2023 saw the continuing devastation in Ukraine and the horrific war start in Israel and Gaza. Our thoughts and prayers are with those families and friends impacted.
We also saw mass strikes throughout the Public Sector with the majority of union members voting to take strike action, as they felt they had no other choice.
Aegis managed to negotiate pay deals that were accepted by the majority of our members. We have already started negotiations on some pay reviews for this year, so far employers’ proposals are proving to be not as high as last year.
It’s so important that you respond to any survey we issue, when we are looking for your views and decisions on pay proposals, so please look out for the “Have your say on Pay” emails.
With a view to succession planning and rep development we implemented a senior reps leadership training course at the General Federation of Trade Unions headquarters at Quorn Grange, Loughborough. This was a brilliant three day course that helped identify and develop the potential leaders of Aegis for the future.
Each branch also organised two days training, development and motivation for all their reps. The results were fantastic with reps committing to working in groups to achieve the short and long term goals and strategic priorities of Aegis.
We are so proud and lucky to have such a strong, committed and very capable rep community.
Sandra Easson, Assistant General Secretary of Aegon Division retired in May 2023 and Sandra has been replaced by Ricky Markham.
We were very sad to see Sandra retire and we all thank her for the great job she did for the Aegon division over the years.
We welcome Ricky , who has hit the ground running and I’m sure Ricky will continue to develop and progress with great enthusiasm, as he has shown so far in his new role.
Fiona Steele, Aegis Deputy General Secretary, will be retiring in May this year so it was crucial that we had started planning, training and developing for this, back at the start of 2022. I will be posting more about Fiona’s amazing Aegis career and achievements over the next couple of months. I hope to announce the appointment of a new DGS shortly along with other roles that become available as a result.
We raised two motions at the TUC Congress last year that were successfully supported and carried. We have also put them forward for the Scottish TUC congress in April this year and we fully expect them to be supported again.
The first is The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Financial Services. We are calling on the STUC to put pressure on employers and the Scottish Government to ensure workers are not left behind by:
- addressing the lack of regulation in this area
- providing funding to support the reskilling and retraining of workers at risk of being replaced by AI
- ensuring employers introduce safeguarding policies to support employees in the new AI driven workplace
The second is Financial Services supporting the E-disadvantaged.
This includes the STUC working with affiliate unions to campaign against the decline of the banks, building societies and Post Office network and to campaign for:
- A legal right to pay for goods and services in person using cash.
- A statutory obligation on banks and ATM outlets to provide an appropriate network of free-to-use cash deposit and withdrawal services for public access across Scotland.
- An expansion in accessible banking services available through the Post Office.
The new Aegis website went live in September and so far members have said it’s a vast improvement. We are also stepping up our social media campaign and you can keep up to date this year through all the usual channels, Facebook, X etc.
We are always looking for new reps and we have a fantastic training and development programme available for anyone who wants to join the Aegis rep community.
There are so many opportunities available for you this year. We will be launching several members groups that we want you to associate with and take part in, such as LGBT+ , Black workers, Equality and Diversity, and Health & Safety.
I’m privileged and honoured to be voted onto the TUC General Council (GC) for the last eight years. Although the majority of the GC is made up of Public Sector unions my role is to promote and raise the issues that concern our membership in the Finance Sector.
I’ve also been invited to sit on the TUC LGBT+ Committee for the eighth year running and I’m delighted to accept and promote the Committees views and campaigns at the GC meetings and beyond.
2024 will be an interesting year for Aegis and our members. With an election looming and our own personnel changes, we feel we have prepared as well as we can and we are optimistic that whatever happens this year, we will be here, ready and waiting to support you both individually and as a whole.
Hope you all have a happy and prosperous 2024.
Brian Linn
General Secretary
Aegis the Union
