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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Care Workers to take strike action 24 & 25 February 2015.

UNISON members working for Your Choice Barnet (YCB) have just announced their next strike dates as being 24 & 25 February. This takes place in the middle of the TUC Fair Pay fortnight.

This will make a total of 8 days of strike action since the dispute began. This is in a bid to reverse the harsh 9.5% pay cut imposed on them by their employer.

YCB has not met with UNISON as they have indicated they have nothing new to offer. Barnet Council has failed to become involved in a positive way at all. The Council has clearly been giving preferential treatment to its private contractors with the news of Capita has already received £110 million in the first 16 months of the two contracts. If YCB were to receive this, it would carry on producing a service to the residents on the scale it does for the next 18 years with no pay cut to staff!

The dispute has now reached the ears of House of Commons Early Day Motion 778 http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/778

This dispute is clearly one of priorities.

UNISON Branch Secretary John Burgess said:

“The driving motivation for our members in this dispute is their fears about what is happening to the quality of services. Low pay in the care sector does not deliver high quality services. It does not appear to work for Capita, we are at a loss as to understand why this would work for care workers in YCB.”

24 & 25 February Picket Line details

1. Flower Lane Day Centre
41 Flower Lane
Barnet
London NW7 2JN

2. Rosa Morrison Day Centre

83 Gloucester Road
Totteridge
Barnet
London EN5 1NA

The start times are 7.30am to 12noon

Notes to Editors.

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

Background:

In February 2012 Barnet Council transferred Learning Disability and Physical and Sensory Impairment services for adults to a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) called Your Choice Barnet (YCB). About 160 staff (145.6 Full Time Equivalents) in Adults services transferred to the LATC.

Following a restructure in 2013 and cuts to pay on shift allowances there are now only about 105 FTE working for YCB a 30% cut in staffing levels.

Links

1. Why UNISON Your Choice Barnet Care Workers are taking strike action.

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/2015.01.15.%20YCB%20FLYER%20PUBLIC.pdf

2. UNISON Your Choice Barnet Care Workers “9 Point Flyer

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/2015.01.15.%20STRIKE%20YCB%20FLYER%20nine%20point.pdf

3. Support UNISON Your Choice Barnet Care Workers strike action video

http://youtu.be/9jVXn6_BcVY

4. The Capita £110million payment

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s21029/Appendix%20I%20-%20Capita%20Payments.pdf

5. Your Choice Barnet Care worker to give evidence at Commission in House of Commons

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/2015.01.14.%20Care%20workers%20House%20of%20commons%20leaflet_0.pdf

5. Your Choice – in built pension burden creates artificial loss to justify pay cut http://lbbspending.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/nochoice.html

6. Sign Petition to Stop the ongoing destruction of services for adults with disabilities in Barnet

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-ongoing-destruction-of-services-for-adults-with-disabilities-in-barnet

 

On Tuesday 18 February 2015Remuneration Committee, Barnet Council are going to agree pay policy Pay Policy Statement 2015/16. In relation to the London Living Wage they say the following:

“3.14. For the period of this pay policy statement the council has decided to apply a living wage rate of £8.80 per hour worked for all employees. Employees whose pay rate is less than this amount will receive a pay supplement to bring their pay up to an equivalent of the published Barnet Living Wage rate.”

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s21262/Annex%20A%20-%20Pay%20Policy%20Statement.pdf

The London Living Wage is £9.15http://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-living-wage

According to Remuneration Committee 14 October 2013 figures inhttp://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s11046/London%20Living%20Wage.pdf it means that up to 838 Council workers are now earning less than the London Living Wage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31173451

To view enews click here

 

 

To view click here

The Pension Deficit – Outsourcing

What is the total Pension Deficit?

2010 Valuation

The results of the valuation were as follows:

The London Borough of Barnet Pension Fund had a funding level of 76%, i.e. the assets amounted to 76% of the liability promises made as at that valuation date. This corresponded to a deficit of £189.6m at that time. It is important to note that the pension deficit affects all stakeholders in the LB Pension Fund, not just Barnet Council.

What is clear is that private contractors are being treated differently from YCB & Barnet Homes.

In order to explain here is a list of the One Barnet outsourcing projects. For each project there is a hyperlink to the relevant Pension Fund Committee report.

 

1. Barnet Homes/Housing options 2012 15/03/2012 (not funded) paragraph 6.2
2. Your Choice Barnet 2012 01/09/2011 not funded
3. NSL Parking 2012 20/12/2011 fully funded paragraph 6.3
4. CSG/NSCSO 2013 11/07/2013 not funded
5. Re DRS 2013 09/09/2013 fully funded paragraph 6.4
6. Harrow Legal 2013 13/06/2012 fully funded paragraph 9.7
7. Brent Registrars 2014 18/03/2014 fully funded paragraph 6.2
8. OCS CCTV 2014 18/03/2014 fully funded 7.2

 

To view full report please click here