UNISON members are invited to the following meetings
Tuesday 28 September 12– 2pm, Venue Multi Purpose room, Room No FG07,Wood Street Campus
Thursday 30 September,12– 2pm, Venue, Lecture Theatre 1, Grahame Park
Incredible but true if you click on this link you can read this question going to the Full Council.
How could they justify trying to take £17 million from Barnet Council! I am not surprised, but when will councillors wake up to understand the risks to the public purse!
Read the Question below:
Question 47 Councillor Barry Rawlings
What is the latest update on the Catalyst arbitration?
Answer by Councillor Daniel Thomas
The Council received the final partial arbitral award on 26 July 2010. The value of the award to Catalyst is not yet finalised, but a range of £5m to £6m is anticipated, against a claim of between £12-17m.
A detailed report will be considered by Cabinet Resources Committee on 19 October on the implications of the outcome of the arbitration process.
The Council is seeking to enter into a renegotiation of this contract which was created by the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat administration. The renegotiation will be led by the Deputy Chief Executive and Acting Director of Adult Social Services, to manage on-going financial and service delivery risks.
So a new contract means the Council will be looking at a number of Options. One of which will include bringing back what is left of the service in-house.
Barnet UNISON will be launching a campaign to return the service back in-house.
Interesting timing as I saw this article about Fremantle who are the partners with Catalyst.
This morning I spoke to an angry and tearful Barnet UNISON rep for the former council workers contracted out to Connaught’s.
Late last night staff were sacked by Conference call. They are shocked angry and don’t know what this means.
UNISON is seeking urgent talks with Chief Executive Barnet Homes.
This is yet further proof of what working in the private sector means…..Future Shape….
John Burgess Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON condemned the action and is calling on Barnet Homes and Barnet Council to do the right thing and take back these loyal workers.
What have the BP and Barnet Councils Future Shape Programme (otherwise known as easyCouncil) have in common?
But it’s not as if we have not seen more serious consequences closer to home. Just recently we have had a report into the Potters Bar inquest which took eight years and no criminal prosecutions. Jarvis (contractor) disappeared, like contractors seem to do when thinks go wrong…Metronet anyone?
Anyway, I don’t know why they want to re-brand Future Shape to ‘One Barnet’. You only have to look at the Future Shape Programme to see ‘whichBarnet’ would be a more accurate description. The Programme is actively looking to several private sector companies to deliver services to Barnet residents.
Barnet UNISON in conjunction with Barnet Trades Council and local residents are lobbying the Full Council meeting.
For the last few months there has been ongoing expression of outrage about the decision of the previous Full Council meeting in July to award some councillors with massive pay rises at a time when residents and staff were being told that services would be cut or stopped.
The Leader of the Council has announced that this decision will be overturned.
To view flyer click here
There has been a lot of speculation and concern for our members working for Connaughts.
Today staff received news that Connaught have appointed partners from KPMG as administrators of Connaught plc.
Today I wrote to the Chief Executive of Barnet Homes requesting “on behalf of our members in Connaught that Barnet Homes takes urgent action to bring back the service in-house thus ending speculation and uncertainty both for staff and council tenants.”
“Connaught, the property services group that specialises in social housing, is on the brink of going into administration, the BBC has learned.”
Full story click here
Some of you will have seen the above BBC news headline this morning. Connaught was a top 250 FTSE Company not long ago. I am not sure what happens if Connaught goes under. Council Housing still need a repair service and what about the staff. I have written to the Chief Executive asking what the plan is
Barnet Homes staff.
You will be aware that your former colleagues working in council housing repairs are facing an uncertain future. Barnet Homes have served notice a six month on Connaught. Our branch is organising a petition to bring these staff back into to Barnet Homes just as we would do for any of our members.
We are asking all our members, non members to support these workers in their ‘hour of need.’
Our UNISON Convenor Anne Denison and our local reps will be circulating the petition I hope you are all able to sign it.
In 2002 the Council’s Home Care service was outsourced to Housing 21 with the existing staff complement TUPE’d over to this new employer.
As the years went by there have been restructures and the Council introduced CM2000; which meant that carers telephoned the office at the start and end of their allotted time with the service user. More recently there has been a reduction in the allotted visit times from the usual hour to separate slots of only 15, 30 or 45 minutes per visit. Hsg 21 provided some 3000+ hours of home care to elderly and vulnerable Barnet residents
The Council had many different providers for the various Home Care contracts and then last year there was the ‘Re-ablement project’ of 6 weeks of intensive regular support to aid early hospital discharges which Hsg 21 pilotted. Subsequently the contracts were re-tendered with a specialised ‘Re-ablement’ contract of between 1000-1600 hours per week to start from 1st November 2010 and separate contractors to provide the usual home care ongoing support.
Housing 21 won the ‘Re-ablement’ contract which was in part a tribute to the professionalism and integrity of the many ex-Barnet staff who worked so hard with the initial project. However there is now a serious deficit of a possible 2 thirds [3000+ down to 1000+] in the hours that Barnet Council has commissioned from Hsg 21 with obvious implications for nearly 200 members of staff. They face the uncertain future of possibly being again TUPE’d to one of the 11 new contractors, or being interviewed/selected for a re-ablement’ post with Hsg 21 or being made redundant. This effects the actual carers and also the office staff who support all the programming
Staff consultations start on Monday 6th Sept and Barnet UNISON will do everything possible to support members through this difficult and anxious time.
