Category: Trades Dispute

HGV Driver dispute draws closer to formal strike action

Austerity, Local, News, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

In September 2021, in response to the HGV driver shortage, Barnet Council agreed to pay a Recruitment and Retention Payment (RRP) as per the Council Policy for HGV drivers. Each year RRP should be reviewed.

In negotiations with the Council, Barnet UNISON requested an increase in the retention payment on the grounds that there is still an HGV driver recruitment issue but that the Cost-of-Living Crisis is ongoing e.g.

  • In the last year, gas prices rose by 132%, electricity by 66%, mortgage interest payments by 26%, petrol by 22%.
  • 25% has been lost from the value of their pay since 2010.
  • As household costs continue to rise, the value of staff pay keeps falling – with 6% lost from the value of local government pay in 2022 alone.

The negotiations at a local level broke down and the matter was escalated to a meeting with the Chief Executive.

In advance of the meeting, Barnet UNISON undertook an informal consultation of our members. 97% of members voted that they would take strike action if the offer was not increased.

In a meeting with the Chief Executive on 27 February 2023, Barnet UNISON submitted our claim and informed the meeting of the outcome of our consultation.

Unfortunately, the negotiations failed to resolve this dispute and Barnet UNISON formally registered a Trades Dispute.

“It’s a shame. The employer has been made aware for some time of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the workforce in the depot. The use of RRP has been used in Family Services for nearly six years and has recently been increased to 25% on top of another payment entitled flexible benefits which provides another 17% on top for those workers. Our members are aware of these payments and feel that the Council treats manual workers unfairly compared to office workers and I think they have a point. I have asked the Council to reconsider their position. In the meantime, I will be shortly referring to our UNISON National Industrial Relations Committee for permission to carry out a formal strike ballot if there is not counter offer from the Council.” (John Burgess, Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON.)

End.

“Industrial action looms as employers offer is yet another pay cut for School staff and Council workers.” Term Time Pay version.

Austerity, Local, National, News, Schools, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Last year the employer made a lump sum payment in London which equated to £2,229, which still worked out as another pay cut for all members. This is important to note as we are still in the worst Cost of Living Crisis in 75 years and there are no signs of any improvement on the horizon.

This year the Trade Unions submitted a claim for RPI plus 2% which works out at 12.7% across all grades.

The Employer has responded with the same amount as last year which is £2,229 to those workers up to spinal column 42 and 3.8% to those above (which impacts Grades K and L).

This is another Pay Cut for our members. Last year when we consulted Barnet UNISON members over the same offer 89% voted to reject and demand an industrial strike ballot. We had the highest turnout of UNISON votes across UNISON members in other London Councils.

We are now waiting to hear what UNISON National negotiators have to say about the offer.

In the meantime, we want as many of our members to view the employers offer and understand the difference between the Employer’s offer and UNISON’s demand.

The table below provides details of the employers offer including a comparison with the UNISON claim for 12.7%.

To help UNISON members understand the offer and how it compares with UNISON’s demand please find below an explanation of the table above.

Column A = Lists Barnet Council Grades. If you don’t know your grade contact your line manager.

Column B & C = These columns provide the detail of the bottom and top of the current grade.

Column D & E = These columns provide the detail as to how the current grade changes when the employers’ offer is applied.

Column F & G = These columns show in percentages what the employers’ offer means to each grade.

Column H & I = These columns represent the increase to the grade if the UNISON proposal was implemented. As you can see it is higher than the

employers’ offer.

Column J & K = These columns provide the actual financial loss for each grade when the employers’ offer is compared with the Trade Unions’ claim for 12.7%.

Column L & M = These columns provide the actual percentage pay cut for each grade when the employers’ offer is compared with the Trade Unions’ claim for 12.7%.

* This table uses LBB Council’s Term Time pay formula. Not all schools use this formula so you may have to check what formula your school uses to calculate your pay

Any questions please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

End.

Barnet Tories 2023/24 Council Budget Plan to cut hundreds of jobs……

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Barnet Tories 2023/24 Council Budget Plan to cut hundreds of jobs and the right to representation by a trade union.

Read details here on the Council website https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s76600/Conservative%20Alternative%20Budget%20Final%20Publish.pdf

In the biggest Cost of Living Crisis in over 75 years Barnet Tories have proposed an alternative budget that according to the Councils Chief Finance officer has this to say:

“Notionally this would be taking approximately 100 posts out of the services not mentioned above. This would have a significant impact on the delivery of those services and the S151 would advise caution in the delivery of this saving and the impact it could have on services.”

https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s76601/S151%20and%20Monitoring%20Officer%20Comments%20on%20Alternative%20Budget.pdf

 

This anti worker rhetoric sums up where we are politically. The only response the Tories have is to frighten workers with redundancies and at the same time take away the right of workers to organise and be represented by trade unions.

If they want to look at waste, Barnet UNISON warned the Tories of the dangers of their mass outsourcing ideology back in 2008. We warned it would lead to poorer services, mass redundancies and of course we warned that Barnet would become a cash cow to the contractors.

Take a look at Barnet Blogger Mr Reasonable and read in horror the latest figures of Council spend on the two Capita contracts read below

http://reasonablenewbarnet.blogspot.com/2023/02/capita-continuing-to-disappoint-in.html

 

To date Barnet Council has given Capita an eye watering £634 million of which £273 million more than the contracted value.

Back in 2012 Barnet UNISON was assured that Capita would be held to account, but the reality is that they have been treated differently to in-house services who have had to try to deliver services through austerity whereas Capita keep holding their hands out asking for more.

What was worrying at the last Audit Committee on 16 January 2023 is that the Council were not seeking compensation for poor performance and even more worrying that the Council is not monitoring Capita in the last few months of contract take a listen below:

https://aisapps.sonicfoundry.com/AuditelScheduler/Player/Index/?id=2329a97b-5ee9-40b6-ad39-aef3cce9a3b6&presID=b142792e21954335a5579e2a62fb46ef1d

 

The Tories spent £13 million to consultants to help develop and manage the mass outsourcing of services.

What about the decision to set the Council depot based in the centre of the borough ideally located to deliver frontline services to the residents of Barnet. A decision that saw services split between Barnet and Harrow. This model did not work, and the costs associated with moving services back to one location have cost millions with more still to be spent.

Barnet UNISON is proud of the hard work and commitment of all our members working across all parts of the Council including schools. They were quite rightly lauded as key workers, most of whom went into work when others worked from the safety of their homes.

We will continue to organise and mobilise our members wherever they are.

End.

Insourcing win at Barnet council

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Insourcing win at Barnet council

Over 300 staff in a variety of services like trading standards, environmental health and other regulatory services, will now be transferred back in-house

Staff at Barnet council are due to be transferred back to council employment thanks to a decade-long campaign by UNISON.

The 330 affected workers are currently employed by outsourcing multinational conglomerate, Capita, and are being brought back in house after the council was used as a test case for the outsourcing of local government services.

The staff who work under a joint venture called ‘Capita Re’ in a variety of areas like trading standards, environmental health, planning highways and other regulatory services, will be TUPE transferred back in house on 1 April this year.

In 2012, much of the service provision at the council was outsourced to Capita on decade-long contracts by the Conservative-controlled council, with the intervening 10 years marred by several controversies including a multi-million-pound fraud and contracts running vastly over budget.

Barnet’s UNISON branch has campaigned for services to be brought back in-house since the contracts were initially handed to Capita and there have already been major in-sourcing successes at the council.

In May last year, Labour won control of the council after 20 years of Conservative leadership and, though the contracts had already been due to end next year, the new council has fast-tracked plans by six months to bring some services back in house.

John Burgess, Barnet local government branch secretary, said: “This is good news for staff, good news for residents and good news for the services. I welcome the decision and look forward to welcoming back all the services back into Barnet Council where they all belong.

“For a decade, our branch has campaigned for local government services at Barnet to be brought back in-house and, while we are happy that this latest has been fast tracked, there are still many issues to address for our members who are being TUPE’d.

“These include workplace inequalities such as staff being paid differently for the same role. Barnet UNISON is already seeking discussions with the council about harmonisation of the terms and conditions of the TUPE’d workforce.

“During the worst cost of living crisis in 75 years it is imperative that our branch does it best to look after the interests of our members transferring back into the council.”

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2023/01/insourcing-win-at-barnet-council/

 

Emergency HGV drivers depot meeting 1 February 5.45 am

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Barnet UNISON carried out an informal ballot of our members on the offer of 10 % Recruitment/Retention for our HGV driver members.

97% of members rejected this offer.

Barnet Council has been paying social workers in Family Services Recruitment/Retention payments up to 20% for the past 5 years.

In the worst Cost of Living Crisis our members believe they are worth more than 10%.

We are calling a meeting of all drivers to discuss what happens to our claim. It is important that all drivers turn up to the meeting

Wednesday 1 February, 5.45 a.m.

End.

Emergency Barnet UNISON schools members meeting and advice

Austerity, Health and Safety, Local, National, News, Schools, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Dear Member

Early this week the National Education Union (NEU) announced that they have successfully completed a strike ballot for industrial action.

The NEU have announced the strike dates which will impact on Barnet Schools:

  1. Wednesday 1 February (England and Wales)
  2. Thursday 2 March (London, South East, South West)
  3. Wednesday 15 March (England and Wales)
  4. Thursday 16 March (England and Wales)

Our branch has already begun to receive communications from our members working in Barnet Schools as to what this means for them.

Today, Thursday 19 January 2023, we have received advice from UNISON National Advice.

Now that we have the advice we have decided to call an emergency Barnet UNISON schools meeting at which we will have speakers from the NEU. We have UNISON speakers ready to take questions on how we are going to support our members on these strike days.

The Barnet UNISON meeting is on Thursday 26 January 6-7 pm please click on the link below to join the meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85006232648?pwd=TC9lUWpWUWUyOTY1WjM3STBxQTk1Zz09

Meeting ID: 850 0623 2648

Passcode: 960864

Below is the UNISON advice to our members. We have highlighted in bold and underlined some key parts of the advice.

 “UNISON Advice

UNISON respects the rights of other trade unions to take industrial action and supports the other unions’ strike action. We urge members to support legal protests and rallies organised by NEU that take place outside your contracted hours of work.

However, UNISON members in schools and sixth form colleges have not been balloted for strike action or action short of strike action on this occasion and are therefore advised to continue with their normal duties and responsibilities.  UNISON members should not take on any additional responsibilities being given to them directly as a result of other unions’ industrial action.

Support staff should not be expected to provide cover for, or take classes, where this would normally be done by teachers who are taking action. Staff should not be moved from the duties they would normally have carried out in order to cover work and frustrate the industrial action of colleagues. This includes any staff employed as either HLTAs or Cover Supervisors. In Cymru/Wales, in workplaces where NEU members who are support staff are taking strike action, UNISON members should not be moved to cover those colleagues’ duties either.  Members who are under pressure to provide cover for striking colleagues should contact their UNISON rep, branch or region for further advice and support.

Members are reminded that due to industrial relations legislation only those employees who have been involved in a legal ballot are allowed to take industrial action.

HLTAs and Cover Supervisors

Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) should only do ‘Specified Work’ with the support and/or supervision of a Qualified Teacher. Cover Supervisors supervise students who are working to a lesson prepared by a Qualified Teacher, usually a classroom teacher. If you are in either of these roles you should not be expected to take whole classes on the day of a strike if the teacher that normally supervises, supports or prepares your work is on strike.

DfE Guidance on Industrial Action in Schools (England only)

The DfE have updated and recirculated their guidance on industrial action in schools. The guidance is non-statutory, this means that schools are not obliged to follow the guidance.

Handling strike action in schools – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The advice makes clear that for maintained schools the decision on whether to close a school or not is the responsibility of the headteacher, and for academies it rests with the Trust. However, this decision is usually delegated to the headteacher.

The guidance is aimed at headteachers advising them on ways that they can try and keep their school open. This includes guidance on the recent government legislation allowing agency staff to cover strike action. UNISON is currently challenging the legality of this legislation and it is not accepted by many agencies. If you are aware of any instances of agency staff being brought in to cover striking colleagues, please report this to your regional office.

The guidance also suggests that schools can use some of the emergency measures introduced during the Covid pandemic to keep schools open, including asking staff to provide remote learning. We do not that accept this would fall within the definition of normal work for support staff and they should not be called on to deliver remote learning on strike days.”

If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Barnet UNISON office on email to contactus@barnetunison.org.uk or ring and leave a message on 0208 359 2088.

I look forward to seeing you all at our UNISON schools meeting next week on Thursday 26 January 2023.

 

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary

Barnet UNISON

 

 

Breaking News: UNISON President & Vice President are joining the mass lobby at Hendon Town Hall Tuesday 1 November

Anti - Racism, ASSIST, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, COVID 19, H&S, Health and Safety, Housing, Local, National, Repairs, Solidarity, TBG Flex, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

News in that our UNISON National President Andrea Egan and UNISON National Vice President Amerit Rait are attending the mass lobby outside Hendon Town Hall on Tuesday 1 November from 6 pm in support of the Barnet Strikers.

“I want to thank both Andrea and Amerit for taking time out of their busy schedules to come down and support our Barnet Strikers. This is what leadership means. It’s what workers want to see from their union. Our branch is 100% behind our Barnet Strikers also known as the “Barnet Ten” and so is the leadership at the top of UNISON. I can’t wait to hear the message they will be bringing to the employer the Barnet Group who defending the indefensible at the expense of Barnet Council housing tenants. 200 repairs jobs a week are being cancelled it’s a disgrace.” (John Burgess Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON).

Directions to the lobby: Nearest tube is Hendon Central on northern line. Turn right out of the station. It’s a 10 minute walk to the top of the hill. Turn right and 200 yards on the left is the Town Hall.

 

End.

 

 

Breaking News: Barnet Strikers are going to Parliament

Anti - Racism, ASSIST, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Care & Support, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Housing, Local, National, News, Repairs, Solidarity, TBG Flex, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

News in that the Barnet Strikers have been invited to Parliament early next week.

The invite confirms that the news of the Barnet Strikers is beginning to spread beyond the boundary of the London Borough of Barnet.

The first response when we explain the dispute is always the same.

Complete disbelief that an employer would want to defend a position of refusing to pay the first 3 weeks sick pay to a low paid manual worker who was injured at work.

More on this news story later this week.

End.

 

 

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