Barnet UNISON

Join us

at the Your Choice Care workers lobby

On Wednesday 29 May at 5.30 pm outside Barnet House, N20

At 6pm we will be attending the Your Choice Board Meeting

This campaign concerns the plight of low paid social care workers facing a massive cut to their pay and terms & conditions. The scale of the attack is unprecedented and will drive already low paid workers further into poverty.

But it is not just the attacks to staff which are our concern, it is the impact this will have on the service delivery to vulnerable adults with disabilities.

UNISON is concerned that by ‘dumbing down’ care work will impact on quality of care as we have seen in the past at the private Winterbourne hospital where profit was put before care of residents.

‘Your Choice’ care workers are carrying out critical and personal care for vulnerable service users; which makes it all the more abhorrent to hear the case for these cuts is driven by the need to make a profit.

During consultation it has been confirmed the finances are worse that we were first led to believe. Apart from the £1million loan from Barnet Homes, they now need to make another £1million from staff costs.

UNISON is campaigning to bring these critical services back into the Council. The more we learn about the finances the more concerned we are. Instead of Barnet Homes spending their reserves on propping up a failed One Barnet project, they should use this money to try and prevent Barnet residents and their families from being moved out of the borough.

Last year the Council made a commitment in their own business case which said if the project failed they would bring it back in house.

Barnet UNISON commissioned Professor Dexter Whitfield to produce an analysis Barnet Councils proposals to outsource adult social care services. Please find links to reports below.

Links

1. ESSU Dexter Whitfield Barnet UNISON 2010 http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/barnet-adults-options-appraisal%202010.pdf

2. ESSU Dexter Whitfield Barnet UNISON 2011 http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/analysis-of-business-case-for-local-authority-trading-company%202011.pdf

3. ESSU Dexter Whitfield Barnet UNISON 2012

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/latc-analysis-2012.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ‘Capitaville’-Capita to takeover more Barnet Council services.

Today staff were told at a series of briefings that Capita Symonds is the preferred bidder to deliver a whole range of Council Regulatory services to Barnet residents and businesses.

 The services to be handed over to Capita include the following:

Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Hendon Cemetery & Crematoria

Barnet Council has a number of statutory responsibilities to monitor the private sector in order to ensure the health and safety of their residents. The recent high- profile national public-health scandal about the use of Horsemeat in processed foods emphasises that private companies do not adequately monitor their own activities, leaving the public at risk. If Barnet Council is allowed to privatise these services, it will set a dangerous precedent for other councils.

Barnet Council has been promoting itself as an innovator for the future of public services by adopting the Commissioning Council model. In the last 12 months the Council has overseen a significant number of services outsourced to other providers. The full list of services are here.

John Burgess UNISON Branch Secretary said: “Barnet Council is making a huge mistake in handing over these critical services to the private sector. It is not just about the risks this brings but what it means in term of democratic accountability. Next year we have the local elections in May 2014. What options will there be for the electorate if all the council spend is tied up into complex contracts? As for all the remaining staff the message is stark: no matter how loyal you are, no matter how hard you work political dogma is dictating all services are to be outsourced. Today a number of our members have chosen to wear black armbands/ black clothing as a sign of the demise of the public sector ethos in Barnet Council.”

***** Ends *****

Notes to Editors.

Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk

Links

1. What is One Barnet watch this short animation http://ning.it/Qp5Adx

2. UNISON report on One Barnet DRS contract http://ning.it/11OQWlQ

3. UNISON financial report on One Barnet DRS contract http://ning.it/12mocvO

4. One hundred PLUS reasons why One Barnet is high risk and bad for residents and services http://ning.it/NAyJLY

5. 397 jobs “The true cost of One Barnet outsourcing” http://ning.it/11OSuMT

 

 

 

 

 

1. Watch the film ‘A Tale of Two Barnets’ http://ning.it/PUBMVP

 2. Listen to Ken Loach talk about the One Barnet Billion Pound Gamble Film http://ning.it/PIzXpv

3. Watch the Billion Pound Gamble Film Trailer http://ning.it/PvZYxF

4. Listen to Mr Reasonable explain all about the OneBarnet magical box http://ning.it/P4vPVW

5. Watch the Billion Pound Gamble Animation http://ning.it/Qp5Adx

 6. Watch Barnet Residents occupy Hendon Town Hall http://ning.it/W7a08n

7. Listen to a Barnet resident speak at Barnet Full Council meeting http://ning.it/WgcUZ2

8. Learn about the Occupation of Friern Library here http://ning.it/W7alIe

9. Save Friern campaign showing how to campaign against the cuts http://ning.it/XhYQ1R

10. Watch the excellent short film called ‘A Polite Revolution’  http://ning.it/W7b7Fc

 

 

 

 

IMPORTANT Barnet UNISON Schools Conference

Tuesday 28th May 2013 9:30am – 12:30pm at Mapledown School, Claremont Road,

London NW2 1TR. (refreshments provided)

It is critical that UNISON members in schools attend this conference for more details as to how top register click here

 

 

To view pay scales click here

NJC Pay 2013/14 – Branch Consultation Begins on Final Offer

At its meeting on 7 May 2013, the UNISON NJC Committee agreed to hold a formal consultation under the Service Group Pay Consultation Procedures on the Employers’ 2013/14 final NJC pay offer which is attached.

UNISON’s NJC Committee’s Views on the offer

The UNISON NJC Committee’s view is that the employers’ below-inflation pay offer (to view click here) falls far below the aspirations in our 2013-14 pay claim and what our members deserve. It means a further pay cut for our members after a three-year pay freeze. However, the Committee also believes that it is the best offer achievable by negotiation and that only sustained, all-out strike action can achieve an improved pay offer.

UNISON Branches are being asked to consult members on that basis and the Committee will be meeting on Thursday 13 June 2013 to consider the results of the consultation.

The NJC Trade Unions

At the meeting of the NJC Trade Union Side also held 7 May, it was agreed that all three unions will consult their members on the basis that the offer is the best achievable by negotiation. GMB and UNITE are finalising their consultation arrangements but anticipate ending their consultations by the beginning of July.

The Trade Union Side also reaffirmed its view that the negotiators should not negotiate over Part 2 conditions. It was strongly felt that the Employers’ ‘offer’ letter had misconstrued the trade unions’ approach to bargaining over conditions. We had been prepared to discuss a new ‘green’ travel policy and sickness absence management and other issues such as carers’ leave. Sadly, the employers had made it clear that any new conditions would not be included in the Green Book, that cuts to other conditions would have to be made to pay for them and that councils in the NJC who had already cut conditions would not be required to comply with any agreed new ones!!!! It is clear that they are living in a fantasy land in which they cannot confront the reality of the NJC’s ‘bargain basement’ conditions.

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

It is vital that as many members as possible take part in the consultation on the 2013/14 offer. 

Our branch will be carrying out an online ballot look out for our GO LIVE ballot notifications

We will be discussing the Pay Offer at our branch meeting on 21 May.

Further information on the Pay Offer click here and here

UNISON recently wrote a letter (to view click here) to the Chief Executive about the tone of the recent JR internal email to All Staff.

To view response click here

UNISON recently wrote a letter (to view click here) to the Chief Executive about the tone of the recent JR internal email to All Staff.

To view response click here