Lib Dem Sutton Council cuts Carers' wages by 40%

London UNISON press release:-

"Care staff lobbied London Borough of Sutton Council Adult Services Committee tonight (Tuesday19th June) and handed in a letter to the Committees chairman Councillor Colin Stears to highlight the plight of dedicated care staff

50 care workers looking after vulnerable London Borough of Sutton residents/clients with learning difficulties (previously known as mental handicap). employed by MCCH (a registered charity) are facing the prospect of a 40% cut in their pay, equivalent to £10,000 per annum, some of our qualified nurses face even larger pay cuts.

Many of the clients are ex-Orchard Hill (Carshalton) NHS patient/clients/residents who have been relocated into the community in 2008. The staff have cared for the residents/clients over many years and as former NHS employee have always taken pride in the quality of care they provide.

When Orchard Hill closed, as a NHS employee they were transferred to MCCH (a registered charity) under TUPE arrangements the staff were reassured these arrangements would protect our terms and conditions into the future. They also hoped the London Borough of Sutton would honor those arrangements after it took control of the contract from the NHS.

However, now the care the clients receive and the pay and condition of care staff are facing significant detrimental changes. UNISON understands that the London Borough of Sutton have notified MCCH that they intend to cut significantly the hourly rate they are willing to pay for care.

The Council officers have stated that the reason for the high level of cuts in funding, is due to Central Government ‘s reduction in Council funding, yet as recently as 14th June 2012 Government Ministers have stated that far from being cut extra resources were being made available for Adult Social Service.

The cuts are such, that the pay falls well below that agreed by the Mayor’s London Living Wage commitment of £8.30 and at £7.60 represents a significant cut in our hourly pay. Apart from the loss in pay, the care staff are also set to have cuts to our holiday leave entitlement, sick pay entitlement, London weighting and our pension for our retirement axed.  Those single mothers employed by the organisation face particular hardship and now face the prospect of losing their homes as a direct result of these proposals.

Michael Walker UNISON Regional Officer states "The experience of cuts of this magnitude elsewhere in care services has led to the loss of dedicated staff who the clients know and trust, problems recruiting quality staff and high turnover of staff.  "The situation is very grave for the is group of long serving and dedicated care staff, UNISON is not going to stand ideally by and watch a spiral of pay cuts to develop in the care sector"

"We urge the London Borough of Sutton to reopen discussions with UNISON and the MCCH to resolve this intolerable and devastating proposal".  Kim Brown UNISON Steward at MCCH states  "The care staff are truly shocked at the level of pay cuts they are being expected to accept and have no idea how they will be able to pay their bills.

"Some long serving staff are informing UNISON that the cuts in pay are so severe that their take home pay is equivalent to that they were paid 10 years ago, in 2002, Other staff are informing us that their own sons and daughters are earning more at local supermarkets"

NOTE: Paul Burstow MP is the local MP for Sutton and is the Governments Community Care Minister. London borough of Sutton is a Liberal Democratic Controlled Council

UNISON NDC 12: TUPE - Dealing with the challenge of privatisation and austerity cuts

On Tuesday evening there was a fringe  event on TUPE. Speakers were Dave Johnson, UNISON head of private contractors and community and Shantha David, Legal Officer, UNISON Centre and the meeting was chaired by AGS Karen Jennings.  Who was pleased that so many delegates were not tempted by the free Rum being offered at the Cuba Solidarity event next door.

Some key points:- TUPE is all about preserving existing rights not create new rights. It should apply if the "undertaking" continued and retained its economic identity after transfer. Unions can take legal action over Unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages or failure to inform and consult.  If you refuse to transfer you will only be able to prove unfair dismissal if you can prove that you face a significant deterrent after transfer. Which is difficult to prove.

Any post transfer variation to pay would be void if carried out for reason of harmonisation with other workers. Vital to have a clear "paper trail"to prove any failure to inform and consult. Dave Johnson shared some interesting advice about what to do with employers who try and use "Austerity" as a justification for breaking TUPE protection (an Economic, Technical or Organisational reason) which I will not post upon but members can get advice from their branches and region.

UNISON will be publishing updated advice on TUPE and procurement soon. We need to improve TUPE especially over consultation before transfer. Work with the Labour Party to change TUPE when they are next in power.

In the Q&A that took place afterwards there were many "horror" stories about what some employers are planning or have done. UNISON members are very worried by these attacks as well as the complexity and uncertainty of TUPE.

(NB this post based on my twitter feed)

Rachman Employers: A Branch Secretary Report

On Thursday it is the UNISON Housing Association Branch AGM. This is my contribution to our annual report.

"2011 was a pretty rubbish year for many members. We either had no pay rise or one far below inflation. While in Care and Support, many employees have had their pay, terms and conditions cut. There has been redundancies and job insecurity. The TUPE transfer of staff to Rachman landlords who claim to be “charities” and “social” landlords yet win contracts by deliberately putting in uneconomic bids. Then once they win, they sack, slash, burn and bully staff into leaving or taking huge pay cuts. Knowing full well that at the same time they are putting vulnerable clients at risk. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

But it was not only doom and gloom. The lesson of 2012 is also where we had good union organisation, where there was a higher density of members and an active steward structure, we were able to better defend members, protect jobs and conditions. We made a real difference.

The Public Service Pension strike in November 30th also showed our employers that the branch can deliver effective strike action and picketing. I suspect there will be further such disputes in the future although industrial action will always be very much a last resort.

2012 will be a very difficult year as well. From April, the Government will double the length of time needed to claim unfair dismissal from 12 months to 2 years and is proposing changes to ACAS guidelines to “simplify” dismissal procedures. It is even contemplating introducing “no fault” sacking where you could be dismissed by your employer (with minimum compensation) without them even having to give you a reason. Also from April, if you have been unfairly treated or even discriminated against by your employer you may have to pay up to £1750 to go to a tribunal. I could go on and on about attacks over health and safety, redundancy consultations, TUPE etc.

Workers have to realise that they cannot depend on the “law” to protect them at work. The best defence is a strong union and collective action. So help yourself (and your union) by recruiting a work colleague, going to local union meetings and think about becoming a steward or a health & safety rep.

Finally many thanks to the activists, stewards, branch staff and of course our tireless UNISON full time Regional organiser Colin Inniss for all their hard work during the last 12 months".

John Gray, Branch Secretary

“Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too.” (Google it)

Employment Law Prospects 2012: Workers are going to be stuffed

This is from the newsletter published yesterday by Employment Law Barrister Daniel Barnett:-

"Expected Developments in Employment law" 2012 (my comments in italics)

"31 January
closure date for calls for evidence on the effectiveness of TUPE and the scope of the collective redundancy rules - may result in a formal consultation later in the year (TUPE protection will be brought down to the absolute minimum and you could be made redundant in just 30 days)

1 February
new tribunal award limits come into force (Good but still inadequate)

6 March
consultation closes on fees in tribunals and the EAT (It could cost you around £1750 to go to an employment tribunal - far more if you want to appeal)

April
expected that qualifying period for unfair dismissal will increase to 2 years · various tribunal reforms to take effect, e.g. increase in deposit orders and costs awards (bad)· unpaid parental leave to increase to 4 months · working time rules to be amended to allow holiday to be carried forward in limited circumstances · maternity/paternity/adoption pay increases · SSP increases (you could be sacked for no good reason after 1 year 11 months and you will have no effective legal remedy)

October
pensions auto-enrolment begins for larger employers (Good) · national minimum wage may increase, depending on what the Low Pay Commission recommends in February (wait and see)

Developments with no confirmed date but likely to be progressed in 2012
penalties for employers who breach of employment rights (Good but expect wrist slap)· early compulsory ACAS conciliation of all tribunal claims (possibly good) · amendment of whistleblowing rules so that disclosures about breaches of employment contracts are no longer covered (Bad) · compromise agreements to be simplified (possibly good) · consultation on 'protected conversations' between employers and staff about employment issues without risk of dispute (your employer could bully you out of your job legally without protection)· consultation on rapid resolution scheme as alternative to tribunal for low-value and straightforward disputes (Fixed penalty ticket justice?)

· Acas Disciplinary and Grievance Code to be 'looked at' with a view to a simpler dismissal process (nuf said?)

Do not expect the "law" to protect you at work. Time to join a union for collective protection and the Labour Party to get rid of this Government in 2015.