Category: Anti – Racism

Barnet UNISON National Pay newsletter

Anti - Racism, Austerity, National, News, Report, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Last year, in the worst Cost of Living Crisis in 75 years, hundreds of thousands of workers – BT workers, teachers, lecturers, lawyers, nurses, ambulance workers, junior doctors, Border Force workers, bus drivers, rail workers, postal workers, tube workers, cleaners, admin call centre workers – all said the same thing:

“enough is enough!”

They followed the advice of their trade unions and voted YES for strike action on Pay.

2022 saw the biggest increase in strikes in a generation and the reason was the same for all workers: the system is broken. Most workers can no longer afford to live. In UNISON many of our members are low paid and are unable to survive on poverty pay. We hear so many stories of families where parents are missing meals to feed their children, where families are unable to heat their homes and where increasing numbers of members are now regularly using food banks.

Many members are trying to cope by having more than one job.

The sad and brutal fact is that every public sector worker is now working one day a week for FREE!

Instead of the Government putting money in the hands of the workers, workers are donating their hard work one day a week for FREE!

 

You can view our latest pay newsletter here

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023.05.02-Pay-Newsletter-middle-graphic-apart-JBurgess-version.pdf

 

End.

 

National Pay: Find out how much you really should be paid!

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, National, News, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Whatever the politicians say, the cost of living is not going down, its going up. Which is why #UNISON is balloting schools and council workers for strike action for a real pay rise.

Look at the #UNISON pay calculator which shows what a Grade B worker needs to survive in the worst #CostOfLivingCrisis in 76 years Click on the UNISON link and follow instructions.

https://unisonpaycalculator.co.uk/

 

Here are some examples of Grade B workers in Barnet Council:

Gardener, Loader on Waste &Recycling, or Level 2 School Technician.

 

End.

Barnet UNISON NEC nominations

Anti - Racism, Austerity, National, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Every two years UNISON holds NEC elections. NEC stands for National Executive Committee. This is the highest committee in UNISON and they’re responsible for setting out how UNISON is organising.

In this election members have a lot of votes for different groups of candidates. The turnout in these important elections is very poor which is why our branch is trying to encourage our members to take part in the democracy in our union.

What is the NEC?

The NEC is made up of representatives elected from all of UNISON’s regions and service groups, as well as seats for four Black members, two young members and two disabled members. It has the power to act on behalf of the union and is responsible for implementing UNISON policy and delivering on the union’s objectives and priorities.

UNISON’s rule book says we have to elect our NEC every two years.

When is the ballot?

The ballot opens on 17 April 2023 and runs until 19 May 2023. The results will be announced on 8 June 2023.

Click on link below to view the Barnet UNISON nominations for the NEC elections

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023.04.03-A5-leaflet-NEC-elections.pdf

 

Term Time Pay: What does it mean for school staff?

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, National, News, Schools, UNISON Campaign

In 2018 UNISON lodged an employment tribunal claim against Greenwich Council on behalf of all term time paid staff. UNISON managed to negotiate an agreement which generated 5 years’ back dated payments plus a contribution to those in Council Pensions Schemes.

Term Time Pay (TTP) staff are paid using a formula that includes your annual leave entitlement. What UNISON discovered was that TTP staff were being underpaid. To put it simply not enough annual leave was being allocated to the TTP formula.

As a result of the Greenwich case claims began to be raised across the country.

In September 2019, Barnet UNISON lodged 52 TTP claims against 52 Barnet Schools and 3 contractors working for Barnet Council.

Over the last four years we have manged to secure back pay for 80% of our members in schools and contractors and we are hoping to complete the final 20% by the end of this year.

Why has Barnet UNISON written to Barnet Schools?

On 22 March 2023 we wrote to all Barnet Schools which implement the NJC National Pay Awards because part of last year’s claim included a permanent extra day’s annual leave. What this means is that the TTP formula will need to change to reflect the extra day’s annual leave entitlement.

We have asked each school to provide UNISON with the details of the new TTP formula. We need to check the formula is compliant otherwise there could be underpayments claims for our members. We need to be able to advise our members that they are on the correct pay.

In response to your questions if you think it helps this is the answer.

Why it’s going to take such a long time to get the back pay?

Because your school may choose not to respond to UNISON, or they may choose to delay the payment or find a way not to pay. If we can’t negotiate locally, we hand over to our lawyers and it can drag on for years in the courts. Once it is with our lawyers the branch has no control over the process.

What do UNISON members need to provide?

You will need to provide evidence for example payslips to show what you are being paid. You will also have to complete a case form where we will require more details about you.

End.

Win the ballot: Fight for Pay meeting

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, Membership, News, Schools, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Dear Colleague

This is an invitation for you to join thousands of other London council UNISON members at this meeting on Pay!

A groundbreaking event is taking place on Tuesday 21 March 6.30-7.30 pm when UNISON members from other London councils will be signing up for the first ever London Wide UNISON council & school workers meeting.

Barnet UNISON  Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86358706964?pwd=aFQyZmFsVXVqL2tNTk02dTlQd2pFZz09

Meeting ID: 863 5870 6964

Passcode: 869860

The Cost-of-Living Crisis is unrelenting, and more and more workers are under pressure to keep up with increases in costs such as Food, Heating, Rent, Mortgages, Child Care, etc.

Council and Schools workers’ pay has fallen so low over the last 13 years that everyone is now working at least ONE day a week for free.

At the same time energy companies are announcing massive levels of profits whilst many of our members are afraid to turn on the heating.

UNISON Council and School workers now have the opportunity to add their voice to the hundreds of thousands of other trade union members who have already taken strike action over the issue of low pay such as: Transport workers, Royal Mail workers, BT workers, Teachers, Junior Doctors, Train drivers, Cleaners, Teachers, College workers, Border Control workers, Civil Servants, Barristers.

All these trade union members managed to deliver a BIG YES vote in their strike ballot.

In London we need to send a message about the hardship of living on low pay in London. To do that we need to organise across London councils in order for our members’ voices to be heard loud and clear in Parliament.

When is the Strike Ballot to start?

The strike ballot papers will start being sent out to members home addresses from 23 May to 4 July.

What can members do?

It is important that all UNISON members’ email Barnet UNISON branch at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk with their correct postal address and contact details including their telephone/ mobile number and email address.

It is critical to the success of the strike ballot that Barnet UNISON has the correct details and has your permission to contact you about the strike ballot.

 Phone banking.

We know from other trade unions the importance of speaking to members about voting and sending back the ballot papers. We are looking for help to be on the Barnet UNISON phone bank. If you would like to volunteer, please email us at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

In the meantime, you can read the latest offer from the employer on our Barnet UNISON web site.

For Council workers click here https://bit.ly/3Jt4fkO

For School workers click here https://bit.ly/3l0HDyC

 

Solidarity

 

Barnet UNISON.

End.

Barnet Tories 2023/24 Council Budget Plan to cut hundreds of jobs……

Anti - Racism, Austerity, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Local, News, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Barnet Tories 2023/24 Council Budget Plan to cut hundreds of jobs and the right to representation by a trade union.

Read details here on the Council website https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s76600/Conservative%20Alternative%20Budget%20Final%20Publish.pdf

In the biggest Cost of Living Crisis in over 75 years Barnet Tories have proposed an alternative budget that according to the Councils Chief Finance officer has this to say:

“Notionally this would be taking approximately 100 posts out of the services not mentioned above. This would have a significant impact on the delivery of those services and the S151 would advise caution in the delivery of this saving and the impact it could have on services.”

https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s76601/S151%20and%20Monitoring%20Officer%20Comments%20on%20Alternative%20Budget.pdf

 

This anti worker rhetoric sums up where we are politically. The only response the Tories have is to frighten workers with redundancies and at the same time take away the right of workers to organise and be represented by trade unions.

If they want to look at waste, Barnet UNISON warned the Tories of the dangers of their mass outsourcing ideology back in 2008. We warned it would lead to poorer services, mass redundancies and of course we warned that Barnet would become a cash cow to the contractors.

Take a look at Barnet Blogger Mr Reasonable and read in horror the latest figures of Council spend on the two Capita contracts read below

http://reasonablenewbarnet.blogspot.com/2023/02/capita-continuing-to-disappoint-in.html

 

To date Barnet Council has given Capita an eye watering £634 million of which £273 million more than the contracted value.

Back in 2012 Barnet UNISON was assured that Capita would be held to account, but the reality is that they have been treated differently to in-house services who have had to try to deliver services through austerity whereas Capita keep holding their hands out asking for more.

What was worrying at the last Audit Committee on 16 January 2023 is that the Council were not seeking compensation for poor performance and even more worrying that the Council is not monitoring Capita in the last few months of contract take a listen below:

https://aisapps.sonicfoundry.com/AuditelScheduler/Player/Index/?id=2329a97b-5ee9-40b6-ad39-aef3cce9a3b6&presID=b142792e21954335a5579e2a62fb46ef1d

 

The Tories spent £13 million to consultants to help develop and manage the mass outsourcing of services.

What about the decision to set the Council depot based in the centre of the borough ideally located to deliver frontline services to the residents of Barnet. A decision that saw services split between Barnet and Harrow. This model did not work, and the costs associated with moving services back to one location have cost millions with more still to be spent.

Barnet UNISON is proud of the hard work and commitment of all our members working across all parts of the Council including schools. They were quite rightly lauded as key workers, most of whom went into work when others worked from the safety of their homes.

We will continue to organise and mobilise our members wherever they are.

End.

UNISON submit National Council and School Pay offer alongside GMB and Unite

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, Membership, National, News, Report, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

“UNISON is campaigning for a decent NJC pay increase for 2023, which will affect members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We are asking for a pay increase of RPI + 2%. 

The Treasury’s annual forecast for RPI for 2023 is currently 10.7%, so the increase we are asking for would amount to 12.7%. 

This would ensure that council and school workers are able to afford basic necessities without having to go from the front line to the breadline.”

For more details, please click link to UNISON National website below

https://bit.ly/3HFiGjg

 

Insourcing win at Barnet council

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Health and Safety, Housing, Libraries, Local, National, News, Recruitment, Report, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Insourcing win at Barnet council

Over 300 staff in a variety of services like trading standards, environmental health and other regulatory services, will now be transferred back in-house

Staff at Barnet council are due to be transferred back to council employment thanks to a decade-long campaign by UNISON.

The 330 affected workers are currently employed by outsourcing multinational conglomerate, Capita, and are being brought back in house after the council was used as a test case for the outsourcing of local government services.

The staff who work under a joint venture called ‘Capita Re’ in a variety of areas like trading standards, environmental health, planning highways and other regulatory services, will be TUPE transferred back in house on 1 April this year.

In 2012, much of the service provision at the council was outsourced to Capita on decade-long contracts by the Conservative-controlled council, with the intervening 10 years marred by several controversies including a multi-million-pound fraud and contracts running vastly over budget.

Barnet’s UNISON branch has campaigned for services to be brought back in-house since the contracts were initially handed to Capita and there have already been major in-sourcing successes at the council.

In May last year, Labour won control of the council after 20 years of Conservative leadership and, though the contracts had already been due to end next year, the new council has fast-tracked plans by six months to bring some services back in house.

John Burgess, Barnet local government branch secretary, said: “This is good news for staff, good news for residents and good news for the services. I welcome the decision and look forward to welcoming back all the services back into Barnet Council where they all belong.

“For a decade, our branch has campaigned for local government services at Barnet to be brought back in-house and, while we are happy that this latest has been fast tracked, there are still many issues to address for our members who are being TUPE’d.

“These include workplace inequalities such as staff being paid differently for the same role. Barnet UNISON is already seeking discussions with the council about harmonisation of the terms and conditions of the TUPE’d workforce.

“During the worst cost of living crisis in 75 years it is imperative that our branch does it best to look after the interests of our members transferring back into the council.”

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2023/01/insourcing-win-at-barnet-council/

 

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