Don't waste your chance to save police services

The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections are the public's last chance to save policing services from privatisation, UNISON warned today.

As hundreds of UNISON members gathered for a demonstration outside Cardiff City Hall, where delegates from across the UK had gathered for the annual UNISON Police and Justice Conference, the message was clear - use your vote, or lose your public policing services.

Ben Priestley, UNISON national officer for police staff said:

"This is the public's last chance to keep policing services public. People need to use their vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 15 November to elect a candidate that is committed to keeping those services public.

"Privatisation of the policing and probation services will lead to fragmentation, a race-to-the-bottom in terms of service quality as well as undermining public trust in the service. Police staff are there to protect the public, not to line the pockets of shareholders.

"These elections mark an important turning point in our campaign against police privatisation; opinion polls show that the public do not want their policing services to be privatised, so they have to use their vote carefully if they want to keep their services public."

Peter Saville, Branch Secretary, Kent Police UNISON said:

"We're really concerned about the way this government is going down the road of wanting to hive off everything to private contractors. We will lose the ethos of policing, and the police staff behind the scenes."

John Green, a member of Kent Police UNISON branch said:

"We provide a really good public service, and we can't afford to let the Conservative government take us down the privatisation route. Its not going to be better for the public; it means some rich fat cat friends of David Cameron will get richer while the service goes down as a result."

The Police and Crime Commissioner elections are taking place on 15 November, and once elected, candidates will decide the future direction of police services in terms of privatisation and outsourcing.

A recent survey from the union revealed that more than 60% of the public do not want policing services to be privatised.

Facility time cuts make no sense warns UNISON

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, said today that cuts to civil service facility time, announced at the Tory party conference, make no sense for the taxpayer. The union is warning that the continual attacks on public service workers by Government, makes the need for fair and well-trained union representation for workers more vital than ever.

Independent research* in 2012 revealed that facility time saves the taxpayer money by providing a ready-made structure for meaningful consultation and negotiation. It also improves workplace relations and helps organisations to cope with change, such as the huge cuts, job losses and reorganisations that are currently hitting the public sector.

Research commissioned by the Department for Business in 2007 suggested that effective and engaged union representation saves the public purse between £170m and £400m a year by improving retention, training take-up, health and safety, and dispute resolution; and as much as £3.6bn a year through general productivity gains.

Karen Jennings, UNISON Assistant General Secretary, said:

“The government needs to look at the evidence instead of indulging in ideological attacks on unions. Cutting facility time does not make any sense for the public sector or for the taxpayer. Take this away and the government would have to pay for expensive consultants, and mediators – costing a fortune.

“It is staggering, that at a time when austerity has plunged the economy into double dip recession, Ministers are distracted by yet another attack on workplace representation”.

*A report by NatCen Social Research revealed that:

Facility time provides a ready-made structure for meaningful consultation and negotiation saving organisations money and providing reassurance to employees that their views are valued in decision-making.

It allows partnership working with trade unions that improves workplace relations and the reputation of an employer as ‘a good place to work’.

It allows earlier intervention into complaints, grievances and disciplinaries, preventing escalation into more serious problems. This saves organisations and taxpayers’ money by reducing the impact on staff time and possible legal costs.

It brings about better communication, helping to manage change during restructuring and redundancy processes; thereby improving understanding of decisions, minimising negative impacts and reducing the number of working days lost through industrial action.

The report concludes that “Where reps were released or seconded from their substantive posts the quality of representation and availability of reps was further improved because reps were able to focus further on their duties, prepare better for discussions with managers and build up relationships of respect trust with managers over time.”

The full report can be found here: http://www.unison.org.uk/file/Value%20of%20Union%20Facility%20Time%20-%20FULL%20REPORT%20_FINAL_.pdf

Crisis of failing homecare services an outrage - UNISON

The current system of homecare is failing the people who receive it and the people who provide it, UNISON said today.

A new report from the UK's largest union has revealed widespread concern from homecare workers that short visit times and changing client lists are severely impeding their ability to provide quality and continuity of care.

Many workers have reported 'topping up' care, by providing additional unpaid care in their own time, to the detriment of their own personal lives.

The union described the treatment of those receiving care and workers - who are among the most poorly paid in the country - as an outrage.

Key findings include:

. 79.1% of respondents reported that their work schedule is arranged in such a way that they either have to rush their work or leave a client early to get to their next visit on time.

. 57.8% of respondents were not paid for their travelling time between visits, which results in many being paid below the national minimum wage.

. 41.1% are not given specialist training to deal with their clients' specific medical needs, such as dementia and stroke related conditions.

. Only 43.7% of respondents see fellow homecare workers on a daily basis at work. This isolation is not good for morale and impacts on the ability to learn and develop in the role.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:

"This report has highlighted the very real crisis of our current homecare system, which is failing both the people receiving care, and the people providing it.

"Short visiting times, and ever-changing client lists are severely limiting the ability of homecare workers to provide quality and continuity of care. But they are speaking out, and they are rightly appalled.

"It is an outrage that homecare workers, who provide care to some of the most vulnerable people in our society, remain so poorly treated and badly paid. Homecare workers show their real commitment and passion for this valuable public service on a daily basis but it is not right that are propping up a failing system by providing care in the own time, to their own personal cost.

"The value of their work, and the contribution they make to the communities they serve must be recognised.

"This report sadly shines a light on the reality for many people who rely on homecare - a production line mentality which limits the ability of staff to carry out their duties, and puts the dignity of those receiving care second to meeting arbitrary targets.

"It is time for the councils who commission or provide these services to take responsibility for the welfare of those who receive, and provide them."

Homecare workers report that the sheer volume of clients, and the pressures of under-staffing, have lead to 'call cramming' - where visits must be cut short to fit them all in. The consequences, as the testimonials reveal, can be harrowing. (See notes).

UNISON has put together an Ethical Care Charter to assist councils who provide or commission home care to help ensure this care is of the best possible quality.

Key points include:

. Workers to have the freedom to provide appropriate care and being given time to talk to their clients

. Clients will be allocated the same homecare worker(s) wherever possible

. The time allocated to visits will match the needs of the clients. In general, 15-minute visits will not be used as they undermine the dignity of the clients

. Homecare workers will be paid for their travel time, their travel costs and other necessary expenses such as mobile phones

. Visits will be scheduled so that homecare workers are not forced to rush their time with clients or leave their clients early to get to the next one on time

ENDS

Below are some examples of on-the-job experiences of homecare workers who responded to our survey:

" A client was not answering her door so I rang the office so they could phone the client. There was no answer and I was told to abort the call but I refused, as I was sure the client was in. She was and had had a fall. She was hospitalised and later died."

"I left a client with a burst water pipe. Was told to leave even though she was 93 years old and could not pick up a bowl and bucket of water."

"An elderly lady was being sick; I called the doctor but couldn't wait for him to arrive as I had to go to my next visit."

" Have had to leave a client with open sores as was not able to contact family to get them to apply dressing. Have had to leave pills out for a client with dementia as she was failing to take them."

Ed Miliband speech

“This was the day Ed Miliband showed that he was Prime Minister material. He delivered a truly inspirational vision of a fairer united Britain under the next Labour Government.

“He offered a vision and hope to the young, to the vulnerable, to the sick and to the elderly based on decency and fairness. And he set out a new way forward for our nation.

“He has shown that he is not afraid to take on the banks or big business to make them operate in the interests of the nation to at last begin to redress the gross inequalities in our society

“But he offered little hope to the millions of low-paid public service workers teaching assistants, dinner ladies, care workers who are going through massive pay cuts, their jobs threatened and their services privatised. Until he can offer them hope, it will be difficult for them to vote Labour again. One Britain should include these workers”.

01/10/2012

Time for Labour to show it stands for what is right - UNISON

In his speech to Labour party conference UNISON general secretary, Dave Prentis, called on the party to stand up for what is right, to show its support for a future that works, and to campaign for an alternative to the coalition’s brutal austerity agenda.

He said that people wanted hope – not economic lectures – from their leaders, and called on the party to prove while in opposition that it understands the terrible impact the government’s cuts agenda is having on the lives of so many families.

Urging the party to show its support on 20 October, he said it was time for the party to do on a national level what UNISON is doing locally – building a movement that will sweep the ‘wretched coalition’ from office, and put Labour back in government

The full speech can be found below:

“Our economy is in crisis: the worst recession in 70 years; families are plunged into poverty; kids going without hot meals and winter clothes; and prices rocketing, while pay is plummeting.

“The indignity of food banks – this is Tory Britain.

“Inequality in Britain not seen since Victorian times, with loan sharks pushing pay day loans to desperate families who are sinking in a sea of debt.

“Our people suffering the longest period of falling wages since the 1920s while the wealth of the richest soars. A divided Britain of rich and poor; where inflation and a vicious pay freeze is wrecking lives.

“A new class of working poor, our people hit hardest as they look to Labour – our party – for hope.

“Conference, our fight for fair pay is with no one in this room. No one in this room is the enemy and no one in the leadership of our party gains by undermining our efforts to defend our members and their families.

“Our fight is with the Tories – that self serving elite who have never believed in fair pay – never believed in public service

“And to those who believe that driving down further the pay of public service workers will save jobs, I say you are wrong. Wrong morally and wrong economically.

“The reality is that our people have already had a 10% pay cut as wages have been frozen and the cost of food, petrol, housing has soared. And we’re still losing jobs – 700,000 of them!

“In the real world where our members - overwhelmingly low paid women – are struggling, looking for hope.

“They look to Labour in opposition to understand what they are going through. More than anything, they want hope from our leaders ¬– not economic lectures, which simply justify a Tory agenda.

“They want Labour in opposition to be in touch, to show that they are on the side of those harmed by the coalition.

“They want Labour, in opposition, to fashion an economic alternative that does not leave ordinary people in any doubt that Labour speaks and acts for them.

“Our fight with the Tories isn’t just about pay or jobs. It’s about the kind of society we leave to our children. It’s about protecting and defending the rights our grandparents fought for: our NHS, our welfare state.

“Challenging the broken ideology that says markets know best. We need our leaders to stand with us, not sit on the sidelines or piano stool.

“Times are tough; so many struggling – care workers, teaching assistants, dinner ladies – fighting to make ends meet, ordinary working people who had nothing to do with this financial crisis but who are now paying the price.

“If our members – the people we rely on to provide our public services ¬– if they decide to fight this pay freeze then both they and their union expect our political party to stand with them and support them.

“Conference, it’s time for our great party to show that it will fight for a future that works, to be there with us on 20 October in London, in Glasgow, in Belfast. To be a presence in our communities; to reject Tory Britain; to stand up for what is right; and to give hope to our people, fighting for fair pay, and against the market madness destroying our public services; to do in parliament what we are doing in towns and cities everywhere: building a movement that will sweep this wretched coalition from office and put Labour back in power once more.”