Category: National
National Campaigns
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BREAKING NEWS: Barnet UNISON motion: More money for our members
This branch notes that in 2016 we had 2570 members at the year end.
This branch notes that in 2016 UNISON received total subscriptions of £365,691.
This branch notes that in 2016 of the £365,691 received by UNISON head office we received £95,147.
This represents 26% of the total income provided by our members.
In 2017 our branch carried out a consultation on branch funding.
92.86% of members voted for a change to our current funding arrangement.
Our branch notes that our national union recorded surpluses of approximately £10million and £3million in the 2015 and 2016 accounts respectively, and holds reserves of over £200million.
Our branch has been fighting Barnet Councils ideological obsession with outsourcing for over a decade.
Our branch represents members working for 189 employers (as per WARMS on 24th November 2017).
Our branch receives no resources to represent a significant number of our members working in the private and voluntary sector.
Our branch believes it is wrong to take members’ money if our branch is not able to provide basic support and representation.
Our branch notes that National Pay bargaining has continued to fail our members.
Our branch notes that it is simply unacceptable to expect our members to wait and hope for a change in government in order to end the public sector pay freeze.
We want our branch to be able to use all of our resources for the many not the few.
The fact remains that the overwhelming bulk of this work is done in our branch.
It is our view that the current funding formula for our branch is out of date and does not effectively support our members who are paying their subscriptions.
Our branch proposes
- That branches receive all of our members’ subscriptions, without any deductions, into their respective UNISON branch bank accounts.
- UNISON branches will commit to purchasing support services from UNISON Regional, UNISON National or a third party to demonstrate value for money to our members.
- For this motion to be presented at the Regional Council AGM 2018 and if it is successfully voted on at the AGM for it to be considered as a regional motion at National Delegate Conference (NDC).
4. For this motion to be presented at Barnet UNISON’s AGM for consideration and if successfully voted on, for it to be a branch motion going through to NDC.
TAXI 4 Housing For Islington
Councillor James Murray, executive member for housing, Islington Council, said:
“The decision about housing management in Islington has been finely-balanced. We have decided that bringing HFI in-house will allow us to invest as much as possible in new council housing, whilst protecting our tenants and existing stock from changes the government might make.
“It is vital that we continue to give our tenants and leaseholders the best possible service from our committed staff who currently work for HFI.
“We will also use this opportunity to expand tenant and leaseholder involvement in housing management and we will be consulting next month on how this should be done.”
The decision follows a three-month consultation with tenants and leaseholders this summer – with thousands of residents responding to a questionnaire survey and taking part in discussion groups run by an Independent Tenants Advisor.
The council’s consultation heard a wide variety of residents’ views on what they want for the future of their housing services. Common themes emerging were the need for new housing, more council accountability and a bigger say in the issues that affect all residents – including tackling poverty, anti-social behaviour and saving money.
If confirmed, the decision means the council will negotiate an early termination (April 2012) of the housing management agreement with Homes for Islington which currently runs until 2014.
The arrangements are expected to save the council £1.7m a year.
Between November 2011 and March 2012 the council will carefully prepare for the changeover to minimise disruption to services and maintain the high quality of services residents have come to expect from HFI.
Taxi for Brent Council ALMO
As Austerity Policies continue their brutal assault on public services, Barnet UNISON has looked to see what is happening to the ALMO’s
Today is the first of a number updates on ALMO’s.
This post is about Brent Councils decision to bring their ALMO back in house here are some extracts from the Council reports.
Feel free to open the links and ready all of the reports yourself.
Cllr Harbi Farah, Brent Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said:
“The interests of tenants and leaseholders are my top priority and the results of the consultation show now is the right time to bring housing management back in-house. This decision will allow us to respond more swiftly to the Government’s housing policies, deliver savings and ensure our tenants and leaseholders receive nothing but the best service in the future. Our decision also follows a national trend of local authorities bringing their housing ALMOs back in-house. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board and everyone at BHP for their hard work over the past 14 years.”
Joanne Drew, Chair of BHP’s Board of Management, said:
“BHP was set up to improve homes as part of the government’s Decent Homes Programme. We have always been committed to working with Brent Council and ensuring local residents are at the heart of the organisation. We will continue to work closely with the council, residents and staff over this transition period to provide modern, efficient and effective services for the benefit of all council tenants and leaseholders.”
Short Summary of the Review Report
Preferred Option
“The In-House option offers the best opportunity to make savings and provides the strongest levels of control. This option also puts the housing management service in a better position in relation to the Council’s wider plans to secure improved outcomes for residents. It will be necessary to look at how this option will address Member and resident engagement and there are various options that could be pursued. For example a Members and residents committee may overcome the loss of the ALMO Board under the In-House option. In conclusion, taking into account the challenging financial situation, and all other factors outlined above, it is recommended that the In-House option is chosen. This is the option which the Council believes will best serve residents in Brent but it wants their views on this proposal.”
https://www.brent.gov.uk/media/16406070/short-summary-of-review-of-housing-management-options-3.pdf
You can read all the reports click on this link
Find out what a 5% Pay Award will mean for you #ScrapTheCap
Simply click on the link and
- Type in Your current annual salary
- Type Increase in pay (percentage) in this case 5%
Daylight robbery – What happened to your Pay rise? #ScrapTheCap
For years now, public service workers have seen their pay held back by government in the name of austerity. First a freeze then a cap saw public sector pay rise by just 4.4% between 2010 and 2016 while the cost of living rose by 22%.
Barnet UNISON has produced some examples based on the top of each grade within the Council in order to provide an insight into how much pay our members working for Barnet Council has lost as a result of the Pay Cap imposed on public sector workers.
If you don’t work for Barnet Council you can still work out how much you have lost so far be using the UNISON online pay calculator here https://www.unison.org.uk/our-campaigns/pay-up-now/
Barnet Council worker grades
BE WARNED THE FIGURES ARE SHOCKING
Grade A has lost £2,995 Click Grade A flyer
Grade B has lost £3,095, Click Grade B flyer
Grade C has lost £3,306, Click Grade C flyer
Grade D has lost £3,529, Click Grade D flyer
Grade E has lost £3,821, Click Grade E flyer
Grade F has lost £4,303, Click Grade F flyer
Grade G has lost £4,868, Click Grade G flyer
Grade H has lost £5,237, Click Grade H flyer
Grade I has lost £5, 838, Click Grade I flyer
Grade J has lost £6,725, Click Grade J flyer
Grade K has lost £7,938,Click Grade K flyer
Grade L has lost £9,069 Click Grade L flyer