Category: Local
Branch campaigns
87% of UNISON members working for Barnet “easyCouncil” vote YES to strike action.
Barnet UNISON Press Release: 8 April 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 87% of UNISON members working for Barnet “easyCouncil” vote YES to strike action.
The Trades Dispute with London Borough of Barnet is over staff remaining in employment with Barnet Council. The strike ballot is a direct response to the five commissioning projects agreed at the 3 March 2015 Full Council meeting which would mean outsourcing the majority of the workforce into a variety of alternative delivery models.
1. Education & Skills and School Meals services
2. Library Service
3. Early Years: Children’s Centres
4. Adult Social Care
5. Street Scene Services
The Education & Skills and School Meals services is already in Competitive Dialogue discussions with the following contractors:
· Capita Business Services Ltd
· EC Harris LLP
· Mott MacDonald Ltd, trading as Cambridge Education
Looking at Capita’s track record http://www.capita.co.uk/who-we-are/our-history.aspx in bidding and winning contracts it is highly likely they will win this contract making it the third big contract they will have won with Barnet Council.
UNISON Branch Secretary John Burgess said: The vote was never in doubt. The workforce in Barnet is amazing and resilient. The vote confirms that that our members have had enough of the ideological obsession with outsourcing. The Council does not value the workforce which can be seen when unpaid overtime and long hours are never recognised when putting together bids for outsourcing projects. The fact that the Council refuses to run in-house comparators has made it clear to our members that their future employment with the Council is threatened.
Notes to Editors.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk
Background:
1. ‘The revival of easyCouncil’: Barnet Borough Council to roll out premium planning service
2. Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ to part privatise planning service
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/feb/18/barnet-easycouncil-privatise-planning
3. “Easy council” scandal puts Town Hall outsourcing reforms in the spotlight
4. Mr easyCouncil defends his local government model
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/feb/03/mike-freer-easycouncil-interview
5. Barnet ‘easyCouncil’ privatisation challenged in high court
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/19/barnet-council-high-court-budget-cuts
6. Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ plan unravels as more Tories oppose cuts and privatising
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/nov/15/barnet-services-outsourcing-tories-row
7. From Easycouncil to Capitaville: Mike Freer and the One Barnet story
http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/from-easycouncil-to-capitaville-mike.html
8. Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ finds it hard to cut with £1.5m spent, £1.4m saved
9. Barnet ‘easyCouncil’ project lacks proper business plan, audit finds
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/sep/23/barnet-easycouncil-costcutting-plan-criticised
10. Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ faces judicial review over outsourcing
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jan/22/tory-council-challenge-high-court
Second Leg of ‘Grand Tour of Barnet Libraries’ kicks off Saturday 11 April 11 am Hendon Library
100 reasons to check out Barnet.
In Barnet over the past 6 years there has been some major changes to Council services. Here are 100 links to a variety of video clips, short films, songs and animations.
1. Barnet: The Disappearing Council – full version
2. Welcome to the Disappearing Council
3. Save Barnet Libraries campaign gets a Bollywood makeover
4. Barneto : The Emperors New Clothes
5. Disappearing Council the movie
To view complete list click here
“Save Barnet Libraries goes all Bollywood”
“Save Barnet Libraries goes all Bollywood”
Save Barnet Libraries campaign gets a Bollywood makeover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt1RzsOerMo&feature=youtu.be
Saturday 28 March saw the beginning of the Grand Tour of Barnet Libraries.
Nicole Burstein, author of Othergirl (young adult novel) and lifelong member of Edgware Library spoke of her love and inspiration of her local Library.
The march then took off to Burnt Oak and Mill Hill Library.
11 March meet outside Hendon Library for 11 am.
Details of speakers at the next three gigs are below.
11 April: Caroline Green, Dark Ride, Cracks, Hold Your Breath, Fragments (young adult novels)
25 April: Alec Worley, sci-fi comics, graphic novel Age of the Wolf, Mike Carey, sci-fi comics and novels
9 May: Children’s book authors: Linda Nissen Samuels, Alan Gibbons, Angela Kanter
· Flyer for the march here
· Watch short animation here
Save Barnet Libraries campaign gets a Bollywood makeover
Save Barnet Libraries Tour kicks off tomorrow
Save Barnet Libraries Tour kicks off tomorrow
Cartoon by Ros Asquith
The grand tour of Barnet Libraries kicks off in Edgware tomorrow morning.
There is an impressive line-up of speakers for the Tour
Speakers
28 March: Nicole Burstein, author of Othergirl (young adult novel)
11 April: Caroline Green, Dark Ride, Cracks, Hold Your Breath, Fragments (young adult novels)
25 April: Alec Worley, sci-fi comics, graphic novel Age of the Wolf, Mike Carey, sci-fi comics and novels
9 May: Children’s book authors: Linda Nissen Samuels, Alan Gibbons, Angela Kanter
Messages of support so far from:
Cartoonist Ros Asquith, Claudia Roden, and Nicola Solomon (Chief Executive of the Society of Authors).
Flyer for the march here
Route of the first march from Edgware here
Watch short animation about Barnet here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Your Choice Barnet care workers now out for 3 days!
Barnet UNISON Press Release: 24 March 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: YCB care workers now out for 3 days!
YCB made a cut of 9.5% of the workers’ wages in order to save £400,000. YCB has now offered the workforce £40,000 as a one-off payment. This is less than £400 per head of staff. Staff in Supported Living – the service area which attracted such a poor inspection rating are losing around £400 per month from this pay cut and loss of their weekend allowances and shift enhancements.
Our members gave this some consideration but were very underwhelmed by the offer.
Earlier today Radio Four listeners heard about the appalling practices adopted by
“It gives a breakdown of unpaid travel time for 44 members of staff in the Penarth branch for the week starting 22nd September 2014, and estimates they could be owed as much as £80,000 over three years.**
http://www.corporatewatch.org/care-company-mihomecare-mitie-staff-minimum-wage
What is happening in the care sector is exploitation of the worse kind on both the staff and those needing their services.
This is a direct result of privatisation of care services.
As a result of this story Councils will be responding to questions as to whether they use this provider and if so how have they been monitoring them.
On Wednesday 25 March Barnet care workers working for Your Choice Barnet (YCB) begin a series of three days of strike action in response to a 9.5% pay cut imposed by their employer last year.
The strikers are fighting the cut and what they see as a danger to the quality of future services.
Picket lines will run from 7.30am at:
Flower Lane Day Centre
41 Flower Lane
Barnet
London NW7 2JN
Rosa Morrison Day Centre
83 Gloucester Road
Totteridge
Barnet
London EN5 1NA
UNISON Branch Secretary John Burgess said:
“Still Barnet Council is refusing to be a part of the negotiations on a business which it owns100%. We view this as neglectful with respect to the workforce and the service users.”
Notes to Editors.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk
Background:
In February 2012 Barnet Council transferred Learning Disability and Physical and Sensory Impairment services for adults to a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) called Your Choice Barnet (YCB). About 160 staff (145.6 Full Time Equivalents) in Adults services transferred to the LATC.
Following a restructure in 2013 and cuts to pay on shift allowances there are now only about 105 FTE working for YCB a 30% cut in staffing levels.
Links
1. CQC Report Supported Living inspection report here http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-112848964
2. CQC report with highlights by Barnet UNISON here http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/Barnet%20Supported%20Living%20inspection%20report%202014%20UNISON.pdf
3. Winterbourne quote: “The complaints heard at both the first inquiry and this one testified not only to inadequate staffing levels, but poor leadership, recruitment and training. This led in turn to a declining professionalism and a tolerance of poor standards.” (Page 45, Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry February 2013 Executive summary).
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213215/final-report.pdf
4. UNISON response to Consultation Paper 31 May 2013
5. UNISON response to Task and Finish Report 25 November 2013
6. “I Found Myself Just Crying” – Your Choice Barnet
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1263
7. Why UNISON Your Choice Barnet Care Workers are taking strike action.
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/2015.01.15.%20YCB%20FLYER%20PUBLIC.pdf
8. UNISON Your Choice Barnet Care Workers “9 Point Flyer
9. Support UNISON Your Choice Barnet Care Workers strike action video
10. The Capita £110million payment
http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s21029/Appendix%20I%20-%20Capita%20Payments.pdf
11. Your Choice – in built pension burden creates artificial loss to justify pay cut http://lbbspending.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/nochoice.html
12. Sign Petition to Stop the ongoing destruction of services for adults with disabilities in Barnet
IMPORTANT: TUPE outsourcing update
IMPORTANT: TUPE outsourcing update
Dear Colleagues
In response to requests for an update on the TUPE Commitments negotiations.
On 3 March 2015, in response to a counter proposal from Barnet Council, the trade unions requested an urgent meeting to try to reach an agreement; we are still waiting for a new date to try and reach an agreement with the Council.
In the interim please take some time to look at the 13 outstanding TUPE commitments which are not contained in the counter proposal from Barnet Council.
1. No staff on the contract will earn less than the London Living Wage.
2. No staff on the contract to be employed on zero hours contracts.
3. The new employer gives an undertaking not to offshore work and not to transfer jobs out of the Borough.
4. Any sub-contractor commissioned to run any of the services included in the contract will be required to adopt the same TUPE Transfer Commitments.
5. A guarantee that TUPE will last for the length of contract (the regulations do not specify a time period). This is essential to protect conditions of service, existing redundancy payments and early retirement provisions.
6. New starters will be on the same terms and conditions and the company will not operate a two-tier workforce.
7. New staff must have the option of remaining within or joining the Local Government Pension Scheme or Teachers’ Pension Scheme as appropriate.
8. Nationally agreed local government pay awards will be implemented in full unless otherwise agreed with the recognised trade unions, and for teachers they will adopt each annual School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (or Soulbury pay scales for those paid on this Soulbury) unless otherwise agreed with the recognised trade unions.
9. The job evaluation scheme in use at the point of transfer will be applied for the duration of the contract.
10. The current trade union recognition and facilities agreement must be maintained, unless changed by joint agreement, for the duration of the contract. This should cover new staff who must have equal opportunity to join a recognised trade union.
11. There will be no restrictions on the employment status of branch trade union officers in the representation of their members.
12. The new employer will be required to make a contribution (as set out in the Trade Union Facility Time Charging Mechanism in the One Barnet contracts) to the Council’s Corporate facility time budget and/or the schools’ traded service for TU facilities time to ensure transferred employees continue to receive support from trade union branches.
13. The Council must allocate adequate resources to fully and effectively monitor the employment and health & safety policies and practices of the contractor as an integral part of the performance management and reporting process.
Summary
The Trade Unions submitted 18 TUPE commitments and only 5 have been included in the counter proposal.
UNISON wants to ensure maximum protection and representation for any members who are transferred to another employer.