Category: Solidarity
EPSU General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan, sends solidarity to #BarnetUNISON mental health social workers.
Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary a European trade union federation representing over 8 million public service workers in 48 countries has sent a solidarity message to #BarnetUNISON mental health social workers.
Click on link below to read full statement
EPSU solidarity letter Barnet social workers’ strike May 2024
Why is the mental health social worker strike still ongoing?
Barnet UNISON Mental Health Social Workers have already taken 37 days of strike action over an eight-month period. On 13 May 2024 they begin a further three weeks of strike action which will mean they will have taken a total of 52 days of strike action.
If the dispute is not resolved, they begin four weeks of strike action on Monday 17 June 2024 which will mean by the end of this strike period they will have taken a total of 72 days of strike action.
This is an extraordinary amount of strike action in any workplace but to be happening in mental health services it is shocking and disturbing. This dispute should have ended months ago but despite UNISON trying to secure ways to reach a positive settlement, Barnet Council continues to frustrate any hopes of reaching a resolution. This coming strike action will see our members taking seven weeks of strike action over a nine-week period.
As news of this historic strike action spreads across the trade union movement supporters keep asking what is preventing a resolution.
In the interests of transparency and willingness to try and reach a resolution UNISON has put together a list of common questions we have been asked over the last nine months.
Click on link below to read our responses to questions about this dispute.
https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Why-is-the-strike-still-ongoing-1.pdf
15 days of further strike action starts Monday 13 May
Mental Health strikers taking news of their strike to the streets in Edgware
Mental Health strikers taking news of their strike to the streets in Burnt Oak
Mental Health strikers out in High Barnet sharing news of our strike
Barnet resident designs T-Shirt for our campaign
Big thanks to the Barnet resident who designed our Barnet UNISON Mental Health social worker strikers T-Shirt.
We are selling the T-shirts to raise funds for our Industrial Action Fund.
The T-Shirts are for sale £10.
If you would like to buy a T-Shirt, please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
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Barnet Voice : Mental Health crisis newspaper
Breaking News: Barnet Council Unlawful use of Agency Workers to break our strike.
10 April 2024.
Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers received an email earlier from the Director of Adult Social Care stating that he had engaged the services of agency workers supplied by Flex 360 https://www.flex360.co.uk/
No one appears to have advised the Director of Adult Social Care that use of agency workers by an employer during industrial action is unlawful.
Last year UNISON defeated the government in the High Court over strike-breaking legislation that was introduced last summer. The High Court has ruled that the legislation which allows employers to use agency workers to replace those on strike, was unlawful, unfair, and irrational.
Read more here https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2023/07/high-court-rules-strike-breaking-agency-worker-regulations-unlawful/amp/
UNISON has written to Barnet Council Chief Executive asking him to advise the Director of Adult Social Care to withdraw from this ill-advised course of action.
In the meantime, feedback from our members, who make up 95% of the workforce, is that they are furious at this crude attempt to bully and intimidate them only days before they begin nine weeks of strike action over a 13-week period.
Barnet UNISON Mental Health strikers are due to start the next phase of strike action on Monday 15 April. Our strikers have already taken 27 days of strike action and by the end of this next phase they will have taken 72 days of strike which equates to 1,305 lost working days or 13.050 lost contacts with Mental Health service users.
“In 28 years of being a Barnet UNISON rep I have never experienced the amount of anti-union rhetoric coming from senior management. UNISON has reached out several times to offer to resolve the dispute only to be met with machismo style management which has no place in the workplace and especially a workplace which is now a Labour controlled Council.
Our UNISON family of 1.4 million members is right behind our strikers, furthermore news has just come in to say UNISON Industrial Action Committee has increased strike pay to £70 per day.
My message to the Council is stop the bullying and come back with an offer which our members would be prepared to accept.” John Burgess, Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON.
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