Category: Solidarity
Breaking News: Parliament debate Capita & Barnet Council
Barnet UNISON seek job security for #Capita staff working for Barnet Council
Press Release: Barnet UNISON seek job security for #Capita staff working for Barnet Council
31 January 2018.
This morning Capita staff woke up to some scary headlines that the former FTSE 100 company was in serious trouble.
The next Carillion? Shares in outsourcing firm Capita plunged 40% after profit warning.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/capita-profit-warning-share-price-fall-2018-1
Outsourcing giant Capita announced the suspension of its dividend as part of a transformation plan this morning – and shares duly plunged by more than 40 per cent.
http://www.cityam.com/279777/capita-shares-have-tumbled-more-than-third-city-reacting
This news follows on from the recent collapse of Carillion only a couple of weeks ago. Already political commentators are making comparisons with Carillion and Capita.
In light of the much publicised stress and anxiety experienced by Carillion workers in the wake of the company’s downfall; Barnet UNISON has written to the Chief Executive seeking details of Barnet Council’s contingency plan in the event Capita may have to give up their contracts.
We know that whatever happens there is going to be a great deal of speculation and uncertainty for the staff and whilst UNISON has seen the email from Jon Lewis, Capita’s, new Chief Executive trying to stem anxieties of his 70,000 workforce, we know workers will be worried about their jobs.
Barnet UNISON is looking for a statement from the Council in the event that Capita are unable to continue to run the two Barnet contracts, that Council will initiate plans to transfer the staff back in-house.
Who can we trust?
Since the collapse of Carillion, more news has emerged as to how bad things really were for that company. Furthermore questions are being asked about the role of the external auditors KPMG more here https://www.insider.co.uk/news/watchdog-probe-kpmg-over-carillion-11931818
It has happened before in Barnet……
In 2010 Barnet Homes had commissioned Connaught’s to provide Council Housing Repairs service. Connaught’s went into liquidation. Our members were told they had lost their jobs over a message on a speaker phone. Months earlier Barnet UNISON had held talks with Barnet Homes Chief Executive as it was becoming increasing clear Connaught’s were in serious trouble. There was further problems when it became clear that there was missing pension contributions which needed to be picked up by Barnet Council.
Read more here https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2010/08/19/barnet-unison-members-working-for-connaught-face-uncertain-future/
Footnote: On 26 June 2017 Capita share price was 705.50 now six months later the share price closed today at 202.09 which represents a 72% drop in their share price over a six month period.
On Wednesday 31 January, 2018 the Capita share price opened up at 347 and closed at 182.50 which represents a 47.53% fall in share price.
“Once again the market shows that it is merciless when a company is in trouble. Carillion looks as if it is just the tip of the iceberg. The minute Carillion collapsed I immediately started to look more closely at Capita Share price. I noted that Capita share price had already dropped by around 66% in the last two years. Today seems to have shocked many experts. My concern is for the staff and the local services they provide for Barnet residents. I know from speaking to staff that they are worried and quite understandably cynical about any messages trying to play down what is happening to the company. After the debacle that our former Connaught members went through previously I want to ensure this time that Barnet UNISON does it utmost to try to allay members concerns about their future employment. My view is that this event is a watershed moment for Barnet Council. Please abandon your “love affair” with outsourcing and commence negotiations to return all services back to the Council.” John Burgess, Branch Secretary Barnet UNISON
Links.
1. “NHS England has said it is ‘holding Capita’s feet to the fire’ over poor performance, and GP leaders have called for the service to be taken back under NHS control.”
https://www.gponline.com/bma-demands-assurances-gps-capita-share-price-drops-40/article/1455914
2. “No sensible public authority, whether council, NHS trust, or Whitehall department, would let a contract to a company over which hang as many question marks as hang over Capita.
Procurement chiefs and permanent secretaries should now be poring over their contracts with Capita and making contingency plans. Capita runs payroll in many councils and staff have to be paid, so immediate alternative arrangements should be in place. That costs money, which needs to be factored into the cost of this and future contracts.”
3. Wave Tata, Capita: You’ve lost mega-contract to rival outsourcer
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/16/capita_loses_biggest_contract_to_rival_outsourcing_biz/
4. Ministry of Defence ‘wasted millions on failed computer system’
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/14/ministry-of-defence-failed-computer-system
5. Thousands of court cases adjourned due to failures in interpreting services
Barnet: School budget cuts fight back
Last year there was a great deal of publicity courtesy of the NEU publishing the School budget cuts website https://schoolcuts.org.uk/#!/
Here are some KEY FACTS
- £2.8bn has been cut from school budgets since 2015
- £54.0k average cut to primary schools
- £205.6k average cut to secondary schools
Unless there is a change of government and an end to austerity, then the cuts in schools are going to mean staff are going to face redundancy.
Barnet UNISON wants to organise and support our members facing cuts and redundancies.
For example we are currently supporting our members working in Hendon School where a cuts restructure consultation has begun.
Whilst we are involved in the consultation process we are also running an informal strike ballot of our members at the same time.
As Bob Crow once said:
“If you fight, you won’t always win. If you don’t fight, you will always lose.”
Our branch will always offer full support to our members in schools if they want to fight back. We will commit our resources to organise a robust defence of our member’s jobs and services.
If your school is facing cuts to staffing please make sure you contact the branch on 0208 359 2088 or email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk ASAP in order we can arrange a visit at your school.
“Tired of the brutality of Austerity?” – join John McDonnell Barnet UNISON AGM
Barnet UNISON reps issue a vote no confidence in Employee Assistance Programme
Barnet UNISON branch executive notes:
That reps reported that they have been experiencing a number of ongoing issues with the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is contracted by Capita to provide counselling for workers in need of support. Despite the interventions by our reps the service is not fit for purpose.
Barnet UNISON branch executive agreed the following statement:
- Barnet UNISON has no confidence in the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is contracted by Capita for Barnet Council employees.
2. Barnet UNISON to engage immediately with Barnet Council to propose the termination of the contract with EAT and seek to secure the services of the former provider “People at Work”. This was a service which used to be provided to all Barnet Council staff and was much better.
John McDonnell speaking at Barnet UNISON AGM 8 February
BREAKING NEWS: Insourcing here at Barnet Council!
Last night I attended a Council meeting which was discussing whether to bring back the privatised Parking Service. The inevitable vote was to keep the service in the hands of the private sector despite a valiant attempt by the Barnet Labour councillors for a full business case including an in house option.
Imagine my surprise then delight to hear that another outsourced service is to return to Barnet.
I refer to the Barnet’s Registration and Nationality Service which was outsourced to the London Borough of Brent.
On Monday 11 December 2017 Brent Council Cabinet Committee meeting agreed to end the agreement with Barnet Council which will lead to service being brought back into direct control of the Council.
I know at the time many were incredulous at the decision to outsource this service in 2014, but at the time there seemed to be a race to outsource everything.
Barnet UNISON is pleased with this decision and will be involved in the staff transfer at some time in the not too distant future.
This decision follows another staff transfer of social workers from The Barnet Group back into the Council in December 2017. Earlier this week we heard news of another group of staff transferring from NHS into Family Services.
Barnet UNISON will continue to campaign for all of our members in-house and outsourced.
Barnet Parking Service in-house option rejected in consultant’s report.
“It is a well-accepted industry fact that without careful management, the CEO workforce in any Borough, whether in-house or outsourced, will not always be as productive as desired with a corresponding impact on the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).” Oaklawn Consulting Limited report to Barnet Council, Environment Committee, 11 January, 2018). http://bit.ly/2mi1Z3R
This is the outrageous statement made by the latest in a long line of outsourcing consultancy companies that have earned literally millions of Barnet tax-payers’ money over the last decade as a result of the Council’s ideological obsession with outsourcing services.
Barnet UNISON campaigned vociferously to oppose the outsourcing of the Parking Service. We argued that a well-run in-house service was more than able to deliver a quality service and it had done previously until the agenda changed and outsourcing became the only game in town. Good operational managers were not appreciated and the Council became reliant on interim consultants who presided over the demise of in- house services.
The Parking Service, once a well-run service, suffered as a result of a series of poor managers and became a soft target for the outsourcing ideologues in Barnet.
However, the Parking Service in its final year, still believed that it could turn itself around and I was informed back then that they managed almost 165k PCNs (Penalty Charge Notices) which is quite incredible considering the last three months of that period morale was at rock bottom after they learnt the hard work was for nothing.
This completely demolishes the comment made by the consultant and it is an insult to local authority managers who demonstrated they knew how to run Parking Services.
Barnet UNISON has had to trawl through hundreds of pro-outsourcing reports over the last decade all trotting out the same mantra. We had hoped that the obsession with outsourcing was wavering but this report demonstrates that is not the case.
NSL took over the Parking Service in May 2012, yet there has been no evidence provided that they have been able to secure the same level of PCNs in the last five years.
Waste of money
In light of the cuts to funding it seems incomprehensible that the Council should commission a report on the merits of an in-house bid when senior officers have already begun the procurement process.
What was the purpose of the consultant’s report?
If the report was commissioned for genuine reasons then surely that means the procurement could have been undermined if it recommended a return of the Parking service in-house?
If that is the case then why begin procurement?
Why waste money on procurement?
If you want to know what is going to be discussed you can view the reports on Parking Service here
#BringParkingBackInHouse
Press release: Barnet UNISON say no to instruction to send out understaffed crews for Bin workers.
On Wednesday 10 January 2018, Barnet UNISON was at a routine set of meetings at the depot when we were informed by management that the Council will not cover staff absence with an agency worker. This means that crews will be instructed to go out on their waste refuse rounds with a person down.
The street cleansing service workforce (staffed by workers who for example sweep the streets) has already been but by 19% after a recent Barnet Council decision. Now some of the waste and recycling crews have been questioning if the decision to send them out understaffed is part of anticipated cutbacks. To add to our concerns for the health and wellbeing of our workforce we can confirm there have been no risk assessments produced as a result of this management instruction which in our view places an unacceptable health and safety risk to all of our members.
Our members will know from listening to the news that the RMT union has been conducting a number of strikes across the country in relation to safety. For Barnet UNISON workers safety is no less an issue. They also know that the Birmingham Bin workers took strike action over attacks to staffing levels.
John Burgess Branch Secretary Barnet UNISON: “I want to make it clear to all our members that their health and safety is paramount to Barnet UNISON and that we do not agree with this management instruction. This proposal lies at the door of austerity politics and a view that you can simply keep on cutting with no thought to the safety of the staff having to deliver a service. Our members may not be doctors or nurses or teachers but without them our streets would quickly become toxic and unsafe. I urge senior management to rescind this instruction, allow our members to continue to deliver this vital frontline service unhindered by any further threats to their safety and remind Barnet Council our members “are not the rubbish they collect.”
End.
Notes to Editors.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on or 020 8359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk