We are attending weekly skype meetings with Barnet Council every Wednesday morning.
If you have any questions or concerns email the branch at
You can keep up to date with Barnet UNISON here on our
Website here https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/
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TESCOs announced a few days ago that they are giving frontline staff a 10% bonus to recognise their invaluable effort to help feed the nation.
The majority of key workers being asked to go into work and face the risks of contracting COVID 19 are often the lowest paid workers such as:
In recognition of the risks they are taking every day whilst having to cope with the stress and anxiety of trying to cope at home with all the restrictions COVID 19 is bringing into their lives, Barnet UNISON has taken the following action:
Barnet UNISON have formally requested Barnet Council to adopt a similar bonus payment for key workers for the duration of this crisis.
The Council are considering our request.
Watch this space…………..
Please let the branch know what is going on with your employer by emailing
You can keep up to date with Barnet UNISON here on our
Website here https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BarnetUNISON/
Twitter https://twitter.com/barnet_unison
Dear Members
If you work in social care we want to make sure that you are being kept safe.
Below are links to Public Health England guidance for workers in Residential, Supported Living and Home Care.
Please read the information carefully. If you are not getting Personal Protective
Updated 19 March 2020
“Care home providers will routinely be procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and aprons. In addition, there will be a free issue of PPE to support adult social care providers to support compliance with the updated advice. This will be issued from the pandemic influenza stockpile. Arrangements will be put in place for adult social care providers to access further PPE as necessary.”
Updated 19 March 2020
“Personal protective equipment
The risk of transmission should be minimised through safe working procedures. Care workers should use personal protective equipment for activities that bring them into close personal contact, such as washing and bathing, personal hygiene and contact with bodily fluids.
Aprons, gloves and fluid repellent surgical masks should be used in these situations.
In particular cases, if there is a risk of splashing then eye protection will minimise risk.
New personal protective equipment must be used for each episode of care. It is essential that personal protective equipment is stored securely within disposable rubbish bags.
These bags should be placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste within the room. This should be put aside for at least 72 hours before being put in the usual household waste bin for disposal.”
Updated 19 March 2020
“Personal protective equipment
Care workers should use personal protective equipment (PPE) for activities that bring them into close personal contact, such as washing and bathing, personal hygiene and contact with bodily fluids.
Aprons, gloves and fluid repellent surgical masks should be used in these situations. If there is a risk of splashing, then eye protection will minimise risk.
New personal protective equipment must be used for each episode of care. It is essential that personal protective equipment is stored securely within disposable rubbish bags.
These bags should be placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste within the room. This should be put aside for at least 72 hours before being put in the usual household waste bin.”
written by Flower Samuels Barnet UNISON member.
Norse won the Barnet Council Cleaning contract last year. They provide cleaning services in many schools and Council buildings including the new £55 million new Colindale office.
Barnet Council quite rightly have recognised the need to increase the cleaning regime in Council buildings and schools in order to try to slow down the spread of the Coronavirus amongst staff and the public.
However the main risk identified by Barnet UNISON was that the cleaners do not receive sick pay and many are on zero hours contracts. This means it is highly likely that any cleaners exhibiting symptoms of the virus will still attend work as they could not afford to lose pay.
Barnet UNISON asked the Council to make contact with Norse to ask if they will ensure all staff will receive full pay if they need to self-isolate or exhibit symptoms of the virus. To date the Council has not had a reply.
Today, Monday 16 March 2020 Barnet UNISON has written to Norse asking them for clarification about sick pay for their staff working on the Council corporate cleaning contract.
We will report their response as soon as we have had a response.
Earlier this year Barnet UNISON submitted 52 collective grievances on behalf of our members working in 52 Barnet Schools.
What is this about?
It is about the calculation used to ensure that part-time workers are not being discriminated in relation to their pay.
UNISON believes that this contract term is unfair and inherently discriminatory. We believe that this contract term results term time only workers receiving less than their pro-rata leave entitlement compared to their full time equivalent (FTE) colleagues.
UNISON believes that this contract treats part time workers less favourably than full time staff and is therefore discriminatory. We also believe that the approach is potentially discriminatory on sex grounds as the workers affected are overwhelmingly female.
UNISON is seeking a recalculation of the pay and leave of these staff and a payment of back pay of any historical underpayment from their date of appointment.
We would also seek a recalculation of any pension entitlement under the LGPS resulting from any underpayment or understatement of pensionable service.
What are we doing now?
We are now busy arranging meetings in these schools to explain the reason for the claim for backdated pay and a payment for underpayment of their Pension. Only one of the Schools is a Barnet Schools the rest are Academies/Foundation Schools.
We are beginning to lodge our legal claim against the Schools in order to protect our members claims.
What about Barnet Council Schools?
As news spreads about our campaign, our members working in Barnet Council Schools are asking about their claims.
Our members were never informed by Barnet Council that they were being paid incorrectly and that they had a claim for back pay and a payment towards the underpayment of their Pension. Our members are angry to hear they have not been paid correctly and are demanding that Barnet Council pay up.
Today, Barnet UNISON has written to Barnet Council seeking a meeting to discuss our claim on behalf of our members. We are calling on Barnet Council to do the right thing and reach a collective agreement which will address the backdating and the underpayment of the Pension.
This is a massive issue for our members and we are continuing to keep all of our members briefed as to their rights at work.
If you are on a Term Time Pay contract and worried if you are being correctly paid please contact the branch on 0208 359 2088 or email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
More to follow…….
End.
Barnet UNISON is hosting drop-in sessions for our members working in schools which have Term Time Pay issues.
Drop-in sessions will take place on
Drop-in sessions are held at the Barnet UNISON office, Barnet House, 1255 High Road, Whetstone, London N20 0EJ
Members please note you will need the following information.
Your monthly take home pay figures, payroll number which is on your pay slip, your membership number.
End.
We the undersigned, wish to add our support for Barnet UNISON’s request to the Barnet Council Chief Executive to bring the ISS Catering workers based in the Atrium in North London Business Park (NLBP) back in-house in order they can run a Council owned staff café in the new £55 million Colindale Office.
Sign petition here http://chng.it/gNCjP62Q
***** Please note there is currently no staff cafe facility in the new Colindale office building.
Background:
On 1 April 2016 Barnet Council outsourced their Catering Service to Cambridge Education who are a subsidiary of global giant Mott MacDonald.
Barnet UNISON reached an agreement with Barnet Council that ensured the contract included a provision that no staff could be employed on less than the London Living Wage (LLW).
Cambridge Education sub-contracted the Catering service to another global giant ISS who employed all the Catering workers.
However, Barnet UNISON and the Atrium Catering workers were unaware that the contract between ISS and Cambridge Education did not include the provision of a staff café in the soon to be built £55 million Council Office in Colindale.
In December 2019 Barnet Council informed Barnet UNISON that they had failed to secure an alternative provider to deliver a staff café in Colindale office.
On Monday 27 January 2020 ISS began redundancy one to one meetings for their staff working in the staff canteen in NLBP.
On 1 April 2020 the LLW changes from £10.55 (for a 36 hour week the annual salary would be £19,979) to £10.75 an hour.
*** In the likely event that our proposal is not implemented and the redundancies are carried out, Barnet UNISON is calling on all council staff to try and visit the staff canteen in NLBP on Friday 27 March 2020 between 12 and 1.30 pm for a Solidarity and Thank you meal with our ISS catering workers.
I was not looking forward to this consultation meeting. The look of devastation on the faces of mainly low paid female workers was for all to see.
Each worker spoke with passion about the work they do and what they felt was betrayal for all the hard work they have put into the school for years.
I was able to sit and listen to them tell me about what they do. It was clear they cared deeply about the children they support. They expressed disbelief that the restructure proposals will even work.
I left the meeting not deflated but recharged with energy to try to do as much as I can for them.
This is my second redundancy meeting in a week and it’s hitting low paid workers again.
If this week is an indicator of life for workers under Boris Johnson then we should all be worried
More later….
