We have received a request for support from our UNISON colleagues in Hammersmith & Fulham. We have been told Hammersmith and Fulham Council are planning to sack and reengage 4283 workers to impose draconian cuts in terms and conditions. Part of their justification is that staff have more generous terms and conditions than other local government employers.
These are people who carry out the same tasks as social workers, in Adult Social Care. Without their input the service delivery in the Borough would collapse. They are mostly very experienced, highly thought of and respected within their teams and by their team managers. When they work with a member of the public they stay with that person to work through the issues (health, housing, care, working with family members and more) no matter how complex. The only difference is they would not investigate Adult Protection matters and they do not have a social work qualification. Their pay grade implies that where their work ends the social worker takes over and yet this is far from the practice and far from what is specified in their Role Profiles.
At a meeting with councillors on 7 October 2008, the unions were given to believe there would be movement in a further negotiation around acknowledging there needed to be an overlap in the grades. Regrettably at the negotiation there has been no movement. There is no acknowledgment there needs to be an overlap in grades. Our Community Care Officers have already indicated they are prepared to take industrial action if their pay is not increased in recognition of the complexity of the work they do.
They are far from being alone within Adult Social Services, as people who do complex work which is not recognised in pay. This is very demoralising for our members and all staff across Barnet Council in general.
This is all happening in context of the revolutionary changes to ALL of our jobs that is inherent in the Future Shape project.
To view the Key milestones on Future Shape click here
I have attended many meetings with staff across the Council. There have been a number of common questions from staff.
Q. Where did the idea of a Joint Venture for some of our income generating services come from?
A. If you read the 6 May 2008 Cabinet report on pages 15 & 16
“2.3 Strategic partnership
This project supports that outlined in 2.1 and 2.2, by exploring how the council can take forward proposals to develop a major service partnership or Joint Venture Company (JVC) to deliver some of the council’s predominantly income generating services. It will be used as a pilot to inform the development of a special purpose vehicle for wider commissioning and service delivery.
The JVC is a particularly attractive option as it draws on Barnet strengths of being low cost and relatively high performing and its ability to attract significant capital investment through the leverage model. Putting the funds into a JVC model or a similar venture that can trade, will allow the council to focus on building strategic capacity and enable it to focus more effectively on its place shaping role.
The ‘work has already been done in scoping development services’ is likely to be the Cabinet briefing paper written in January 2008. The paper identified the possibility of setting up a Joint Venture. It identified four groupings:
Planning and Environmental Protection
Building Control
Planning, Development Management
Enforcement and Appeals
Land Charges
Environmental Health
Environment and Transport
Parking
Highways
Greenspaces
Resources
Financial transactional processes – payroll, accounts payable/receivable
HR transactional processes – recruitment, day to day advice
Property management
Facilities management
IT and systems support
Revenue collection
Housing
Benefits
Clearly the list of services is not exhaustive; the remit of the Future Shape project team is to look at all Council services and different models of service provision. The Council have engaged consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to look at current in house services and other possible service delivery options.
A. I believe no. I think we are going to have a significant say over the future of services in Barnet. The issue for the trade unions and staff is when that process starts. Staff are key to the Future of Barnet Council.
Q. Is it true the data from the PWC spreadsheet will determine whether we are going to be privatised?
Q. What is the time scale?
A. When reports have to go to Cabinet there are clear timelines to have the report cleared before it is published online, before the Committee. Under current timescales the report would have to have been ready by the end of October in order that it could go through the various checks before publishing. The Trade Unions had understood that it was likely that we would know the basis of the report by the end of October. However last week I heard that this timescale has been extended. It is likely we may not see the report until late November which is obviously a concern.
Q. What is the three year plan?
A. I have not seen any documentation relating to a three year plan; however the Chief Executive did make reference to a three year plan at his visit to speak to staff at the depot several weeks ago.
Q. When could we be privatised?
A. It depends upon what option is chosen for your service. It could be as quick as 6 months to 2 years from March next year.
Q. Why won’t the Council sign up to Trade Unions (Briefing 3) TUPE Plus proposal?
A. Don’t know. I have not had a response to our proposal to safeguard members transferring to the private sector or external organisation. I don’t know what they agree or disagree with in the document. For example in TUPE Plus I want a commitment that any contractor will not offshore work. It is worrying that the Council has not responded to this point and the 13 other points in Briefing 3.
While we appreciate the complexities of modern Local Authorities and the need for them to evolve to meet the future requirements of residents, we call on the council to suspend any proposals made in the report to the 3 December cabinet committee to transfer any services to external providers or private sector companies.
To view full statement click here
Colleagues You will have received the First Team email sent out to all staff from the Chief Executive this morning in response to what has been reported in the Press this morning. Barnet UNISON welcomes the reassurance given that the financial position of these Icelandic Banks will not have an impact the Council’s ability to pay bills, pensions or salaries.Clearly this is affecting other Councils and a number of them in London: Barnet Council: £27mHillingdon Council: £20mWestminster City Council: £17mBrent Council: £15mHavering Council: £12.5mSutton Council: £5.5mHaringey Council: unconfirmedBromley Council: unconfirmedTransport for London (TfL):£40mMetropolitan Police Authority (MPA): £30mWe understand the Council along with a number of other Councils are seeking an urgent meeting with the Chancellor Alistair Darling to request protection for councils as has been given to personal customers of IceSave and other failed Icelandic banks. Barnet UNISON fully expects to hear the Chancellor provide confirmation that all Councils will be covered and end the insecurity/anxiety this news has caused. It is inconceivable that the Government ‘bail out’ the Private Sector and refuse to offer the same level of support for the ‘Public Sector’.It is good to see UNISON HQ issue a Press release today urging the government to “protect local authorities from losing millions of council taxpayers’ money held in failing Icelandic banks” (full article click here)What about our Pension Funds?Inevitably our Pension funds have been exposed to significant risks especially over the last few months. We have asked for an urgent update on our Pension Fund investments. Contractors Like most Councils we have a number of contractors providing services for Barnet Council. We have asked for a copy of the risk assessment carried out in relation to our contractors. Clearly they are also at risk. If some of our contractors are unable to comply with their contractual obligations; it is important that plans are in place to ensure the Council is able to continue to serve the residents of Barnet.Future Shape Over the last two months as the global financial crisis has unravelled on a daily basis members have asked: ‘why are the Council considering going into partnerships with the private sector?’It is a good point and one that has been made in many of our weekly meetings. In light of recent events and lack of any sign of economic stability we are asking for a postponement of any Future Shape proposals involving the private sector.To read newsletter click here
The Trade Unions have made a request to be able to speak to any reports they submit to General Function’s Committee. This Committee deals with staffing matters such as redundancies, TUPE transfers etc. It is essential that if and when we submit reports, councillors are able to ask questions or seek clarification from the Trade unions.
I can report that both the Leader of the Council and the whole Committee unanimously supported this proposal and agreed to make a recommendation to the Constitutional Committee to approve this request.
