Dear Supporter
I want to take the opportunity to update you on the dates of strike action by our Your Choice Barnet care workers.
The action will be takenon 24 & 25 February in the middle of the Fair Pay fortnight (16 Feb-1 March 2015) which is highlighting around Britain's cost of living crisis.
As you know that our members had a 9.5% pay cut imposed from 1 April last year add to that the fact that prices have risen by just under 20. Before the 9.5% pay cut the impact on our members pay has seen around £3,400 stripped from the value of their wages.
This will make a total of 8 days of strike action since the dispute began. This is in a bid to reverse the harsh 9.5% pay cut imposed on them by their employer.
YCB has not met with UNISON as they have indicated they have nothing new to offer. Barnet Council has failed to become involved in a positive way at all. The Council has clearly been giving preferential treatment to its private contractors with the news of Capita receiving some£110million on top of its contract in order to keep the contract working. If YCB were to receive this, it would carry on producing a service to the residents on the scale it does for the next 18 years with no pay cut to staff!
At the same time our members are continuing to deliver a quality service to adults with disabilities, often with less staff and an increase in agency workers.
Our Commissioning Council continues to spend millions on consultants to help deliver its privatisation programme which are clearly designed to undermine our members pensions, pay and terms & conditions,
In the past two weeks I have been ashamed to see how our Council is determined to socially cleanse ordinary working people out of our borough.
I dare you not to scream at the screen when you listen to 86 year old resident facing compulsory order.
Over the week I have watched in horror as residents were being dragged out of their homes in Sweets Way and are now protesting outside the Housing offices
The 9.5% pay cut was not the only attack on our members there had already been other attacks to unsocial hours and a third of the workforce were made redundant.
The 9.5% was the final straw as members can already see the impact of a two tier workforce where staff doing the same work are being paid less money.
Our members are determined that they will not be ignored. They know the Tories could intervene to help resolve this dispute which is why they agreed the next round of strike action.
I hope you are all agree that the stakes for our care workers are high and as with the CARE UK dispute UNISON will continue to back our members fight to defend our members’ claim every step of the way.
Picket line information
1. Flower Lane Day Centre
41 Flower Lane
Barnet
London NW7 2JN
2. Rosa Morrison Day Centre
83 Gloucester Road
Totteridge
Barnet
London EN5 1NA
The start times are 7.30am to 12noon
Best wishes
John Burgess
Branch Secretary.
Barnet UNISON
0208 359 2088
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH, FROM 4 PM
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