Barnet Unison strikers help out at charity

Barnet Unison members on strike yesterday against the council's outsourcing "One Barnet Programme" donated a day's labour to a Barnet charity, the Larches Community. Too often the media reflect right-wing politicians' image of union members, and strikers in particular, as selfish, greedy people. The truth, of course, is quite different.

In Barnet, Unison members are concerned for what will happen to their jobs if they are privatised, but they are also concerned about the quality of the public services they deliver. Council workers, after all, are members of the community as well, who value good schools, health and council services as much as everyone else.

After doing picket line duty, that included street theatre showing the likely effects of privatisation on services, several of the Barnet workers went over to Edgware to help out with various tasks - some photos below taken from this great set. It looks tiring, but it probably beats standing around a brazier!