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Why we are on strike on 8 JulySubmitted by Anonymous on Thu,
28/05/2015 - 11:02
Why are we on strike?
Six years ago Barnet Council introduced a policy known as
FutureShape which morphed into 'easyCouncil'*.This imposed a series
oftariffs on residents wishing to access a range of services. A
basicservice would be offered to residents at a fixed price, but
fast trackservices might be available if you paid extra.
This approach was quickly abandoned by the consultant driven
OneBarnet Programme, which led to the following Council
Servicesbeing outsourced/privatised in the space of three
years:
1. Social Care for Adults with disabilities to Your Choice
Barnet
2. Housing Options to Barnet Homes
3. Parking Services to NSL
4. Revenues & Benefits, IT, HR & Payroll, Pensions,
Health &Safety, Finance, Estates, Property Services,
Procurement, Projectsall now part of Capita CSG
5. Environmental Health, Planning, Building Control,
HendonCemetery & Crematorium, Highways, Trading Standards
&Licensing all now Capita RE
6. Legal Services
7. Registrars & Nationality Services
8. CCTV
9. Music Trust
10. Public Health
11. Mortuary Services.
Over the past three years our members have seen hundreds
ofcolleagues transferred to other employers. This has often
meantredundancy as the new employer has moved jobs out of the
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Barnet UNISON
borough and Greater London to places as far afield as
Belfast,Carlisle, Coventry, Southampton and Darlington.
Now we are in the final phase for what remains of Council
services.
Barnet has branded this final phase as the
CommissioningCouncil.
Very few people know what Commissioning really means, but if
youwork for the Council we all know it means that we will no longer
beworking for the Council.
On 3 March 2015 Barnet Council agreed its next FiveCommissioning
Plans all of which are looking at AlternativeDelivery Models,
jargon for working for a different employer.
The Council Services now at risk of outsourcing are:
1. Early Years 13 Childrens Centres
2. Library Services
3. Adults & Communities services
4. Street Scene Services e.g. Waste & Recycling, Street
Cleansing,Parks and Transport
5. Education & Skills and School Meals services.
Speaking to the Council
Over the past six years Barnet UNISON has made numerous,
well-documented attempts to speak to the Council. Our voice,
however,has been drowned out by expensive consultants who appear
tohave been running the Council for all this time.
We exhausted the internal procedures to try and avoid having
toregister a dispute. We finally declared a formal dispute with
theCouncil on 4 December 2014.
Despite this on 12 January 2015 Barnet Council made a decision
toput Education & Skills and School Meals services out for
sale.
Three big multinational contractors are now bidding to win a
contractvalued at almost 1bn.
We are still waiting for the Council to return to the
negotiating tablebut time is marching on.
Our members want to work for the Council, they want to be
directlyaccountable to the residents of Barnet.
Our members dont want to work for an employer which will have
toplace the shareholders legal demands before local
residentsneeds.
Our members dont want to work for an employer which uses
zerohours contracts.
Our members dont want to work for an employer which will not
paythe London Living Wage as a basic minimum.
Our members dont want to work for an employer which wont
allowtheir colleagues to belong to their Pension Scheme, and
Our members dont want to work for an employer which will
takejobs out of the borough.
Thats why 87% of our members working for the Council voted Yesto
taking strike action.
John Burgess
Branch Secretary
