Category: UNISON Campaign
news around UNISON campaigns
YOUR CHOICE BARNET
Your Choice Barnet (YCB) Care Workers speak up for themselves
The following are quotes from Your Choice Barnet Care workers who have had their pay cut by a minimum of 9.5%.
Our members completed an indicative ballot on the pay cut imposed by
Your Choice Barnet in which they have voted by 97% to reject the cut.
We have formally submitted a strike ballot to UNISON
On Tuesday 8 April YCB care workers will be demonstrating outside Hendon Town Hall from 6 pm to 7.30 pm.
Quotes
“I feel angry that YCB are allowed to do what they have done in reducing my pay by 9.5% it makes me feel worthless”
“I am worried about the safety of service users”
“So many agency staff working at our service the workload on permanent staff is increasing all the time”
“Barnet Council first pushed us out to Your Choice Barnet, now cutting our pay by 9.5%”
“What’s next for us Care Workers, and who’s to say these cuts will not be made to our service users?”
“1% cut to Council tax but look what that does to services.”
“My job gets increasingly more stressful and I am rewarded with a 9.5% pay cut. The future of services for people with profound disabilities in Barnet is being threatened.”
“This isn’t about now, it isn’t about our wages, it isn’t about our services, its about the vulnerable people we care for”
“This is a fight against forces politically motivated and set on a course to dismantle all that we have worked for”
“It’s a fight that we have to fight and one that we must fight to win”
“We need jobs for our family’s bills and to live; we came in to help clients and now we need help”
“I, in my role, and workplace feel a lot more under pressure, stressed, have much more responsibility, a higher workload”
“I feel angry, annoyed and not appreciated and utterly dismayed at this appalling situation and where the service users will reap the effects of this.”
“Saturdays are literally a ‘recovery day’ for me now, & many other staff”
“Being forced to take a 9.5% pay cut has made me feel not valued.”
“I have worked for Barnet for 14 years and have been committed to the service users and the service.”
“Being out of pocket £2,000 a year means not even being able to afford a holiday break for me and my family and having to scrimp even more.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Please sign this petition http://ow.ly/voFj6
Your Choice Barnet care workers UPDATE
Your Choice Barnet care workers UPDATE
Across the number of UK stories of care workers refusing to take cuts to pay and terms & conditions is on the increase as are reports of Care Providers failing to deliver quality services.
It isn’t rocket science, ongoing ‘Austerity Cuts’ to social care is already having an impact for those in need of care services. The ‘Austerity Cuts’ to social care are being passed down to Care providers, service users, staff via the Commissioning model. In Barnet UNISON Your Choice Care Workers have decided they have had enough. They completed an indicative ballot on the pay cut imposed by Your Choice Barnet in which they have voted by 97% to reject the cut. We are now processing a formal request for a strike ballot and understand GMB members are going to do the same.
You can help by
1. Signing this petition http://ow.ly/voFj6
2. Join Your Choice Barnet Care Workers on Tuesday 8 April outside Hendon Town Hall between 6 – 7.30 pm
Glyn Jenkins UNISON Pensions briefing for our members – 10 April 2014
On Thursday 10 April 2014, in Training room 5 our branch has secured the services of Glyn Jenkins UNISON National Head of Pensions. Glyn has been on all the committees groups setting up the 2014 scheme including joint technical group working on the draft regulations.
Glyn will be spending most of the day here and is offering 15 minute appointments all to be booked via our office.
To book a 15 minute appointment with Glyn please contact the branch on 0208 359 2088 or email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
We will be holding a general presentation over the lunchtime.
To view Flyer click here
Barnet UNISON and the Library which refused to die
TEN REASONS WHY WE OPPOSE ATTACKS ON YOUR CHOICE BARNET CARE WORKERS
TEN REASONS WHY WE OPPOSE ATTACKS ON YOUR CHOICE BARNET CARE WORKERS
1. Our Your Choice Barnet members should not be asked to pay for an outsourcing failure.
2. Your Choice Barnet is an outsourcing project dreamed up by highly paid consultants paid for by tax payer’s money
3. If One Barnet outsourcing is so successful and is delivering savings to protect frontline services then why are Your Choice Barnet care workers being asked to take a minimum 9.5% cut in their pay?
4. Your Choice Barnet has failed to deliver any new business growth two years after it was first created.
5. Your Choice Barnet last year needed a £1 million bail out of taxpayers’ money from Barnet Homes requiring a 6% interest repayment. Both companies are 100% owned by Barnet Council.
6. Less than nine months after receipt of a £1million loan Your Choice Barnet is looking to cut the staff bill by a further £400,000 by 1 April 2014.
7. Our members should not have their basic pay cut by 9.5% and come out of national pay bargaining just because this One Barnet outsourcing project is failing.
8. Barnet UNISON is opposed to the proposed 9.5% cut to staff salaries from 1st April 2014 and has grave concerns that there is a high probability that YCB will be coming back with further cuts for their staff.
9. Barnet UNISON is carrying out an indicative ballot of our members working for Your Choice Barnet and recommending to our members to reject this cut and seeking authorisation of an official strike ballot.
10. Barnet UNISON believes the proposed cuts will compromise the health, safety and wellbeing of service users.
Update on ‘Barnet Council workers receive payout after landmark legal victory’
Update on ‘Barnet Council workers receive payout after landmark legal victory’
In the Barnet Press article entitled ‘Council compensates staff made redundant’ it reports:
“A council spokeswoman said: “In the original employment tribunal, Barnet Council accepted there were shortcomings in the data given to the trade unions in respect of agency staff. We have always expressed regret that this resulted in needless litigation.”
What readers will be unaware of is that Barnet UNISON spent three years requesting this information. Indeed the requisite information had previously been provided to the Trade Unions in order to mitigate redundancies and the knock on cost to the local tax payer in redundancy pay outs.
However the Tribunal learnt that HR in 2009 decided not to provide this information and over the following three years evidence was produced to the Tribunal to show how the Trade Unions had been repeatedly refused this information.
What readers would not know is that the HR service was being led by a consultant.
The article in the Barnet Press goes on to say:
“But the authority successfully appealed against the original compensation award and the two parties eventually settled on a new figure, which the council said is well below the first amount.”
This is strange because the original award was quoted here
“Lastly, it demonstrates how expensive a mistake can be: the amount at stake of the awards concerned was noted by the EAT to be something in the order of £850,000.”
This was based on the tribunal made the following awards against the Council:
1. In relation to the 16 redundancies that took effect on 31 March 2012, the award equated to 60 days’ pay.
2. Regarding the transfer to Barnet Homes on 1 April 2012, the award was equivalent to 40 days’ pay.
3. For the transfer to NSL Ltd on 1 May 2012 the award was equivalent to 50 days’ pay.
Making a total of 150 days pay.
Barnet UNISON can report that the settlement reached on behalf of our members is as follows:
1. In relation to the 16 redundancies that took effect on 31 March 2012, the award equated to 51 days’ pay.
2. Regarding the transfer to Barnet Homes on 1 April 2012, the award was equivalent to 34 days’ pay.
3. For the transfer to NSL Ltd on 1 May 2012 the award was equivalent to 42.5 days’ pay.
Making a total of 127.5 days pay which is a significant amount of council tax payers money which could be as much as high as £650,000
Comment
It was and still is our view that this should never have happened. We had previously negotiated a sensible agreement in relation to the provision of agency worker information but this was stopped. Readers please note in 2013 Barnet Council spent £15,933,619 on Agency staff. This case demonstrates the significant financial and reputational risks when employers fails to meaningful consult with Trade Unions. It is our view the decisions by the Council to cut Trade Union Facility Time over the last four years by 90% is a high risk strategy and leaves the Council open for further claims.
TEN REASONS WHY WE OPPOSE ATTACKS ON YOUR CHOICE BARNET
Barnet Council workers receive payout after landmark legal victory
More than 150 Barnet Council workers will finally receive a share of hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation, more than 12 months after UNISON won a landmark Employment Tribunal decision.
Last year the union successfully argued that Barnet Council failed to provide it with information on agency workers, as part of a wider consultation in 2012. The Tribunal decision upheld the requirement for employers to provide information on agency workers being engaged during TUPE transfers and collective redundancy consultation. It made protective awards of 60 days and compensation of 40 and 50 days’ pay in respect of a redundancy exercise and two TUPE transfers.
Yet, despite Barnet Council admitting it had not fulfilled the requirements of s 188 and TUPE in relation to agency worker information, it appealed to the Employment Appeals Tribunal over the level of compensation to be paid and how this was calculated. The Council was successful in an element of their appeal in relation to the calculation of compensation. The matter was sent back to the Employment Tribunal for reconsideration in relation to the amount to be paid in compensation.
However, UNISON has now negotiated a settlement with the council that allows affected employees to be paid compensation without the need to re-litigate the matter in the Tribunal.
UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
“Barnet Council dragged its heels and delayed payment to these workers by appealing the case. At last we have some good news and the affected workers will now be paid their compensation which is both long awaited and well deserved.
“The Council breached the law and undermined the union’s ability to carry out its role, and this decision should serve as a warning to other councils that they must provide information on agency staff to trade unions or suffer the consequences.
“With councils across the country outsourcing and slashing services on a massive scale, this is a landmark decision that will help to protect the rights of workers. It has important ramifications for other trade unions and will help them to negotiate more effectively and avoid redundancies.”
John Burgess, Barnet UNISON Branch Secretary, said:
“UNISON reps repeatedly warned the Council about their responsibilities to provide the agency data at a time when staff are at risk of redundancy and outsourcing.
“This case has dragged on for almost two years but I am glad we have finally reached a settlement on behalf of our members. It highlights the financial and reputational risks of failing to meaningfully consult with trade union reps that were simply carrying out their trade union duties on behalf of members.”
ends
Notes to Editors
In February 2013, the Employment Tribunal in Watford ruled that the council was in breach of changes to s 188 and regulation 13 of TUPE brought in by the Agency Workers’ Regulations, by failing to provide UNISON with the information on the number of agency workers employed by Barnet Council.
The Employment Tribunal found:
1. That the Respondent (Barnet Council) failed to comply with s 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 in respect of redundancies that took effect on 31 March 2012 by failing to provide information on agency workers;
2. The Respondent failed to comply with r 13 of TUPE 2006 in respect of transfers on 1 April and 1 May 2012 by failing to provide information on agency workers; and
3. The Tribunal has made protective awards of 60 days and compensation of 40 and 50 days respectively in respect of these breaches.
ends