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Barnet UNISON Press Release: 8 August 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Your Choice Barnet Care Workers voted on 90% majority to take strike action

Barnet UNISON has concluded a ballot of care workers based on a slightly improved “offer” from Your Choice Barnet following the close of negotiations in mid-July. The offer still means our members would lose 8.31% from their wages rather than 9.5%. It still represents a swingeing cut to their wages at a time when other workers up and down the country have rejected a 1% per cent pay rise. On a 73% turnout 90% voted in favour of taking action to reinstate their pay.

During the negotiations YCB was very open regarding their finances. Even if our members took this hit on their wages now, YCB could not guarantee this would be an end to the cuts in pay even in the short term. Indeed their proposed budget for the next year breaks even only if they pay nothing on the loan from Barnet Homes. YCB confirmed in the negotiations this left a huge funding gap. This lack of reassurance from YCB that they would not be coming back for more cuts undoubtedly contributed to the resounding rejection of the latest pay cut.

What the negotiations did reveal is the scandalous charging arrangements foisted onto YCB, which make it difficult to see how YCB can be financially viable in the future without making the workers pay an even heftier price. Significantly where a service user fails to turn up to the day service e.g. because they are sick, YCB cannot charge for the service. Yet YCB will have organised their staffing based on those service users turning up and have to bear the brunt of those staffing costs when the service user does not appear. Many service users need 1 to 1 support. The failure to turn up or “no shows” costs YCB a significant loss of income. This significant sum of money would go a long way to restoring our members’ wages. Barnet Council is refusing to pay YCB for these “no shows” and yet this is a company wholly owned by Barnet Council!

Our members pointed to the fact that if they were to cancel their child’s childcare arrangements without a week’s notice, they are still charged. For any course, you have to pay up front and turn up or lose the money. So if we are to adopt an “oh-so- very-private-sector” ethos how can this charging arrangement for YCB be allowed?

UNISON Branch Secretary John Burgess said:

“We need urgent talks between Barnet Council and Your Choice Barnet to come to an arrangement whereby YCB has a real future and our members and service users do not have to continue to take the brunt of the financial failures imposed on them by Barnet Council.”

Notes to Editors.

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

Background:

In February 2012 Barnet Council transferred Learning Disability and Physical and Sensory Impairment services for adults to a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) called Your Choice Barnet (YCB). About 160 staff (145.6 Full Time Equivalents) in Adults services transferred to the LATC.

Following a restructure in 2013 and cuts to pay on shift allowances there are now only about 105 FTE working for YCB a 30% cut in staffing levels.

Links

1. Barnet UNISON response to Your Choice Barnet Consultation Paper

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/UNISON%20response%20to%20YOUR%20CHOICE%20BARNET%20March%202014%20FINAL.pdf

2. ‘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

3. Barnet UNISON Report: The Barnet Group Ltd, Local Authority Trading Company: Privatising Adults and Housing Services London Borough of Barnet

http://www.european-services-strategy.org.uk/news/2012/local-authority-trading-company-latc-for-adult/latc-analysis-2012.pdf

4. Stop the ongoing destruction of services for adults with disabilities in Barnet petition https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-ongoing-destruction-of-services-for-adults-with-disabilities-in-barnet

 

As a result of talks at ACAS on Friday 13 June, the following agreement has been reached:

Your Choice Barnet has agreed to make a one-of payment in the July pay run to the equivalent of reinstating the 9.5% reduction for that month only to affected staff.

Talks will continue between UNISON and YCB with a view to identifying potential savings for the organisation of £400,000. Talks to be completed and all options explored by 12 July 2014.

 

On the basis of this agreement UNISON has agreed to suspend strike action.

The following are quotes from Your Choice Barnet Care workers who have had their pay cut by a minimum of 9.5%.

Our members completed an indicative ballot on the pay cut imposed by

Your Choice Barnet in which they have voted by 97% to reject the cut.

We have formally submitted a strike ballot to UNISON

On Tuesday 8 April YCB care workers will be demonstrating outside Hendon Town Hall from 6 pm to 7.30 pm.

Quotes

“I feel angry that YCB are allowed to do what they have done in reducing my pay by 9.5% it makes me feel worthless”

“I am worried about the safety of service users”

“So many agency staff working at our service the workload on permanent staff is increasing all the time”

“Barnet Council first pushed us out to Your Choice Barnet, now cutting our pay by 9.5%”

“What’s next for us Care Workers, and who’s to say these cuts will not be made to our service users?”

“1% cut to Council tax but look what that does to services.”

“My job gets increasingly more stressful and I am rewarded with a 9.5% pay cut. The future of services for people with profound disabilities in Barnet is being threatened.”

“This isn’t about now, it isn’t about our wages, it isn’t about our services, its about the vulnerable people we care for”

“This is a fight against forces politically motivated and set on a course to dismantle all that we have worked for”

“It’s a fight that we have to fight and one that we must fight to win”

“We need jobs for our family’s bills and to live; we came in to help clients and now we need help”

“I, in my role, and workplace feel a lot more under pressure, stressed, have much more responsibility, a higher workload”

“I feel angry, annoyed and not appreciated and utterly dismayed at this appalling situation and where the service users will reap the effects of this.”

“Saturdays are literally a ‘recovery day’ for me now, & many other staff”

“I am just so very tired & drained, from the level of work & pressure I am now under during the week in my workplace.”

“Being forced to take a 9.5% pay cut has made me feel not valued.”

“I have worked for Barnet for 14 years and have been committed to the service users and the service.”

“Being out of pocket £2,000 a year means not even being able to afford a holiday break for me and my family and having to scrimp even more.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Please sign this petition http://ow.ly/voFj6

 

TEN REASONS WHY WE OPPOSE ATTACKS ON YOUR CHOICE BARNET CARE WORKERS

1. Our Your Choice Barnet members should not be asked to pay for an outsourcing failure.

2. Your Choice Barnet is an outsourcing project dreamed up by highly paid consultants paid for by tax payer’s money

3. If One Barnet outsourcing is so successful and is delivering savings to protect frontline services then why are Your Choice Barnet care workers being asked to take a minimum 9.5% cut in their pay?

4. Your Choice Barnet has failed to deliver any new business growth two years after it was first created.

5. Your Choice Barnet last year needed a £1 million bail out of taxpayers’ money from Barnet Homes requiring a 6% interest repayment. Both companies are 100% owned by Barnet Council.

6. Less than nine months after receipt of a £1million loan Your Choice Barnet is looking to cut the staff bill by a further £400,000 by 1 April 2014.

7. Our members should not have their basic pay cut by 9.5% and come out of national pay bargaining just because this One Barnet outsourcing project is failing.

8. Barnet UNISON is opposed to the proposed 9.5% cut to staff salaries from 1st April 2014 and has grave concerns that there is a high probability that YCB will be coming back with further cuts for their staff.

9. Barnet UNISON is carrying out an indicative ballot of our members working for Your Choice Barnet and recommending to our members to reject this cut and seeking authorisation of an official strike ballot.

 

10. Barnet UNISON believes the proposed cuts will compromise the health, safety and wellbeing of service users.

Update on ‘Barnet Council workers receive payout after landmark legal victory’

In the Barnet Press article entitled ‘Council compensates staff made redundant’ it reports:

“A council spokeswoman said: “In the original employment tribunal, Barnet Council accepted there were shortcomings in the data given to the trade unions in respect of agency staff. We have always expressed regret that this resulted in needless litigation.”

What readers will be unaware of is that Barnet UNISON spent three years requesting this information. Indeed the requisite information had previously been provided to the Trade Unions in order to mitigate redundancies and the knock on cost to the local tax payer in redundancy pay outs.

However the Tribunal learnt that HR in 2009 decided not to provide this information and over the following three years evidence was produced to the Tribunal to show how the Trade Unions had been repeatedly refused this information.

What readers would not know is that the HR service was being led by a consultant.

The article in the Barnet Press goes on to say:

“But the authority successfully appealed against the original compensation award and the two parties eventually settled on a new figure, which the council said is well below the first amount.”

This is strange because the original award was quoted here

“Lastly, it demonstrates how expensive a mistake can be: the amount at stake of the awards concerned was noted by the EAT to be something in the order of £850,000.”

This was based on the tribunal made the following awards against the Council:

1. In relation to the 16 redundancies that took effect on 31 March 2012, the award equated to 60 days’ pay.

2. Regarding the transfer to Barnet Homes on 1 April 2012, the award was equivalent to 40 days’ pay.

3. For the transfer to NSL Ltd on 1 May 2012 the award was equivalent to 50 days’ pay.

Making a total of 150 days pay.

Barnet UNISON can report that the settlement reached on behalf of our members is as follows:

1. In relation to the 16 redundancies that took effect on 31 March 2012, the award equated to 51 days’ pay.

2. Regarding the transfer to Barnet Homes on 1 April 2012, the award was equivalent to 34 days’ pay.

3. For the transfer to NSL Ltd on 1 May 2012 the award was equivalent to 42.5 days’ pay.

Making a total of 127.5 days pay which is a significant amount of council tax payers money which could be as much as high as £650,000

Comment

It was and still is our view that this should never have happened. We had previously negotiated a sensible agreement in relation to the provision of agency worker information but this was stopped. Readers please note in 2013 Barnet Council spent £15,933,619 on Agency staff. This case demonstrates the significant financial and reputational risks when employers fails to meaningful consult with Trade Unions. It is our view the decisions by the Council to cut Trade Union Facility Time over the last four years by 90% is a high risk strategy and leaves the Council open for further claims.

“It is now 2 years since YCB came into being and still there is no evidence-based assurance of the current situation and the direction of travel. The proposals outlined in the document “Growth for Your Choice Barnet” (2014) are largely to be found in the original Business Plan 2012. This begs the question as to what has been done about this situation in those past 2 years. Growth is mentioned but with no baseline projection. Since the most favoured option of cutting staff salaries also mentions a need to grow business, and to maintain or improve staff salaries, we can only conclude there is no evidence this pay cut will be sufficient to protect future business and our members’ terms and conditions. UNISON has grave concerns that there is a high probability that YCB will be coming back with further cuts for their staff.”

To view full report click here

Your Choice Barnet (YCB) Propose a10% Wage Cut For All!

In a meeting today this is what the unions were told was the leading suggestion for YCB to remain financially viable.

We were told that the restructuring and docking of enhancements for YCB staff had already provided YCB with approx £1million savings last year. Some staff have already seen their pay reduce by around 20% already.

However, in spite of being told last year that a cut to the costs of YCB of £1million was needed and has been achieved, we are now informed YCB have proposed another cut in order to save another £400K.

YCB say this can be done by everyone (except senior managers) taking a 10% wage cut.

YCB propose to take care workers out of National Pay Bargaining and so any future Local Government pay increases will not be passed on to YCB staff. Even Capita and NSL (two private contractors) have not announced they will be coming out of National Pay Bargaining. However we were informed Capita was one of the consultancy companies used to carry out the benchmarking exercise with YCB.

YCB though is wholly owned by London Borough of Barnet.

This is yet another example of how One Barnet or a Commissioning Council outsources “difficult” decisions” to private contractors.

The obvious 10% cut is bad enough but there are other factors which make this greater than 10%.

Barnet UNISON have sent an email to YCB requesting further details as there is a lot they have not explained. Our fears are the cut could be as high as 19%.

Even without a cut UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said this about the ‘cost of living crisis’ last week:

“For the majority prices are rising faster than wages and that is bad news for the low paid, who spend a greater proportion of their cash on the basics. Our members, who are keeping public services going through difficult times, have seen the value of their pay drop by between 14% and 18%. Where’s the incentive for them?”

Barnet UNISON has checked the Your Choice Barnet (YCB) web site http://www.yourchoicebarnet.org/about-us/our-board/board-meetings/ and noticed that YCB are no longer advertising Board meetings or printing agenda or minutes.

The Board meeting which made this decision to cut the pay did so in secret.

Barnet UNISON asked if they would be consulting parents/carers/services users.

YCB said no, but added they would inform them.

YCB have published the consultation on their website here http://www.thebarnetgroup.org/news/2014/01/your-choice-barnet-salary-restructure-consultation/

Barnet UNISON have organised an evening meeting with Your Choice & Fremantle care workers on Tuesday 4 Feb in Greek Cypriot centre, North Finchley from 6pm.

 

“Is ‘Low pay, poor terms & conditions’ good for social care services in Barnet?”

In the space of seven days two groups of social care workers are facing yet more attacks on their terms & conditions. Both sets of care workers used to work for Barnet Council.

Your Choice Barnet is the Local Authority Trading Company which took over the Council provision of support services to Adults with a Learning Disability and Adults with a Physical Disability. It is has a massive hole in its budget (£1million+) and predictably is looking to make staff pay for the crisis. This crisis is entirely of London Borough of Barnet’s making as it is the sole owner of the Company and funds £5.3million of the services provided out of a total budget of £5.6million.

The unions have been invited to a meeting this Thursday 30^th January morning to be given the news about the benchmarking exercise. Consultation begins that morning and management’s current position is that it will be for 45 days.

Similarly Fremantle ex-Barnet staff are facing a similar cut to their wages. Having lost some 30% on their terms and conditions 2008, the Fremantle Trust is saying they need to take the scythe to their wages some more and cut their wages by an average of 20-25%! If implemented most of Fremantle care staff will be earning below the London Living wage. Even Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, promotes the idea of no Londoners earning below this threshold.

There is a crisis in care and the working conditions of staff in this sector. We want Fremantle and Your Choice Barnet workers to know they can work in this sector and make a living.

UNISON has organised a meeting on Tuesday 4 February at 6 pm at the Greek Cypriot Centre, Britannia Road N12 9RU, North Finchley for all of our members who work for Fremantle & Your Choice Barnet

Last June 2013 Fremantle signed a ten year contract with Barnet Council

There was some concern raised about the award here and here however the Council decided a deal was a deal and signed the contract.

Last week Richard Cornelius (Leader of Barnet Council), spoke about the decision of Barnet Council to apply a London Living Wage (LLW) rate of £8.80 per hour for all employees. He added:

“It is something we want to be part of,” he told The Press. “People should be paid enough to live on if they are going to work for us. It is something we have aspired to do for a long time.”

Barnet UNISON wholeheartedly agrees with the phrase “People should be paid enough to live on” in particular something needs to be done to address the relentless attack on the morale and well being of care workers. They have a trusted & critical role in the safe provision of care to those in need. They are some of the lowest paid workers in our society and feeling the cost of living crisis more than most.

Today Barnet UNISON submitted a London Living Wage proposal to Fremantle Trust to view our letter click here.

This is part of our wider campaign to write to all contractors delivering services on behalf of Barnet Council.