Category: Housing

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.

 

 

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.

Barnet UNISON Launches Potential Equal Pay Claim on Behalf of its female members.

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Housing, Libraries, Local, News, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

Barnet UNISON is urging its female members in the London Borough of Barnet (LBB) to come forward as the union prepares to launch a collective legal challenge over potential equal pay breaches by the Council.

The move follows extensive investigations into pay practices within LBB, particularly in relation to the use of “task and finish” arrangements in the Waste & Recycling service. UNISON believes there is now sufficient evidence to support equal pay claims with reasonable prospects of success.

John Burgess, Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON, said:

“The possibility that staff – the majority of whom are women – may have been underpaid for years is deeply concerning, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Equal Pay is not just a legal right, it’s a fundamental matter of fairness. UNISON is committed to ensuring our members receive the pay they are legally and morally entitled to.”

The union is now asking affected members to complete an Equal Pay case form detailing their job roles, grades, and employment history. This information will allow UNISON to assess each claim and proceed with legal and procedural steps, including lodging a collective grievance and initiating early conciliation.

Barnet UNISON is also reminding staff of the strict six-month legal time limit for making an Equal Pay claim. Anyone who has recently left the Council or changed roles is urged to act quickly.

UNISON has led the fight for Equal Pay in local government for over a decade, winning millions in compensation for underpaid workers. The union will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with Barnet Council while preparing to take legal action where necessary.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:

Barnet UNISON at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED : Potential Equal Pay Claim

Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Housing, Local, Membership, News, Schools, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

As you may be aware, there has been a lot of recent activity regarding potential equal pay claims in the London Borough of Barnet (LBB).

As the UK’s largest union, UNISON has led on equal pay within local government for over a decade and has recovered £millions in compensation for our members. We take the issue extremely seriously.

We appreciate that the prospect of being underpaid due to your gender in a cost-of-living crisis is especially emotive, however, Equal Pay legislation is complex, and UNISON has been carrying out investigations into a number of discriminatory pay practices that have been identified.

We wanted to understand the facts and consider the legal position so we can advise members appropriately. As a result of our investigations, we understand that in the Waste & Recycling service, the Council operates a practice of task and finish and has made bonus payments.

We are now satisfied that there is evidence that is likely to give rise to equal pay claims against LBB with reasonable prospects of success. This is of course dependent on your individual circumstances, and we will require members to complete case forms so that we can confirm whether your individual circumstances are captured within the potential claims we’ve identified. You must provide details of your job role, grade and dates of your employment.

If you have multiple job roles, we need this information for all of them. In order to pursue a claim, you can download an equal pay case form along with guidance on how to complete it.

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025.07.28-Barnet-UNISON-Caseform-London-Borough-of-Barnet-updated-with-NI-number.docx

Please return your completed case form to contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

at your earliest convenience.

In tandem with the legal process, we must also exhaust internal procedures by lodging collective grievance. Once we have received your case form, we will add your name to the collective grievance that we will send to the Council. In addition, we will shortly arrange to start early conciliation on your behalf. This is the pre-requisite to starting a Tribunal claim.

Please be aware of time limits. To pursue a claim for equal pay, the claim must be lodged in the Tribunal within 6 months less one day of the end of your employment or a change in your employment. If you have left the Council in the past 6 months, or if you have changed your role in the last 6 months, please make this clear on the case form.

Please be assured that we will continue to maintain a constructive dialogue with your employer and seek to resolve matters industrially, wherever possible.

We will also keep you updated as to the progress of any negotiations/claims whenever there are any significant developments.

 

End.

South Cambridgeshire Council Votes for a 4 Day Week — It’s Time to Fight for Ours

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Health and Safety, Housing, Local, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Dear members,

We are proud to report that South Cambridgeshire District Council has become the first council in the UK to adopt a four-day week as permanent policy — on full pay, for all staff. This is a landmark moment in the fight for a better work/life balance and stronger public services.

Barnet UNISON visited this council and spoke directly with staff and trade union colleagues. Their message was clear: this is not a gimmick — it’s a serious, evidence-based reform that has delivered for staff, services, and residents alike.

What the report shows

The official Council report presented on 17 July 2025 outlines clear, independent evidence https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/documents/b50013885/Four-day%20Week%20Update%20and%20Future%20Arrangements%20-%20Update%20from%20Scrutiny%20and%20Overview%20Committee%20Thursday.pdf?T=9 :

  • 100% pay for 32 hours (86.5% of a 37-hour week), across all roles
  • 22 of 24 service KPIs maintained or improved; 9 showed statistically significant improvement — including faster planning decisions, quicker benefit processing, and higher rates of emergency repairs completed on time
  • £399,263 annual savings from reduced agency reliance and improved recruitment
  • 123% increase in job applications and 41% drop in voluntary resignations
  • Staff health and wellbeing scores — mental health, physical health, motivation, and intent to stay — all improved significantly

This was not a “soft” trial. It included independent analysis by the Universities of Cambridge, Salford, and Bradford, and national performance benchmarks. A public consultation — despite predictable scaremongering from anti-public sector groups — found no evidence of serious decline in services and strong public support in many areas.

When we win, expect pushback

Already, opponents of decent working conditions are attacking this result.

Let’s be honest — this isn’t new.

When trade unions first demanded:

  • Holiday pay — we were told the economy would collapse.
  • Sick pay — we were told people would take advantage.
  • Health and safety laws — we were told it was red tape.
  • Pensions — we were told it was unaffordable.

But unions stood strong. Members like you fought back. And we won every time.

The same fear tactics are being recycled today — against a four-day week.

What Barnet UNISON will do

This win matters. And it’s achievable here too.

Barnet UNISON will:

  • Campaign to trial four-day week working with full pay across council and Barnet Group services
  • Work with members to identify how services can adapt and innovate
  • Push employers to engage with staff and trade unions, just like South Cambs did
  • Show the evidence works, and challenge the myths when critics come calling

A union is for fighting

A trade union is not just a grievance handler — it’s a fighting force for better pay, safer work, and better lives. The four-day week is the next big leap.

Change never comes without a fight — but this shows it can come. And Barnet UNISON is ready.

In solidarity,

Barnet UNISON Branch

 

 

“3.2% is not good enough – members deserve better!”

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Demonstration, Disability, Health and Safety, Housing, Libraries, News, Pensions, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

The news is that the response of the employers to the joint trade union National Pay claim for £3,000 is 3.2%.

Barnet UNISON members can view what 3.2% means to their grade by clicking on the link below

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2025/04/24/national-pay-offer-3-2/

UNISON members know that their pay has fallen behind the cost of living and that they are “all now working one day a week for free.”

If we continue to fail to negotiate a pay award that directly deals with the cost-of-living crisis, soon public sector workers will be working “two days a week for free.”

We are in the worst cost-of-living crisis in 77 years.

Politicians seeking to confuse and defend poor pay talk about inflation rates falling as if that has improved things for our members.

Speaking to some of our lowest paid members in care homes, depots, and schools, they are seriously struggling to survive on poverty wages.

Inflation may go up and down, but prices are not going down and they keep rising:

  • 50% rise in local Bus Fares
  • 41% rise in Water Bills
  • 22% rise in Stamp prices
  • 18.4% rise in Energy Bills
  • 16% rise Rail Cards
  • 14% rise in Tuition Fees
  • 4.99% rise in Council Tax
  • 4.6% rise in Rail Fares

Whilst the poor are getting poorer, and the rich are getting richer.

We have been here before in 2009 our Barnet UNISON Branch Secretary set out his serious concerns in a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown 24 June 2009

“Barnet Council has made efficiency savings of £80.9m over 7 years, £58.8m in the last 5 years” 

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/NO_PRIMEMINISTER_0.pdf

15 years ago, Barnet UNISON had concerns about poverty, privatisation and the emergence of the Far-Right politics. In Barnet Council we had hundreds of redundancies for several years as the Council claimed they were not being funded. Things haven’t changed and we had our first round of redundancies last December due to the current financial crisis.

What is clear is that the voices of our members across the Council across workplaces, be it a school, a depot, care home or day centre need to be heard and LOUDLY.

Barnet Council is lobbying the government for more funding, but there needs to be more pressure than that. We all need to add our voices for more funding

We are asking our members to sign the following Petition to Angela Rayner (who used to be a UNISON rep). This petition is not just for our members but can be signed by members’ family and friends or anyone who wants to see an end to the destruction of public services.

https://chng.it/6DSvxfZqhz

 

end.

 

***Barnet UNISON AGM Tuesday 25 February 2025 4-5.30 pm ***

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Health and Safety, Housing, Libraries, Local, London Living Wage, Membership, News, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

It is your democratic right to attend and participate in your UNISON AGM.

It is important that members register to attend.

You have two choices:

You can join in person at the Colindale office, or you can join online.

Please click on the link below to register to join the meeting.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrd-GorTsrGtQzqR9L3h9L-z1mKymCRU_i

End.

 

Barnet Council: “Outsource, outsource and more outsourcing.”

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Housing, Local, National, News, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

“A Labour Government would oversee the ‘biggest wave of insourcing for a generation,’ deputy leader Angela Rayner has said” (2022)

Fast forward to 2025 and here in Barnet Council the message is clear outsourcing, outsourcing and more outsourcing.

In the last 12 months our cleaners were told they would not be brought back inhouse our parking workers were told late last year that insourcing was not an option and tomorrow Wednesday 5 February Education workers were told that they would remain outside the Council, denying staff access to a public sector pension scheme.

The trade unions all lobbied the Labour Administration and were sent a very clear message that outsourcing is off the table.



We are in the worst cost of living crisis in 77 years and our lowest paid are living in daily fear as to what bills they can pay. 


Our outsourced members are the worst impacted as privatisation brings the following:


Job Insecurity and Reduced Benefits:


Private companies often prioritise profit maximisation, which can lead to job cuts, reduced wages, and fewer benefits for workers.


This can create instability and financial hardship for low-paid workers who rely on the steady employment and benefits that public sector jobs often provide.


Erosion of Worker’s Rights:


Privatisation weakens workers’ ability to collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions.


This can lead to a decline in worker’s rights and protections, making low-paid workers more vulnerable to exploitation.


Increased Inequality:


The focus on profit in privatised services can lead to a widening gap between executive pay and the wages of frontline workers.


This exacerbates existing income inequality and can make it even harder for low-paid workers to make ends meet.




We have workers delivering services for Barnet Council with no occupational sick pay, no access to a public sector pension scheme to name a few of the gross inequalities that are rife across the private sector.


UNISON represents outsourced workers in Housing, Social Care, Cleaning, Parking Enforcement, Security, Schools Catering and Education and all are being told there is no room for them in the Barnet Council workforce.


UNISON has a National Policy called Bringing Services Home and Barnet UNISON fully supports this aim and will continue to push for a clear plan and timetable for services to be brought back in-house.


 


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