, there ‘truly is a place for everyone at the National trust for scotland’ – except when it comes to fair pay for the Prospect members employed there.

their goodwill finally ran out in May when nearly 350 members voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action over an imposed pay offer, which had been rejected by 91 per cent of members in a ballot in February.

the imposed offer means a further cut in real terms of around 2 per cent – in addition to the reductions in pay values of nearly a quarter since new grades were introduced in 2005. Members will now embark on a one-day strike followed by a work-to-rule.

the union’s claim for a scottish living wage of £7.45 per hour was met with an increase in pay for

the lowest grade staff to £6.67, and a vague promise of achieving the scottish living wage by 2017. they are currently paid £6.42.

at the same time, independent scrutiny of Nts finances indicates that over the last four years it has added £44m

to reserves and now has a non-heritage investment portfolio worth around £190m.

Nts member-ship fees are being increased by 3.1 per cent more than the rate of inflation, while staff pay will be

reduced still further, on top of pay sacrifices already accepted when Nts was in a difficult financial position in 2008-09.

Prospect national secretary alan Denney said: “Members have made it clear that enough is enough. they accept that a price had to be paid to secure the trust’s future and they are not seeking to recover these losses in pay.

“they want to see their pay keep up with prices. significant numbers of staff are paid at minimum wage levels and they deserve better than another pay cut.”

The claim for a Scottish living

wage of £7.45 per hour was met with

an increase to £6.67 for the

lowest paid staff

■■ Joan■Docherty■(right)■receives■her■award■from■Prospect■national■secretary■Anne■Douglas,■chair■of■the■Scottish■Union■Learning■Board

■■ Prospect■delegates,■back■row■l-r:■David■Avery,■Craig■Marshall,■Anne■Douglas,■Mike■Clancy,■John■Sinclair;■front■row■l-r:■Satnam■Ner,■Graham■Stewart,■Sue■Ferns■and■Clive■Davey

helping members To love learning JOAn DOCheRTy, a Prospect union learning rep at Dounreay, has been rewarded for her hard work and dedica-tion to her love of learning.

Scottish Union Learning singled her out for a ULR award after she brought various learning opportunities to Dounreay staff. She has also played a major role in organising cross-union courses in Caithness since 2008.

Joan, an application controller, is

open to new ideas and willing to research courses, write funding applications and organise their delivery.

“It’s fantastic when you find a course that interests someone who has not engaged in learning for many years,” she said.

“even if that person completes the course but chooses not to continue learning, it’s great they were motivated to give it a go in the first place.”

John PauL

Louis fLood

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 11

scotLand

Stefano Cagnoni

Mark thoM

aS

Profile

12 ■ May 2/13

tranSport

EuropEan Commission proposals to reorganise European airspace will affect service and safety, says prospect.

members in the uK air traffic services provider naTs have launched a campaign to highlight their concerns about the plans and their potential impact on safety and jobs.

under its single European sky proposals, the EC wants to restructure upper European airspace in blocks based on operational efficiency, not national borders, as at present. The commission would also become a Europe-wide regulator.

The commission believes the latest proposed legislation, known as sEs2+, will reduce costly inefficiencies and the fragmentation of the airspace and remove ancillary services from service providers. But unions across the Eu say that a performance scheme focused on reducing costs is risky.

Controllers, engineers, scientists and support and management staff in naTs argue that:

● massive, forced cost reductions will impact on safety and service provision

● the proposals do not take account of improvements already made by naTs

● the number and quality of uK air traffic management jobs will be affected

● passengers could face increased delays

MP told dangers of Private sector veHicle testingThe UK has a reputation for some of the safest roads in europe, and we want to keep it that way. That was the message from members in the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency at a recent meeting in Parliament with Robert Flello MP, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on freight transport.

Prospect’s delegation met Flello, MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, to counter some of the lobbying that has been taking place on behalf of private sector Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs).

Rob Morton, secretary of the VOSA section said: “The meeting was an important opportunity to get across our side of the story to someone of influence. We explained our concerns about the closure of sites and the ever-increasing role of the

private sector in vehicle testing.”The group shared their research with Robert

Flello. “ We have found that when we randomly test vehicles that were tested by the private sector, around 15 per cent were incorrectly assessed. It’s even worse when we target MOT garages, where the figure rises to 25 per cent.

“The Road haulage Association wants operators to test their own vehicles for commercial reasons, which puts testers under pressure and would add a serious conflict of interest. We think testing should remain independent, impartial and of the high quality that VOSA provides.”

Prospect has been involved in a long-running campaign to keep profit out of road safety.

flybe staff outsourced to balance booksPROSPecT hAS reluctantly backed the transfer of 133 Flybe employees to maintenance provider Monarch Aircraft engineering Ltd (MAeL), as part of a drive to return the short-haul airline to profitability.

Last month the company signed a letter of intent agreeing to outsource its aircraft, hangar mainte-nance, stores and logistics operations at Birmingham, Manchester, east Midlands and Gatwick Airports. Flybe has already outsourced its call centre jobs and is exploring similar options for its customer relations function.

Prospect negotiator John Stevenson said: “The current financial climate has severely limited the choices available to Flybe. We recognise that this is the best way to secure members’ jobs.

“MAeL has an award-winning track record, which we hope will secure employment. hopefully this is a turning point, which will help Flybe create a stable engineering base from which to move forward.”

Prospect, MAeL and Flybe are discussing how to support staff through the transition, agree transfer arrangements and, where unavoidable, good quality severance arrangements.

Air traffic controllers protest over European shake-up

● unbundling safety-critical ancillary services such as meteorology, communications and engineering will introduce fragmentation

● member state control will be removed and airlines will have more

influence over air traffic service providers.

national secretary Emily Boase (left) said: “our members are not against improving service. But they are

adamant that it must be achieved without compromising safety, jobs or working conditions.

“any changes must allow for uK member state and stakeholder influence to establish meaningful performance targets. These targets must not be introduced via top-down influence from Europe or damaging interventions from airlines.”

The prospect campaign is part of a wider day of protest on June 12 being organised by the European Transport Workers’ Federation.

naTs members will send postcards to transport minister simon Burns listing their fears, and hold a demon-stration outside the Department of Transport. a lobby of parliament is also planned for July.

■ Almost 500 jobs are at risk because NAts has been told to

significantly reduce charges to airlines for en-route air traffic services in the UK.

the cuts would hit staff in NAts’ subsidiary, the NERl (NAts En Route plc) business.

NAts used to be solely regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority. But the European Commission now determines the over-arching regulatory framework. the EC is demanding price reductions of between 3 and 7 per cent from all European air navigation service providers.

NAts anticipates that the CAA will

ask it to meet the upper range of EC targets and has drawn up plans based on cuts of 5.3 per cent and 6 per cent before the end of 2014. the company is in discussions with its customers and the CAA to agree the final figure.

Prospect has secured a commitment from NAts that all cuts in NERl will be secured through voluntary reductions where possible.

Air traffic controllers branch interna-tional lead, Aaron Curtis, said: “We are looking to use every available avenue to influence the relevant regulators and authorities and ensure the effect on members is as painless as possible.”

■■ At■Portcullis■House■(l-r):■Parmjit■Dhanda,■parliamentary,■media■and■campaigns■officer,■and■negotiator■Helen■Stevens■with■Robert■Flello■MP,■VOSA■section■secretary■Rob■Morton■and■assistant■secretary■Chris■Walsh

a Prospect survey of members in Bt has produced damning evidence of how trust is being damaged and a climate of

fear created. aveen mchugh reports

MeNtION PerFOrMaNCe management anywhere in Bt and you will hear a litany of complaints. to an outsider this seems a strange obsession – until you start to appreciate the effect this relentless process has and the price it is extracting.

Once a quarter every Bt employee receives a rating from ‘excellent’ to ‘unsatisfactory’. Managers are expected to ‘differentiate’ across their team, but this is often seen as effectively forcing a bell curve1 distribution.

the focus of the process is felt to be on identifying low performers for potential action and dismissal. Prospect has an agreement in place and, for a while, things did improve. However, more recently, things have once again taken a turn for the worse.

Prospect recently undertook a survey of members in Bt. Over 4,000 people responded. the results showed again that too much time is spent on a process that damages employee wellbeing, trust, teamwork and Bt.

ratings are seen as forced, a view shared by line managers. we also saw continued evidence of discrimina-tion. while perceptions of unfairness are strong, there was very little faith in grievance procedures, higher line management or Hr to address abuse. Instead, many people believe that the purpose of the process is to cut jobs on the cheap.

the impact on morale is huge. Prospect asked people how it made them feel. the responses were dominated by people feeling demotivated, demoralised, under-valued

1 Bell curve grading is a statistical method of assigning values designed to yield a pre-determined distribution of results – see the cartoon.

and under-appreciated, as well as stressed. People said they were frequently frustrated and

pressured and were often depressed. People are living in fear, feeling any mistake will lead to

them being marked down and their job put under threat.

Trusted to manage?Prospect members who are line managers feel especially conflicted by the process. they are paid to manage their teams to get them to perform to their best, but then told that they do not have enough poor performers. Not only

are they not trusted to manage their people, but the whole process destroys the team’s trust in their line manager.

prospect stays determinedthis has to change – it is bad for individ-uals, teams and the business. we have shared the results with Bt and have a commitment that we will be fully involved in the development of a more positive approach.

Dealing with this is hugely challenging. we have made every possible argument against this wholly poisonous approach. But no one in Bt senior management admits or even accepts that ratings are forced or that there are targets for managed exits – our agreement prohibits both.

Nothing is ever in writing. But everyone believes ratings are forced and therefore unfair. such is the level of distrust that it is hard to see how appraisal can ever regain credibility.

People are understandably angry and frustrated. Many respondents said Bt should simply scrap the process. Prospect is providing support and advice to members and is raising this abuse at every level. we are deter-

mined this will change.a short printed guide for members has been produced.

there is also lots of detailed guidance on the website at www.prospect.org.uk/Btperformance

If you need help and advice contact the Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060

key findings

■ 73 per cent agreed that, as practised, perfor-mance management was damaging BT; only 12 per cent disagreed.

■ 80 per cent agreed that, as practised, performance manage-ment was damaging employee wellbeing.

■ Just 12 per cent agreed that performance management was making a positive contribution to BT’s performance; 70 per cent disagreed.

■ 86 per cent agreed that too much time was spent on the process.

■ 86 per cent agreed that there is an expected distribution of ratings, which leads people to being marked down for no good reason.

■ 79 per cent of line managers had been put under pressure to deliver an expected distribution and 47 per cent had been told they would be marked down unless they differen-tiated across their team.

■ On average, line managers are spending about eight days per quarter on performance management, rising to 22-23 days for those with the biggest teams.

■ 12 per cent are confident of a fair hearing at a grievance; 64 per cent are not.

■ There is clear evidence of bias. People who were older, worked part-time, were disabled or black or minority ethnic got lower ratings.

Performance management is not measuring up at BT

‘I hate how I feel. I am forced to invent reasons to mark people down. It makes a liar out of me and breaks the trust I have with my people.’ BT line manager

rePorduced By kind PerMission of aLex

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 13

Bt

PRogRESS at a PRicEAs digital transactions start to overtake the use of traditional coins and notes, Roger Darlington highlights the importance of trust

I reCeNtLy returned from a month off work travelling around the world and I used my credit card everywhere on numerous occasions. It was as easy physically and (almost) as painless emotionally to pay for a helicopter flight over Uluru/ayers rock as to buy a cappuccino in an airport departure lounge.

so, why are we still using physical money? what is the future of virtual money? and what is money anyway?

we need to start by understanding the different uses of money: to buy, to save, and to invest.

as far as purchases are concerned, we seem to have been talking for ever about the notion of an e-wallet or e-purse.

as a Londoner, I use an Oyster card for

journeys on the under-ground, but the facility to

make small-value payments for other goods and services using similar technology is still very limited through schemes such as Barclaycard OnePulse.

an obvious idea is to deploy the mobile smart-phone that so many of us now have and use for so many purposes.

and a new approach to micro-payments is coming from Uk mobile operators ee, O2 and Vodafone. the joint venture was originally called Project Oscar and is now being rolled out with the more consumer-friendly name weve, since the idea is that you will simply ‘wave and pay’.

the weve service will use a technology called ‘near field communications’, which will put an e-wallet on your phone, with deductions made by passing the mobile over an NFC-enabled reader at a till or check out. weve itself will not be a consumer brand but a platform for a whole range of loyalty cards and networks.

Now consider money as a means of saving. Most modern economies suffer from inflation and all currencies fluctuate in value, so saving in pounds, or

euros or dollars is problematic. also ultimately most currencies – notably the mighty dollar – are backed by gold reserves, but the price of gold has been falling quite dramatically.

this has led internet entrepreneurs to experiment with the notion of virtual currencies. Perhaps the most successful to date has been Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is technologically very sophisticated. It uses a software system that enables people with access to powerful computers to ‘mine’ Bitcoins and then securely use the resulting ‘coins’ for online trading.

the system is set up so that the number of Bitcoins can never exceed 21m and that they will become progressively harder to ‘mine’ as the years go by.

However, nobody knows who is behind Bitcoin – the best guess is that it is a Japanese guy in his thirties. also the valuation of the ‘coins’ seems to be the subject of a speculative bubble.

It fell to a low of $7 in august 2011; then it hit a new high of $266 in early april 2013 before falling $160 in a day.

Buying and saving are minor uses of money compared to transactions – officially investments – on the world’s stock markets. Here the volume and speed of electronic transactions are so great that human beings have a limited role.

Instead algorithms make split-second decisions and powerful computers make vast numbers of

sales and purchases of stock. this manic system is wide open to manipulation.

In april 2013, the syrian electronic army successfully attacked the twitter account of associated Press news agency and issued bogus messages announcing that President Obama had been injured in a bomb attack. the Dow Jones fell 143 points before sense prevailed.

what is money anyway? economists define it as a medium of exchange or a store of value, but it can be anything – shells, coins, gold, binary digits – in which users have a suffi-cient degree of trust

and confidence. If that trust goes – as we saw in Germany in the 1930s or at Northern rock in 2007 – all bets are off.

the future of money seems to be increasingly digital, but it remains to be seen whether consumers and citizens will place more trust in algorithms and programmers than in banks and governments.

■■ Roger■Darlington■is■a■technology■expert■–■see■www.rogerdarlington.co.uk

Profile

14 ■ May 2/13

coLuMn

pay seTTlemenTs Jan-may 2013Prospect pay settlements are currently above average when compared with the economy as a whole. The union’s median level is 3 per cent – compared with 2.5 per cent across the whole economy, according to independent pay specialists Income Data Services. The disparity is because settlements in the energy and defence sectors have kept pace with inflation (see page 21 for defence pay deals).

However, the average will slow down later in the year as pay awards in the public sector are settled – with an average 1 per cent cap .

energyOne-year settlements in the energy sector include:

Kilroot Power Station and AeS Ballylumford, where members accepted deals worth 3 per cent, from January 1. At Scottish and Southern energy, members accepted 4.5 per cent, effective from April 1.

Drax Power members accepted 3.5 per cent for the first year in a two-year settlement from January 1. Shift allowances were also increased by 2 per cent.

northern Powergrid members, currently in the fourth year of a five-year deal, received a pay rise of 3.1 per cent, effective from April 1.

eggborough Power Station members accepted 3.17 per cent from April 1. It is the second year of a two-year settlement.

Low Level Waste Repository’s settlement is worth 2.75 per cent, effective from April 1.

other one-year settlementsStansted Airport members accepted a 3

per cent deal from January 1 covering basic, shift pay and allowances. It includes a non-consolidated bonus of up to £900 per person if targets are achieved.

O2 members accepted a one-year offer worth 2.5 per cent from March.

UKAS members accepted an offer worth 2 per cent from April 1. It is performance-related and ranges from 0 to 3 per cent.

Plymouth Marine Laboratory’s settlement is worth 3.9 per cent from April 1. The field work allowance increased by 2.1 per cent while the special bonus scheme increased by 0.1 per cent.

At national Trust (england) , members accepted an offer worth 2.25 per cent from April 1. Increases range from 1 to 3.75 per cent and are based on performance. Mid-scale points increased by 1.5 per cent.

Pay researCHers Incomes Data services recently asked: ‘why can performance-related pay prompt debate?’ Prospect is well placed to answer this question because members across the union are participating in just such a debate.

It’s clear that, for many, this is an issue of fairness. while it is difficult to argue in principle against paying more for higher contribution, this raises a whole series of other questions including how much more; who decides; and how to ensure that payment really is for additional contribution.

systems that many will recognise, which rely on secret performance ratings or the use of quotas, are widely discredited, and rightly so.

Behaviourally-based compe-tency frameworks provide inher-ently subjective assessments of performance, and are therefore prone to inconsistency and unfairness.

Prospect surveys have repeat-edly shown that minority ethnic members, those with a disability, older and part-time workers tend to receive lower performance ratings. such unfairness can, of course, open the way for equal pay claims.

the IDs analysis is interesting, though, because it explores this issue from the employers’ perspective, highlighting the difficulties of measuring performance with any degree of precision.

this is likely to be a particular challenge for the kinds of specialist and advisory roles undertaken by many Prospect members.

an individual’s contribution to a team or wider organisational success can also be hard to determine. Conversely external factors, over which individuals have no control, can impact on their ability to achieve objectives.

Neither should the underlying presumption that individual performance is motivated by the prospect of higher reward be taken at face value.

For example, the government’s proposal to introduce performance pay for school teachers

In a recent poll of over 1,000 working people, 90 per cent

said senior executives should not receive pay rises

when pay is being cut for other employees

■■ The■government’s■plans■to■introduce■performance■pay■for■school■teachers■flies■in■the■face■of■experience■in■the■USA■

Fairer pay systems vitalflies in the face of experience in the Usa. Just such an initiative across 200 New york state schools found no evidence of a positive effect on student performance or attendance. Focus on rewarding selected outputs can also compromise quality of service overall.

tight general pay budgets can lead to a greater focus on performance pay and constrain the ability to deliver a satisfactory reward for the majority.

IDs also warns of using performance pay to squeeze the overall pay bill, citing the recent angry response of journalists at the Financial Times and reuters to plans to load a high propor-

tion of the overall pay pot into perfor-mance increases.

the ability to secure significant performance pay awards often seems to be confined to the most senior organisational levels. But public tolerance for such perceived double standards is reducing.

In a recent Unions 21 poll of over 1,000 working people, 90 per cent said senior executives should not receive pay rises when pay is being cut for other employees.

IDs conclude that many companies have recognised the deficiencies of their performance pay systems and have tried to reform and refine them. Prospect would, of course, always seek to negotiate improvements to pay systems.

But it’s worth reflecting on the conclusions of two leading lights of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development – Duncan Brown and Michael armstrong. they found that the effec-tiveness of performance-related pay ‘is highly context and situation-specific’. their research also regularly revealed problems when schemes were put into practice.

If that’s the insider perspective, maybe IDs asked the wrong question. a more appro-priate challenge is: when will performance pay be replaced by fairer and more effective pay systems?

sue ferns, Prospect’s director of communications and research, analyses the latest thinking on performance-related pay

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 15

Pay

Profile

16 ■ May 2/13

Heritage

Graham Stewart goes behind the scenes to talk to members who safeguard our heritage and bring in the visitorsCuratorS, ConServatorS, archivists and other specialists help the uK earn billions each year in cultural tourism. they are also leaders in their field of study or discipline.

Heritage tourism is worth £12.5bn a year to the uK, according to oxford economics. add in indirect economic benefits and that rises to £21bn.

But hundreds of specialists have lost their jobs and national museums and galleries have lost an average 15 per cent in funding since 2010. Low pay is already a huge issue, with another 5-6 per cent funding cut

expected in June’s spending review. national secretary alan Leighton says:

“Low pay rates mean specialist staff will leave before they are pushed. this will exacerbate the long-term loss of knowledge and expertise.

“the uK stands to lose its place in the front rank of world museums and heritage tourism, not only for exhibitions but the breadth of staff scholarship, skills, knowledge and experience. We are gearing up for a pay campaign, in an attempt to turn the tide.”

Science legacy of Scottish womenCatherine Booth curated a display for the National Library of Scotland, which celebrates the achievements of Scottish women scientists who worked at a time when it was difficult for them to progress in academia or industry.

With limited space for the display, Catherine had to restrict the number of scientists she could feature. She chose non-living scientists, all born before 1905.

“i chose one representative from each of various scientific disciplines to illustrate that women were prominent in all areas – mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, zoology, geology, botany, biology and engineering. Virtually all of these women are unknown by the general public, yet their achieve-ments were quite remarkable.”

● Victoria Drummond, the first female marine engineer, who gained a Lloyd’s bravery medal for her conduct in a bombing attack in 1940

● Williamina Fleming, who discovered hundreds of different stars and other celestial phenomena including the Horsehead Nebula

● Marion Gray, whose ‘gray graph’ is now central in network theory

● isabella Gordon, who was a world expert in crustacean biology

● Muriel robertson, whose work on single-celled organisms helped to eradicate bacterial infections

● Charlotte auerbach, respected for valuable research into mutagenic effects of chemicals

● Maria Gordon, the first to understand how the Dolomites were formed, and who then did definitive geological and palaeontological studies there

● Marion ross, who identified properties of a crystal now found to be an efficient ion conductor.

“to find the names of these women, i first used general biographies, especially the Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, then scientific biographical works. Once i had my shortlist, it was easy enough working in the library here to find obitu-aries, books and articles the scientists had written. i then had the problem of making these publications look attractive enough to display, as scientific works are not usually terribly visually appealing.

“i tackled it by preparing panels, each with a photograph of the person, a brief biography, and images from their works. We also displayed some actual items by or about them from our collections. Because much of their work still has relevance today, i was able to find modern journals, which cited the work of some of the women, so i included these to illus-trate their continuing legacy.”

Meet the curators

tONy KyriaCOu / rex FeatureS

annette KinG, modern and contemporary paintings conservator, explains her work:

there is no such thing as a typical day at tate as my work varies with

the projects that are current at tate Modern as well as any treatments i may have in the studio or research i am carrying out. i move between tate Modern and tate Britain quite often, installing exhibitions, doing paperwork or working on a painting in the studio.

the Lichtenstein exhibition has been a fantastic experience. i have followed it through from its early stages. it is the brain-child of curators at tate and in the uS, and a huge team has worked to make it happen.

there are over 120 works in the show, some very large and most very fragile and the logistics of gathering them together all in one place are complex.

the exhibition began in Chicago and for this the paintings from tate had to be prepared, packed and condition reports sent with them. the show went on to the national Gallery, Washington, where tate conserva-tors from sculpture and paintings went to condition check all the works before they arrived at tate.

once the works arrive at tate we unpack and condition check each work before it is installed by our team of art handlers. Some of the images are iconic and known so well through reproduction, but nothing can match examining the original painting. the surfaces are delicate and still bear the original pencil

marks laid out by the artist. the paint is still fresh and vibrant and you can see all the tiny idiosyncracies that can only be the result of a handmade piece. it is very exciting to see the exhibition rise around you and there is a great sense of teamwork as it nears completion.

My favourite time is just before it opens, when it looks beautiful and there is a sense of calm after the storm of installation and before it is revealed to the press and public. then it’s back to the computer to sort out photographs, paperwork and to begin another project.

Whaam!... Tate goes pop!

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 17

Heritage

London eXHiBitionS

■ Pompeii and herculaneum

– the British Museum: www.

britishmuseum.org/whats_on/

exhibitions/pompeii_and_

herculaneum.aspx

■ Man ray portraits – National

Portrait Gallery: www.npg.org.

uk//whatson/man-ray-portraits/

exhibition.php

■ David Bowie – the V&A:

www.vam.ac.uk/content/

exhibitions/david-bowie-is/

■ Photographs by Sebastião

Salgado – the Natural History

Museum: www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/

whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/

salgado-genesis/

■ roy Lichtenstein

retrospective – Tate Modern:

www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/

tate-modern/exhibition/

lichtenstein

eLSeWHere in tHe uK

■ treasures – National

Library of Scotland:

www.nls.uk/exhibitions/

treasures

■ out of the Shadows –

Scottish National

Portrait Gallery:

www.nationalgalleries.

org/visit/floorplans-303/

exhibitions/

out-of-the-shadow-

women-of-ninteenth-

century-scotland

■ 20th Century Chic:

100 years of women’s

fashion – Sudley House,

National Museums

Liverpool: www.

liverpoolmuseums.

org.uk/sudley/

exhibitions/20th-

Century-Chic/

aLySon PoLLarD studied textile design at West Surrey College of art and design and then completed a Post Graduate Certificate in education at Crewe and alsager College.

Her first job was as a documentation assistant in the textile and costume department at Bankfield Museum, Halifax.

Later she worked as a project assistant at Croxteth Hall in Liverpool, which eventually led to her present post as curator of metalwork and glass at national Museums Liverpool.

alyson joined Prospect in 1991. “i think a colleague asked if i would be inter-ested in helping on the branch executive. then, we were local government workers and our union was naLGo.”

When the museums and art galleries in Liverpool gained national status in 1986, staff were transferred to the civil service and iPMS replaced naLGo.

“there are many good things about being a member, but one of the best things is that you work with such a committed team of people, both the full-time Prospect officers and colleagues on the branch at nML. it is incredibly useful to have that support network and access to specialist advisers.

“the bad things are that sometimes, in personal cases, you may accompany a colleague to a very difficult meeting and then try to help them deal with the conse-quences of that meeting. occasionally, as a union rep you can feel torn between the demands of the union role rep and the demands of your job.”

auSteritY MenuCuts to heritage funding and job losses in the sector seem to have happened by stealth despite the atmosphere of austerity that pervades political discus-sion. But what can Prospect do about it?

alison believes: “the big issues we are dealing with are the consequences of cutbacks, both past and present. We will shortly be entering into another round of negotiations, so at the moment we do not know exactly how future cutbacks will affect us, although redundancies have been mentioned. nationally, i do feel that civil servants are undervalued and vilified and we need to tackle this very negative and damaging perception.”

on the future at nML, alyson does not duck the fact that there are big challenges facing staff and museum management.

producing the underpinnings, which give the garments the correct shape.

“it is clear looking at the clothes on display in the exhibition that the lives of women have changed enormously during the 20th century.”

Clothes both reflect and affect our behaviour in society and how we are seen by others, says alyson. “ Women today are much more fortunate than their great-grandmothers in that they have far more rights in law and are freer to be what they want to be in life and wear what they want.

“ the two world wars were a major reason for this extraordinary pace of change; contributing to women becoming more active out of home, joining the workplace and generally broadening their horizons.”

alongside these social shifts, new materials and improvements in manufacturing methods made clothes less expensive, allowing more women to buy good quality garments than ever before, she says. “this growing freedom of choice meant that by 2000 a woman could use her clothing to express her personality: a simple thing, so easy to take for granted today, but unthinkable only ten decades earlier.

“i wonder if it is something that we have become a little complacent about. any moves to more flexible working patterns, provision of crèches etc in the workplace, are welcome and help both sexes. of course it’s important to highlight the wide variety of valuable roles that women undertake today in the civil service. By sharing experiences we can improve things for the future.”

20th Century Chic: fashion exhibition that provides insight into social mobility

“nML receives its funding from central government. its grant-in-aid has been reduced considerably, leading to the loss of 80 members of staff through voluntary severance. departmental budgets have been reduced, resulting in the curtailing or cutting back of certain activities and staff are being stretched to cover more and more work as vacant posts remain unfilled.

“this – coupled with a two-year pay freeze, the threat of redundancies and the knowledge that grant-in-aid is to be reduced even further over the next two years – means that nML is facing some very big challenges.”

FreedoM oF CHoiCealyson has curated an exhibition on display until 2014 that traces how social mobility has shaped women’s clothes.

“20th Century Chic is the third costume exhibition i have curated and perhaps the most challenging in terms of

“There are many good things about being a member, but one of the best things is that you work with such a committed team of people”

LiVerpOOL eCHO

Reasons to be in a union: the attacks keep coming

Jess Hurd/TuC

douglas roberTson

The government’s latest assault on employment rights will make life even harder for workers and easier for employers. Penny Vevers reportsThe coaliTion government’s attacks on employment rights gathered speed in april when the enterprise and Regulatory Reform act received royal assent.

We’ve already seen protection for unfair dismissal reduced, with employees now having to be employed for two years before they can take a claim to tribunal, and from this april, shorter consultation periods were introduced for large-scale collective redundancies – reduced from 90 to 45 days.

From this summer, the government is introducing fees to present claims to employment tribunals, as well as further costs if a claim goes to a hearing (£250 and £950 for unfair

dismissal or equality act claims). The fee for issuing an appeal will be £400, with a further hearing fee of £1,200.

“Without the support of a union behind them these prohibitive fees will deter many people from bringing valid claims,” points out Prospect legal officer Marion Scovell.

“Prospect has agreed to meet the fees for members where we support their claim. This is yet another benefit of membership and demonstrates the union’s commitment to ensure access to justice.”

The eRR act is the vehicle for yet more measures to make it difficult to seek justice through the employment tribunals system. it also contains attacks on equality, and makes it harder for workers to claim legitimate compensation for injuries at work (story, page 6).

The Growth and infrastructure act introduces the proposal to trade rights for shares of at least £2,000, including the right to claim unfair dismissal, redundancy and some family rights (see box, below left).

The government has also recently undertaken a consulta-tion exercise to look at reducing employees’ protection under the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations.

“The wide-ranging attacks on workers’ rights will mean less statutory protection and weakened access to justice,” warns Scovell.

These detrimental changes are rooted in ideology, not logic. contrary to the government’s claims, workers’ rights and too much regulation are not the reasons why employers are reluctant to hire.

it is the coalition’s economic policies of austerity that have damaged companies’ confidence to invest. nor will the government’s attacks on workers’ rights and obsessive focus on deregulation get the economy moving.

one Department for Business survey – the Small

shares for rights has LittLe suPPortThis sepTember, the government’s proposals for a new employment status of employee/shareholder are set to come into force.

The measure will allow employers to give employees shares of at least £2,000 in exchange for some statutory rights, including the right to claim unfair dismissal and

contest redundancy. These workers will be left in a very precarious employment situation with little statutory protection.

The proposal has little support among employers and was heavily defeated in the house of Lords by a wide coalition including prominent Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers.

The TUC has said that the only real practical use for this measure is as a tax dodge, adding: “employment rights should not be for sale. employers do not want to buy them, and employees will not want to sell them.”

■ See Prospect’s submission opposing this measure at http://bit.ly/WzEKC3

■■ Scovell■–■Prospect■committed■to■ensure■access■to■justice

profile

18 ■ May 2/13

eMployMenT rigHTs

rod leon

The bAD NeWsconfidentiality of negotiations before termination of employment (originally described as ‘protected conver-

sations’). Tribunals determining unfair dismissal claims would not be able to take account of any offer, or discussions, between the employer and employee, about the employment terminating on agreed terms.

Power to reduce compensation for unfair dismissal – capping payments at the lower of either 12 months’ pay

or the current maximum of £74,200.

abolition of agricultural Wages Board, resulting in reduced pay and weakened sick pay entitlements.

equality act provisions outlawing harassment by third parties will be repealed.

equality act questionnaires to be abolished – these are a vital tool to help workers find information to help

them decide whether to bring a claim.

Removing civil liability for a breach of health and safety duties – story, page 6.

Whistleblowing claims to be redefined – feature, page 25.

a new mandatory requirement to contact acaS for conciliation before an employment tribunal claim can

be submitted, which will introduce further complexity to the process.

legal officers to be introduced in employment tribunals to perform some decision making instead of judges.

Judges to sit alone in the employment appeal tribunal, unless they themselves direct to have lay members.

AND The NOT sO bAD NeWs...

caste discrimination to be outlawed by making it an aspect of race within the equality act.

employment tribunals to have new power to order an employer to undertake an equal pay audit if they have

been found in breach of equal pay provisions.

employment tribunal power to impose financial penalty on employers found to have breached workers’

rights, where they consider there to have been an ‘aggra-vating factor’.

no qualifying length of service required for dismissals related to political opinion or affiliation.

■■ More■details■about■some■of■these■changes■are■in■Prospect’s■Employment■law■update■325■at:■http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2012/01623

pRospect Reps speak up foR bme Rights at woRkProsPect Nec member and rosyth royal Dockyard branch chair satnam Ner reports from this year’s tUc black workers’ conference

MoRe Than 220 delegates from 27 unions attended the TUc black workers’ conference in london in april.

Two speeches stood out for me: roger McKenzie from Unison spoke passionately about the long struggle for self-organisation, stressing how now, more than ever, black workers need to organise themselves in the workplace and in their communities. he received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Professor elizabeth Anionwu, a nursing campaigner, told delegates about a campaign to raise just under £350,000 for a monument to Mary Seacole in the grounds of St Thomas’ hospital in london. Mary Seacole, the daughter of a Scottish soldier and a Jamaican creole woman, is famous for her role in nursing sick and wounded soldiers during the crimean war.

nec member Freddie Brown, from the Ministry of Defence, moved a Prospect motion on BMe workers, pensions and auto-enrolment. he highlighted the fact that BMe people

were less likely to benefit, and many might be excluded, if the auto-enrol-ment earnings trigger is set too high.

on BMe representation in the workplace, i flagged up the extremely slow rate of progress, the worsening situation of youth unemployment and the increasing pay gap between BMe and white workers. in another debate on increasing diversity at the highest levels of civic and public life, i stressed the role of delegates and TUc affiliates in being actively engaged in work to redress the ethnic penalty.

Prospect delegate Andrea Lawrence from BT said violence against women and girls must be recognised as an international problem. her contribution focused on issues around the recent gang rapes in india.

stephen Forde, of Prospect’s environment, Food and Rural affairs branch, highlighted shortfalls in the arrangements and policy for the independent Police complaints commission, specifically the number of BMe deaths in custody.

congratulations to Freddie Brown, who was successfully elected to serve on the TUc’s race relations committee for another year.

Government backs down on equality commission chanGethe goVernment abandoned its plans to abolish the Commission for equality and human rights’ general duty to promote equality in april.

the duty underpins the work of the commission, so the abolition would have been likely to significantly reduce its power to promote equality.

the duty is contained in section 3 of the equality act and underpins the commission’s role in promoting equality.

it requires the ehrC to discharge its functions with a view to encouraging

and developing a society in which: ● people’s ability to achieve their

potential is not limited by prejudice or discrimination

● there is respect for and protection of each individual’s human rights

● there is respect for the dignity and worth of each individual

● each individual has an equal oppor-tunity to participate in society, and

● there is mutual respect between groups based on understanding and valuing of diversity and on shared respect for equality and human rights.

Business Barometer – found only 6 per cent of small or medium businesses believed regulation was a big barrier to growth. The biggest battle faced by nearly half was the state of the economy, followed by getting banks to lend.

one thing is clear, as Scovell stresses: “With less legal protection there is more need than ever for workers to have union protection through membership. collectively unions will continue to fight to protect and improve workplace rights.”

■■ The■changes■in■the■ERR■Act■will■amend■the■Employment■Rights■Act■1996,■Equality■Act■2010,■and■Employment■Tribunals■Act■1996■in■various■ways■between■now■and■spring■2014■–■see■table■(above),■and■www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/24/pdfs/ukpga_20130024_en.pdf

■■ The■TUC■has■a■rights■campaign■website■at■■http://stopemploymentwrongs.org/

Key Changes in the err aCt

■■ Prospect’s■delegation:■Michael■Thorpe■(E.ON),■Andrea■Lawrence■(BT■London■Central■East),■Malcolm■Weston■(BT■London■Central■East),■Amin■Hossain■(Valuation■Office■Agency),■Leslie■Manasseh■(Prospect■deputy■general■secretary),■Alan■Gooden■(BT■Leicester),■Freddie■Brown■(MOD■Central),■Stephen■Forde■(EFRA)■and■Satnam■Ner■(Rosyth■Royal■Dockyard)

profile

May 2/13 ■ 19

eMployMenT rigHTs

Hinkley Point C cuts may harm new nuclear goalPrOsPeCt Has urged all parties to redouble their efforts to secure an agreement on setting a price for electricity generated by a planned new nuclear plant.

the call came as eDF energy, the company awarded planning permis-sion to build a new Hinkley Point C reactor in somerset, announced plans to scale back on preparatory work and reduce the number of people on the project – because agreement on a price has not been reached.

the French-owned company is proposing to shed around 150 out of a workforce of 800 in a bid to cut costs on the project, set to be the first of a fleet of new nuclear plants in the Uk.

It has already spent £800m on Hinkley Point C and lost its junior partner when Centrica pulled out in February. the project was

costing in the region of £1m a day.

a statement said: “as part of good project management, and to control costs, eDF energy has taken steps to refocus its activi-ties at its Hinkley Point C project. this reflects its priorities ahead of securing the financing necessary for the project.”

Meanwhile, the BBC reported that a strike price

– the sum to be paid per megawatt-hour of electricity – of £95 per MwH had been agreed between the Department of energy and Climate Change and eDF energy, but was vetoed by the treasury, which wants £80 per MwH.

the current wholesale market price is around £45 per MwH, but anything under £90 per MwH would see Hinkley Point C lose money. eDF energy is also said to be seeking a 10 per cent return on the £14bn investment needed.

Prospect national secretary alan Leighton said: “Our members fear that any delay in the preparatory work could impede or delay eDF’s ability to bring the project to fruition once agreement has been reached.

“we call on all involved to redouble their efforts to agree a strike price – particu-

larly as it comes so soon after the recent warning from outgoing Ofgem head, alistair Buchanan, that we are facing an imminent capacity crunch in the Uk unless urgent action is taken.

“without an agreement we risk losing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the country’s decar-bonisation targets and help build a new economy that provides good quality jobs and growth for the Uk.”

Nuclear Industry association chair Lord Hutton warned that if

the talks collapsed it could undermine Britain’s credibility with investors, with knock-on conse-quences for other energy infrastructure projects.

■ In an interview on radio Four’s Today programme, Mycle schneider, a former energy adviser to the French government and anti-nuclear campaigner, claimed that eDF’s debts and the current state of the nuclear industry in France could cast doubt over the company’s ability to finance the Hinkley Point C project.

five vaLLeys PhotograPhy

■■ Decommissioning■at■Hinkley■Point■B■plant■in■Somerset,■next■to■the■site■of■the■planned■new■reactor

■■ Leighton■–■redouble■efforts■to■agree

Profile

20 ■ May 2/13

nucLear

Award hails BAE focus on women scientistsBae systeMs’ work to help young women broaden their career aspirations has been recognised in an Opportunity Now award for ‘inspiring the workforce of the future’. the judges commended the company’s focus on attracting women into

science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related careers through its schools roadshows and mentoring programmes.

In 2012, 14 per cent of its engineering graduate intake was female.

UK plan for contractor involvement worries US defence officialsCONCerNs OVer the Uk’s plans to poten-tially outsource management of its defence procurement were raised by the Us Defense department in May.

the Us and the Uk often share sensitive technology and the Us is concerned about how government-to-government deals would be affected by including a corporate intermediary.

a spokeswoman said: “we do have some concerns over an option that would put contractors in roles normally filled by government employees and the effects this would have on ongoing and future cooperation.”

the Uk’s Defence equipment and support organisation has a £14bn annual budget and employs about 16,500 people in the Uk and overseas – a third of them military officers.

Defence secretary Philip Hammond announced in april that a 12-month ‘assess-ment phase’ will compare two options: a public-sector comparator ‘De&s+’ and a government-owned, contractor-operated arrangement.

Prospect highlighted the risks in this approach in evidence to the commons defence select committee inquiry into defence acquisition. the union said MOD’s strategy “has the clear and sole aim of trans-

ferring the MOD’s entire intelligent customer cadre, and giving control of some £20bn of defence expenditure, to the private sector.”

Prospect recommended two changes to the government’s approach:

● to act as an intelligent customer it must take urgent steps to halt the haemorrhage of staff from the civilian workforce. this means reviewing the cuts programme and addressing the collapse in morale since the 2010 strategic Defence and security review

● it needs to take steps to safeguard the defence industrial base by adopting an active industrial policy that promotes high-value, high-skill manufacturing jobs.

Prospect national secretary steve Jary warned: “MOD faces the prospect of a serious accident or a major mistake in the provision of support to frontline service personnel. this will be the direct result of the rapid and unplanned loss of experienced and skilled staff from MOD.”

links ■ Select committee report: http://bit.ly/defenceacquisition

■ Prospect’s evidence: http://bit.ly/prospect_evidence

■ Government response: http://goo.gl/LoMJa

pay roUnd-Up■ Babcock BeS (Rosyth Royal Dockyard)

members are in the third year of a three-year settlement. The deal is worth 5 per cent from April 1, plus a £350 performance-related payment if targets are met.

■ Members at nord Anglia harrogate have accepted a one-year deal worth 2.5 per

cent from April 1.

■ Members in Flagship Training accepted a one-year deal from April 1 worth 1.9 per

cent for all employees earning over £22,500 and 2.23 per cent for those earning below £22,500 (52.4 per cent of the workforce). The total paybill cost was 2 per cent.

■ At BAe Surface Ships, members have accepted a one-year settlement,

effective from April 1, worth 3 per cent.

■ Members at BAe Land Systems Munitions have accepted a 3 per cent offer from

January 1. The one-year deal also includes agreement on flexi-time working, extended leave and a new pay and grading system, which includes job evaluation. A 3.75 per cent bonus was also paid.

■ BAe Systems Land Systems Vehicles and Shared Services have accepted a

one-year offer worth 3 per cent from January 1, plus a bonus.

ConCerns as mod gives Up on workforCe planningPROSPeCT hAS criticised the Ministry of Defence for giving up “even trying to undertake effective workplace planning.”

The accusation followed MOD’s response to a house of Commons defence select committee report on defence acquisition, which looked at MOD’s skills base.

The department told the committee it had been “working hard to improve our ability to conduct strategic skills planning and review very closely the skills and numbers of people we need to deliver our outputs.”

But Prospect national secretary Steve Jary said this

was simply not the case. “At the end of April, MOD decided to stop asking staff to record their skills and qualifica-tions on its systems. They have also stopped requiring managers to record the skills requirements for particular jobs.

“The department has given up even trying to undertake effective workforce planning. Its response to the defence select committee is just hollow and plain wrong. how can it lead a defence indus-trial strategy when it admits it cannot even audit the skills base for its own staff?”

■■ BAE■Systems’■Jenny■Westworth■won■the■first■Apprentice■Champion■of■the■Year■Award■which■recognises■role■models■for■apprenticeships■in■the■UK.■She■completed■her■advanced■apprenticeship■in■aerospace■engineering■at■Military■Air■and■Information■in■Warton,■Lancashire,■in■2011.

■■ Charlotte■Tingley■was■the■Institution■0f■Engineering■and■Technology■Young■Woman■Engineer■of■the■Year.■She■has■a■key■role■in■the■Eurofighter■Typhoon■programme■production■team■working■on■BAE■Systems■Electronic■Systems’■advanced■fighter■pilot■helmet

carL fox/daiLy Mirror

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 21

defence

Treasury recognises skills shortages but won’t act on themtHIs year’s treasury pay guidance has reflected the pressure on whitehall to address recruitment and retention difficul-ties, exacerbated by funding cuts and redun-dancy measures across central government.

However, the remuneration climate is still cold and the pay freeze shows no sign of thawing, with the guidance stating that bargaining units are covered by an average 1 per cent increase for 2013.

the treasury has agreed to consider requests from departments for flexibility to address recruitment and retention problems by reallocating funding from the non-consolidated performance pay pot to the overall pay bill.

But the pot adjustment is limited to 0.5 per cent of the baseline pay bill and must not endanger performance pay arrangements.

Prospect researcher Jonathan Green said: “Departments will be expected to provide

evidence of exceptional recruitment difficul-ties to access flexibilities. this is significant because the treasury has recognised that on-going pay restraint is causing serious skills shortages in some workforce groups.

“this is consistent with reports from bargaining units and with evidence presented by Hay consultants to the Cabinet Office in 2012 that engineers attract some of the highest premiums in the private sector along with project managers and other specialist roles.”

Green said there was also a shift in emphasis on contractual pay progression. a decision on whether to include the cost of progression in the 1 per cent total was discretionary last year. this year depart-ments are ‘encouraged’ to include the costs.

On equal pay, Green said the 1 per cent cap has worsened anomalies in pay systems because differentials have shortened and progression has been deferred.

Maude pushes nudge unit towards privatisationtHe LONG list of words to describe the process of the state divesting its assets has a new addition – mutualisation.

Media eyes were on the Cabinet Office in May, when minister Francis Maude announced that his behav-ioural insights team, aka the nudge unit, is to be ‘mutualised.’

the plan is for the unit to transform itself into a profit-making venture, with the private sector bidding for a 50 per cent stake and the company free to tout for work outside

whitehall and with guaranteed government contracts for three years.

Maude said the government intends to roll out this model for public services over the next two years.

according to the Independent newspaper, 75,000 civil servants could be spun off into private companies with ownership shared between staff, government and private investors.

targets for mutualisation include whitehall It, personnel and legal

functions and, in the longer term, the Land registry and the Office for National statistics.

Deputy general secretary Leslie Manasseh said: “If the Cabinet Office behavioural team needs an insight into how government specialists feel about this, here it is: they want to be valued and respected, not privatised in the name of political dogma.”

In some areas any kind of sell-off would encounter opposition.

the Ministry of Defence’s plan to transform its Defence equipment

and support organisation into a government-owned, contractor-operated business has already run into trouble with the Pentagon, which is worried that sensitive information shared between nations would be at risk (story, page 21).

Manasseh stressed: “what the civil service needs is investment not divestment.

“Cuts and austerity policies have left it dangerously denuded of the skills it needs to act as an intelligent customer on behalf of the public.”

REdUndancy conSUltationThe CabineT office is consulting unions on changes to statutory redundancy consultation periods.

it intends to align the civil service with the department for business changes that came into force in april (see pages 18-19).

The change means a reduction from 90 to 45 days on consultation before large-scale redundancies can take place. it also wants to amend the process of civil service ‘periods of reflection’ to fit in with the new arrangements.

reform,one year on...KeeP yOUR eyes peeled in June when Prospect’s response to the civil service reform plan – one year on – is published. The report looks at six key reform strands pursued by the government and rates their success or otherwise. It also reiterates Prospect’s agenda for reform and identifies common ground in positive Cabinet Office intentions to cut across departmental silos, build organisational capacity in key specialist skills and invest in staff.

■■ Prospect’s■report■will■rate■the■government’s■six■key■civil■service■reform■strands

stefano cagnoni

Mark thoM

as

■■ Members■at■Prospect’s■civil■service■pay■seminar■in■November■2012

Profile

22 ■ May 2/13

civiL service

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 23

Science

Science and engineering – the possibilities are endlessProsPect worked with the Government office for science to organise a science and engineering careers fair in May. the event in London attracted a range of exhibitors and offered attendees the opportunity to network, experience bite-sized learning and hear about projects and career and skill opportunities in the public sector. seminars covered: selling yourself; prior-itising professional development; pathways in policy and project leadership.

A mAjor breakthrough in the quest to control foot-and-mouth disease has pushed the boundaries of scientific research.

Scientists in two Prospect workplaces collaborated with others to develop a new way to produce a vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease. It will have an impact on how we fight other viruses from the same family, including polio.

The research looked at producing a vaccine for the FmD virus that:

● does not rely on growing live infectious virus

● is safer to produce ● is more stable and ● is easier to store by reducing the

need for a cold chain. Foot-and-mouth is one of the

most economically important diseases in livestock worldwide, affecting cloven-hoofed animals, in particular cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer. Approximately 3 to 4 billion doses of vaccine are administered every year.

Dr Bryan Charleston, head of the livestock viral diseases programme at the Pirbright Institute, said: “The FmDV epidemic in the UK in 2001 was disas-trous and cost the economy billions of pounds in control measures and compensation.

“This important work has been a direct result of the additional funding that was provided as a result of the 2001 outbreak to research this highly contagious disease.”

The team included scientists from the Pirbright Institute’s livestock viral diseases team in Surrey, scientists from Diamond Light Source in oxfordshire

Research revolution for foot-and-mouth vaccine

Andrew BrookeS

Helen TriST

PicTureS: MArk THoM

AS

Make Science funding a public diScuSSionscience is Vital, the grassroots group that helped stave off cuts to research funding in 2010, is on the march again. it has launched a new campaign asking the government to invest at least 0.8 per cent of GdP in science.

the campaigners have launched a public petition and are running a survey on the effects of the current cash freeze on Uk scientists and engineers.

if you care about science and engineering in the Uk, please show your support by signing the petition, taking part in the survey and spreading the word about the campaign.

■■ The■petition■is■at■http://bit.ly/science_petition

■■ The■survey■is■at■http://bit.ly/science_vital_petition

■■ Read■the■letter■that■restarted■the■campaign,■signed■by■over■50■leading■scientists■in■the■UK,■at■http://bit.ly/science_letter

waLk this way for ParticLe PhysicsPhotograPhers got a rare chance to explore and photograph accelera-tors and detectors at particle physics laboratories around the world in september 2012.

In the innovative competition called ‘Photowalk’, ten leading particle physics labs, including the Daresbury Laboratory, rutherford appleton Laboratory, Chilbolton observatory and the UK astronomy technology Centre, offered special behind-the-scenes access to their facilities.

UK science photographer helen trist was third-place winner (pictured)from almost 40 finalists and many thousands of entries. the top 39 photo-graphs from the Photowalk, including the six winners of the jury and ‘people’s choice’ competitions, can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/photowalk_2013

and experts in structural analysis and computer simulation at oxford University.

They used a method developed by Professor Ian jones from the University of reading.

Professor David Stuart, life science director at Diamond Light Source, said: “What we have achieved here is close to the holy grail of foot-and-mouth vaccines.”

Professor Stuart added that the breakthrough was down to the continued support of funding agencies, the individual and collective persever-ance of the entire collaboration and access to 21st-century scientific tools to push the boundaries of scientific research.

Nigel Gibbens, the UK’s chief veterinary officer, said: “This vaccine has been developed using some truly groundbreaking techniques which are a credit to the quality of British scientists working in the field of animal health.”

■■ Scientists■were■able■to■visualise■something■a■billion■times■smaller■than■a■pinhead

■■ Above:■visitors■at■the■careers■fair.■Left:■Sir■Mark■Walport,■the■government’s■chief■scientific■adviser;■Baroness■Margaret■Wall■of■New■Barnet;■and■Professor■Elliot■Shubert■of■the■Natural■History■Museum

■■ The■story:■www.pirbright.ac.uk/FrontStories/2013/FMDV.aspx

■■ ■The■research■programme:■■www.pirbright.ac.uk/research/immexovirinf/Default.aspx

■■ www.diamond.ac.uk/Home/Media/LatestNews/27_03_13.html

NEWSProfile

24 ■ May 2/13

“In the long run, the reforms are forecast to reduce expenditure on state pensions;

the average person will be worse off as a result of these plans”

The biggest shake-up of state pensions in a generation will take effect in April

2016. Prospect’s pensions officer Neil Walsh outlines the government’s plans

RefoRm of the state pension system is a central feature of the government’s legislative agenda for the coming parlia-mentary session. A bill on this, following on from a white paper published in January, featured in the Queen’s speech and has recently been introduced to parliament.

The proposals represent the most significant overhaul in a generation. However the impression given that a new single-tier state pension of £144 per week will benefit all is highly misleading.

The impact of the proposals will be very different for different groups of Prospect members.

What’s more, they are forecast to reduce expenditure on state pensions in the long run, and the average person will be worse off as a result of these plans.

Inexplicably, the government has introduced reforms that hit those with the least pension provision the most.

In the short term, the changes withdraw billions of pounds of support to good quality, defined benefit pension schemes and this could have significant consequences for many.

The chancellor pre-empted the intro-duction of the bill by announcing in this year’s budget that the reforms would take effect from April 2016. This means that anyone reaching state pension age before April 2016 will be unaffected by the changes.

Private sector defined benefit schemesoverall, the impact on members of most private sector defined benefit schemes will be neutral. However, within that, the overall neutral impact will hide individual winners and losers. But the impact on certain categories of members in privatised utilities who are protected persons may be positive.

Private sector defined benefit scheme members will qualify for a state pension of up to £144 per week rather than just the Basic State Pension of £110.15 per week. The precise amount of extra state pension will depend on every member’s circumstances – someone who reaches state pension age shortly after the reforms are implemented will get no less than their current entitle-ment, but will be unlikely to get the full £144 per week.

However, in return for this higher state pension, these members will pay about 1 per cent of pay in higher National Insurance contributions.

As well as higher National Insurance contributions, the bill provides for employers to reduce their own schemes’ benefits to offset the higher state pension so that the overall position for this group, taking into account state pension, National Insurance and company pension, is neutral.

Prospect will oppose any unilateral reductions to benefits imposed without agreement. In particular the union strongly opposes undermining the Protected Persons Regulations to allow employers in the electricity industry to reduce benefits for members.

Public service schemesone group to benefit from the proposals are members of public service pension schemes. The impact in terms of state pension and National Insurance are the same as for members of private sector defined benefit schemes.

However, as a result of recent public service pension reforms, the govern-ment has agreed not to make changes to its occupational pension schemes. Public service scheme members benefit because the increase in state pension of up to £34 per week outweighs the impact of the higher National Insurance contributions.

Prospect members’ action on November 30, 2011, secured a 25-year commitment to protect the reforms members agreed to. ministers have confirmed that this means the state pension reforms benefit public service members.

Huge overhaul for state pensions

Qualifying for State PenSion■ Under the

current system, 30 qualifying years are required for a full basic state pension.

■ 35 years will be required for the

full single-tier pension.

■ Members expected to have

fewer qualifying years may want to consider making voluntary contributions.

Defined contribution schemesThe group most affected by the proposals are private sector workers who are members of defined contribu-tion pension schemes or not in any scheme at all. Generally speaking, these workers pay full National Insurance contributions and are entitled to a benefit called State Second Pension as well as the basic state pension.

While people often think of state pensions in terms of the basic state pension of £110.15 per week, the State Second Pension is also very significant and can be worth a maximum of £163 per week (in 2013-14).

Hence private sector workers in defined contribution schemes, or not in any pension scheme at all, can earn up to a maximum of £273.15 per week in state pension from the current system.

Anyone in this category who has already earned more than the proposed single-tier pension (say £160 per week) will have that level of benefit protected.

However, nobody in this group will be able to build up more State Second Pension after the reforms are imple-mented. many will be restricted to the single-tier level of £144 per week rather than building up the higher benefits obtainable under the current system. many workers in this group will be signifi-cant losers from the government’s plans.

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 25

WhistlebloWing

Are you concerned about malpractice at work? Are you worried about who to approach and what might happen if you do?

While it might be understandable to be concerned, the law protects your job and protects you from victimisation if you speak out about wrongdoing in the workplace.

In fact, in the wake of major exposés of recent years, such as the Mid Staffordshire NHS Inquiry, the phone tapping leading to the Leveson Inquiry, and the MPs’ expenses scandal, whistle-blowing has become something of a household term.

For listed companies, it is part of the obligation under the uK Corporate Governance Code for employers to maintain a sound system of internal control (ie have a whistle-blowing policy).

The Financial Times recently reported that 37 per cent of companies surveyed in 2012 said that informants had raised issues of potential internal wrongdoing. This is up from 21 per cent in 2011 and just 6 per cent in 2009.

However, reporting suspected wrongdoing is much less common in the uK than in the uS. This might be a cultural difference, or could flow from the fact that American whistle-blowers can receive monetary rewards from uS government agencies for reporting their workplace concerns.

Most employers should have a genuine interest in uncov-ering wrongdoing or dangerous practices, and should welcome a disclosure, although they will also want to manage what infor-mation is spread to the outside world, in which case it is good to know your rights. The first port of call should be the employer’s whistleblowing guidance policy.

The next port of call is the law, which comprises: ● the Bribery Act 2010 (which creates criminal liability where

an organisation fails to report bribery) ● the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, which amended the

employment rights Act 1996 ● and now the enterprise and regulatory reform Act 2013 (‘the

new act’), passed on April 25 this year, and expected to be in force this summer.

Before the new act, to qualify for protection, your disclosure needed only to have been made in good faith and relate to wrongdoing – defined as the commission of a criminal offence, a breach of any legal obligation, a miscarriage of justice, danger to the health and safety of any individual or damage to the environment.

The new act has introduced the requirement that disclosures

As a growing number of employees choose to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, Josephine Van Lierop explains some changes to the law

Disclosure at work: a whistlestop tour of your rights

must now be made ‘in the public interest’. This closes what some called a ‘loophole’, which permitted workers to blow the whistle, and seek protections, for purely private matters, such as a breach of their individual contract.

Case law is likely to develop on what amounts to a disclosure in the public interest, but if you are raising concerns, you might want to make clear why you consider the issues raised are of wider interest than your own personal interest.

Disclosures no longer need to be made strictly in good faith. However, where they are not, an employment tribunal considering awarding compensation for a breach of the whistle-blowers’ protection provisions can reduce the amount by up to 25 per cent. Therefore, it is wise for workers to consider the intention behind their disclosure, as well as who they are making the disclosure to.

one of the amendments rejected by Parliament was to extend protections to workers at the stage that they are initially applying for jobs. This was designed to prevent blacklisting jobseekers who have made protected disclosures against previous employers.

As this was not accepted, only those who have commenced employment will be protected. However, the employment appeal tribunal held recently that the whistleblower’s protection extended to post-termination disclosures, which lead to detri-mental treatment.

If a whistleblower is sacked and not recruited by others because they had been a whistleblower, this would not give rise to a separate claim against the prospective new employer, but may well impact on their compensation.

The new act introduces greater protection for individuals from harassment when they blow the whistle at work. The employer will be held liable for harassment by fellow workers, by default, unless they can show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. This will include demonstrating that they have a whistleblowing policy in place dealing with how those who blow the whistle are treated and supported, and showing that the policy is implemented in practice. Thus, the right to blow the whistle is likely to receive more workplace interest over the next few months.

■■ Josephine■Van■Lierop■is■an■employment■law■solicitor■at■Prospect’s■solicitors,■Slater■&■Gordon

■■ A■Prospect■members’■guide■to■whistleblowing■will■be■available■soon.

Profile

26 ■ May 2/13

deceased MeMBers

Mr J Adam 30/04/2013 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr A H S Ahmed 12/03/2013 London Central Retired Members GroupDr H A Anderson 14/03/2013 United Kingdom Accreditation ServiceMr S D Archibald 19/02/2013 Northern Ireland ElectricityMr AR Arnott 04/03/2013 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr K Bailey 17/04/2013 Eastern GroupMr T Baldwin 27/02/2013 National GridMr J Barker 21/02/2013 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr J Barnett 18/04/2013 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr A G H Batt 15/03/2013 InnogyMr F E Bawcutt 19/03/2013 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMrs S E Beaumont 28/02/2013 North West/North Wales RegionalMrs M C Beavan 04/03/2013 Wales Retired Members GroupMr S G Belton 01/03/2013 National GridMr G Berry 18/03/2013 Northern PowergridMr M H Bicknell 25/02/2013 Central Southern Retired Members Group Mr S P Bishop 28/02/2013 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr J J Black 19/03/2013 Southern Retired Members Group Mr G T I Booth 19/03/2013 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr K V Botham 08/04/2013 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr N Boyd 20/03/2013 InnogyMr R Breingan 05/03/2013 Scottish PowerMr F L Bright 12/03/2013 British EnergyMr F G Brightman 04/03/2013 AviationMr J Britton 26/03/2013 United UtilitiesMr V C Broom 28/02/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMr A R Brown 25/03/2013 Scottish PowerMr J J Burroughs 02/04/2013 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr G J Burtenshaw 18/03/2013 London ElectricityMr K Burton 13/03/2013 East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr M D Bush 27/03/2013 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr RH Cann 04/03/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMr H H Cartwright 09/04/2013 Central Networks – WestMr M T Chalk 14/02/2013 Flagship Training BabcockMr M Clarke 14/03/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMr C E J Coham 06/02/2013 E.On UKMr F E W Coleman 01/03/2013 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr R C F Cooper 02/04/2013 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr C Cooper 12/04/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMr C W Craig 06/03/2013 East Anglia Retired Members GroupMr W H Crowther 14/03/2013 E.On UKMr T Cuthbertson 19/03/2013 British EnergyMr F W Davey 01/05/2013 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr T L Davis 25/03/2013 E.On UKMr B A Donovan 19/03/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMr P Downes 21/03/2013 BT BirminghamMr R Dunford 15/03/2013 Beloit WalmsleyMr H L Dunn 12/03/2013 E.On UKMr M J Egan 05/03/2013 London UndergroundMr H N Embleton 25/03/2013 North East Retired Members GroupMrs D Emmess 01/05/2013 BT West PenninesMr M N Evans 26/02/2013 Sellafield LimitedMr R Farish 25/03/2013 InnogyMr A E Finn 15/02/2013 Southern Retired Members GroupMr W G Fleming 01/03/2013 Magnox Nuclear North and South SitesMr A Fletcher 02/04/2013 Western Power DistributionMr J A Flett 25/02/2013 Scottish and Southern Energy GroupMr A J Forbes 19/03/2013 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr J W Foster 29/04/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMr R C Fuller 18/03/2013 London Central Retired Members GroupMrs J Gabbitas 05/04/2013 Office for National StatisticsMr F Gallagher 19/03/2013 Northern Ireland ElectricityMr A K Geairns 25/02/2013 Central Networks – WestMr R W George 17/04/2013 Crabtree (Electronic Ind)Mr G A Gibbons 04/03/2013 London ElectricityMr J Gilchrist 25/03/2013 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr J E Graham 05/03/2013 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr D Gransden 14/03/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMr L H Griffiths 05/03/2013 London Central Retired Members GroupMr M Grimmer 26/03/2013 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr D Hacker 01/03/2013 Southern Retired Members GroupMr A R D Hammond 02/04/2013 Scotland South Retired Members Group Miss D O Harrison 09/04/2013 North West Retired Members Group Mr J S Hay 26/03/2013 South East England Retired Members Group Mr J L Head 12/03/2013 Valuation Office AgencyMr D R Henderson 04/03/2013 South East Midlands Retired Members Group Mr M A Heslop 08/04/2013 Central Southern Retired Members Group Mr G A Hetherington 19/03/2013 South West Midlands Retired Members Group Mr J I R Hill 08/04/2013 InnogyDr D J Howells 21/02/2013 Avon Valley Retired Members Group Mr F B Hunter 04/03/2013 InnogyMr J Hunter 05/03/2013 Scotland North Retired Members Group Dr M Irish 27/02/2013 South East England Retired Members Group Mr G S H Jarrett 13/03/2013 National GridMiss P E Johnson-Wright 14/03/2013 Health and Safety Executive

Mr J R D Jones 25/02/2013 InnogyMr B H Jones 28/02/2013 Hyder UtilitiesMr B L Jones 01/03/2013 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr E Jordan 08/04/2013 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr R H Kerr 26/04/2013 Scottish PowerMr R W Kynaston 21/03/2013 InnogyMr C R Ladd 13/02/2013 Magnox Nuclear North and South SitesMr M Lane 26/03/2013 South East Midlands Retired Members Group Mr S Langdon 13/03/2013 Scottish PowerMr C E J Langdon 19/03/2013 Southern Retired Members GroupMr C B Laurinson 22/04/2013 British EnergyMr F E W Lawrence 04/03/2013 Hyder UtilitiesMr T A J Lees 25/02/2013 British EnergyMr W M H Lifely 15/03/2013 InnogyMr J E Mansfield 18/03/2013 London Central Retired Members GroupMr P G Mardon 02/04/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMr E Markwell 01/03/2013 Northern ElectricMr T R Martin 20/03/2013 Hyder UtilitiesMr A D Martin 25/03/2013 E.On UK Mr D Maule 12/03/2013 London Central Retired Members GroupMr V McCall 04/03/2013 Northern ElectricMr J McCarthy 06/03/2013 Wales Retired Members GroupMr J A McKinna 04/03/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMiss A Meenan 17/04/2013 Natural History MuseumMr D Mettrick 05/04/2013 Thames Valley Retired Members Group Mr R G Miller 27/03/2013 Scottish PowerMr B J Millson 02/04/2013 National GridMr G S Milner 19/03/2013 Southern Retired Members Group Mr W Mitchell 19/03/2013 Yorkshire Retired Members Group Mr S J Moore 04/03/2013 South East England Retired Members Group Mr N Moore 21/03/2013 National GridMr J W Morwood 13/03/2013 East Anglia Retired Members Group InnogyMr J Mullineux 04/03/2013 British EnergyMr J M Newnham 02/04/2013 East Anglia Retired Members Group Mr P R Nicholls 20/03/2013 EDF Seeboard Mr P G North 05/03/2013 South East Midlands Retired Members Group Mr D P Ord 25/04/2013 Northern PowergridMr H Ormrod 23/04/2013 Northern PowergridMr C G Osborne 04/03/2013 South West Retired Members Group Mr J F Outram 15/03/2013 British EnergyMr R A Palmer 04/03/2013 Central Southern Retired Members Group Mr J E Partridge 13/03/2013 Yorkshire Retired Members Group Mr N Partyn 01/05/2013 Magnox Nuclear North and South SitesMr J M Pettigrew 21/03/2013 British Energy Mr G A Plested 26/03/2013 South East Midlands Retired Members Group Mr G Potter 23/04/2013 Connect Midlands Wales and West Mr I Preston 05/02/2013 Westinghouse Springfields FuelsMr G T Price 19/03/2013 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr S E Pritchard 12/04/2013 North West Retired Members Group Mr H O Raeside 25/02/2013 British EnergyMr B H Ralph 02/04/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMr D Rankin 11/02/2013 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr H B Rapson 15/03/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMr E Rawson 02/04/2013 InnogyDr S M Rhind 13/03/2013 Scottish Research EstablishmentsMr D Richmond 27/02/2013 Yorkshire Retired Members GroupMr R Robbins 22/04/2013 E.On UKMr G H Roberts 27/02/2013 Electricity Assoc. ServicesMr R E A Robertson-MacKay 05/03/2013 East Anglia Retired Members Group

Mr A O Russell 05/03/2013 BAE SystemsMr R Russell 14/03/2013 Office for National StatisticsMrs L Rust 04/04/2013 Defence Infrastructure OrganisationMr M R Sanders 25/02/2013 InnogyMr A R Schofield 18/03/2013 West Midlands Retired Members GroupMr G W Scott 15/03/2013 Connect SouthMr P Sculpher 20/03/2013 InnogyMr G B Sells 05/03/2013 North West Retired Members GroupMr J D Shepherd 13/03/2013 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr D D Shepherd 17/04/2013 Northern Ireland ElectricityMr L Sheppard 05/03/2013 Northern ElectricMr J F Sheridan 25/02/2013 Nuvia LimitedMr A J Sherwood 13/03/2013 E.On UKMiss G W Shollick 19/03/2013 Southern Retired Members GroupMr A J Sim 13/03/2013 Scotland South Retired Members GroupMr M J Sims 02/04/2013 Thames Valley Retired Members GroupMr E J Slater 27/03/2013 British EnergyMr M Sloane 22/04/2013 BT Manchester and DistrictMiss C T Smith 07/02/2013 Isle of Man GovernmentMr R Snape 02/04/2013 Central Networks – West

Dr B W Soole 20/03/2013 London Central Retired Members Group Aviation

Mr R J Stamps 01/03/2013 National GridMr G Stephenson 25/04/2013 Northern PowergridDr J B Stewart 06/02/2013 Central Southern Retired Members Group

continues p27

FEBRUARY 2–MAY 1 Prospect regrets to announce the deaths of the following members, notified to headquarters between February 2 and May 1, 2013

Profile

May 2/13 ■ 27

CoSt-of-livinG inCreASeS, changes to state and private sector pension provision and the quality of health and social care dominated Prospect’s retired members’ conference in london in february.

Delegates began with a minute’s silence in memory of alan Moore, who died after suffering a heart attack at last year’s event. alan was an active member of the east Midlands Group who worked for Manweb, then scottish Power.

Garry Graham, deputy general secretary, told delegates these were challenging times across the union for working and retired members alike. the living standards of retired members were being squeezed in real terms and they were feeling the impact of spending cuts to health and social care.

John Merritt, London Central, welcomed

retired MeMBers grouP

MEEtingSeasT anglia

Wednesday June 5, 1pm, Red Lion, Whittlesford, Cambridge. For further information, or to send agenda items, email Les Nicholls at lesrnicholls@live.co.uk. For members in postcodes EN, NR, IP, PE, CB, CO, CM, RM, SS and IG but all retired members welcome.

easT midlandsWednesday June 5, 11am, Prospect, Unit 4, Midland Court, Central Park, Leicester Road, Lutterworth LE17 4PN (adjacent to junction 20 of the M1), phone 01455 555200. Light lunch provided. Further details from Tony Beech (secretary) on 01283 585622. For members in postcodes CV, DE, LE, LN, NG and NN.

soUTh-wesT midlandsWednesday June 26, 1.30pm, Inn for all Seasons, on the A40, near Burford OX18 4TN. Lunch/snacks on sale from noon. Further details from Terry Clift (secretary) 01235 526042. For members in OX and GL postcodes, others welcome.

soUTh-easTThursday July 11, 1pm, Patcham Community Centre, Ladies Mile Road, Brighton BN1 8TA. Guest speaker Emily Boase, Prospect national secretary. Refreshments provided. Contact Derick Jackson (secretary) on 01474 814541 or email d.jackson123@btinternet.com. For members in postcodes BN, TN, CT, DA, ME and RH.

sCoTland norThWednesday July 17, 2.45pm, tea and coffee from 2.30pm. Royal Highland Hotel, 18 Academy Street, Inverness IV1 1LG (adjacent to railway station). Guest speaker Rhoda Grant MSP, shadow energy minister. For members in postcodes ZE, KW, IV, AB, PH, DD, FK (postcode 7 et seq), PA (postcode 20 et seq) and KY.

■■ Perks■–■re-elected■as■RMG■president

■■ RMG■member■Kathy■Beattie■contributes■to■

the■debate

stefano cagnoni

Deceased members – continued from p26Mr P E Stone 05/03/2013 Avon Valley Retired Members Group Mr R Sutton 13/03/2013 West Midlands Retired Members GroupMr S C Sweatman 22/04/2013 National GridMr J F Syvret 14/03/2013 AGCS Retired Members GroupMr J W Thom 25/03/2013 Scotland North Retired Members GroupMr W J Thomas 25/02/2013 InnogyMr B Thomas 26/02/2013 South West Retired Members Group Mr H W H Thomas 01/03/2013 E.On UKMr J Tidball 03/04/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMr M Timmins 12/04/2013 Scottish PowerMr G H Toulmin 12/04/2013 South West Midlands Retired Members GroupMr D S Truscott 28/03/2013 British EnergyMr S R Tyler 30/04/2013 Parliamentary House of CommonsMr I S Varian 14/03/2013 E.On UK Mr E Wade 25/02/2013 Thames Valley Retired Members Group Mr N Walker 12/03/2013 InnogyMr G Walters 14/03/2013 East Midlands Retired Members GroupMr F B Ward 01/03/2013 British EnergyMr A D Warden 13/02/2013 Hyder Utilities

Mr V J Warren 25/02/2013 South West Retired Members GroupMrs H Watson 09/04/2013 Scottish Agricultural CollegeMr I S Wayte 25/02/2013 Northern PowergridMr K G Webb 06/03/2013 British EnergyMr J H Wells 18/03/2013 InnogyMr N Welsh 06/03/2013 Overseas Retired Members’ GroupMr J Westbrook 04/03/2013 Central Southern Retired Members GroupMr T Weston 18/04/2013 Avon Valley Retired Members GroupMr E Whatmough 05/03/2013 British EnergyMr C S Whitby 21/03/2013 EDF SeeboardMr E H Whitehead 02/04/2013 United UtilitiesMr G Whitfield 19/03/2013 Southern Retired Members GroupMr F Wilkinson 04/03/2013 CMMDI Retired Members GroupMr K D Wilkinson 18/04/2013 North West Retired Members GroupMr N J Williams 15/04/2013 Central Networks – WestMr S E Wilson 05/02/2013 Northern PowergridMr P Winterton 05/02/2013 South East England Retired Members GroupMr B Woffindin 05/03/2013 North West Retired Members GroupMr B W Wright 08/04/2013 Yorkshire Retired Members GroupMr P A Youngs 30/04/2013 Eastern Group

Members attack squeeze on pensioners’ living standards

Prospect’s campaigning, including the legal challenges to the government’s decision to switch pensions uprating from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index. He called on the union to continue its lobbying and campaigning.

ernie Brazier, southern, and ernie Buckeridge, south west, later drew delegates’ attention to other inflation indices that were running even higher than rPI and believed to be a more accurate reflection of the impact of inflation on pensioners.

a motion opposing age discriminatory criteria being used to assess health care needs was moved by Jim lush, Central southern, and supported by conference. Alan edgar, thames Valley, proposed successful motions stressing the need for local involvement in the provision of health and social care services.

President Alan Grey was a guest speaker. He set out Prospect’s work, together with other unions and the tUC, to press the government to shift to promoting prosperity and growth in the economy. He also urged members to vote in favour of retaining the political fund in the forth-coming ballot.

a vote of thanks was moved by tony Hall, thames Valley, who said there had never been a more important time for the rMG to represent the interests of retired members.

Gerald Perks, who chaired the event, was re-elected as group president.

cHangES to yoUR coMMSprofile will have a new look and some changes to content in July, which will affect the retired members’ group.

The group’s representatives have agreed that prospect will publish two hard copy rmg newsletters a year, to be circu-lated with Profile, with an aim to move towards greater electronic distribution in future.

four rmg members have kindly volunteered to generate copy for the newsletter – and there is also the potential to set up rmg area web pages in future.

we will list the obituaries in the newsletter, but will also set up a page on the website where obituaries can be posted in a more timely fashion along with details of rmg area meetings.

Profile

28 ■ May 2/13

UNION EYES/LONG SERVICE

Long service awardsRobeRt D’ARcy, branch organiser (holding certifi-cate, right, with negotiator Malcolm Currie), will be retiring in June from the Royal botanic Garden edinburgh, after 20 years’ service.

Dick crofts (left with general secretary Mike Clancy) has been an active member for much of his 30-year career as a mapping geologist in the british Geological Survey. He helped negotiate three waves of redundan-cies in the Natural environment Research council, fighting to ensure only voluntary redun-dancies took place.

erick Hill (left with vice-president Denise McGuire) joined Prospect in 1977. His hard work, dedication and percep-tive influence marked one of the most significant and outstanding contributions by an employee and union rep in Northern Ireland electricity.

David Jacobs (right, with negotiator Clive Scoggins), a curator at the british Library, has held various union roles spanning 30 years. David was section chair for London, assisting with personal cases due to

voluntary and compul-sory redundancies.

After more than 15 years as branch president, Howard Malin (left, with DGS Dai Hudd), will be retiring from the Department of Health in July. Howard has overseen all DH

pay negotiations and dealt with 95 per cent of all personal cases, restructuring proposals and tUPe transfers. He is currently involved in the transfer of DH work to the new Public Health england board.

John Sullivan (above, with DGS Leslie Manasseh) worked for ofcom, formerly the Radiocommunications Agency, for 20 years. based at baldock Radio Station he was responsible for site structures used to monitor the radio spectrum and sat on ofcom’s health and safety committee.

UNiO

NVisionary work from gary biggin

As he faces imminent retirement, Wales Audit Office branch secretary Gary Biggin has much to be proud of. One of his many contributions is his Herculean support for Prospect’s ‘Sight for Sore Eyes’ campaign. Gary collected over 1,000 pairs of glasses to be refurbished and sent to developing countries. On some occasions, the Prospect office in Cardiff was filled with carrier bags and holdalls full of used spectacles. At the risk of overdoing the puns, many who know him will say this is typical of his visionary approach. And no-one could accuse him of making a spectacle of himself. Aye, aye to that and many best wishes to Gary in his retirement.

bird’s eye View

The UK’s nuclear decommissioning programme has overcome many hurdles in recent years – but few as endearing as the reason to stop work on an Essex reactor. A pair of peregrine falcons have decided that the roof of reactor two at Bradwell-on-Sea (50m/165ft up) is the ideal spot to build a nest. Follow the amorous couple’s progress via the Magnox Twitter feed @magnoxsites (http://twitter.com/magnoxsites)

deVil is in the detail

All Prospect circulars have a unique number. But we wondered if it was just a coincidence that a document with advice to members about performance management in the Ministry of Defence was numbered 00666.

bale wears heart on his sleeVe

Just when the celebrations on their stunning equal pay victory have subsided, patent examiners at the Intellectual Property Office will be looking at their in-boxes with trepidation with the news that star footballer Gareth Bale has applied for a trademark. The 2013 player of the year wants the signature gesture he makes after scoring a goal – a heart sign made with his hands – to be a trademark in the form of a logo with his squad number on a range of clothes, shoes, hats and other accessories that his management company plans to launch.

ticket to ride

There aren’t many footballers – or indeed politicans – who can sneak one past Keith Flett, Prospect rep and secretary of Haringey TUC. The Guardian diary reported that work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith and his son enjoyed £2,400 worth of hospitality at the Tottenham Hotspurs game with Arsenal on March 3. Bearing in mind that Tottenham is one of the areas hand-picked by the Department for Work and Pensions to trial Duncan Smith’s benefits cap initiative (set at £500 a week for a couple), Flett lobbed a curler. “Duncan Smith is a Spurs supporter and of course we come from all walks of life. That said it surely must have occurred to the work and pensions secretary that accepting hospitality for one afternoon of almost five times the amount he planned to cap the weekly benefits of an ordinary couple in

Tottenham at Spurs’ ground was extremely insensitive. He might at least have paid for his own ticket.” http://bit.ly/flett_footy

mad dogs and shares for rights

The House of Lords gave the government’s shares for rights plan a mauling in April. Our favourite quote has to be: “This is not just a dog’s breakfast; it is a mad dog’s breakfast.” The speaker was Lord Bilimoria who pointed out that “160 responses were received when the government consulted and only three of them were in favour of this scheme.” Read the debate at http://bit.ly/lords_shares4rights. The dog’s dinner is column 1451.

insPiration in dundee

Dundee’s science community and women’s festival organisers know how to organise a good do. Their women in science festival kicked off on March 8, international women’s day, and finished at the end of national science and engineering week on March 24. Prospect employer the James Hutton Institute was one of the organisations involved. Find out more at: http://bit.ly/dundee_science and www.facebook.com/DundeeWomenInScience

citizen science

Members of the public are being asked to spot the “six most unwanted” pests and diseases threatening UK trees, as part of a citizen science survey. Open Air Laboratories researchers and experts from the Food and Environment Research Agency and Forest Research are asking the public to get involved in their national tree health survey which runs from May to September when trees are in leaf. The findings will contribute to a national research programme that is investigating the health of Britain’s trees and the spread of pests and diseases. Download or request your free survey pack, including tree identification guide and ‘six most unwanted’ card, from www.OPALexplorenature.org/

a reforming zeal

The Department of Odds and Sods...seize control of Whitehall... mandarins...bureaucratic bean counting... incompetence and gobbledegook... brusque, dismissive and full of management speak. These are just some of the words and phrases used in a national newspaper about civil service reform. Clearly the reforming zeal of the Cabinet Office is not going down well across the whole of Whitehall and the civil service.

don’t bank on the royalties

Prospect’s new organiser in Scotland, John Sinclair, has a claim to fame and has to live with it every day. As a photographer with previous employer the National Trust for Scotland, John took photos of beautiful places across Scotland (what a job!) One of his images was taken up by the Clydesdale Bank, engraved and then used as an image on its £5 notes. It looks lovely, but please don’t say to John: “If I had a fiver for every time I saw that image, I’d be a rich man.”

CLASSIFIED Profile

May 2/13 ■ 29

RECRUITMENT

SHARES

INSURANCEBOOKS

PROSPECTTHE UNION

FORPROFESSIONALS

REACH OVER120,000READERS WITHYOUR AD HERE

PROSPECT IS THE

LARGESTUNIONIN THE UK TOREPRESENTPROFESSIONALENGINEERS

SHARES

Buy or sell shares in Amec, Babcock,BAE, Carillion, Centrica, Interserve,Jersey Electricity, Logica, National Grid,QinetiQ, Scottish & Southern, Serco,United Utilities, VT, and W S Atkins.

We are pleased to offer a specialcommission rate of 0.75% [minimum£18 per company] and 1% in any other UK listed company if you mention you have read our advert in Profile Magazine.

As from Nov 1st 2010 there will be a seperate £3. per transaction compliance charge.

Share portfolio management service also available [details on request]

M D BARNARD & CO LTD17-21 New Century Road, Laindon, Essex, SS15 6AGTel: 01268 493333

A member of the London Stock Exchange - authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

ENERGY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

LOOKING FOR PART/FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT?

EX-DNO ENGINEERS, SAP’S & CRAFTSMEN REQUIRED

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FITTERS/WIREMEN

Call Sandra on 01793 861800Email: info@energyrm.co.uk

www.energyrm.co.uk

Power Engineer lecturersNow you’re semi-retired are you interested inusing the experience gained throughout your

career to help the new generation of Power Engineers and Craftsmen?

Opportunities exist for occasional training andassessment work throughout the UK for

engineers with a good general operationalbackground in Transmission and Distribution.

We are currently looking for Person/Competent Person Trainers and Assessors,

Protection Engineers, Health and Safetyspecialists, Energy Efficiency advisors and

people with experience in Transmission S/S and OHL Asset Management. Assessor and

presentation skills training available.

Send CV, in confidence, to:Mrs Jane Flower,

Assistant Resources Manager,KeFax Ltd, Centrefield, The Broadway,

Mansfield, Notts NG18 2RLtel: 01623 422099 fax: 01623 420988

e-mail: jane.flower@kefax.co.ukwww.kefax.co.uk www.etaframe.com

To plan your ad campaign in PROFILE magazine contact:David Murrayt: 01727 739 182e: d.murray@centuryonepublishing.ltd.ukw: www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk

READERS ARE ASKED TO NOTE THAT PROSPECT CANNOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE QUALITY OR SAFE DELIVERY OF ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES ADVERTISED IN THIS MAGAZINE. ALL REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN BEFORE ADVERTISEMENTS ARE ACCEPTED BUT SUCH ACCEPTANCE DOES NOT IMPLY ANY FORM OF APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION.

TravelInsurance

Especially arranged for prospect members and their families

or tel: 0844 482 3479

Annual worldwide and europeanmulti-trip prices from:

Single £69Couple £79Family £89

Buy online at:www.insuranceaffiliate.co.uk/Prospect

Rock Insurance Services Limited are authorised and regulated bythe Financial Services Authority (FSA) under FSA number 300317

ELECTRIC WIGHTIan Sherfield

'An illustrated history of the Isle of Wight electricity supply'

Also includes a chronology, anassessment of todays ESI and otherinteresting related items.

Available from Buckbury Publishingon 01983522564 or Amazon.

Review online, see Electric Wight Crossprint

£16

Classified_May13_Layout 1 07/05/2013 09:27 Page 29

LettersProfile

30 ■ May 2/13

Thinks...?SolutionsFEB 13 – 1: Enlist, inlets, listen, silent, tinsel; 2: A snake in the grass

May 13 – 1: 16, 10, 11, 7, 15 2: In the background

Thinks...? MAY131 – Fill in the missing numbers to complete the magic square.

3 2 135 89 6 124 14 1

2 – What familiar phrase or saying is represented here?

TDNUORGHE

ModIfy lAw on PolITIcAl fundSI’ve just sent off my ballot paper on the political objects

resolution. But having read the definition of political objects in Section 72(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the only one of these objects I would support is (e) – attendance at a political conference or meeting. It is far from clear that the lobbying activities that are part of the purpose of Prospect are ‘political objects’ as defined by the law. I would regard the right to seek to influence elected representatives as

a basic right in any event, although I accept that if there’s money involved in any way it needs to be visible.

What is really required is a small modification to the law, to delete Section 72(2) or at least to produce some less ‘catch all’ wording. Then the Act would more clearly serve a sensible purpose, in requiring a clear vote before funds could be used to finance, rather than merely influence, a political party.

I firmly believe that Prospect should not have affiliations to any political party.

■ John Heathcote, Thurso, caithness

Gratitude for a great editor and trade unionistHow pleasant to see the acknowledgement of Charlie Harvey in the February Profile. Charlie was a great editor, communicator and trade unionist. Lay reps like myself sometimes found ourselves in public relations roles without much preparation or training. Charlie was a reassuring guide and taught us a lot in written and verbal communication techniques.

Charlie played a major part in the long battle to stop privatisation of air traffic control. Several governments and boards of the Civil Aviation Authority recognised that very powerful campaign was built on communication. They never did counter it effectively. The eventual compromise retained the most important terms and conditions for Prospect members and was a lasting benefit to thousands of union members. Few of those members will know the name Charles Harvey but they have many reasons to be grateful to this wonderful professional.

Those of us who were lucky enough to work with Charlie will remember him with fondness and gratitude. Have a long and happy retirement Charlie.

■ doug Maclean, Ayr

characteristics of the underlying project, rather than profit level, will generally be the dominant factor in the capital/total cost ratio. It is unclear whether your misuse of statistics was driven by a desire to illustrate that PFI contracts are poor value, or was simply because the author failed to grasp the basics of PFI. Either way, Prospect members deserve better from the magazine. If we can’t have informed and objective articles, then rather than descend to ‘tabloid standard’, headline-grabbing journalism (which demean the intelligence of Prospect’s membership), it would be better not to have such articles at all.

■ Ian Butcher, Bristol

Staff associations are not trade unionsThe article in Profile 1/13, ‘A Contract Conundrum’, is a very helpful summary of the essential points of contracts of employment. One concern is a possible confusion over the term ‘staff association’ with respect to the application of collective agreements (second bullet point in the second set of bullet points).

My understanding is that only a staff association which is set up as a trade union under legislation can negotiate collective agreements. If I am right it would be helpful if you could point this out to members, highlighting the advantage over ‘staff associations’ which are simply set up by the employer and do not have the same legal standing. In the latter case I believe only individual contracts of employment can be used.

■ Peter Simpson, oxon

do you have a film archive?Can anyone help? Back in the 1970s at Sizewell A the CEGB had a film made on the station called Change for Safety. It showed station personnel going about their work in radiological areas. I would

PfI article ‘failed to grasp the basics’I write regarding the article ‘PFI: time to give back some of the profits?’ in Profile 1/13. While not a fan of PFI procurement, I was troubled by the emphasis on total PFI repayments versus capital costs. A typical PFI contract will cover capital investment, running costs for the life of the contract, and profit. The

Letters should be sent by email to profile@prospect.

org.uk, via fax on 020 7902 6665 or by post for the attention of the editor,

New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1

7NN. Emails preferred. Letters may be shortened

for reasons of space. PrizeLetter of the month

receives a £10 book token

crossword May 2013AcRoSS1 Sending of promotional material about

credit Liam arranged (6,4)6 Stop usual section of work (4)9 Muslim lady be stuck with it perhaps

(5)10 Emphatically negative American

originally (4)11 High spot for tourists in Sicily (4)13 At risk when very ill (2,3,6,4)14 Not hardly used for cleaning? (4-4)16 Work here no longer on the rocks (6)18 Good value from robber in the main! (6)19 Being there before scene changes (8)22 Be in despair in attempt to become

bald? (4,4,4,3)24 He takes after his father (4)25 Branch member (4)26 Touching reminder (5)27 Feeling of sympathy from mine at end

of day (4)28 One payment never-never made? (10)

■ Answers Feb 1/13 – ACrOss: 1 Audit 4 Pick-me-up 8 Apprenticeship 10 Insolvent 11 Mania 12 Gate 13 Ditty-bag 17 Marquise 18 Area 22 Jumbo 24 Pillar-box 25 Strike a balance 26 Well well 27 Testy. DOwn: 1 Amazing 2 Depositor 3 Treble 4 Potter 5 Cocktail 6 Messmate 7 Union 9 Fang 14 Bare bones 15 Tutorial 16 Isoprene 17 Mojo 19 Anxiety 20 Global 21 Ballot 23 Mitre.

■ Answers May 2/13– ACrOss: 1 Direct mail 6 Opus 9 Begum 10 Nope 11 Etna 13 On the danger list 14 Soft-soap 16 Office 18 Pirate 19 Presence 22 Tear one’s hair out 24 Heir 25 Limb 26 Nudge 27 Pity 28 Instalment. DOwn: 1 Dubious 2 Right 3 Compensation 4 Maniacal 5 Impugn 7 Patrician 8 Startle 12 Professional 15 Formalist 17 Prohibit 18 Patch up 20 Entreat 21 Resign 23 Oldie.

down1 Uncertain knight promises to pay (7)2 Correct entitlement (5)3 Cannot impose revised

reimbursement (12)4 Main trouble with Bill and

Alan being raving mad (8)5 Challenge little devil removing gun

(6)7 Lady has name of aristocrat (9)8 Begin with the Parisian, take him

by surprise (7)12 Foul not committed by amateur?

(12)15 Make an inventory for very precise

person (9)17 Ban for Edinburgh footballer, it

follows (8)18 Mend after a quarrel (5,2)20 In shopping centre a tramp will

beg (7)21 Write one’s name again –

give up (6)23 Film veteran in other words (5)

Letters Profile

May 2/13 ■ 31

ProfileIndEX – May 201312 Air traffic control

21 BAE wins award

8 Bangladesh petition

13 BT performance management

5 Childcare ratios

6 Civil liability changes slammed

22 Civil service privatisation

22 Civil service skills shortages

26 Deceased members

21 Defence outsourcing

21 Defence pay round-up

11 Dounreay ULR award

18 Employment rights under attack

19 Equality Commission U-turn

12 Flybe outsourcing

23 Foot and mouth breakthrough

4 George Toulmin

3 Heritage internships

20 Hinkley Point C cuts

3 IPO equal pay victory

7 Learning opportunities

28 Long Service Awards

5 Maternity pensions at BT

16-17 Meet the curators

21 MOD workforce planning

10 National Library of Wales fire

10 National Museum Wales cuts

11 National Trust Scotland ballot

10 NT Wales transformation plan

8 Oxfam Nairobi project

15 Pay settlements

15 Performance-related pay

3 Political fund result

7 Prospect staff changes

27 Retired members

12 Road safety fears

9 Safety culture, UK

23 Science careers fair

23 Science is vital

11 Scottish TUC report

12 Single European Sky concerns

24 State pensions overhaul

4 TUC austerity fight

19 TUC Black workers

28 UnionEyes

12 Virtual money

4 Vodafone Euro-protest

25 Whistleblowing

6 Workers’ Memorial Day

like to get a copy but cannot trace it – seems it disappeared with privatisation. Also, British Petroleum made an earlier film called Energy in Perspective. Does anyone know of any existing copies of these films?

■ Barrie Skelcher, Suffolk

wood pellets won’t improve energy securityIt is a general misconception that ‘bio-mass’ as a fuel source is a ‘good thing’. The recent report that Eggborough and Drax electricity generating stations are working to partially or wholly use wood pellets to displace the use of coal presents only a part of the story.

Eggborough alone uses some five million tonnes of coal a year; it would need over eight million tonnes of wood pellet fuel to produce the same electricity output. Where will this be sourced? Drax has already signed a contract in Hull to import three million tonnes of pellet per year for 15 years which does not negate the sea transport and foreign dependency of nearly two million tonnes of coal.

In burning coal, Eggborough produces about 11 million tonnes of CO2 per year; with 100 per cent replacement by wood it would produce over 12 million tonnes.

To absorb the CO2 released by three million tonnes of pellet per year would need a high density soft-wood forest of about 170,000 hectares or 656 square miles. This is not practicable in the British Isles.

These plans will create local jobs, but the spending and profits will be to overseas companies, and our energy security will not be improved.

■ david loxley, Pickering, north yorkshire

olympic site soil mystery solvedWith regard to where the missing contaminated soil went (ViewPoint 1/13), I can reveal that much, if not all, went to Appleford in Oxfordshire. From late summer 2009 until late summer 2011, two trains a day, carrying soil, ran from Bow Olympic to Appleford Stone and Waste Terminal.

■ david Evans-Roberts, wallingford, oxon

Renewables cannot respond to demandDavid Eldridge (ViewPoint 1/13)could not have been more wrong to say “renewable energy is already proving its worth...”

No renewable technology can generate electricity in response to demand, and no consumer will appreciate its variability and intermittency if this was the energy on which they had to rely.

The concept that a huge investment in wind farms, on or offshore, will have any positive contribution to national supplies

is illusory. At the end of February, the total wind industry was generating 13.6 per cent of its potential – 2.1 per cent of our national demand. At times this year, that 2.1 per cent has been down to 0 per cent.

It is of little use for HMG, assured by the Committee on Climate Control, that, even with 30 or 40 per cent renewables, only 5 per cent, on average, of gas power will be needed for backup. Averages are pointless; instantaneous demand rules the situation, and that means 95 per cent or more of standby power to fill the gap, be it once or ten times a year. This power will have to be gas.

Given the increasing demonstration of the extreme frailty of the renewable policy, the imminent closure of some 12-14 per cent of our coal fired generation, and the mounting doubt of the reality of CO2’s part in climate change, it would be of interest to know whether Prospect still supports the energy policy advocated by the secretary of state.

■ Richard Phillips, newbury, Berkshire

youth employment will never be solved by solely backing the ‘city’Our nation’s future prosperity depends on the regeneration of our electrical and engineering industries – which our government is still not addressing. Youth employment will never be solved by solely backing the ‘City’ or by borrowing billions of pounds from abroad in order to purchase foreign-made goods and expertise. I have written to the chair of the House of Commons Committee scrutinising the Energy Bill 2012-13. You can read my letter at http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2013/00710.

■ John Riddington, dorset

Sense of proportion on renewable outputsDavid Eldridge (ViewPoint 1/13) believes that renewable energy is already proving its worth, and a recent missive from our constituency MP informed me that “wind energy is not inefficient.”

The definition and understanding of efficiency and worth seem different to those I was familiar with during my 36- year career in the power industry.

In 2011, the combined onshore and offshore wind generators contributed a derisory 3.05 per cent of the UK’s energy requirement. Despite the rhetoric about expanding this form of energy, 2012 fared little better at 3.9 per cent.

Solar energy is basically a good idea, is non-polluting and non-intrusive, but we must keep a sense of proportion about such optimistic claims.

These actual operating figures can hardly be called efficient, and proponents of these types of renewables cannot seriously call this ‘worth’.

■ colin Southgate, newark, notts

How should we look after the poorest in society? I think Colin Hearn (ViewPoint 2/13) is right to be concerned about the possible future means testing of the state pension. In fact, I think it’s inevitable. The groundwork for changing the basis of who gets what and why is already being laid by stigmatising people on disability and unemployment benefits as workshy or malingerers. At the other end of the scale there are those people who are categorised as ‘fat cats’, so rich they should lose access to even the simplest of benefits.

Not everyone now is treated equally as far as taxation is concerned. If you earn more than £117,000 in a year you lose all your personal allowances and practically all, if not all, of your child benefit – on the grounds that you don’t need it.

Once upon a time, family allowances were intended as entitlements. When they were re-designated as child benefit payments, entitlement was always going to be challenged. The winter fuel payment, free bus passes and television

licences were introduced as sops by governments too parsimonious to pay a decent state pension. The argument that not everyone needs these benefits is now being applied to the case for their abolition.

If you’re a fat cat on a pension of, say, £90,000 a year, should your state pension be reduced in the same way as is the current age allowance, ie by £1 for every £2 over £26,000 until your state pension is £0? Should such a threshold apply to all those with an occupational pension, be it public or private? If so, what should the threshold be?

If we are genuinely serious in ensuring that the poorest in society are looked after and have a pension to enable them to live comfortably, how will this be achieved? How much would you be willing to give up to see it happen? It is important that Prospect and other unions and organisations are there to see that the outcomes are fair.

■ Peter wise, Maidstone, Kent