Category: Cost of Living Crisis

Update on Pay Negotiations with TBG

Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Cost of Living Crisis, Housing, Local, News, Pensions, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON recently met with senior representatives from The Barnet Group (TBG) to discuss our 2024/25 pay and terms & conditions claim covering members in YCB and Barnet Homes.

At the meeting, TBG outlined what they describe as significant financial pressures across both organisations. They highlighted:

  • Very small projected operating surpluses for the coming year
  • Accumulated losses within YCB
  • Ongoing pressures linked to council funding and the Housing Revenue Account
  • Market challenges within residential care, including difficulties cross-subsidising council placements

They also referenced a recent external benchmarking review of extra care services, which they say shows TBG offering comparatively generous terms and conditions relative to parts of the wider care market.

UNISON’s Position

We made clear that our claim reflects the reality members are living through:

  • The cost of living crisis continues to hit housing and care workers hard.
  • Pay compression over many years has left many members feeling worse off in real terms.
  • In care services in particular, financial strain is severe, with some members telling us they are struggling to meet basic costs.

We emphasised that Barnet Homes and YCB do not function without their workforce. Any discussion about sustainability must include fair and sustainable pay for staff.

We also made clear that TBG is not bound by national NJC negotiations. That is why we have formally submitted our full claim locally and expect meaningful negotiation on all elements.

What Happens Next

TBG has committed to providing full costings for the outstanding elements of our claim, including pension implications. We expect that information before 24 March.

Once negotiations are exhausted, members will be consulted on the employer’s response. That would be a consultative ballot — not a strike ballot — allowing members to decide whether the offer is acceptable or whether further action is required.

This is a challenging negotiation. We recognise the financial arguments being made by the employer — but we also recognise the very real financial pressures our members are facing.

We will continue to press your case firmly and constructively.

Further updates will follow once we receive TBG’s full response.

End.

 

 

Holiday Pay Update: Talks Paused Until Barnet Council Provides Key Information

Austerity, Cost of Living Crisis, Local, News, UNISON Campaign

Talks with the London Borough of Barnet (LBB) on holiday pay have currently paused because UNISON is still waiting for the Council to provide some basic information about how it is working out holiday pay for staff who regularly work overtime.

This matters because holiday pay is not just a routine payroll issue — it affects real money in members’ pockets. UNISON is determined to get this right. We do not want to sign off any arrangement and later discover it does not meet the legal requirements. That would risk further underpayments and create unnecessary disputes that we are trying to avoid.

We have told LBB that as soon as the Council provides the information, we will share it promptly with UNISON’s legal advisers so we can confirm whether the approach is lawful and properly covers all Barnet workers who work overtime — including staff in community schools.

If the approach is confirmed as lawful, we will move straight on to negotiating back pay. UNISON’s starting position is that this issue should have been addressed years ago, and we will be pressing for back pay to go back as far as possible.

When LBB reaches a final offer, we will share the details with members and consult on whether you want to accept the compensation payment. The final outcome will depend on your feedback once you can see what the payment looks like. Please keep an eye out for further updates

Cost of Living Crisis: What Barnet UNISON Is Doing — and Why Your Vote Matters

Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Cost of Living Crisis, Equal Pay, Health and Safety, Housing, Libraries, Local, TBG Flex, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

Every week Barnet UNISON speaks to members who are doing essential public service work — and struggling to make ends meet. That should never be normal. Yet in one of the most expensive cities in the world, too many Barnet workers are facing rising rents, higher food bills, increased energy costs, and transport fares that keep going up while pay falls behind.

We are seeing the reality on the ground: members skipping meals, taking second jobs, worrying about heating bills, and telling us they feel worse off now than at any time in their working lives.

Barnet UNISON has not stood back and watched this happen. We have built a coordinated Cost-of-Living response based on organising, bargaining and legal challenge. We are currently running ten separate cost-of-living campaigns across the employers where our members work.

Our 10 Cost of Living Campaigns

1. Equal Pay campaign across three employers

2. Pay claim for housing workers

3. Terms and conditions claim for housing workers

4. LGPS pension claim for housing workers

5. Pay claim for care workers

6. Terms and conditions claim for care workers

7. LGPS pension claim for care workers

8. Holiday payments claim for Barnet Council workers

9. Holiday payments claim for housing and care workers

10. Pay claim for outsourced cleaners

This is one of the most extensive cost-of-living responses our branch has ever mounted. It reflects what members have told us repeatedly: the problem is not one single issue — it is pay, pensions, insecure terms, unpaid entitlements, and historic inequality all combining to squeeze household incomes.

Low Pay in a High-Cost City: The Reality

Low pay is not accidental. It grows when employers hold down wages, delay reviews, outsource services, and maintain unequal pay structures.

Meanwhile, the cost of living in London continues to rise. Housing costs remain among the highest in the country. Inflation over recent years has pushed up the price of everyday essentials. When wages lag behind prices year after year, workers get poorer even while working just as hard — or harder — than before.

That is not sustainable for individuals, for families, or for the services we provide.

What the Union Is Doing — and What Happens Next

Our job as your union is to turn frustration into leverage. That means submitting claims, negotiating firmly, campaigning publicly, using legal routes where appropriate, and — when members support it — preparing for industrial action.

Across all ten campaigns, we are pressing employers to negotiate seriously and settle fairly. Some campaigns focus on immediate pay uplift. Others address structural unfairness that has cost members money over many years. All are about restoring value to your work.

The Most Important Message: Members Decide

There is one point we want to be absolutely clear about:

Members decide.

Ballots matter. Consultations matter. Voting matters. Whether a claim settles, escalates, or moves to the next stage depends on member participation and member votes.

The future of each of these campaigns will not be decided in a boardroom alone — it will be determined by how members vote.

When we organise and vote together, we are strongest.

End.