Labour councillors call on Barnet Council to attend talks with ACAS
We would like to express our solidarity with YCB workers who are resisting cuts to their wages of nearly 10%.
We met with YCB workers on the picket lines and they told what the devastating impact these pay cuts would mean for them, their families and also the service users. They are also concerned that this will be only the first of a series of attacks
We feel strongly that these committed staff, who do a vital yet demanding job in a sector that is already inadequately remunerated, should not be forced to pay for Barnet Council’s failure to adequately resource YCB when it transferred it to the Barnet Group Indeed, these cuts are a direct consequence of the flawed business plan behind YCB, whose weaknesses were initially flagged up by UNISON in 2012. To date, YCB has failed to generate the additional income upon which YCB’s long-term financial viability rested. A crucial cause of YCB’s drop in income is a result of Barnet Council’s reduction in referrals to YCB and its decision to no longer pay when one of its clients doesn’t turn up.
When the Council’s Cabinet Resources Committee approved the setting-up of YCB in 2012, it stated that:
“The obligations and risk placed on the LATC will subsequently be fully passed down to the operating subsidiary companies. Commercial risk ultimately remains with the Council and in the unlikely event of failure, the services will need to be brought back in-house.”
We therefore call upon Barnet Council as the only share holder in the Barnet Group and therefore the owner of YCB to intervene urgently to save YCB and ensure that care staff are not subjected to this savage wage cut. We have also written to the Leader of the Council to instruct a representative of the Council to attend the ACAS talks on Monday 22nd September, and help to bring the dispute to a satisfactory resolution, for the sake of staff and service users alike.”
Cllr. Amy Trevethan, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Chipping Barnet and Underhill Councillor and
Cllr. Paul Edwards Underhill Councillor
Andrew Dismore – on real Loyalty – Your Choice Barnet
“It is outrageous that Your Choice Barnet is cutting care workers’ pay by 9.5%. These dedicated workers are not paid nearly enough to start with, and pay cuts like this are a kick in the face to these hardworking staff who do a demanding job, that most people would find they could not do nearly as well or as cheerfully.
YCB talks about loyalty- but YCB workers in this desperate dispute for justice show what real loyalty means. Not sham ‘loyalty’ out of fear of hardship to a heartless and exploitative ‘rip off’ boss, but loyalty to their clients who need a decent service for which decent pay should be awarded; and loyalty to each other, through their solidarity and support for their union backed by its members, including myself, who are standing side by side with YCB workers in their fight for a fair settlement .’
Best
Andrew Dismore
Labour Parliamentary candidate for Hendon
London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
YCB & Care UK brothers and sisters in arms
Breaking News in-house services back in contention
Breaking News in-house services back in contention
Dear Colleagues
Last night I attended the Children’s, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee. This committee was being asked to recommend reject the in house service option and develop three outsourcing options.
Barnet UNISON presented a report (see attachment) to all of the councillors on this Committee for them to consider. In case I was asked to comment on our report I prepared a speech (see attached) to the Committee.
Our report made the following recommendations:
Recommendations
1. Barnet UNISON recommends a fully resourced innovative in-house option be included alongside further development of the schools-led social enterprise option. The two joint venture options should be rejected together with the outsourcing and LATC options.
2. School catering is a highly successful income generating service serving 90% of schools in Barnet, in which all surpluses directly benefits schools. It should be excluded from the scope of the project.
3. If the Committee recommends continuing the JVC options, then Capita should be approached and asked not to bid for the education and skills contract.
4. Before the Committee make any decisions the Performance and quality category weighting should be increased from 20% to 40% with a 10% reduction in the category weightings for Strategic Direction and Cost Saving.
Who were the contractors mentioned in the Council report?
In the Council report there is reference to discussions with the private sector some of whom suggested adding Early Years and Libraries in this bundle of services. In the meeting we were informed of the names of these contractors
What happened next was a surprise.
As the item opened up for discussion Labour Councillors proposed that the in-house option be included with the other outsourcing options.
The Deputy Leader of the Council disagreed with the wording of the Labour motion and proposed an amendment of recommendation 3 of the council report which added and the in-house service.
This amendment was put to the vote and all councillors voted in favour of in-house.
Several of us in the room fell of our chairs as this is the first time councillors have insisted that the in-house be included in a report on outsourcing proposals.
I will be writing formally to the Council seeking urgent talks as to how the in-house service is going to be resourced and supported in putting together a business case to deliver Education & Skills & Catering service in-house.
I will be organising meetings for all of our members between now and the end of the year. Please keep a look out for updates.
Key Links to the Your Choice Barnet (YCB) care workers dispute
Key Links to the Your Choice Barnet (YCB) care workers dispute
If you want to understand why our care workers are taking strike action please take some time to read the following links:
1. Your Choice Barnet (YCB) “The real deal”
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1394
2. Why Your Choice Barnet (YCB) Care workers are taking strike action
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1406
3. Barnet UNISON Your Choice Barnet 8 Point charter
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1397
4. Come and join “Your Choice Barnet” (YCB) care workers over the next six weeks
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1407
5. Your Choice Barnet (YCB) – ACAS – UNISON response
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1410
6. When is failure not a failure……..Your Choice Barnet
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1405
7. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Care Workers to take strike action 8th and 9th September.
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/1400
8. Barnet UNISON response to Your Choice Barnet Consultation Paper
9. ‘The way out of financial crisis’ Analysis of Consultation Paper Your Choice Barnet Ltd The Barnet Group Ltd (Local Authority Trading Company), London Borough of Barnet
http://www.socialworkfuture.org/attachments/article/330/CADDSS%20analysis%20.pdf
10. Barnet UNISON Report: The Barnet Group Ltd, Local Authority Trading Company: Privatising Adults and Housing Services
11. Stop the ongoing destruction of services for adults with disabilities in Barnet petitionhttps://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-ongoing-destruction-of-services-for-adults-with-disabilities-in-barnet
Barnet Council member of staff patiently waiting for in house service to be chosen first!
Your Choice Barnet ‘Disloyal – Really?’
Your Choice Barnet ‘Disloyal – Really?’
“Your Choice chief executive Tracey Lees said: “We are extremely grateful to our loyal and committed staff who pulled together over two days to continue to provide their usual quality of service to our customers. We are prepared, as stated last week, to meet Unison and ACAS in an attempt to avert further strike action.” (Barnet Press 10 September 2014)
Our members have been in contact with our branch to say how disappointed they are to read the comment attributed to Your Choice chief executive Tracey Lees.
Colleagues who went to work on the strike days at Your Choice Barnet have been described as being “loyal” by the Chief Executive Officer of the Barnet Group. So are we to understand that those who took strike action are disloyal?
UNISON does not find this approach helpful. It paints a negative picture of those who took strike action. The Chief Executive Officer would do well to remember what our members in Flower Lane, a specialist unit for autism, did in their own time last weekend.
For the last 3 years workers at Flower Lane have held a fete on a Saturday which is a community event bringing together service users, parents/ carers and the local community for an afternoon. It raises awareness of autism and it also raises money.
The event consists of different stalls with different food on offer, bric-a-brac, crafts and a barbeque. There is are games for children and this year there was live music. Local businesses were involved in the event and they helped by donating gifts etc. The Mayor of Barnet attended the previous 2 years, but was not there this year. It is a fun day out for all the family. A colleague, who 2 days later took strike action, described it as a great day.
Organising for this event means workers sort out the equipment and supplies for it – often in their own time – to make sure it happens. They turn up around 10am on the Saturday to make sure everything is in place for the midday start. After the event they then stay on to clear up. This means they do not leave until around 5.30pm. The event helps build the team as a whole and from talking to the colleagues the sense of pride they have in their work and their reputation is worth the effort.
Two days later the same colleagues were on strike. They did not do this because they are disloyal. They did not do this because they want to cause pain to service users. Last Saturday and discussions we have had with our members about picking dates for strike action demonstrates our members are passionate about the job they do and the service they provide. A 9.5% pay cut is hurtful enough. For the Chief Executive to imply disloyalty is disrespectful to the hard work our members do.
Barnet UNISON response to latest outsourcing project
Please find enclosed UNISON response to the Education and Skills Alternative Delivery Model.
Recommendations
1. Barnet UNISON recommends a fully resourced innovative in-house option be included alongside further development of the schools-led social enterprise option. The two joint venture options should be rejected together with the outsourcing and LATC options.
2. School catering is a highly successful income generating service serving 90% of schools in Barnet, in which all surpluses directly benefits schools. It should be excluded from the scope of the project.
3. If the Committee recommends continuing the JVC options, then Capita should be approached and asked not to bid for the education and skills contract.
4. Before the Committee make any decisions the Performance and quality category weighting should be increased from 20% to 40% with a 10% reduction in the category weightings for Strategic Direction and Cost Saving.
To view report click here
Education & Catering outsourcing project
The latest outsourcing proposal to emerge in Barnet Council is going to the Children, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee on Monday 15 September 2014.
The list of Council services involved with this outsourcing proposal can be found in the Equalities Impact Assessment here.
The list
School improvement
• Statutory LA duties to monitor, support and challenge schools
• Narrow the gap service (DSG funded)
Special educational needs (subject to changes being implemented by the Children and Families Act 2014 from 1st September 2014)
• SEN placements & performance team
• SEN Early Support Programme
• Speech & Language therapy
• SEN Transport – commissioning and assessment
• Educational psychology team (part traded)
• SEN placements (DSG funded)
• SEN specialist support service
Admissions and sufficiency of school places
• Pupil place planning
• Admissions Service (DSG funded)
• Education welfare service
Post 16 learning
• 14 – 19 service to ensure sufficiency and breadth of supply
• Monitoring, tracking and supporting participation
Traded services within Education and Skills
• Catering service
• Governor clerking service
• School improvement traded service
• Newly Qualified Teachers
• Educational psychology (part)
• Education Welfare Service (part)
The total number of staff involved is 336 staff.
The report states Barnet Council staffing establishment as 2,010
Historical Information:
In a report to Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee October 2012 the Barnet Council staffing establishment was 3,200.16