Background:

There is now only one private contractor bidding for the Education & School Meals services Mott MacDonald trading under Cambridge Education. They do not have experience of providing Catering Services so they have formed a partnership with ISS who will deliver the Catering Service. As there is only one bidder it is highly likely that these contractors will be given the contract sometime in November this year.

Our members had the chance to meet the contractors on Thursday and asked some interesting questions. Unfortunately the detailed discussions about the future of the services will be take place in secret with the trade unions and staff unable to know what is in store for staff & the service.

UNISON has submitted the questions below to the Council and have asked them to pass them onto Cambridge Education & ISS.

Cambrdge Education currently have a contract with Slough and ISS have lots of big contracts. We understand that ISS are currently providing a Catering service to Woodridge School a Barnet School.

We sent the following email to all our members on Friday 10 July.

Dear Colleagues

Barnet UNISON has submitted the following questions to Cambridge Education & ISS.

The Education and Skills questions apply to both contractors. The Catering Services questions apply specifically to ISS.

Education and Skills

1. Will each contractor provide a guarantee that the bulk of the current workforce will remain employed in Barnet?

2. What are the planned staffing levels for each service after transfer?

3. What protection of terms and conditions, such as the London Living Wage, will be offered to transferred staff over and above TUPE?

4. What measures will each contractor take to prevent a two-tier workforce and excessive use of temporary/casual staff?

5. What are the contractors approach to industrial relations with trade unions and how will they be managed within the JVC?

6. What plans does Cambridge Education have to improve the quality of services and when do they anticipate implementing them?

7. Does Cambridge Education and ISS plan to subcontract other Education and Skills services, if so, which ones and what are the names of the contractors?

8. How does Cambridge Education plan to increase traded income of the Education and Skills services;

a. within Barnet

b. outside the Borough

9. What proposals do Cambridge Education and ISS have engaging with staff and trade unions in the planning and delivery of services?

10. How will the contractors workforce development policies be applied in the Barnet JVC, and if there any differences between the two contractors, how will these be developed into a common policy for the JVC?

11. How will the two contractors coordinate and develop a common approach in the search for traded income when there are distinctive differences between their respective markets?

12. Will the JVC take on responsibility for the accrued Pension Deficit as at the transfer date?

13. Will the JVC and contractors be required to use current corporate services, for example, Capita CSG, Re, accommodation?

Catering Service

14. What process did Cambridge Education use to select ISS to be their subcontractor?

15. Has Cambridge Education experience of managing an ISS subcontract in the past, and if so, which public body?

16. What experience does Cambridge Education have in managing and monitoring a catering contract operated by a multinational catering contractor?

17. What mechanisms will be in place in the Joint Venture to review the performance of the subcontractor?

18. What plans does ISS have to improve the quality of school meals and how will they be implemented?

19. How does ISS plan to increase traded income of the Catering Service:

a. within Barnet

b. outside the Borough

We will publish any responses to our members.

John Burgess Branch Secretary Barnet UNISON

Barnet UNISON Press Release: 10 July 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Local Trade Unionist Victim of Hate Crime

It is with deepest anger I have to report that our Barnet UNISON branch secretary, John Burgess, had his car vandalised as it was parked up outside his own home. After the day’s activities on 8^th July, which involved a strike and protests, John returned home to find a large note stuck on his car windshield: “Fucking Union Faggotts Get Back Home From Here!” and a nail stuck into a front wheel of his car. This came within 2 weeks of the Barnet UNISON banner, and a branch presence which of course included John, proudly appearing on the Pride Demo. It is our view this particular use of offensive language is far too coincidental for us not to understand this as an attack on John as a trade unionist and also for being seen on the Pride demo.

We also think there is a strong coincidence that our branch was a very early signatory to the Unite Against Fascism statement about the proposed Fascist gathering in Golders Green and encouraged our members to attend the protest last weekend (4^th July). We are proud that we were part of a larger community mobilisation which meant Fascists could not raise their heads in our community. Fascists are organisations which peddle hatred and what happened to John is in every sense a Hate crime which has been reported to the police.

John has a job to do and that is to represent the members of his union branch. We choose him year after year as we believe he is the best placed person to do this. He enjoys the confidence of the branch membership. This means whoever did this is trying to intimidate and silence all of our membership. We will not be silenced!

We believe it is the demonisation of trade unions by the current Government which also encourages this type of personal attack on individual trade unionists. We condemn such attacks and call on our supporters to rally round and show solidarity and support to one who has done nothing other than defend us and offer solidarity to all those fighting the effects of Austerity and oppression.” Helen Davies, Branch Chair Barnet UNISON.

George Binette, branch secretary, Camden UNISON had this to say: “On behalf of Camden UNISON I express our shock and horror at the vicious homophobic vandalism carried out against John Burgess, Barnet UNISON branch secretary. This attack is a perverse tribute to the effectiveness of John’s tireless commitment to both his members and the defence of public services. Unfortunately, all too many politicians and sections of the media seem set to whip up a Jeremy Clarkson-style climate where it is literally open season on active trade unionists. Solidarity with John and the Barnet branch.”

End.

Notes to Editors.

 

Contact details: Helen Davies Barnet UNISON on 07432733168 or 0208 359 2088 or email: Helen.Davies@barnetunison.org.uk

Dear Colleagues

24 hour strike begins on Wednesday 8 July

Picket line information

1. North London Business Park—From 7 am

Picket Line Coordinator Helen Davies 07432733168

2. Mill Hill Depot—From 6 am

Picket Line Coordinator: John Burgess 07738389569

3. East Finchley Library—From 9 am

Picket Line Coordinator: Hugh Jordan 07983391740

Join the Lobby of Parliament

Joint Trade Union lobby of Parliament in defence of Public Services and Trade Union rights on 8th July, assemble at 1 pm in Parliament Square (opposite Westminster Abbey)

Barnet UNISON meeting place is at Westminster Tube station at 12.30pm.

What has commissioning meant for workers?

If you want to have a look at what commissioning has meant for workers you don’t have far to look. Just take a look at social care services.

Where did it all start?

The advent of the NHS & Community Care Act 1990 brought the introduction of the purchaser/provider split. In Commissioning Council speak it means commissioning (purchaser) and service deliver unit (provider). Our Council now promotes itself as a Commissioning Council and our internal structures provide an example of in house and outsourced service delivery units.

Workforce issues.

The introduction of the purchase/provider split brought the market into social services. The Trade Unions quick saw that this was an attack on the workforce and that it would lead to a race to the bottom. The union also predicted it would have an impact on service quality and how right we were. It sounds difficult to believe but there are still people (paid extraordinary amounts of public money) who still try to argue there is no link between deteriorating terms & conditions and pay and service quality.

Zero hours contract & no pension not paying for travel time.

Everyone now knows about the ‘zero hour’ exploitation of care workers. In Barnet our care workers were on permanent contracts, and were members of our pension scheme and were paid for travel time. They were outsourced and outsourced again. Their terms & conditions have been destroyed by private contractors. UNISON tried to get Barnet Council to sign up to the UNISON ethical care charter . They refused and officers convinced it was too expensive.

Thanks to commissioning, care workers are on inferior terms & conditions and will not be in our Council Pension scheme.

It not our fault, blame the commissioners.

This is what our branch has faced when presented with the implications of the two tier workforce. When we start negotiations the contractor replies by saying it is not their fault and that we should go back to the commissioners. When the unions go back to the commissioners they say they don’t get involved in internal matters of the contractor.

Commissioning is all about outsourcing.

The Council are quick to say that commissioning is not all about outsourcing. But the facts tell a different story. Over the last three years there have been 12 outsourcing project decisions and not one of them has recommended in-house services.

Outsourcing list January 2012 – June 2015

1. YCB

2. Housing options

3. NSL

4. CSG

5. Re

6. Music Trust

7. Registrars service

8. Legal services

9. Public Health

10. Mortuary

11. CCTV

12. Recycling depot (1 October 2015)

 

In all the above cases workers were transferred out of Barnet to a new employer. 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE TO BE CONTACTED ABOUT BARNET STRIKE

On Friday Barnet UNISON informed our members that we were using an online social media tool called Thunderclap.

Over the weekend the results have been incredible, with the latest figures showing 1,041,021 are about to read the reasons we are taking strike action on Wednesday 8 July.

You can read the update here.

Barnet UNISON members who still work for Barnet Council (excluding community schools) begin a 24 hour strike action on Wednesday 8 July

The dispute involves coach escorts, drivers, social workers, occupational therapists, schools catering staff, education welfare officers, library workers, children centre workers, street cleaning & refuse workers, all of whom have made it clear they want to remain employees of the Barnet Council.

UNISON Picket Lines will be at the following workplaces:

· North London Business Park—Start 7 am onwards.

· Mill Hill Depot—Starts 6 am onwards.

· East Finchley Library—Start 9 am onwards.

On Wednesday 8 July the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is expected to announce further devastating cuts to local authority budgets during the emergency budget. The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that councils in England could face a £3.3 billion reduction in central government funding for local services in 2016/17. This will mean councils will need to make big savings next year, equivalent to 12 per cent of their total budgets.

· “The LGA also predicted that the upcoming Spending Review would see Whitehall funding reduced by a further 11% in 2017/18 and 4% in 2018/19, before increasing by 7% the following year.

· This means councils face a funding gap of £9.5bn by the end of the decade, the outlook claims.”

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2015/06/councils-face-%C2%A333bn-funding-cut-lga-warns

UNISON Branch Secretary John Burgess said: “Our members want to work for the Council, they want to be directly accountable to the residents of Barnet. They can see for themselves that cuts to local government are being driven by an ideological obsession with outsourcing services. Our members can see that the outsourcing of council services does lead to an attack on members’ Pay,Terms & Conditions and the establishment of a divisive and unfair two tier workforce. I am pleased to see that despite all the odds the Greek people have rejected the politics of Austerity and provided a message of hope for all of us facing the Austerity endgame. I am therefore pleased to report that Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Leadership candidate) will be standing shoulder to shoulder with UNISON members on our picket lines this week. Barnet UNISON will be later joining other trade unions and disability rights campaigners on a lobby of Parliament in defence of Public Services and Trade Union rights on 8 July, at 1 pm in Parliament Square, (opposite Westminster Abbey).”

End.

Notes to Editors.

Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk

Background:

1. Six years ago Barnet Council introduced a policy known as Future Shape which morphed into ‘easyCouncil’*.This imposed a series of tariffs on residents wishing to access a range of services. A basic service would be offered to residents at a fixed price, but ‘fast track’ services might be available if you paid extra.

This approach was quickly abandoned by the consultant driven One Barnet Programme, which led to the following Council Services being outsourced/privatised in the space of three years:

1. Social Care for Adults with disabilities to Your Choice Barnet

2. Housing Options to Barnet Homes

3. Parking Services to NSL

4. Revenues & Benefits, IT, HR & Payroll, Pensions, Health & Safety, Finance, Estates, Property Services, Procurement, Projects all now part of Capita CSG

5. Environmental Health, Planning, Building Control, Hendon Cemetery & Crematorium, Highways, Trading Standards & Licensing all now Capita RE

6. Legal Services

7. Registrars & Nationality Services

8. CCTV

9. Music Trust

10. Public Health

11. Mortuary Services.

Over the past three years our members have seen hundreds of colleagues transferred to other employers. This has often meant redundancy as the new employer has moved jobs out of the borough and Greater London to places as far afield as Belfast, Carlisle, Coventry, Southampton and Darlington.

Barnet has branded this final phase as the ‘Commissioning Council’.

On 3 March 2015 Barnet Council agreed its next Five Commissioning Plans all of which are looking at ‘Alternative Delivery Models’, jargon for working for a different employer.

The Council Services now at risk of outsourcing are:

1. Early Years – 13 Children’s Centres

2. Library Services

3. Adults & Communities services

4. Street Scene Services e.g. Waste & Recycling, Street Cleansing, Parks and Transport

5. Education & Skills and School Meals services.

2. Disappearing Council – short animation https://youtu.be/YQ5t63fSu-s

 

3. “The easyCouncil Loco-motion” https://youtu.be/Wi0bdgofsmM

That is right over 1 million people are about to hear all about what is happening to Barnet Council workers.

On Friday the branch advertised that we were using an online social media tool called Thunderclap & over the weekend the results have been incredible.

The latest figures are standing at 1,036,409 people all of whom are about to read about the reasons we are taking strike action on Wednesday 8 July.

You can read the update here.

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/28471-support-the-barnetstrikers

So, make sure you joining one of the following picket lines to make sure you are included in one of the most important SELFIES in out union’s history.

Join Helen from 7 am outside NLBP

Join Hugh from 9 am outside East Finchley Library

Join John from 5 am outside Mill Hill depot (I’m guessing Mill Hill may not be top of your list).

To all Barnet UNISON members you can still show solidarity in many ways click here to find out more

Catering staff know what’s cooking. They don’t like privatisation and they will be on strike 8^th July

Children’s centre staff know it’s child’s play – of course they don’t like privatisation and they will be on strike 8^th July

Refuse workers know rubbish when they see it. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July

Social Workers know about safeguarding services. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July

OT’s have assessed the situation. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July

Assessment and Enablement Officers have reviewed the situation. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July

Hospital social workers have arranged support but not for privatisation. They will be taking strike action 8^th July

Mental Health workers know what makes them crazy. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July

Coach drivers and passenger escorts know something about the direction of travel. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July

Library workers have read all about it. They don’t like privatisation and they will be taking strike action 8^th July