UNISON calls on
Edinburgh to save childrens project
Click
here for the full submission to council.
UNISON’s Edinburgh branch
has called on the City of Edinburgh Council to delay their shock decision
to close Craigmillar Childrens Project until the full results on “Working
Together” reviews are examined.
UNISON’s John Ross will
ask the council to think again a submission to the council’s Social
Work Committee on Tuesday 14 March at 10am. Deputations of parents and
staff will also lobby the committee.
“There has been no consultation
with staff or service users and are still waiting for the results of two
reviews into provision in the area”, said John Ross, Edinburgh UNISON
Service Conditions Convener.
“Our members are not
resistant to change. Like the council, they want “Joined Up Working”
and they are commited to the Scottish Executive’s social inclusion
policies. But If this project closes now, the council will have nullified
all the detailed work that has been done to look at integrating services
in the area”, added Mr Ross.
“This is a valuable project
that has been supporting children in their local schools, and in their
local communities for 12 years. The alternative could mean some children
going away to residential schools”, added John Stevenson, branch vice
chairperson.
In a detailed submission,
UNISON makes the following points:-
1. There are two ongoing reviews
of provision in the area, both of which involve the project's role. One
is about to report on ‘Working Together' in Craigmillar. The other
in which the Community Education Strategy Group has commissioned a consultant,
is considering the possibility of merger of the project with another in
the area. Closure at this stage will undermine these reviews and the strategy
for services to children and families. It would also pre-empt and in reality
nullify the detailed work carried out to date.
2. Lack of consultation, implications
for other staff/services. There has been no consultation with staff, service
users or the community. There are implications not just for staff in the
project, but also for other social work staff in the area who could face
increased pressures and workload without this resource.
3. Closure at this stage would
undermine the council's concept of ‘Joined-Up Working" and the
Scottish Executive's aim of promoting "Social Inclusion". The
strength of provision in the area is the contribution of all of the existing
resources and how they integrate. The reviews are attempting to address
this. The project is not resistant to change and welcomes proper and evidenced
examination of its role.
4. The ‘alternative provision'
mentioned in budget documents has not been identified. The current project
is cost effective. If it only prevents two children having to go to residential
school (each placement costs approx £60,000), it would more than
recoup the cost of continued Social Work Department funding.
NOTE: The project was the
first in Edinburgh to work with primary school age children in schools.
It supports children with difficulties and works with them and their families
to keep them in their local community and at their local schools. The project
employs five social work staff and four teachers. The social work staff
look set to be transferred to to other posts.
ENDS
Further Information. John
Ross 0131 220 5655, John Stevenson 0131 343 1991
Mon 3 January 2000
Serving Scotland's
Capital
UNISON calls for
partnership for Edinburgh's services in 2000
UNISON's City of Edinburgh Branch has called for financial
stability in 2000 to allow the council and its workers to provide services
that:-
- give the people of Edinburgh a real say in their services.
- are the best that can be delivered - choosing quality
services
- are provided by a public services team, a work force
trained and qualified, treated fairly and equally, with the resources to
deliver - choosing teamwork.
The branch has re-issued its ‘Partnership
to Save Edinburgh's Services' document to call for a new joint approach
with the Council to avoid the yearly crisis over funding.
"We face cuts of £10 million this year, £15
million next year and a further £16 million the year after. Councillors,
the public and, most of al,l the workers that deliver services are frustrated
by year upon year of cuts.", said John Stevenson, spokesperson for
UNISON Edinburgh.
"Cheapness is too often being chosen over quality.
Staff who are committed to Edinburgh's services are under more and more
stress. They know systems could work better and wWe need new ideas, new
partnerships, new involvement by workers and the public - but they need
basic public service values to underpin them.
"There is nothing modern or new about 'rolling back'
to the days of failed private, selective, outsourced and unco-ordinated
services. Progress can only be made by building a new future based on the
best principles of public service, responsive to the needs and wishes of
the people of Edinburgh. We need to join with the council in arguing for
the Scottish Parliament to provide the resources to achieve that aim",
added John Stevenson
As part of its "Serving Scotland's Capital"
campaign, the document calls for:-
- ‘Partnership Groups' involving councillors, management
and unions to consult and seek solutions from the people actually doing
the job.
- Systems for fully involving and consulting service users.
- A training package for all staff to develop and diversify
skills to make the most efficient use of staff resources, to build consistency
and stability, to make jobs more rewarding and interesting and to protect
jobs and services.
- A voluntary sector forum to integrate and support initiatives
and to ensure consistency of conditions.
- Protection for staff with a no compulsory redundancy
element to build an atmosphere of trust and co-operation.
ENDS
Note for Editors:
The full document is on Edinburgh UNISON's website at http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/partner.html
Further Information:
John Stevenson 07880 563 178 (m) - 0131 220 5655 UNISON
Office
Home Page
| Top Index | UNISONNews
Edinburgh UNISON
backs election inquiry but warns against scapegoating staff or management
UNISON’s Edinburgh branch has called on City of Edinburgh
councillors to back their staff and management as the full council on 28
October considers a report on problems with the Scottish Parliament and
Local Government elections in May 1999.
In a submission to the council, the union says it is “time
to learn constructive lessons (a process demonstrated successfully in the
European elections) and to avoid the temptation to divert from the real
problems by scapegoating management or staff.”
UNISON quotes the Association of Electoral Adminstrators’
report to the Secretary of State which said “Survival (at the election)
was only achieved by considerable, if not unreasonable, personal effort
by large numbers of election staff ....”
“This sums up the work put in by our members. They
feel that their efforts have gone ignored by politicians. Worse still,
they have been made to feel vulnerable by comments in the press. Throughout
this they have appreciated the position taken by senior council management
in trying to explain the difficulties staff faced”, said John Stevenson,
Edinburgh UNISON spokesperson.
The union draws on four more points made by the Association
of Electoral Administrators. The urgent need for a review of election funding;
a well funded training programme; and the problems of long overnight counts
due to proportional representation, which puts pressure on staff who have
to work as normal the following day.
Further Information: John Stevenson 0131 220 5655, 0131
343 1991
Text of Submission to Council
CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL - 28 OCTOBER 1999
CONDUCT OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS ON 6
MAY 1999
UNISON represents most of the staff involved in the organisation
of elections. They faced an unprecedented task on 6/7 May 1999 due to a
number of factors, some specific to Edinburgh, which are outlined in the
Chief Executive’s report.
Despite their efforts, staff have been made to feel extremely
vulnerable due to nature of recent press comments and speculation, and
the absence of public recognition by politicians of the task they had to
undertake in particularly difficult circumstances.
We would draw your attention to some of the factors identified
by the Association of Electoral Administrators which include:-
• “Survival was only achieved by considerable,
if not unreasonable, personal effort by large numbers of election staff
and by some degree of luck”
• There is an urgent need for a review of election funding.
• There is a need for a well funded training programme.
• The problems associated with long counts due to PR when many casual
and part-time staff have to work as normal the following day.
The Council is already aware of the large absentee rate
and as part of its investigation it may be well advised to look at the
pressures that then fall on to Council staff at all levels.
UNISON appreciates the position of Senior Council Management
in seeking to explain the difficulties staff faced amidst ever more hysterical
press coverage and political comment. It is fair to say that the staff
have perceived some politicians as distancing themselves from the problem,
concentrating more on blame than support.
Our members would fully support a reasoned national inquiry
into the elections. Our members strongly feel that this is a time to learn
constructive lessons (a process demonstrated successfully in the European
elections) and to avoid the temptation to divert from the real problems
by scapegoating management or staff.
John Stevenson
Branch Vice-Chairperson
Home Page | Top Index |
UNISONNews
Date: 24 October 1999 EMBARGO 00.01 25 October 1999
UNISON proved right
on cleaning crisis prediction
Call for united
front on education funding
UNISON's City of Edinburgh Branch has slammed criticism
of cleaning staff at Boroughmuir High School and puts the blame on council
cuts which it warned would lead to a crisis in cleaning services.
"You cannot cut œ1million in two years and expect
the same service. We argued this when our cleaning members were facing
redundancy but no-one listened" said Morag Stevenson, Branch Secretary.
"Now schools are facing the reality of these cuts and the very people
who are striving to deliver the services are getting the blame".
UNISON says that cuts mean far less staff are expected
to deliver the same service. It also says that the way contracts are formulated
is out of date.
"Contracts used to be very specific about what service
was expected. Now the council uses 'output' contracts which set broad guidelines.
We see over and over again how these can be wide open to interpretation,
both by private contractors reducing service, and by the council itself
when it forces through cuts", added George Lee, Service Conditions
Convener.
"In-house staff have consistently shown they can
deliver on quality and cost if they are allowed to. We need a level playing
field that outlines blow by blow exactly what level of service the council
expects, and is prepared to pay for. If it is not prepared to pay for the
service, let it be honest about the cuts", said George Lee.
United Front
UNISON has also criticised Boroughmuir's Headteacher for
his 'ill-informed' criticism of cleaning staff and has written to teaching
unions urging a united front for proper education funding.
"There is no place in education for 'them and us'.
The whole school team, from the dinner lady to the Headteacher, is essential
to delivering an education service to our children. They all need to be
respected and valued. We call on all school staff to join together to work
for adequate funding for all aspects of education", added John Stevenson,
UNISON branch spokesperson.
Further Information: John
Stevenson 0131220 5655/ 0131 343 1991
Home Page
| Top Index | UNISONNews
3.3% pay deal accepted
UNISON members across Scotland have voted by almost nine
to one to accept this year’s 3.3% pay deal.
But hopes that the cash, backdated to 1 April 1999, would
be paid at the end of September have been dashed by the GMB union’s
delay in responding.
“The deal will be go through in any case because
the GMB represent so few local government workers”, explained branch
secretary Morag Stevenson. “But the delay meant the council looked
unlikely to catch the September pay deadline”.
Stewards in Associated Bodies and Voluntary Sector
organisations linked to the national pay bargaining should now be approaching
their employers on implementing the pay rise.
This is the first separate pay deal done by the new Scottish
Joint Council, which broke away from the UK negotiating machinery in 1998/99,
came up with a different settlement from England, because of the differences
in timescale of implementing the agreement on creating one set of conditions
for local authority staff - the so-called "Single Status" agreement.
Dougie Black, branch assistant secretary and UNISON's
Scottish Chair of Local Government, said:
"Whilst we are disappointed that we were unsuccessful
in getting specific help for the low paid in this pay round, it is clear
that members were not prepared to strike to get a better offer. We will
now be concentrating on making sure that Single Status is implemented fairly
across Scotland."
Consultation
Over 63,000 UNISON members responded to the pay consultation
with 89% voting to accept.
In our branch the response was better than previous years
with real attempts by stewards to get members opinions.
“There were some areas where we could have expected
a better response”, said John Mulgrew, service conditions co-ordinator.
“Officers and stewards committees need to work on
this for next year.”
John acknowledged that consultation in Education was difficult
because of school holidays.
“But the union extended the consultation to the end
of August to try to ensure these members would get their say and this improved
the response this year”, added John.
Cyber vote
For the first time members could vote on the Internet.
A page on the branch website allowed workplaces and individuals to record
their views.
“About 10% of responses came via the web and we are
looking to encourage more use of this by far flung members and by voluntary
organisations”, said John Stevenson, communications officer and ‘webmanager’.
Home Page
| Top Index | UNISONNews
Edinburgh care staff ‘outraged’ at anonymous
allegations
UNISON’s City of Edinburgh Branch has urged the person
making allegations about a childrens secure unit to use the council’s
‘whistle-blowing’ procedures so that the matter can be properly
cleared up.
“UNISON supports the rights of young people in care.
That is why we co-operated so fully with the Edinburgh Inquiry. That is
why we negotiated the ‘whistle-blowing’ policy. But we cannot
stress strongly enough that allegations put this way do not protect children,
they only throw mud”, said John Stevenson Edinburgh UNISON spokesperson.
Care staff, mostly UNISON members, are said to be confident
that their practice will stand up to scrutiny and point out that the unit
has just received a positive report from the Registration and Inspection
Service.
“Caring and dedicated staff doing one of the most
difficult jobs in Social Work, are outraged by the allegations and feel
the way they are being made gives them no chance to reply”, added
Mr Stevenson.
UNISON says staff are very concerned about the effects
on young people and their parents, as well as the effect on staff morale.
“Parents must be very worried about all this. That
makes it all the more important that, whatever their motives, the person
making the allegations must come forward to the council or the police to
allow the matter to be cleared up. He or she must be aware of the effect
of such allegations on children, parents and staff if they are left to
hang in the air”.
Home Page
| Top Index | UNISONNews
PRESS RELEASE 7 July 99
Edinburgh UNISON tells Tony Blair ...
Stop moaning and give us the tools for the job
Edinburgh UNISON has responded angrily to Prime Minister
Tony Blair’s “ill informed tantrum against the public sector”,
and has written to him demanding that he gives councils proper funding,
realistic planning control and the “tools to do the job”. The
branch is to call an emergency meeting with the council to ask whether
it has the same jaded view towards public services.
“The only people resistant to change are the government”,
said Edinburgh UNISON branch spokesperson John Stevenson. “Public
services are crying out for change, but the change we get is cuts, privatisation
and no ability to plan except from month to month. If the Prime Minister
is serious about change, he needs to invest. After all, that is what the
business people he was speaking to would do.”
“Children in care without social workers, old people
without home helps, staff driven to an all time low in morale, wages and
conditions; those are the changes Mr Blair has overseen. Does he really
think that will build better services?”
“Time after time we have seen the public sector win
contracts over the private sector, on quality, cost and delivery of service
to the public. When we have lost contracts it has been to the ‘cheapest
is best’. Grounds Maintenance in Edinburgh has gone to an outfit in
Linlithgow with staff having to go there in the morning and then come back
to Edinburgh to cut the grass. Is that the ‘efficient’ change
Mr Blair wants?”
Edinburgh UNISON has produced two documents in recent
years to try to take public services forward in a radical direction. “The
“Partnership to Save Edinburgh’s Services”
and the response to the City’s “Edinburgh
2000” document both met with a deafening silence”, said Mr
Stevenson. “These both advocated change to make services better but
both were ignored. Is it UNISON or the politicians that are resistant to
change?”, he asked.
UNISON in Edinburgh will demand that the council disassociates
itself from the Prime Minister’s remarks and leads the campaign for
quality services, accountable to the public and delivered by a properly
respected public service team.
“Despite this attack, we are still ready to enter
into a partnership for public services. We want to make things better for
the people of Edinburgh. We can do that if the Government would give us
the tools to do the job, rather that blaming us for their mistakes”,
added Mr Stevenson.
Home Page
| Top Index | UNISONNews
Edinburgh budget breathing space for jobs, but UNISON
slams nursery cuts and job loss.
Union offers partnership to save services
(Full text of branch secretary's address
to Council)
After years of cuts in the tens of millions, UNISON has
cautiously welcomed the council’s 1999 plans which bring 255 jobs
with cuts of only £214,000 on a base budget up £30million on
last year to nearly £580 million.
Nevertheless over 30 jobs risk redundancy (compared with
up to 1,000 in previous years), even though the council says it will try
to avoid this.
Branch Secretary Morag Stevenson left councillors in no
doubt about UNISON’s response to redundancies when she told the Council
Budget Meeting.
“If there is one compulsory redundancy in any corner
of the authority of any of our members, we are mandated to ballot for industrial
action. We would win that ballot”.
“The responsibility lies with you to ensure that
is an action your workforce does not have to take.”
Partnership
“I would remind the council again of UNISON's offer
to work in partnership to deliver quality services, in house, efficiently
and effectively”, added Ms Stevenson.
“We are here to talk to. You only have to agree to
listen to us and consider seriously what we are putting to you”.
Her strongest words were reserved for the plan to cut
the subsidy to the Workplace Nursery, with a 20% increase in charges.
“We are upset, confused and angry, at the attack
on the Workplace Nursery”, she said, pointing out it was only two
weeks since the government released the first ever National Carers' Strategy.
UNISON has called for detailed talks at all levels to
avoid redundancies and to seek ways to avoid the worst cuts.
"The branch has offered to work in partnership but
if that is rejected, we must act to defend our members and the services
they provide", added Ms Stevenson.
Full text of UNISON submission follows..........
Home Page
| Top Index
Full text of branch secretary Morag Stevenson's submission
to City of Edinburgh Council Budget Meeting 4 March 1999
Lord Provost, Members of the Council, thank you for agreeing
to hear us this morning.
Can we first of all, on a positive note, say how much
we welcome the decision to retain a service in-house which had been considered
for deletion.
The loss of the service would have resulted in the outsourcing
of that service at a loss of 40,000, and that sum would of course be an
annual loss. And we have demonstrated that there is a further spend of
around 100,000 that could be reduced dramatically by a simple reassessment
of the current in-house provision.
We welcome the fact that we have worked together to achieve
that. We have shown that an in-house service is more efficient, more effective,
more responsive to our needs as a Council, and have, into the bargain,
saved the City of Edinburgh taxpayers a vast sum of money.
But that's the tip of the iceberg. There are many other
areas where we could show that the in-house provision is the route that
this Council should be taking. If you would sit down and talk with us we
could elaborate on that. Here we have a situation where you did sit down
with us. The result was a good one. Not just for our members who don't
go onto the dole queue, not only for you politicians, but for the citizens
of Edinburgh. All we are saying is that in-house services deliver, they
deliver in terms of quality, it terms of consistency, in terms of economy
of scale, in terms of cost effectiveness. Something very important that
the council has to bear in mind is that we are an organisation which is
not driven by profit. If you use a business to deliver your service, you
have to expect them to profit - but bear in mind it is profit that will
be made, not only on the back of your loyal workforce, but on the back
of the Council Tax payer.
What we are saying here is we've shown if we actually
do sit down and thrash these things out, we can all win, or even survive.
Forget the dogma, and let's see some real partnership in action. We've
said we'll work in partnership to achieve our common goal which is providing
a service to the people of Edinburgh. You just have to agree to talk to
us about that, that's all
It is not all positive though. There are some highly negative
aspects of this budget. For example, Capital Skills. This training facility
has provided employment opportunities for thousands of otherwise disadvantaged
youngsters primarily from the north of Edinburgh
With the Government's much welcome New Deal initiative,
we are at an absolute loss as to why a Labour administration would even
contemplate the closure or run-down of this service. It seems to us that,
if government policy were to be taken seriously, the Capital Skills facility
would be extended, not written off.
Similarly, we are upset and confused, no angry, at the
attack on the Workplace Nursery.
Only two weeks ago the government released the first ever
National Carers' Strategy.
The strategy includes, amongst other admirable initiatives:
- more carer-friendly employment, with the government
taking the lead;
-a new focus on local authorities, together with other services, taking
carers' needs fully into account
The government is pushing hard at initiatives to facilitate
the return of women to work through employer-provided childcare.
Our service, our very cherished service, will be put under
threat of closure by the 20% increase in charges that is proposed to you
today. Some of you here may remember the reasons behind the workplace nursery
being set up in the first place. It was because women were forced to leave
their work because of a lack of affordable and accessible childcare. Edinburgh
was at the forefront of equal opportunities policies at that time, pushing
the barriers and going where no man had gone before.
Low paid workers cannot sustain the 20% increase and we
would challenge the administration to evidence that they have, according
to government guidelines, "taken carers' needs fully into account".
True it may be that some of the nursery users can stretch to that increase
but some of them will not be able to. It will force them out of the workplace
and back into the home, back onto benefit.
This flies in the face of current policy on childcare,
return to work policy, welfare provision and education policy. Where are
you Edinburgh - the rest of the world is streets ahead. Women, in particular,
feel let down by you on this one.
We would strongly urge you to vote down this part of the
budget proposals before you today.
Our final specific would be on the declaration of 13 surplus
posts in Housing. We would submit that unless the Council has a crystal
ball that the rest of us are not party to, it cannot be determined that
13 posts are surplus because the outcome of the Housing review is not known.
Well, not to some of us anyway.
You might decide that, on this occasion, you won't discuss
with us the deletion of posts, but it hasn't been discussed at committee
either. Does this mean we have moved into a dictatorship or does it just
mean that there's something dodgy about the deletion of these posts. If
there is not anything dodgy about this, why has it not gone through committee?
That is perhaps a question better dealt with by the politicians.
The budget proposals are left with some 40+ redundancies.
Can I make UNISON's position clear here. If there is one compulsory redundancy
in any corner of the authority of any of our
members, we are mandated to ballot for industrial action. We are confident
we would win that ballot.
The responsibility lies with you to ensure that is an
action your workforce does not have to take. I would remind the Council
again of UNISON's offer to work in partnership to deliver high quality,
efficient and cost effective services. We are here to talk to. You only
have to agree to listen to us and consider seriously what we are putting
to you. Cheapest is not always best - certainly not in the longer term.
Our members can deliver real best value if you will let them.
Home Page
| Top Index | UNISONNews
Date: 24 February 1999
EDINBURGH TO PRIVATISE GARDEN AID
Edinburgh Council has become the first authority to use
Voluntary Competitive Tendering as a means to privatise in-house services.
Following assessment of bids from several companies, Garden
Aid will in future be provided by the Private Sector The Council have not
yet announced who won the tender
l6 jobs will be affected. At this stage it is unclear
whether these staff will be offered full-time or seasonal work with the
new provider
Staff have demanded the Council offer them other jobs
in the authority and honour their contracts.
One employee said:
"The huge difference in the bids can only mean we
will be paid less on a seasonal or part-year basis. The Council have gone
for cheapest and not best. What about their responsibilities to their employees?"
Charlie McInaIIy, local UNISON shop steward said:
"We are worded not just for our members but for the
vulnerable people, elderly and disabled, who depend on these services.
They have had a quality service over The years and have got to know and
trust the workers. God knows what happens now"
Service Conditions Convenor, John Ross said:
"This is a sad day for Edinburgh. After 18 years
of stopping privatisation of services under the Tories, we now see a Labour
Council voluntarily privatising the jobs of our members and the vital services
they provide."
UNISON is seeking urgent talks with management and leading
politicians. They are also consulting their lawyers.
Home Page
| Top Index
Date: 12.2.99 - Embargo: Not for release before 00.01
am Monday 15 Feb 1999
UNISON General Secretary calls on Scottish Parliament
to scrap PFI
AGM
| Annual Report
Rodney Bickerstaffe, General Secretary of UNISON, Scotland's
largest union, will today call for the phasing out of the Government's
controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
Speaking to the union's City of Edinburgh Branch AGM this
evening (15/2/99), Mr Bickerstaffe will announce the prospective publication
of UNISONScotand's Manifesto Briefing Serving Scotland's Taxpayers,
due to be published next week. This is the next step in the union's Serving
Scotland campaign, which argues for priority for public services in
the Scottish Parliament
"Scotland's public services should be democratically
accountable, best quality and delivered by a public service team,"
said Mr Bickerstaffe. "PFI cannot deliver on these criteria and should
be scrapped. We are calling on the new Scottish Parliament to draw a line
under this system and to develop new ways of funding essential service
facilities."
"Serving Scotland's Taxpayers makes clear
arguments for changes to this costly and secretive method of funding our
public services and we will be campaigning for these changes with all the
prospective MSP's, political parties and other Scottish organisations."
Edinburgh has two 'flagship' PFI schemes, a private consortium
has been awarded the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and the city's schools
are proposed for private takeover. UNISON has already pointed out that
the extra cost - 6million - of the Royal Infirmary contract is the equivalent
of nearly 16,000 day case operations.
The union's Serving Scotland campaign is planned
to run up to the Scottish Parliament elections an May 6. It argues for
services that give people a say in their running, are the best quality
possible, and are delivered by a public service team. Mr Bickerstaffe congratulated
the Edinburgh Branch for taking this message to heart.
"It is good to see that this branch has taken the
lead amongst Scottish Branches", he said "and produced its own
definition of ‘best value' in local services, which embody the principles
set out by our campaign. This is the sort of positive lead we want and
I wish them success in negotiating agreement with the employer."
ENDS
FURTHER INFORMATION
Matt Smith (Scottish Secretary) 0141 332 0006(w) 07771
548997 (m)
Chris Bartter (Communications Officer) 0141-332 0006(w) 0141 959 7165 (h)
George McGregor (Research Officer) 0141-332 0006(w) 0976 754420(m)
John Stevenson (Edinb Br Comms Officer) 0131-220 5655 or 0131 343 1991
(o) 0831 381464(m)
Home Page
| Top Index
UNISON calls on Edinburgh
to save childrens project