Category: Anti – Racism
How to register for Barnet UNISON AGM 7 February 2023
Barnet UNISON AGM 7 February 4pm 2023
Cost of Living Crisis one off payment to lowest grades except in community schools.
Yesterday Barnet Council has announced in an email to all staff that it will be making a Cost-of-Living payment of £150 to all non-schools’ staff on grades A-E.
Whilst Barnet UNISON welcomes this payment for our lowest paid members, we are concerned that another group of low paid female members working in Barnet Council Community Schools will not be receiving this payment from the Council.
We have been informed that Barnet Council will be writing to all the Community schools to advise them of the payment.
Barnet UNISON has asked for Barnet Council to support Community Schools to enable them to make this much needed payment to their staff.
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A shift of a care worker in Barnet: The London Living Wage is not enough!
Barnet UNISON is in negotiations with The Barnet Group (TBG) about improving Pay and Terms and Conditions of our members.
One of our members, a care worker put together a list of work she does each day.
The list is enormous but it’s a critical service. The impact on the quality of life of residents is determined by the skill and professionalism of the care worker.
Whilst politicians will queue up to say that care workers are central to the delivery of care in the community they still refuse to commit to dealing with the ‘elephant in the room’ which is Pay.
Care workers have been subjected to outsourcing which has seen the pay and terms and conditions sink.
Considering the care work workforce is largely female it could be said that outsourcing of care work is an example of institutional misogyny within procurement and commissioning of care services.
Look at this list of tasks and ask yourself whether you think that care workers should be paid more.
As a Carers we do:
- Personal care
- Make bed and tidy up bathrooms and rooms.
- Put water in the jug.
- Give bedtime tea.
- Serve tea after personal care.
- Take all clothes, bed linens, towels to laundry to wash.
- Assist residents to go to the dining area.
- Support residents to walk with jimo frames. or in a wheelchair.
- Assist residents to sit on the chair.
- Serve breakfast and prepare tea and toast.
- Assist residents to go the toilet.
- Assist residents as required.
- Assist residents to go to the lounge or in their room.
- Make sure they have everything as needed.
- Take Covid Temperature and record.
- Clear dining area and set up for lunch time.
- Wash all dishes and serving pots and pans.
- Clear and sweeping floors.
- Medication administered.
- Assist and respond when is needed.
- Do daily logbook and record.
- Served 11 am tea or juices choices if residents.
- Change bed linen.
- Dealt with residents as different needs.
- Escort residents to their hospital appointment.
- Take samples of residents to GP.
- Support residents with hearing aids, glasses, dentures.
- Weigh residents regularly.
- Take BP regularly.
- Admin work monthly based filing all documents.
- Everyday take fridges temperatures and food temperatures.
- Daily logging and administration medication.
- Assist residents to go to toilet before lunch.
- Assists residents to sit on their chair to eat lunch.
- Bring food trolly from kitchen to dining area.
- Get ready to serve lunch.
- Served lunch and dealt with individual’s needs.
- Again scraped all dishes and take to the small kitchen to wash.
- Clear, sweep, collect and wash.
- Support and assist residents needs to go toilet, lounge, in their room.
- Empty bin and take to waste bin outside.
- Do daily logging book.
- Laundry to put way and hang in the wardrobe in the resident’s room.
- Teatime 3pm prepare tea and served tea and coffee and cakes.
- Take Covid Temperature.
- Do Menu for next lunch and supper ask individual what they would like to eat and explained to residents what is in the menu.
- Do shopping list for next day.
- Collect all cups and plates and wash them.
- Set up tables for suppers.
- Do daily logbook.
- Administration medications.
- We do behaviour chats, fluids records, bowels records, oral care records everyday morning and evening.
- Serve suppers bring trolly to the dining area.
- Do personal and oral care individuals.
- Scraped dishes and wash and clear dining area.
- After all personal care done take clothes and towels into laundry room and put them in the washing machines and clean kitchen.
- Medication administered.
- Serve bedtime’s tea.
- Put residents in beds.
- Empty dishwasher and put cutlery way.
- Collect all cups and mugs and put in washing.
- Do daily logbook.
- Check resident before finish shifts and handover.
- Go home.
64 reasons why £11.95 (London Living Wage) is not enough Pay for care workers.
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RPI a massive 19.9% in October! We have two Waste & Recycling (Bin workers) pay issues
The graphic above was taken from the Government website The Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The almost vertical rise in RPI is plain for all to see. The graphic shows RPI over a 30-year period.
We are unprecedented times which is why our members are angry and determined to get a pay offer they believe provides them with some respect.
Early next week UNISON and GMB are going into another round of talks to try and reach an agreement on two pay claims made on behalf of bin workers
At a mass meeting in the depot this morning our members are clear they want a better offer.
Our members worked throughout Covid and feel their contribution to the delivering services 52 weeks a year to Barnet residents is not recognised by their employer.
Warms words will not pay the rent, the food bills or the escalating energy costs.
Barnet UNISON will be reminding the employer that our members working in Waste & Recycling (Bin workers) had a 91% turnout in the National Pay consultation and almost of the Votes were to REJECT the offer and move to strike action.
See voting figures here
The next round of talks will take place on Monday 28 November 2022.
More later.
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Barnet Council: London Living Wage is NOW £11.95
Barnet Council includes the London Living Wage as a contract clause for some of the contractors that deliver services on behalf of Barnet Council e.g. Norse (cleaning contractor) ISS (catering in schools), Blue Nine (security services).
“The new Living Wage rates were announced on Thursday 22nd September 2022. Employers should implement the rise as soon as possible but by the latest 14th May 2023.”
https://www.livingwage.org.uk/calculation
Our members working for Norse, ISS, Blue Nine are currently earning £11.05 an hour.
The new rate is £11.95 and hour.
The worst Cost-of-Living Crisis in 75 years is having a disproportionate impact on the lowest paid which is why Barnet UNISON has called on Barnet Council to ask their contractors to update the London Living Wage for their staff before Christmas.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows RPI was 19.9% at the end of October (see graph below).
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Branch Meeting on National Pay for next year (2023)
National Pay 2023 consultation is starting soon.
Join the discussion about next year’s pay claim with two great speakers
Glen Williams Chair of UNISON’s Local Government Service Group Executive
Amerit Rait UNISON Vice President and Greater London NEC rep and NHS worker.
Time: 8 December 2022 6 pm.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86029142908?pwd=RUtxczhwNnlhTVdGQTVPa0pTRFNQdz09
Breaking News: UNISON President & Vice President are joining the mass lobby at Hendon Town Hall Tuesday 1 November
News in that our UNISON National President Andrea Egan and UNISON National Vice President Amerit Rait are attending the mass lobby outside Hendon Town Hall on Tuesday 1 November from 6 pm in support of the Barnet Strikers.
“I want to thank both Andrea and Amerit for taking time out of their busy schedules to come down and support our Barnet Strikers. This is what leadership means. It’s what workers want to see from their union. Our branch is 100% behind our Barnet Strikers also known as the “Barnet Ten” and so is the leadership at the top of UNISON. I can’t wait to hear the message they will be bringing to the employer the Barnet Group who defending the indefensible at the expense of Barnet Council housing tenants. 200 repairs jobs a week are being cancelled it’s a disgrace.” (John Burgess Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON).
Directions to the lobby: Nearest tube is Hendon Central on northern line. Turn right out of the station. It’s a 10 minute walk to the top of the hill. Turn right and 200 yards on the left is the Town Hall.
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Breaking News: Barnet Strikers are going to Parliament
News in that the Barnet Strikers have been invited to Parliament early next week.
The invite confirms that the news of the Barnet Strikers is beginning to spread beyond the boundary of the London Borough of Barnet.
The first response when we explain the dispute is always the same.
Complete disbelief that an employer would want to defend a position of refusing to pay the first 3 weeks sick pay to a low paid manual worker who was injured at work.
More on this news story later this week.
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