100 days to stop this crazy outsourcing

100 days to stop £750m of our money and the fate of most of our council services being handed over to a private company to profit from, if they can.

Barnet Tories' mandate to do this? They don't have one. It was not even mentioned in their manifesto for the 2010 local elections.

Please sign this petition calling on them to put the scheme to a vote of residents.

We are also collecting signatures on paper. Please download from here and approach neighbours, family, friends, workmates. Thank you!

Barnet Unison press release today:

100 days to One Barnet Billion Pound Gamble  

In 100 days time on Thursday 6 December at 7pm in Hendon Town Hall members of Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee will formally award a contract to either BT or Capita.  

The first contract known as New Support and Customer Services Organisation (NSCSO) will be for back office services such as Finance, Revenues & Benefits, Estates, IT, HR & Payroll, etc. It is estimated to be worth up to £750 million pounds over 10 years with an opportunity to extend for a further five years.  

In spite of mounting opposition within the workforce and the community the Council remains convinced that privatisation works.  

Barnet Council continues to ignore even the wise words of Sir Merrick Richard Cockell, Conservative Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Chairman of the Local Government Association, who

called into question the belief that local authorities should be looking to "outsource everything". There were some services better performed by the private sector, but the quality of other services run by councils with the "tightest budgets" had been "underestimated".

2012 has already seen Barnet Council workers being transferred out of the Council including:  

* Adult social care  

* Parking services  

* Housing services  

* Legal Services**  

The NSCSO project involves more than 770 staff, most of whom are at risk of their jobs being transferred out of London.  

UNISON has repeatedly offered to meet with the Leader of the Council to discuss an alternative to the high risk £billion pound gamble being promoted by consultants.  

Branch Secretary John Burgess said:

“If the private sector can do things differently so can the Council in which case all of the savings come back to the tax payers of Barnet instead of big business.”

** Legal Service staff are due to be transferred out of the council on 1st September 2012.

Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738 389569 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk