FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: UNISON confirm 24 hour strike 7 October – over 46 % of Library workers to be sacked
Barnet UNISON members who still work for Barnet Council (excluding community schools) will begin a 24 hour strike action on Wednesday 7 October.
The dispute involves social workers, coach escorts, drivers, occupational therapists, schools catering staff, education welfare officers, library workers, children centre workers, street cleaning & refuse workers, all of whom have made it clear they want to remain employees of Barnet Council and don’t want to be outsourced.
On Friday 2 October 2015, Barnet Council published their devastating report on the future of the library service which is reveals:
· 46% of workforce to be sacked
· Redundancy payments will cost £1.5 million
· Council are now proposing to cut the 634.5 staffed library hours a week to 188.
· Four Libraries, Childs Hill, East Barnet , Mill Hill, and South Friern will be run by volunteers
· Phase one of planning for and changing the library service has been estimated at £399,300
· Phase Two will cost £750, 000
· It is estimated that “reconfiguring libraries to release space” will cost £2 million.
· The cost in introducing technology that allows unstaffed opening will cost £2.41 million,
· This means that at least £6,560,3000 will be spent implementing changes to the Library Service with the rationale of saving £2.850,000
· East Finchley Library reduced in size by 55% with staffed hour reduced from 40 hours to 16 hours.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: “I have been a long term supporter of John Burgess & Barnet UNISON and the community campaign that has shown remarkable fighting spirit in the face of a relentless attack from the hard right in control of Barnet Council. Under Jeremy, people can see that there is a real alternative to austerity which is why I am fully behind Barnet UNISON members taking strike action on 7 October. If possible I hope to join you on the picket line.”
Hugh Jordan Library Convenor said: “The Council’s proposal “Barnet future Library Service” is a plan to replace qualified, experienced staff with a wide range of skills and knowledge with volunteer and machines, and to reduce the size and quality of Libraries. The people of Barnet, including our members, did not march, lobby, sign petitions and respond to the consultation in support of volunteer and machine operated libraries, they were defending a service staffed by real library staff, libraries with enough space for people to study and use IT, and to house sufficient items for loan to meet the needs of their users. UNISON members working in Barnet Libraries oppose the Council’s dire future vision of our Service.”
UNISON Branch Secretary John Burgess said:
“Barnet Council workers are in the frontline of austerity politics which is driving the outsourcing agenda and a ‘race to the bottom’ for our member’s terms and conditions. I am dismayed that so many loyal hard working Library workers are to be sacked in the name of progress. In a few weeks’ time 335 catering workers are expecting to hear news that they are likely to be handed over to private contractor ISS, without any guarantee they will continue to be paid the London Living Wage (LLW). Lidl & Morrisons have announced they will pay the LLW, yet Barnet Council are refusing to include the LLW in the contract. Once again it is low paid women paying the price of austerity. Our members will be on strike on 7 October and joining the Save Barnet Libraries campaign at the Library Committee meeting on 12 October.”
Our picket lines will be at the following locations.
· Barnet House from 7 am.
· Mill Hill Depot—Starts 6 am onwards.
· East Finchley Library—Start 9 am onwards.
Rally 12.30 – St Johns Church Hall, Friern Barnet Lane, Speakers to be confirmed
End.
Notes to Editors.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk
Background:
Six years ago Barnet Council introduced a policy known as Future Shape which morphed into ‘easyCouncil’*.This imposed a series of tariffs on residents wishing to access a range of services. A basic service would be offered to residents at a fixed price, but ‘fast track’ services might be available if you paid extra.
This approach was quickly abandoned by the consultant driven One Barnet Programme, which led to the following Council Services being outsourced/privatised in the space of three years:
1. Social Care for Adults with disabilities to Your Choice Barnet
2. Housing Options to Barnet Homes
3. Parking Services to NSL
4. Revenues & Benefits, IT, HR & Payroll, Pensions, Health & Safety, Finance, Estates, Property Services, Procurement, Projects all now part of Capita CSG
5. Environmental Health, Planning, Building Control, Hendon Cemetery & Crematorium, Highways, Trading Standards & Licensing all now Capita RE
6. Legal Services
7. Registrars & Nationality Services
8. CCTV
9. Music Trust
10. Public Health
11. Mortuary Services.
Over the past three years our members have seen hundreds of colleagues transferred to other employers. This has often meant redundancy as the new employer moved jobs out of the borough and Greater London to places as far afield as Belfast, Carlisle, Coventry, Southampton and Darlington.
Barnet has branded this final phase as the ‘Commissioning Council’.
On 3 March 2015 Barnet Council agreed its next Five Commissioning Plans all of which are looking at ‘Alternative Delivery Models’, jargon for working for a different employer.
The Council Services now at risk of outsourcing are:
· Early Years – 13 Children’s Centres
· Library Services
· Adults & Communities services
· Street Scene Services e.g. Waste & Recycling, Street Cleansing, Parks and Transport
· Education & Skills and School Meals services.
Barnet Council is about to agree a number of outsourcing and cuts across a number of council committees over the next four months which would see the number of staff employed by the council reduced to less than 300.
The outsourcing of services is Barnet Council’s response to austerity policies which have resulted in council budgets being cut by 40% by 2020. It is a deliberate ideological attack on public services which punishes our members and limits access to public services for the most vulnerable in our society. Barnet Council announced a few weeks ago that Meals on Wheels will cease as from 1 April 2016, which is another sign of how pernicious austerity fundamentalist policies are to those in most need http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34310729
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