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Last week I attended a number of 1:1 meetings with former council workers who have been transferred to NSL and the subcontractor RR Donnelley. The ‘one barnet redundancy’ clock is ticking, it is apparent there are little or no realistic opportunities for redeployment for them. NSL have provided our members with details of jobs with NSL in towns and cities all across the UK none of which are appropriate or realsistic options. I know that staff are being told in briefings that ‘outsourcing’ need not be a negative experience, in fact there could be real opportunities for career development! I don’t know who writes this script but I have yet to find a member who believes that ‘outsourcing’ is an opportunity for career development! I think my members facing redundancy at the end of this month would have much stronger words to describe how they feel they have been treated.

This Saturday  26 May from 11 am to 1 pm Barnet UNISON along with other Council Trade Unions are going to be joined by Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) and a host of other local campaigning groups including the Save Friern Library campaign to leaflet residents in Brunswick ward. Their leaflet warns residents about the One Barnet mass privatisation policy which is currently being rolled out across all council services.

All who value public services are welcome to join us outside Osidge Library, Brunswick Park Road, London, N11 1EY

No this is not about the effect of the pay freeze. Some of our colleagues in Children’s Centres are not only subjected to the pay freeze but being consulted about a real cut in their wages to take effect this year as they are expected to move from standard contracts to Term Time Only Contracts. The Council is proposing to remove the subsidy for child care in Children’s Centres and redistribute this across the Children’s Centres. This is something the Government is keen on but each Council can take a view about whether they actually move in this direction.

Our Council has chosen to go down this path with devastating consequences for some of our members. The redistribution of money bizarrely may not result in extra work for those colleagues taking a financial hit. Currently Newstead, Wingfield and The Hyde Children’s Centres are those being hit but in the next couple of years more colleagues could be asked to work and be paid Term Time Only.

UNISON’s position is that we are opposed to the removal of the subsidy of child care in the Children’s Centres and opposed to the cuts to our members’ terms and conditions.

Dear Councillors

Please find UNISON response to a restructure of Revenues & Benefits service before outsourcing. The council proposals for the service have provoked the biggest staff response in the 17 years I have been involved in staffing issues. I would strongly recommend councillors to read the report. An executive summary provides an overview of the risks and concerns.

I am currently awaiting a written response to our report.

Please note the UNISON offer is

“If the Council abandon the restructure, they can make a saving of three consultants immediately, which we estimate would produce a total saving of £500k in 12 months. UNISON is prepared to offer the use of an expert consultant free of charge to work with the existing senior management team to produce a sustainable alternative structure for this service before outsourcing.”

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

M 1% drop in income collection could expose the council to a loss of over £2.2 million in council tax collection just over £1.1 million in business rates.

M a loss of 1% in Council Tax subsidy would equate to £2.6million. Currently Barnet performs in the top six in London at maximising the reclaim from the DWP

M failure council to optimise its income could potentially result in unplanned future increases in council tax as result of non collection. 

M Failure to maximise the council tax base due to updates not being done in an accurate or timely fashion, discount and exemption entitlements not being effectively policed

M Any removal of key checks and balances, as suggested by the consultant’s report, will inevitably result in an increase in errors and deterioration in the detection and prevention of fraud.

M Customer care standards will drop as a result of the transfer of most types of contact to the contact call centre. Currently near to 100% of calls are resolved at first point of contact. The contact call centre aims to achieve only 80%.

M Cuts to management structure place undue burden on management’s capacity to deal with future planned legislative changes and therefore there is a risk to operational performance and meet set income targets

Executive summary here

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/869

Detailed report here http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/2012.05.02.UNISON%20response%20to%20Revenues%20and%20BenefitsFINAL.pdf

Evidence here http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/2012.05.02.UNISONAppendixesRevs&%20Bens.pdf

Earlier this week UNISON tabled a response to the proposed restructure of Housing Needs & Resources which you can read here

UNISON met with Barnet Homes as part of the HNR restructure consultation.

We raised our concerns about various aspects of the proposal and the implications for staff including the impact on team leadership, the duty senior system, levels of staff stress and lack of information on the call centre.

Barnet Homes have agreed to continue to work with us to mitigate the impact of some of these issues. We have asked for more information and will be meeting again with Barnet Homes next week.

Last Saturday it rained and it blew, but there was no way this UNISON gazebo was going to get blown down. This was the 3^rd week the pop-up library has taken place. Barnet UNISON has had a stall there on each occasion and the feedback and support we get is very positive. Speakers from the Save Friern Barnet Library Campaign, political parties, fellow trade unionists, including one from Camden addressed the people at the rally. A camera crew from the BBC’s One Show filmed the event.

One resident said at last weekend’s rally that it was important people understood the pop-up library was not there to replace the closed library staffed by qualified workers on decent wages as they cannot replace such a service. She said this library is about protest.

Residents have been working hard in an alliance with the unions to alert the population of Barnet to the dangers of this Council privatising en masse all of its services. The alliance has received an enormous boost from the showing of the film “A Tale of Two Barnets” and the occupation of the Friern Barnet Library as they have brought together activists from all the various campaigns. Some 1,000 residents have seen this film by now.

The strands of campaigns are coming together identifying common themes of phony democracy (or Mockracy) and the perils of privatisation as things they want to campaign against.

Our UNISON members in the Council should take heart and remember we have a community to win, but we have to be there.