Trades Dispute – Page 2

Last year, in the worst Cost of Living Crisis in 75 years, hundreds of thousands of workers – BT workers, teachers, lecturers, lawyers, nurses, ambulance workers, junior doctors, Border Force workers, bus drivers, rail workers, postal workers, tube workers, cleaners, admin call centre workers – all said the same thing:

“enough is enough!”

They followed the advice of their trade unions and voted YES for strike action on Pay.

2022 saw the biggest increase in strikes in a generation and the reason was the same for all workers: the system is broken. Most workers can no longer afford to live. In UNISON many of our members are low paid and are unable to survive on poverty pay. We hear so many stories of families where parents are missing meals to feed their children, where families are unable to heat their homes and where increasing numbers of members are now regularly using food banks.

Many members are trying to cope by having more than one job.

The sad and brutal fact is that every public sector worker is now working one day a week for FREE!

Instead of the Government putting money in the hands of the workers, workers are donating their hard work one day a week for FREE!

You can view our latest pay newsletter here

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023.05.02-Pay-Newsletter-middle-graphic-apart-JBurgess-version.pdf

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Former Barnet Council run Kosher Kitchen Service is closed without notice.

8th May 2023 admin Austerity, Local, News, Report, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON is sad to report that the Kosher Kitchen catering service which after decades of providing school meals was closed on Friday 5 May 2023.

40 catering workers were asked to attend a meeting last Friday at short notice where they were informed that the service was closing today.

UNISON has been sent the HR1 form which sets out the details of the redundancy.

The reason given for issuing redundancy is “insolvency.”

In response to this news Barnet UNISON has asked Barnet Council to take back the Kosher Kitchen service in order that catering services to the schools can continue.

We are hearing news that many of the schools had no warning the service would close, and no one knows who will be providing school meals this week.

Our members are distraught they had no idea that their jobs were at risk. All 40 staff were told to sign on this week.

In the meantime, we are arranging urgent meetings with our members.

Barnet UNISON is clear that the Kosher Kitchen service must remain open in Barnet.

“The One Barnet/Easy Council mass outsourcing policy has failed the Kosher Kitchen Service. It has failed to ensure schools meals for the children who relied on it. This is a service with a long tradition of providing kosher meals for pupils. Barnet Council must step up and save this service to ensure the pupils at the schools have a reliable excellent service going forward.” John Burgess, Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON

End.

Note to Editors: Contact details: Barnet UNISON on or 020 8359 2088 or email: John.Burgess@barnetunison.org.uk

Background:

The Kosher Kitchen Service was outsourced by Barnet Council in 2016 to ISS.

In 2021 and 2022, the Kosher Kitchen service including staff was TUPED to Signature Education.

On 1 March 2023 Signature Education TUPED the Kosher Kitchen service including staff to London Kosher Caterer.

The Kosher Kitchen Service used to provide a service for the following schools:

Hasmonean Primary School, Beis Yaakov Primary School, Pardes House Primary School, Menorah Primary School, Sacks Morasha Primary School, Rimon Primary School, Mathilda Marks Kennedy, Beit Shvidler Primary School, Nancy Reuben, Etz Chaim, IJDS, Menorah Foundation, Hasmonean High School MAT (2 schools), Kosher CPU.

Register Now : National Pay campaign meeting

5th May 2023 admin Austerity, Local, National, News, Schools, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON National Pay Campaign meeting on Tuesday 23 May 6.30 – 7.30 pm

Click on this link to register for the meeting.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/barnet-unison-pay-branch-meeting-tickets-629084487637

End.

National Pay: Find out how much you really should be paid!

21st April 2023 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, National, News, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Whatever the politicians say, the cost of living is not going down, its going up. Which is why #UNISON is balloting schools and council workers for strike action for a real pay rise.

Look at the #UNISON pay calculator which shows what a Grade B worker needs to survive in the worst #CostOfLivingCrisis in 76 years Click on the UNISON link and follow instructions.

https://unisonpaycalculator.co.uk/

Here are some examples of Grade B workers in Barnet Council:

Gardener, Loader on Waste &Recycling, or Level 2 School Technician.

End.

17 days and still no payslips for depot workers

17th April 2023 admin Austerity, Local, News, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Barnet Council Street Scene workers have yet to receive their payslip for March 2023. The matter was immediately escalated to senior management before the Easter Break. However, 14 days into April there is no sign of the payslips. The worrying thing is that the Council seem powerless to do anything about it.

The problem is that the Council does not have a payroll service. They outsourced this service to Capita in 2013.

Some of our members were confused about the involvement of Capita because of the news that one contract with Capita ended on 31 March 2023. Unfortunately, the HR Payroll contract is a separate contract and will continue to be provided by Capita until 31 August 2024.

Section 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 states that “An employee has the right to be given by his employer, at or before the time at which any payment of wages or salary is made to him, a written itemised pay statement.”

Payslip Law 2019/2020 Section 4 of the payslip law states that employees have the right to receive payslips from their employers.

ACAS advise that an employer should send out a communication to their workforce explaining the reasons why the payslip wasn’t issued and when it will be sent.

Day 17 and no sign of a payslip and no communication to the depot workers as to why it has not been sent.

Barnet UNISON is against their employer the London Barnet Council.

End.

Vote Yes for Strike action on Pay

11th April 2023 admin Austerity, Local, National, News, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

To view flyer click here.

Vote YES for a Pay Rise not a Pay Cut

3rd April 2023 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Housing, Libraries, Local, National, Schools, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

UNISON calls for urgent action over chronic shortages of frontline Mental Health social workers.

22nd March 2023 admin Austerity, Health and Safety, Local, News, Recruitment, Report, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

North London Business Park, New Southgate. 08/07/15 Anne-Marie Sanderson.

Earlier this month Barnet UNISON met with senior managers in Adult Social Care to try to secure an agreement as to how to deal with the chronic and dangerous shortage of frontline Mental Health social workers across the two Mental Health social work teams.

Barnet UNISON presented evidence of unsafe staffing levels across the two teams where, in both teams, over 50% of the workforce are newly qualified and almost 40% are agency workers, most of whom have barely 2 years’ experience of working in Barnet. The situation has been brewing over the last 9 months and has reached a point where staff are demanding the Council must act to both try to retain the existing staff and recruit and retain new and experienced staff.

Barnet UNISON has been asking for the implementation of the Council’s Recruitment and Retention Policy (RRP) as a short term solution to try to hold on to existing staff whilst developing a more comprehensive plan to make Barnet Mental Health social work service one in which staff want to stay. The RRP has been used in Family Services social work for the last 6 six years and has recently increased the rate up to 25% in recognition of the serious RR issues in some parts of Family Services.

Unfortunately, the response from senior management has been disappointing and, whilst an agreement to meet again soon was made, it appears they are underestimating the scale of the problem and the impact it is having on the morale of the workforce.

On 16 March 2023, Barnet UNISON made a formal request for a JNCC meeting at which we will table our trades dispute over RRP. Barnet UNISON has stated we are open to negotiation, but time is running out. The impact on morale and the health and wellbeing of our members working in Mental Health Services is paramount.

“I really don’t know what they are looking at when they look at the staffing levels for the two frontline Mental Health Social work teams. Our local reps explained concisely the levels of stress and anxiety being felt by the workforce and the inevitable consequences if the Council don’t act now. At the time of our meeting two senior social workers had already handed in their notice, yet it did not feel that management understood the seriousness of this news for the remaining staff. If the Council don’t work with us, I can see another exodus of staff. In the meeting I informed the management that we carried out an indicative ballot whereby 100% voted for strike action if the Council did not agree to RRP. Its nearly two weeks since we last met and I have had no approaches from the Council to meet.” (John Burgess, Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON)

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