UNISON and PCS (the other union within Scottish Enterprise)  met recently in advance of a meeting with the employers side to discuss the terms of the S/E pension scheme.
Whilst work continues in the trade union side 'Bargaining Agenda' UNISON Regional Organiser pointed out two immediate areas of concern.
" On the face of it the S/E scheme looks very good- after all who wouldn't want to retire at 60 if they could afford it, further reading of the scheme however  identifies areas of concern. In particular the scheme ;

• does not recognise unmarried or same sex couples in respect of death benefits.
  
• Has recently asked for permission to take back pensions awarded to people on grounds of ill health who 'get better'
  

New working rights for agency "temps" are proposed by the European Commission. The commission wants temporary workers to receive the same pay and conditions as regular company employees.

Brussels has already introduced new measures  which give part-time workers a share of holiday entitlement and other agreements routinely offered to full-timers.

Now it wants to boost protection at work for a major sector - the temporary agency worker brought in to fill in for staff shortages for a few weeks or months.

The Commissioner responsible for employment and social affairs, Anna Dimantopoulou, says agency "temps" deserved the same rights as other workers.

She says: "This proposal not only seeks to create more jobs but also aims to provide better jobs for temporary agency workers through a basic minimum of protection across the EU."

She says the plans provided plenty of flexibility for national authorities to apply the rules in line with domestic practice.

The temporary agency work market has been growing steadily for years, with 80% of temporary agency workers in Europe employed in just four member States - Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and National Employment Ministers of the member states for consideration.