Month: August 2026
Branch Secretary Weekly Message Monday 24th August 2026
Monday 24 August 2026
Weekly Blog — speaking truth to power – A warning for every council worker
Something has been happening quietly in the Passenger Transport Service that every Barnet council worker needs to know about. It does not just affect Passenger Assistants. It sets a precedent that could affect any of us.
What has been going on
In 2017 a decision was taken — without any consultation with UNISON or GMB — that when Passenger Assistant posts became vacant through retirement or resignation, they would not be refilled with directly employed LBB staff. Instead, the work would be picked up by external providers.
Nobody announced this. Nobody brought it to a JNCC. No business case was published. No equality assessment was carried out. It just happened, post by post, year by year.
In January 2021 there were approximately 85 directly employed LBB Passenger Assistants. There are now 42. The work has not reduced. The service still runs over 100 routes that need Passenger Assistant support. The workers have simply been replaced.
We have now had this confirmed in writing by management. When we asked who is doing the work that LBB Passenger Assistants used to do, the answer came back: 61 workers employed by external private providers contracted by the Council.
That is not gap-filling. That is not flexible provision. That is outsourcing — and it has been done without any of the process that outsourcing requires.
Why this should worry you, wherever you work
This is not just a Passenger Transport story. The method matters.
Management found a way to run down an in-house workforce without ever formally proposing to outsource it. No Cabinet report saying we want to contract this service out. No consultation with the unions. No equality impact assessment on what it means for a low-paid, predominantly female workforce. Just a quiet decision to stop recruiting, and wait.
By the time anyone noticed, 60% of the Passenger Assistant function was being delivered by workers employed by private companies rather than by the Council.
Ask yourself this. What stops the same approach being used in your service? If management decided tomorrow to stop filling vacancies in your team and use contractors instead, this is now the precedent they would point to. UNISON is not prepared to let that stand unchallenged.
What UNISON has done and where we are
We have submitted a formal report to the highest level of joint negotiation with the Council — the JNCG, chaired by the Chief Executive. That report sets out the full picture: the workforce figures, the governance failures, the health and safety concerns, the breach of the Trade Union Engagement Framework the Council signed just last December.
We submitted that report in June. We are now in August. We have still not received a substantive response.
We have also formally asked management a question they have not answered: when did LBB last directly recruit a Passenger Assistant? The answer to that question will tell us exactly when the decision was made that this workforce would be wound down. We intend to find out.
This matter is going to JNCC as a formal agenda item. We are not dropping it.
What members can do
If you are a Passenger Assistant or Passenger Escort, or you know someone who is, please get in touch with the branch. Your experience of what has changed in this service matters and we want to hear it.
If you work in any other part of the Council and you have noticed posts in your team sitting vacant for long periods without being advertised, let us know. We want to understand whether what has happened in Passenger Transport is happening anywhere else.
The council workforce is strongest when we look out for each other. What happens to one group of workers today can happen to another group tomorrow.
Best wishes John Burgess Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON
TBG Ballot Goes Live on the 1st of September!
The Barnet Group (TBG) UNISON members in Barnet Homes and Your Choice Barnet will be receiving a postal ballot from Tuesday the 1st of September.
The ballot will run for 6 weeks, closing on Tuesday the 13th of October.
Members are being asked to vote as TBG Management has refused to negotiate on any of the demands of the pay claim submitted on the 27/1/26.
TBG members can no longer suffer the indignity and inequality of being treated as second class public servants.
UNISON is ready to negotiate a way forward – Bring TBG Management back to the table
Please vote YES!!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 100% of Barnet bin and street cleansing workers reject holiday pay offer
18 August 2026
Barnet bin and street cleansing workers vote 100% to reject holiday pay offer, seek formal strike ballot
Council workers affected by Barnet Council’s 12-year holiday pay underpayment have unanimously rejected the council’s current offer, Barnet UNISON has announced and are now seeking a formal industrial action ballot.
In a consultative ballot, bin workers returned a 96% turnout with 100% voting to reject the council’s offer of six months’ backdated pay. Street Cleansing workers returned a 66% turnout, also with 100% voting to reject it — against underpayment that in many cases goes back to 2014.
The union has already written to the council’s Chief Executive and separately to Council Leader Barry Rawlings following the result, calling for urgent talks and asking the Leader to personally intervene.
A Joint Negotiating and Consultative Group meeting has since been confirmed for Monday 14 September, where the union will press the council on the questions it has raised.
UNISON has put a series of questions to the council that it says the public would reasonably expect answered, including why correct payment only began once a new payroll contractor took over in 2025, whether the council knew about the failure before then, whether a full investigation has taken place, whether Capita has been asked to account for the failure, whether the council has considered recovering the loss from Capita, and what evidence supports six months as an appropriate settlement.
The union is calling on the council to return to meaningful negotiation, provide full transparency on the payroll history, explain the basis of its offer, and come back with a significantly improved settlement that reflects the real duration and scale of the underpayment.
UNISON says that isn’t the outcome anyone wants — but with members having already signalled they’re ready to move to a formal industrial action ballot, continued council inaction risks strike action in Barnet as early as this autumn, which would mean bin collections and street cleansing grinding to a halt and the real prospect of fly-tipping building up across the borough.
“This result couldn’t be clearer. Not a single member who voted backed the council’s offer. We’ve asked the council for urgent talks — we’d much rather resolve this at the table than take it further. But if the council keeps standing behind Capita instead of doing right by the workers who kept this borough running, residents need to understand where that leads: a strike this autumn, bins left uncollected, and fly-tipping piling up across Barnet. That’s entirely avoidable, and it’s in the council’s hands to avoid it.”
The dispute follows a payroll error under former contractor Capita, which left overtime out of holiday pay calculations for staff who regularly worked it, including depot workers in waste, recycling, green waste and street cleaning.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Barnet UNISON represents around 3,000 members working for the London Borough of Barnet and associated employers.
Contact: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
Bus strikes – what you need to do now
Barnet UNISON depot members please read the advice below.
The Unite bus strikes affecting Arriva North London services start this Friday, 14 August, and continue on further dates through to October. If your journey to work depends on one of the affected routes, please read this and act now.
When the strikes are happening
Strike periods are: 14–15 August, 18–21 August, 25–28 August, 4–5 September, 7–8 September, 18–19 September, 21–22 September, 2–3 October, 5–6 October, and 16–17 and 19–20 October. Each period runs from just before 4am on the first date through to just before 4am on the day after the last date shown.
What to do now
If you think you’ll have trouble getting to work this Friday because your bus route is affected, speak to your supervisor today – don’t wait until the morning of the strike. The same applies ahead of every other date listed above. The earlier you flag it, the more time there is to sort something out.
What the Council is looking into
We’ve met with the Assistant Director, who is looking at practical ways to help affected staff get in on strike days. This includes putting on alternative transport, arranging car sharing, and asking supervisors to pick up staff who are struggling to get in. Nothing is confirmed yet, which is exactly why speaking to your supervisor now matters – it’s how you get included in whatever gets arranged.
If you’re not getting help
If you raise this with your supervisor and you’re not offered any practical support, or you’re told you’ll be marked late or absent through no fault of your own because of strike disruption, contact us straight away. Don’t just stay off work without speaking to your supervisor and to UNISON first.
Contact your workplace UNISON rep, or the branch office directly at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk , if you need help.
End.
Branch Secretary Weekly Message Monday 10th August 2026
Monday 10th August
Weekly Blog – Speaking Truth too Power – Sickness Absence
Sickness absence can become complicated very quickly. A few days off, a return-to-work meeting, then suddenly a manager is talking about review stages and attendance targets.
My message this week is simple. Contact UNISON early. Do not wait until you are worried that your job may be at risk.
Tell us when your health is affecting your work
You do not need to wait until you are signed off sick before contacting UNISON.
Speak to us if your health is affecting your attendance, your performance or your ability to carry out parts of your job. This includes physical health, mental health, stress, a disability or a long-term health condition.
The Council’s own policy says managers should support staff, discuss health problems sensitively and consider appropriate adjustments. That might include changes to duties, hours, equipment, workload or working arrangements.
The earlier these issues are raised, the better the chance of support being put in place before matters become more serious.
This guide relates to Barnet Council employees. Staff employed by schools may be covered by a separate policy adopted by their governing body, so school members should contact us for advice about the procedure that applies to them.
Know the basic sickness reporting rules
Employees are expected to notify their manager on the first day of sickness, normally within one hour of their usual start time or earlier where possible.
You should agree how you will keep in contact during your absence. If you are off for more than seven calendar days, including weekends and bank holidays, you must provide a fit note covering the absence.
A return-to-work meeting should normally take place after every period of sickness absence. The discussion should be private. Your manager should make a written note, place it on your personnel file and give you a copy.
Read that note. Check that it is accurate. Challenge anything which is wrong or misleading.
The Council’s review point is three periods of sickness absence or eight days of cumulative absence within a rolling twelve-month period, adjusted for part-time staff. Reaching that point does not automatically mean formal action. The manager should consider the circumstances and what support may be needed.
Occupational Health should be used properly
Occupational Health can be useful, but the referral needs to ask the right questions.
The Council normally seeks an employee’s consent before making a referral. Occupational Health advice is advisory. It does not make the management decision.
Before agreeing to a referral, ask to see the questions being sent. They should focus on matters such as whether you are fit to work, whether your condition may be work-related, what adjustments may help and whether a phased return is appropriate.
A poor referral can produce a poor report. A report based on incomplete or inaccurate information can then be used in meetings about your employment.
The procedure also says managers should have an up-to-date Occupational Health report before arranging a formal meeting or hearing. Contact UNISON before the referral is submitted, particularly if your health problems involve workplace stress, bullying, an accident at work or an ongoing grievance.
Do not attend formal meetings alone
The procedure has three review stages.
Stage 1 is described as an informal review. It may include an attendance target and a further review period.
Stage 2 is a formal review meeting. Medical evidence, Occupational Health advice, adjustments, phased returns and possible redeployment should be considered.
Stage 3 is the final formal review. At that stage, the Council may say that continued employment is at risk. Possible outcomes can include medical redeployment, ill-health retirement or dismissal.
Members have the right to be represented by UNISON at formal meetings. You may also ask to be accompanied at an informal review meeting, although the policy does not give the same automatic right.
Do not wait until Stage 3 before asking for help. By then, decisions may already have been made and opportunities to challenge poor management or secure adjustments may have been missed.
If you receive a letter inviting you to an absence review meeting, contact the Barnet UNISON office straight away. Send us the invitation, the absence record, any Occupational Health reports and any correspondence from your manager.
Sickness absence procedures are supposed to support employees. They should not become a conveyor belt towards dismissal.
Keep records. Ask questions. Get advice early.
best wishes
John Burgess
Branch Secretary
Barnet UNISON
Weekly Blog — speaking truth to power – National Care Service
This week I published a piece on the branch website about the National Care Service debate. I want to use this blog to explain why I wrote it, what it means for our members right now, and where the dispute with The Barnet Group stands.
Why I wrote about a National Care Service
Politicians talk about creating a National Care Service the way they talk about most things — as a funding question. How much will it cost? How will it be paid for? Those are fair questions. But they are not the only ones.
After 31 years as a UNISON rep, I have watched care workers praised in speeches and shortchanged in their pay packets. I have watched outsourcing strip away decent terms. I have watched workers transferred out of council employment, away from the Local Government Pension Scheme, onto weaker sick pay, weaker holiday entitlement, weaker everything — and I have watched management call it an efficiency.
A National Care Service built on that foundation is not a National Care Service. It is the same fragmented mess with a new name on the door.
If the Government is serious, it starts with the workforce. Fair pay, secure contracts, collective bargaining, and access to a proper pension. You can read the full piece here: https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2026/07/30/a-national-care-service-must-start-with-the-workforce/
The dispute on our doorstep
While politicians debate the future, our members in Your Choice Barnet and Barnet Homes are living the present. And the present is not acceptable.
Earlier this month, 97% of Your Choice Barnet members and 100% of Barnet Homes members voted for industrial action in consultative ballots. Those turnouts would have comfortably beaten the statutory thresholds needed for a formal ballot. The message could not have been clearer.
The Barnet Group’s response? They refused to negotiate. They rejected the claim in full and said they would not move. That is not a negotiating position. That is a refusal to engage with people who deliver first-class public services on second-class pay.
We have now requested formal statutory industrial action ballots. That process is underway. The Barnet Group is wholly owned by Barnet Council. The council cannot stand to one side and say this has nothing to do with them. It has everything to do with them.
The pension question
One of the central demands in this dispute is access to the Local Government Pension Scheme. This matters and it is worth explaining why.
LGPS is not a gold-plated luxury. It is a defined benefit scheme that gives workers a degree of certainty about their retirement — the kind of certainty that has been taken for granted by council employees for decades. Workers transferred into TBG and Your Choice Barnet were moved away from it. That means lower retirement income for some of the lowest-paid workers in the borough.
We often hear that LGPS employer contributions make it unaffordable. The employer contribution rate is currently 20.4%. That is not a secret. But it is worth pointing out that the people who find LGPS “unaffordable” for frontline care workers tend to be the same senior managers who are themselves in the scheme and drawing from it. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for the people doing the actual care.
What happens next
The formal ballot process has begun. If members vote yes — and I expect they will — strike action becomes a real possibility. That is not where anyone wants to be. But it is where The Barnet Group has taken us by refusing to negotiate.
If you work in Your Choice Barnet or Barnet Homes, make sure your contact details are up to date with the branch. Watch for your ballot when it arrives. And vote.
Best wishes John Burgess Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON