Your Choice Barnet: cuts WILL affect quality

There is a lobby tonight of the Your Choice Barnet board. Campaigners against the planned cuts will be there, including parents and carers of the adults affected by the changes.

They will be objecting to the fact that their voices are being ignored. There is an interview with one of the parents, John Sullivan, in this New Statesman article.

Barnet Unison, the trade union that represents many of the staff whose pay and conditions are being cut to make ends meet, has published the following figures:

YOUR CHOICE THE FACTS

Your Choice is claiming that the proposed changes to staff terms & conditions are not going to have an impact on service quality.

For the sake of transparency UNISON is providing the [figures on] cuts and changes for staff and we will leave it for you to decide if service quality will change.

Currently Support Workers are paid £12.40-£13.56/ hr and Assistant Support Workers are paid £9.49-£10.07/ hr

* As & When hours: Your Choice rely heavily on As & When hours. We learnt that staff now working As & When have already had their rate cut by 25% before the consultation began.

* 28 support workers posts to be reduced to 8 support workers posts.

* Creation of 20.5 assistant support worker posts

* Enhancements for working evenings to be stopped

* Enhancements for working weekends to be stopped  (these are paid at time and a half)

* Staff working a 5 day week to be moved to a 7 working week with no extra pay.

* Up to a sixth of the workforce have requested and been granted voluntary redundancy.  This will have a massive impact on a client group who have built long term relationships with workers in which ‘trust’ is a critical feature of this relationship.

* Your Choice has commissioned a consultant to carry out a benchmarking exercise with the market competitors. UNISON is already aware that many of the competitors are paying 30% less and some of these well below the London Living Wage.

Welcome to Capitaville... I mean, Barnet

No great surprise that Capita, in the shape of its subsidiary Capita Symonds, are the preferred bidder for Barnet Council's second enormous One Barnet contract, Development and Regulatory Services (DRS), having already got their claws on the New Support and Customer Services Organisation contract.

Always assuming the law allows it! An appeal is pending in the Judicial Review case brought by Barnet resident Maria Nash, and all of these contracts are on hold awaiting the outcome of that.

Here is Barnet Unison's press release on hearing the news this morning about the DRS contract.

‘Capitaville’-Capita to take over more Barnet Council services

Today staff were told at a series of briefings that Capita Symonds is the preferred bidder to deliver a whole range of Council Regulatory services to Barnet residents and businesses.

 The services to be handed over to Capita include the following:

Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Hendon Cemetery & Crematoria

Barnet Council has a number of statutory responsibilities to monitor the private sector in order to ensure the health and safety of their residents. The recent high- profile national public-health scandal about the use of Horsemeat in processed foods emphasises that private companies do not adequately monitor their own activities, leaving the public at risk. If Barnet Council is allowed to privatise these services, it will set a dangerous precedent for other councils.

Barnet Council has been promoting itself as an innovator for the future of public services by adopting the Commissioning Council model. In the last 12 months the Council has overseen a significant number of services outsourced to other providers. The full list of services are here.

John Burgess UNISON Branch Secretary said: “Barnet Council is making a huge mistake in handing over these critical services to the private sector. It is not just about the risks this brings but what it means in term of democratic accountability. Next year we have the local elections in May 2014. What options will there be for the electorate if all the council spend is tied up into complex contracts? As for all the remaining staff the message is stark: no matter how loyal you are, no matter how hard you work political dogma is dictating all services are to be outsourced. Today a number of our members have chosen to wear black armbands/ black clothing as a sign of the demise of the public sector ethos in Barnet Council.”

Links

1. What is One Barnet? Watch this short animation http://ning.it/Qp5Adx

2. UNISON report on One Barnet DRS contract http://ning.it/11OQWlQ

3. UNISON financial report on One Barnet DRS contract http://ning.it/12mocvO

4. 100+ reasons why One Barnet is high risk and bad for residents and services http://ning.it/NAyJLY

5. 397 jobs “The true cost of One Barnet outsourcing” http://ning.it/11OSuMT

They call it Black Friday - don't mourn, organise!

It's the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA, the day they call 'Black Friday'.

It's not an official holiday, but it is a significant day in the American calendar, and traditionally marks the first day of the Christmas shopping season. Shops open early. This year the day will be marked in an unusual fashion by a mass strike (hopefully) of staff ('associates') of the giant supermarket chain Walmart. (The UK's Asda is a subsidiary of Walmart.)

Walmart workers are striking for better pay and treatment at work. It will be wonderful to see this group of low-paid workers fighting back, in a country where the anti-union laws are even more draconian than in the UK.

Read more about OUR Walmart, the community campaign supporting the Walmart strikers here.

Of course, here in Barnet, we are experiencing our own Black Friday. Yesterday, more than 500 Barnet Council workers learned they will either be working for the new boss Capita, or they will be out on their ear, as Capita look to boost their profits by laying off workers in Barnet and employing people on lower wages somewhere else in the country.

Barnet Council's senior officers (top managers) have decided that Capita has put in the best bid to run the Council's New Support and Customer Services Organisation (NSCSO). (They haven't asked residents what they think.)

Barnet's Tory councillors but most especially the Cabinet members who will say yes or no to this contract have just seven days to read through - or have explained to them - what's in the apparently 8,000 pages of the contract document, that has been four years in the making.

Are they going to be on top of their brief? Like hell. In fact, I can guarantee that Barnet's bloggers, members of the Barnet Alliance for Public Services, and Barnet Unison officers probably already know more of what's in that document than Barnet Council leader Richard Cornelius himself. And we will hold them to account!

Obviously, it is a hard day for those Barnet Council workers who fear losing their jobs. And those that keep them can expect that their workload could increase and their pay and employment terms be eroded. Capita, after all, have promised to do the work for less than the Council are currently paying, and they still need to show their shareholders a profit.

You do the math (as the Americans say). Most of the proceeds of privatisation come from the lowering of workers' pay and conditions.

Barnet Unison members have taken industrial action against being pushed into worse jobs or no jobs, under the One Barnet outsourcing programme. There are reasons why that industrial campaign only went on so long, reasons too complex to examine here. But I still truly believe that industrial action has a central place in the fight against outsourcing, and to defend jobs and pay, and simply to ensure that people are treated with respect by their bosses.

So, yes, it's Black Friday, but let's take our inspiration from the Walmart strikers across the pond: don't mourn, organise!

+++

Here is Barnet Unison's press release issued on Thursday:

CAPITA WINS - MASSIVE JOB LOSSES FOR BARNET COUNCIL STAFF

Today approximately 520 Barnet Council staff have been told in a series of briefings that Capita is to be their new employer.

From figures released in the presentations today approximately 57% of staff will face redundancy as local jobs are exported to Belfast, Blackburn, Bromley, Carlisle, Darwen, Sheffield, Banstead, Swindon, Southampton.

For the last four years UNISON has warned of the danger of jobs being exported out of Barnet. Leading Councillors and senior officers have either played down this risk or discounted it as irrelevant.

John Burgess, Branch Secretary said: “It is a dark, dark day in the history of Barnet Council. Staff and residents will remember this date as the day the council carried on marching over the cliff ignoring the stark warnings of residents and other key stakeholders. The implications for our members are awful. I thought the morale of the workforce had already hit rock bottom, this news I believe will drag it down deeper and it will have an impact on other council staff. I also fear for the impact on future quality of services to Barnet residents. I really hope Councillors will think again about the implications of what they are proposing and the risks of ignoring a growing dissenting community voice emerging from a resilient committed community campaign. But, it isn’t over yet, there is an alternative way to delivering public services and our campaign is still very alive and focused. Watch this space.”

Background

Barnet Council is implementing a policy known as the One Barnet Programme, sometimes referred to as the ‘Commissioning Council’. This mass privatisation policy is designed for the Council to divest itself of responsibility to deliver services to its residents.

The first One Barnet project known as New Support Customer Services Organisation (NSCSO) will be for back office services such a Finance, Revenues & Benefits, Estates, IT, HR & Payroll etc, it is estimated to be worth up to £750 million.

It involves approximately 700 council workers. There is a high probability that the winning bidder will not deliver these services from Barnet so there is a high risk of significant redundancies at the moment of transfer.

This contract will be awarded to either Capita or BT at the Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on Thursday 6 December 2012.

The second One Barnet project is known as Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) which includes the following services:

Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Cemeteries & Crematoria.

This contract, worth up to £275 million pounds, will be awarded to Capita Symonds or EC Harris at the Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on 8 January 2013.

This involves approximately 300 council workers

Both contracts are for ten years with an option to extend for a further five years.

UNISON’s position

Over the past four years UNISON has published over 40 detailed reports on the Future Shape/EasyCouncil/One Barnet mass privatisation programme.

Our message has remained clear.

Provide a level playing field and follow good practice and include a fully funded in house service improvement model to run alongside the procurement process.

Our proposal - In house model

There are a nnumber of examples of where Councils have followed this approach to good effect. Most recently Edinburgh City Council considered the potential for using private contractors to deliver a wide range of its services. It embarked on separate procurement processes for 3 blocks of services utilising the Competitive Dialogue process in an attempt to obtain the best offers available from the market. At the same time in-house teams were asked to work on service improvement plans or Public Sector Comparators, so that when it came to the award of contract, the Council could be sure that the services it was purchasing would genuinely optimise its use of scarce resources. In the end the Public Sector Comparators proved to be more attractive than any of the external offers and no contracts were awarded.

Barnet library staff to be cut from 24.5 to 6

Is it a good day to bury bad news? Hm, don't know about that, but we hear that Barnet's library staff are to be cut from 24.5 to 6 in a planned restructure. All books will be issued by machine; the 6 remaining 'frontline' staff will no longer deal with borrowers.

Management numbers will remain the same.

I'm trying to find out some more details, such as, how volunteers will be used in place of qualified staff.

Read more about this shocking cut in this report from Barnet Unison.

An injury to one is an injury to all

Following Brian Coleman's outburst at Tuesday night's council meeting, the Chair of the Barnet Council Unison branch has written this letter to members. It is worth bearing in mind, Barnet Conservatives, that one of the favourite sayings of the trade union movement is "an injury to one is an injury to all".

It is unprecedented for a Councillor to name a Council Officer (an employee of the Council) in a disparaging way in public. Why? Because a Council officer has no public right of reply. So when the employee being attacked is the branch secretary of the biggest Council union, namely our John Burgess, it is particularly offensive. The same Councillor uses sexist, denigrating language to people sitting in the public gallery.  

“Ah, but that’s Brian Coleman for you,” I hear you say, “The Councillor who just lost his GLA seat and seat on the Cabinet”. I do not much care for speculation about whether he was there to provoke or not etc. I do know this: He was asked/allowed to make a key speech for the ruling Conservative Group on a key issue facing our workforce – the One Barnet Programme. That group and the leader of that group allowed him to be their public face. Rightly or wrongly he was chosen.  

During the whole debate (and I was there throughout) Cllr Coleman made no apology. His leader, Cllr Cornelius, did not distance himself from the comments made by Cllr Coleman or insist on an apology, instead he smiles and nods approvingly. The Mayor does not choose to make any kind of statement regarding conduct expected from Councillors serving in public office but only addresses his comments to members of the public, many of them women incensed at having been insulted, nor does he choose to remind Councillors about protocols around naming employees of the Council. Cllr Harper (portfolio for Children’s Services) is clearly seen smiling when his colleague uses sexist language to residents of Barnet. What does this say about our Council’s ability to conduct Equality Impact Assessments?  

I hope you would agree with me that we think our Branch Secretary should continue writing emails on behalf of our members to the Councillors. If they think this is “increasingly desperate”, that is their problem.  

We elect our Branch Secretary precisely to represent us, amongst other things by telling the Council when we think they have got it wrong. The fact the leading Conservative Group refuses to debate with us (and we have offered many, many times over) on the detail of the One Barnet Programme, but can only resort to name calling is a critical sign of weakness in their case. Nonetheless they think they can get away with it. We must show them otherwise.  

Listen to the speech, listen to the way the Councillors express their views via Cllr Brian Coleman about you as a workforce. They just do not care about you. Now what was that about Barnet’s Values...? Who do you stand by? Come to branch meeting 25^th September.

Councillor Coleman One Barnet speech

http://youtu.be/jiGOM0LbfdA

Bite size clips of the above speech

· Councillor Coleman attacks Barnet Alliance residents in public gallery

· http://youtu.be/ViiB-RDG5kE

· Councillor Coleman calls residents old hags

· http://youtu.be/G3HeXtOWWyo

· Councillor Coleman says staff don't matter

· http://youtu.be/8uPHxKhKoKw

·  Councillor Coleman attacks staff and UNISON Branch Secretary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yofl1HfI8c

· Councillor Coleman and Leader share private joke

· http://youtu.be/LREDmOdnafI

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

Daniel Thomas's gross irresponsibility toward Barnet council staff

An astonishing story in the Barnet Press today. Having reassured Barnet council staff transferring to Barnet Homes, the arms-length management organisation that runs Barnet's social housing, that their jobs were safe for a year, Deputy Leader (!) councillor Daniel Thomas has now done a volte face - about-face.

He admits that the 76 staff involved have no guarantees they will keep their jobs after 2 April. Seeking to excuse himself from making this gross error Thomas says:

"I have to apologise to staff, the statement was prepared quickly and officers did not check with HR before issuing it.

"Although pension rights are protected and terms and conditions are protected for one year, there is no guarantee that there will be no redundancies - just as there can be no such guarantee for staff remaining within the council."

Good news all round then!

Let's imagine that Thomas was not trying to hoodwink staff before, that his words were sincere. Why, then, the man's a fool! Does he realise the effect of his words? Does he realise how anxious people are about jobs at the moment?

And what about that threat of redundancies?

Any cuts in the number of staff delivering council services in future will mean worse services for residents and worse working lives for those still in post. Remember, too, that the One Barnet Programme, of which this transfer to Barnet Homes is part, will take our taxes and give them to private companies for profits. That is a scandal to add to the scandal that Thomas's "slip-up" represents!

Oppose One Barnet privatisation! Read the full Barnet Press report here.

What will happen when Barnet revenues and benefits is outsourced?

I couldn't make it to the Barnet council Cabinet Resources Committee this evening, where the following item was to be discussed. (I expect they managed without me. They could manage without half the people on the Committee, but that's another story.)

However, I think every Barnet resident should know about the proposed outsourcing of revenues and benefits. It will affect all of us, one way or another.

Please read the press release by Barnet Unison on this issue below. You can read their report here.

UNISON warn of devastating risks of outsourcing Revenues and Benefits into a One Barnet Call Centre

Barnet UNISON has submitted a response to Barnet Council's Cabinet Resources Committee this evening. The UNISON report identifies key risks which if not addressed could have a fundamental impact on the future of the Council finances.

The report produced by Professor Dexter Whitfield says:

“The Council’s Revenue and Benefits Service administers £230m benefits each year and collects £250m council tax and over £100m business rates. This service has a major role in many people’s lives. It also has a vital role in providing resources to ensure the sustainability of Council services. Thus service continuity is essential.

"Barnet Council plans changes in service delivery and working practices (through a restructure) in Revenues and Benefits. Since the SAP CRM system was procured several years ago, followed by the proposals to fragment complex business processes, there has been a failure to recognise that a single call centre model does not work. It is interesting to note that the Business Case refers to a Performance Indicator target for the call centre of 80% of calls being handled at the first point of contact compared to current Revenue and Benefits performance of 100% of calls being handled at the first point of contact.”

John Burgess Branch Secretary commented: “The key message of our report is that if the Council gets this wrong the whole of the Council will suffer. Hackney Council residents and staff had to endure serious hardship when the outsourced Revenues & Benefits Service failed and brought the Council's finances to its knees. Services were cut or stopped and/or privatised and Council Tax hikes followed.”

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

Temporary reprieve for Barnet parking office staff?

Barnet Unison is reporting today that the transfer of Barnet's parking service from in-house to private sector company NSL has been delayed until 1 May. One can only speculate as to the reasons. It was meant to go at the end of March.

This is good news, something of a temporary reprieve, for the 30 parking office staff who have been told they will have to work from East Croydon in future, a four-hour round trip, costing each worker £2,200, the price of a zones 1-5 travelcard.

It allows some more time for the council - who are still their employers - and NSL to come to a better arrangement for the staff - if they are put under sufficient pressure!

Barnet Unison have released the following statement about the issues:

Earlier this week our members had a meet your new employer session, where a number of key questions were repeatedly raised by staff:

• Why does the back office have to move to Croydon when the Council have free office space in NLBP until 2015? 

• Does NSL operate a ticket target quota for parking wardens? 

• Will I get redundancy if I cannot travel to Croydon?

• Do you offer Argos bonus points if staff meet ticket quota targets?

When UNISON first heard that NSL were the successful bidder, our regional Head of Local Government wrote (December 20111) to the NSL Chief Executive asking a number of key questions. However because of some delays about formally declaring NSL the successful bidder we have had no response to our questions. Now that NSL have been officially announced as the new Parking provider we are seeking urgent talks.

 

Our members are asking that UNISON seek to negotiate:

• The back office continues to run from the current location on NLBP until the break clause* is activated in September 2015.
• The back office is run from the offices NSL are looking to purchase in Barnet.
• The extra costs of travel to Croydon for Council staff are paid by NSL.
• That in the event staff are unable to travel to Croydon, staff are offered the following: redeployment to a NSL workplace nearer Barnet (keeping their Council terms and conditions) or redundancy.  

Keep a look out for further updates on parking.

 

* The One Barnet programme has made it clear to all bidders for the One Barnet projects that the NLBP offices are available for the successful contractor to use until the Council can invoke the break clause stipulated in the lease.

The Friday joke's on Andrew Travers (and other senior execs at Barnet council)

A great initiative from the trade union Unison today. Their national office is calling on Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to look into Barnet council's practice of employing consultants in top posts - eg, deputy chief executive Andrew Travers.

(Yes, the second in command at our council has been employed for a long period under an arrangement similar to that which caused so much anger recently when Ed Lester, the chief executive of the Student Loans Company, was in the headlines.)

UNISON CALLS ON ERIC PICKLES TO INVESTIGATE BARNET COUNCIL

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, is calling on the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, to launch an immediate inquiry into the use of consultants at Barnet Council after public sector tax avoidance hit the headlines in the case of Ed Lester the Head of the Student Loans Company.

The union believes that the proper employment and procurement practices have not been followed exposing the Council to significant reputational and financial risks.

Eric Pickles has already had to step in and reprimand the council, after local residents and Barnet bloggers exposed the METPRO Audit scandal when METPRO a private security firm were awarded a contract at a cost of over a million pounds - without a tendering exercise, written contact or any proper invoicing - to ‘keep an eye’ on local bloggers.

Laura Butterfield, Regional Organiser at UNISON, said:

“We are really concerned that proper procedures have not been followed at Barnet Council. Over the last two years Barnet Council has employed a long list of consultants including the Deputy Chief Executive and Assistant Director of HR. Only an immediate inquiry can clarify the correct processes were followed. Given Danny Alexander’s intervention in the Ed Lester case last week how can we ensure that future cases are avoided unless all public sector employees are employed through the correct processes?"

UNISON’s key concerns

• The Council has failed to comply with its Contract Procurement Regulations (CPR) and Financial Regulations by employing consultants without any procurement/selection process being followed.– which exposes it to significant reputational and financial risks.
• The Council does not have accurate and complete centrally held contracts register and effective monitoring arrangements so are unable to confirm if this is an isolated incident.
• The Council does not have a complete, centrally held register of contractors showing who is employed, on what basis and at what cost.

We recommend that all spend over the stated threshold in the CPR be reviewed and matched to a central contracts register (in development) in a timely basis. This register needs to be drawn up in full and maintained.

Back in February 2011 the local UNISON branch submitted a report to all 63 Barnet Councillors on 10 February where they made the following recommendation:

Recommendation

The Council undertakes as a matter of urgency a review of all payments to staff not employed directly by the Council.

Furthermore we recommend that the Council refer to the HMRC Guidelines in particular the advice to be found here that explains that “It's your responsibility to correctly determine the employment status of your workers - that is, whether they're employed by you or self-employed. This depends on the terms and conditions of your working relationship with each worker.

It's important to get your workers' employment status right because it affects the way tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) are calculated for them. And it determines whether or not you have to operate PAYE (Pay As You Earn) on their earnings.”

Read full details here.

For comment or more information please contact Laura Butterfield: 07718 520850/l.butterfield@unison.co.uk

1. Student Loans chief 'to pay tax at source'

2. Pickles attacks Barnet Council

Barnet staff told their job is safe... in Croydon

I visited the Barnet Unison picket lines at North London Business Park this morning, and then went with some of the strikers to the Larches Trust in Edgware, where they plan to do a day's community work. You can see my pictures here.

A report about the strike on the BBC news website includes the following comment from deputy council leader Daniel Thomas:

"Any staff who move as part of the restructure will remain in the local government pension scheme, keep the same level of pay and have a job guaranteed for 12 months at the very least from their move.

"I'm sure many of our residents would envy that level of certainty in the current financial climate."

What they might not envy is that, in order to do their job, those staff might be required to travel two hours each way and fork out for a zones 1-5 travelcard, cost more than £2,000.

That is the current fate of the 30 or so office staff of Barnet's soon-to-be-outsourced parking service. They have been told that they must work from Croydon. The staff are, naturally, very angry. One told me this morning how he had already given up one job expressly because he wants to work locally because of his childcare responsibilities.

The parking service is due to transfer at the end of March. Please email Barnet council's chief executive Nick Walkley and your local councillors and ask them to intervene on behalf of these Barnet staff who are, frankly, being shafted. Please let me know if you get any reply; you can contact me on publicity@barnettuc.org.uk.

You can find your councillors' contact details here; Nick Walkley's email address is nick.walkley@barnet.gov.uk.

These staff wonder why they can't at least be offered a job with NSL, the company that has won the parking contract (worth £25 million), in one of its offices closer to Barnet, in Enfield, for example.

If something is not done for these staff, the first to be transfered out of council employment, other Barnet council staff will conclude that the promises made about their future are just hot air.

Support the strike against "One Barnet" privatisation

It is late notice, I know, but if anyone is able today (Thursday 9 February) to drop by a Barnet Unison picket line to show support it would be greatly appreciated.

Around 300 workers due to be transfered to private sector employment under the council's "One Barnet" outsourcing plan will be taking their fourth day of strike action.

There will be picket lines at Mill Hill Depot, Bittacy Hill, from 6-10am, and at North London Business Park from 7-10am. A number of the strikers will then go to do community work at the Larches charity in Edgware.

Please follow the branch on Twitter: @Barnet_Unison. And send messages of support to contactus@barnetunison.org.uk.

Good luck, strikers! Fighting for our services as well as for your jobs and terms and conditions!

P.S. Wrap up warm - it is going to be bitter (cold!) tomorrow.

People of the year 2011 - Barnet Unison strikers

I chose my people of the year 2011 a while ago - in 2011, in fact! But I haven't had time to write a post until now. However, this week is an apt week to do it!

My people of 2011 are the up to 400 Barnet council Unison members who took strike action in 2011.

I should be careful what description I give of the reason for their strike action, because they are careful: it is illegal to undertake a political strike. If the Unison branch struck against having their jobs privatised - as well they might - their union could be fined for an illegal strike.

Their strike then is about the 'identity of the employer', or some such formulation. It concerns the terms under which they will be transferred to a private sector employer if the 'One Barnet' mass outsourcing project goes ahead. Naturally, the strikers want terms no worse than the ones they are currently on.

That is an eminently reasonable demand! When you go for a job, you read the job advert and discuss the terms in the interview and sign a contract with those terms. If the employer wants to reduce them, s/he should have a fight on their hands!

The One Barnet project threatens, ultimately, to transfer the vast majority of Barnet council employees out of direct council employment into private sector employment. Private sector employers will, sooner or later, seek to reduce the pay or terms of employment of their new employees. They might make people redundant.

In theory, all of this saves Barnet council money, because the private sector company offers to provide services more cheaply than the council can.

You don't have to be an economics whizz to see how this works. The private company offers to save the council money, but itself wants to make a profit. Where does the squeeze come? On the workers - and also on the quality of the services!

Support staff for the soon-to-be-privatised parking service in Barnet have been told they can keep their jobs - if they are prepared to travel to Croydon to do them. The annual travel card will cost them £2220.

NSL, who have won the £25 million contract, recently lost at an employment tribunal brought by a former employee. Nutsville blog has all the detail on this case, but here is one of the summary findings of the judges:

The real reasons for the Claimant’s dismissal were (i) his opposition to the Respondent’s clandestine quota system relating to the issuing of parking contravention notices, and (ii) his trade union activities...

What a pleasant company to work for!

The Barnet Unison members who have been on strike so far are those working in the services first up for privatisation: parking, revenues and benefits, development and regulatory services...

As more council services come into scope for privatisation, more council workers are likely to take industrial action. None of them does it lightly. There is a price to pay: lost wages; stress; friction with management. Taking industrial action, and striking in particular, requires people to break from their usual routine; to take on unaccustomed roles. They might have to take issue with managers who are more used to being in charge. They might have uncomfortable experiences with workmates who don't take part in the action.

But they also can gain confidence and find talents they didn't know they had. Most people are changed by taking industrial action, almost always for the better! It can be a difficult but a positive experience.

Most important, it is the only way, when you are faced with an assault from managers who won't back down, to fight for yourself and your colleagues - and, often, the people you serve.

Barnet Unison members are fighting for their jobs, in many cases for their professional pride, and also for the quality of Barnet council services. Barnet residents have every reason to get behind them and give them our support! For this reason, Barnet Unison strikers are my people of the year 2011, and probably of 2012 as well!

Barnet Unison members will strike this Thursday 9 February. Please visit them to lend support on their pickets at North London Business Park, Barnet House and Mill Hill depot, from 8-10am. The strikers are then going to do some community work in the borough, among other activities... Visit the union's website here.

The mercury is falling - it's demonstration season in Barnet

What is it about us? In Barnet, we wait for the coldest months of the year, and then rush outside to wave our placards.

This time last year, we held the Barnet march against cuts. It's logical, given that those cuts are now working their way through, and individual services and groups of residents are directly feeling the squeeze, that this year there should be a number of small, single issue protests.

Tomorrow, to remind you again, the Save Friern Barnet Library campaign are joining in National Libraries Day, with a march from Friern Barnet (old) town hall -assemble 2pm - to Friern Barnet library. I hope to get along.

This Monday (6 February), some of the traders facing economic ruin as a result of the new parking charges and 'pay by mobile' (an attempt to 'optimise' revenue income by the council) will hold a demonstration. Details (via Barnet Eye Roger Tichborne):

North Finchley Traders are organising a protest against Barnet Council's extortionate car parking charges on Monday morning at 10am. The traders are holding a funeral for the local high street, together with coffin. The Master of Ceremonies will be dressed as Brian Coleman, the Councillor responsible for the parking charges.

For more details contact Helen Michael on 07835 133355.

Meet at Cafe Buzz, North Finchley, 9.30am.

Please make every effort to promote this protest and support your local High Street traders.

I will be leafleting early morning at North London Business Park to build public support for the strike by Barnet Unison on Thursday. I hope to get away to photograph the demonstration, as well.

In relation to social conflicts, the French often talk about a 'hot autumn'. Englishmen and women (and mad dogs?) like to march in the snow. At least, they do in Barnet.

Diary date: Thursday 9 February, strike against One Barnet and for public services

An important message from Barnet Unison:

Strike against One Barnet and for public services

On Thursday 9 February we are embarking on our fourth day of strike action which will mark a sustained campaign of activity to highlight our fight to remain council employees.

Our members are proud to serve the residents of Barnet.

As I have said over the last four years our UNISON branch is facing the most fundamental challenge in our history.

· 1 February 2012: 130 care workers transfer to the Local Authority Trading company

· 1 April 2012: 90 housing workers transfer to Barnet Homes

· 1 April 2012: all of the parking service transfer to NSL

· 1 April 2012: all of legal service transfer to Harrow Council

Development and Regulatory Services (DRS) and the New Support Organisation/Customer Services Organisation (NSO/CSO) projects enter Dialogue 2 process and if continued will transfer all the staff in January 2013.

All the above would involve approx 2,000 council workers and over £2 billion of council business over the next 10 years.

Wave 2 of One Barnet is about to begin - it will involve all the depot based staff, eg, refuse, street cleaning, grounds maintenance, approximately 1,000 staff. The likely transfer date for this group of services could be the end of 2013.

What is left?

Social workers and commissioners, approximately 500 staff. The Local Authority Trading Company has been set up to take other council services and we believe that social work will eventually be outsourced, leaving a core 300.

But there is still a strong fighting spirit in our branch and amongst our members to defend our services and jobs.

Please send messages of support to contactus@barnetunison.org.uk. We also need you all to spread the word of our struggle via Facebook ("Barnet Unison") and Twitter (@barnet_unison).

Best wishes,

John Burgess
Branch Secretary
Barnet UNISON

020 8359 2088

www.barnetunison.me.uk

2011 - a year of protest in pictures including quite a few taken in Barnet!

Taking my cue from fellow Barnet bloggers – who have been an inspiration all year – here is my words and pictures review of Barnet 2011. What a year it’s been!

JANUARY – the Barnet march against cuts and privatisation marched slowly from Finchley Central tube station to the Arts Depot. The picture reminds me of the very diverse opposition to Barnet Conservative council’s plans that is there to be rallied. It also reminds me of the fun I have had taking pictures this year!

FEBRUARY – the struggles for democracy in the Middle East were inspiring to anyone with a heart. Although the future still looks rocky throughout the region, the courage and audacity of people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria reminds us how dearly people prize freedom and how dearly they pay to win it. The picture is of a joyous demonstration in Trafalgar Square by Egyptians when Mubarak left power.

MARCH – the TUC at last, to use a phrase common among leftists, got off its knees and went so far as to organise a “March for the alternative” in London. Barnet trade unionists and residents were among half a million people who wended their way to Hyde Park where the speakers were quickly over and away. Ed Miliband rushed through the part of his speech, which said, “some cuts are necessary”. Most media attention was on the sideshow on Piccadilly – how protests are policed will be a recurring theme of the year.

APRIL – the Pinkham Way Alliance lobbied Barnet council against the proposed siting of a huge waste processing plant in their midst. The MetPro scandal, demonstrating the poor control Barnet council has over its procurement and contract monitoring, was surfacing at the same time so “Trust” was a big issue.

MAY – a weekday evening, central London demonstration against Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill was one among many manifestations of anxiety about the government’s plans to privatise the NHS.

JUNE – among the Conservative and Lib Dem government’s many attacks on working people, their plans to make public sector workers work longer, pay more and get less in pensions began to provoke anger among trade unionists. NUT, PCS, UCU and some smaller unions all struck on 30 June. Here is Barnet NUT on the central London march that day.

JULY – the anti-cuts and privatisation campaign Barnet Alliance for Public Services took a small protest to Westminster to the HQ of Capita, one of the big outsourcing companies bidding to run Barnet council services – for a small consideration of £275 million (that’s one of the "One Barnet Programme" contracts – there are more). While there has been a lot of protest about big business evading tax, there has not been enough public scrutiny or dissent over the handing over of big sackfuls of our cash to the MNCs to run our public services.

AUGUST – hundreds of Barnet council employees organised by their union Barnet Unison have taken industrial action this year, worried about the terms under which they will go into private sector employment if the council’s One Barnet privatisation plan goes ahead. Here workers in Revenues and Benefits picket North London Business Park on 6 August against an attempt to break their work-to-rule.

SEPTEMBER – dubbed “Barnet Independence Day”, 13 September saw a big strike by Barnet council workers being “bundled up” for transfer to the private sector. The picture is from a rally in front of Hendon Town Hall.

OCTOBER – central government has given local authorities less money this year so that rich bankers and corporations do not need to tighten their belts like the rest of us. Barnet council along with others has resorted to desperate measures to plug the gaps in its finances. In addition to making cuts, “Revenue Income Optimisation” involves such things as increases in parking charges, which are proving disastrous to local business, and the commercialisation of public spaces through charging funfairs a fee to use them.

NOVEMBER – student protests against cuts, higher tuition fees and now the Higher Education White Paper resumed in the new academic year. A march on 9 November was effectively a moving kettle, as the police had tightened up considerably their control of protests. The young woman in the picture is looking at a companion “kettle” of electricians who have been striking and protesting to defend their pay bargaining system.

DECEMBER – the picture is from 30 November, the day of the big pensions strike, which saw perhaps two million public sector workers on strike. December has been a period when the government attempts to pounce on and stifle the dispute, which has so far united teachers, civil servants, local government workers and more.

***

My pictures from 2011 show the efforts of many throughout the year, which must be joined by the efforts of many more in the weeks and months ahead. To any faltering and wavering trade union leaders looking to settle the pensions dispute quickly and run, I say we’ve come too far to retreat now! To ordinary trade union members, I say hold your leaders to account and make sure they do what is best for you not them! And to anyone not yet in a union I say, isn’t it time you joined one?!

Here’s to the battles of 2012!

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!

Support the Barnet Unison strike on Tuesday 18 October

I can't do better to explain what is happening tomorrow when Barnet Unison members will stage their second one-day strike, than reproduce the Barnet UNISON Press Release from this morning 17 October 2011. Please note, there is a packed programme of events, where Barnet residents can catch up and support the strikers, defending their jobs but also the quality of our services:

UNISON MEMBERS TO TAKE STRIKE ACTION & ASK COUNCIL TO DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY

300 UNISON members will be taking one day strike action on Tuesday 18 October as part of a Trades Dispute which concerns the identity of the employer.

Unlike other strike action there is a twist.

On the picket line outside the headquarters of Barnet Council (North London Business Park) UNISON members will stage a short piece of street theatre to demonstrate the dangers of the One Barnet Programme to residents, services and staff.

There will be two performances at 9am and 9.30 am.

At 10.30 am a number of strikers will be taking a coach trip across the borough in order to provide help and assistance to a local charity which is in desperate need of help. The strikers will spend the rest of the day carrying a number of tasks for the charity.

UNISON members are calling on the Leader of Barnet Council not to pocket the money he has saved from the strikers and instead donate that money to the Mayor’s Charity.

• Barnet Young Carers And Siblings 'BYCAS'
• The Outward Bound Trust
• The Alzheimer's Society

Later on the same day other UNISON members are supporting ‘Operation RESDIENTS MUST KNOW!’ by handing out newspapers and leaflets to Barnet residents outside tube stations across Barnet.

The day’s activity will end with a Candlelight Vigil outside Hendon Town Hall from 6.30 pm before the Planning Committee begins.

Barnet Easy Council is promoting the ‘One Barnet Programme’ (OBP) which is being rolled out across all council services. They previously identified up to £3 Million to implement what was called Future Shape policy. The latest brand, the One Barnet Programme, has £9.2 million budget to pay the bills of expensive consultants to carry out this mass outsourcing programme. The workforce implications of OBP could be that 70% of the council workforce could be transferred to the private sector in little more than 15 months' time.

John Burgess Barnet UNISON Branch Secretary said:

“The Council is gambling that the private sector can deliver £100 million savings over the next 10 years. We have seen no evidence to substantiate these claims. In other parts of the country we have seen the consequences of such blind allegiance to public sector bad private sector good. Our members are not daft; they can see that redundancy and cuts to jobs and services are behind the transfer from the council to a private sector contractor.

"Strike action is always a last resort, for the last three years we have been asking for a genuine dialogue with the council to explore ways to save money, improve services.

"Barnet UNISON is asking for the One Barnet Programme to be put on hold whilst meaningful talks with staff, trade unions and residents take place to look at alternatives to the One Barnet Programme."

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

Volunteer staff in Barnet libraries - the union view

Barnet Unison branch, which represents a number of the Barnet libraries staff, have asked their members what they think of Barnet council's plan to use more volunteers to staff libraries.

Here is a summary report of the consultation:

In September 2010 consultation began on the Library Strategic Review. In Barnet UNISON’s report submitted to the Cabinet meeting on 26 July 2011 we expressed concerns about the proposals to use volunteers in Barnet libraries. At the end of August 2011 management presented the details of the proposed volunteer programme to the trade unions and to service managers the following week. Since then Barnet UNISON has been consulting with its members on the proposals and the following questions and concerns have been raised. These have been put forward to libraries senior management and we await a response.

Of particular concern are:

i) The creation of roles for volunteers that cover key functions of employed library staff and grounds maintenance staff.

ii) Lack of consultation over changes to terms and conditions of library staff.

iii) The implementation and ongoing costs of the volunteer programme, along with lack of financial analysis of said programme.

iv) Increased workload for an ever decreasing workforce that will be placed on them as a result of having to train and supervise volunteers along with potential for high turnover and lack of consistency of volunteers.

v) Fears of staff that they will lose their jobs to volunteers.

vi) Fears that the excellent standard of Barnet Library service will decrease as volunteers are used to provide the services provided by experienced, professional staff whose posts are to be deleted.

You can read the full report here.

Barnet Eye interview with John Burgess, Barnet Unison

The Barnet Eye blogger Roger Tichborne has a very good interview with the secretary of Barnet Unison, John Burgess, about the strike action yesterday. If you haven't seen it yet, do have a look!

I expect Roger would be more than happy to interview senior council management - Nick Walkley, the Chief Exec, in the first place - and members of the leading Conservative group to get their side of the story...

No? Don't fancy it? Why not? You plan to put the bulk of council services out to tender, surely residents deserve a few minutes of your precious time to tell us why you think it's such a good idea.

Anyway, here's that interview with someone who is prepared to face the public.