Barnet UNISON

 

You can read UNISON response to the proposal here

Barnet Council agreed to carry out an inquiry into Your Choice and are due to hear a re­port on Wednesday 27 November at the Safeguarding Overview Committee.

CADDSS commissioned a report by Professor Dexter Whitfield on Your Choice entitled ‘The way out of financial crisis’ which you can read here

UNISON is asking our members to help by

1. Attending the Safeguarding Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Wednesday 27th November, 2013 7.00 pm, Hendon Town Hall NW4 4BG.

 

2. Signing our petition here

*****Update Day 35 of a 90 day consultation with Capita

 

Some good news, the current IT service consultation is a little different to the other service consultations in that there is a possibility that some new posts could be created. It all depends on internal discussions with Barnet Council about IT projects which are badly needed in Adult Social Services and Children’s Services to name a few. Everyone working in these services has been waiting to hear when a new system will be implemented. Interestingly the recent controversy about £16.1 million IT investment does not cover this badly needed work hence the negotiations on the cost of this project work. We are hoping to hear next week if agreement on price is agreed in order to deliver this badly needed IT transformation; in which case there could be job opportunities for staff currently at risk of redundancy.

Day 35 of a 90 day consultation with Capita

UNISON has to report we have serious concerns that a third of the way into consultation it appears that the ‘goalposts have been moved’. Earlier this week a discussion took place over which jobs are being ‘migrated’ out of Barnet. We were discussing the selection criteria for those posts which are remaining in Barnet. Up until this point it has always been UNISON’s understanding and that of our members that if staff were unsuccessful in securing their own post in Barnet they would still have their post albeit it in another location outside of Barnet. In the course of the TUPE consultation this has been a key issue and we have seen a revised decision to increase the numbers of some posts to remain in Barnet. Until a final decision is made on this process nothing is certain, therefore it was disturbing to hear that staff are being told if they are unsuccessful in the interview their job is redundant. UNISON has formally written to Capita seeking confirmation of this point.

UNISON has also been seeking to understand how many staff are currently delivering services to Barnet in order to be able to construct a meaningful response. We have also sought financial information which is critical if UNISON is able to provide a sound financial and coherent alternative to job losses and redundancies. We have been promised this information but the clock is ticking….What we can report is that of the 563 posts which were running this service before transfer to Capita only 338 posts will remain working on the Barnet contract; and of the 338 posts only 238 posts will be delivered from Barnet with 126.1 posts being delivered outside of Barnet.

This means 325 jobs will be lost from Barnet if the current proposal is implemented.

If you want to support former Council staff please sign this petition and send a message of support to the branch at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

£20.5 million lost to frontline services and jobs!

Earlier this week I sat in on the General Functions Committee and heard in a response to a residents question that the Council had deliberately made a decision not to collect £20.5 million (source here question 12). Instead the Council have been making political decisions to freeze council tax and this week announced a 1% cut in Council Tax.

But what does a 1% cut in Council Tax mean for Barnet residents

A resident paying the highest rate council tax will see their bill reduced by £32 a year, or 61 pence a week,

A resident paying the lowest rate council tax will see their bill reduced by £9.44 a year or 18 pence a week.

Delivering a 1% cut in Council Tax means cuts to services; the biggest saving is the loss of 350 local jobs in the Capita contract. Think of all the services and jobs that have been lost over the past four years.

 

Are targets getting you down?

Earlier this week UNISON called for a “full and thorough investigation” into claims of “harassment and bullying” at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.

“Our members took a brave step by reporting to the CQC that they were being bullied and harassed by senior managers to falsify records relating to cancer patients. They raised their concerns repeatedly and in emails to senior managers, right up to the chief executive, but they were ignored.” Christina McAnea Head of Health UNISON”

Barnet UNISON learnt this week that social workers working in Learning Disabilities were set a number of targets one of which included each social worker having to make a £42,000 saving on service user care packages they assess this year.

UNISON has escalated its request for a meeting (next week) to discuss these arbitrary targets which have been unilaterally imposed without any discussions with staff or trade unions.

If you are feeling under pressure to meet targets or you have concerns about implications of these targets on service users and their families please contact the UNISON office.

Above is a Bar Graph which shows the Council is shrinking due to the outsourcing.

In September this year the Council produced performance statistics here; on page 9 there is a staffing breakdown by service area. Members know our branch has been persistently asking the Council to produce accurate information about job vacancies. In our view it is critically important that all staff facing redundancy are provided with opportunities to secure another job within the Council and avoid being made redundant.  According to the figures provided by the Council there were 726.71 vacancies across the Council.

Next week the Budget report going to Cabinet Committee so, now we know the Council workforce has reduced to 2,200. What is shocking is that according to figures produced at Remuneration Committee last month almost a half of the Council workforce earns less that the London Living Wage (approx £8.80 and hour). In the Budget report it identifies 34 posts at risk of redundancy; however the bigger number of staff at risk of redundancy are former Council staff who transferred to Capita. UNISON is pleased to note that Capita & Council are putting in place a process for these staff to be able to apply for any vacant posts within the Council.

X files comes to Barnet via Capita Plc – View Flyer here

Information: Our branch is currently in consultation with Capita Plc over their proposals to restructure and relocate the former Barnet Council back office services. This is a controversial and complex consultation as the proposal looks to export jobs out of our community.

Our branch has three key aims:

1. To convince Capita to keep jobs in Barnet

2. To convince Capita to develop an alternative service delivery model

3. To reduce the number of job losses from our community.

In order to be able to have meaningful consultation it is important we have accurate information which includes a financial breakdown of savings for each of the services being delivered by Capita Plc.

Staffing.

UNISON has for the last nine months seeking to establish the total staffing establishment (occupied and vacant) for each of services in order to be able to achieve our aims.

Therein lies the problem. Trying to get an accurate picture of the staffing establishment has become a significant challenge and as such has become known in our branch as the “search for the truth” and like X Files Agent Mulder we believe the truth is out there……..its just a question of time……….!

Our Council now refers to itself as the “Commissioning Council”, others are calling it the “Disappearing Council” and others the “Hollowed Out Council”

All services both internal or contractors are referred to as Service Delivery Units. In order to explain our quest for the “truth” in relation to staffing establishment (which includes all posts occupied & vacant) we have produced a number of “service delivery vans”

You can sign a 38 degrees petition to “Keep jobs in Barnet” here