BS: UK Council Strike 14th August

Subject: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: JudeL
Date: 19 Jul 02 - 02:08 PM

A bit of news mainly of interest to catter's in the UK. Another national day of action has just been announced for 14th August for Local Govt staff (council workers).

.....Time to brush up on the union songs.

(Background / Rant warning) The current 3% offer without any flat rate element or bottom loading means a pay rise of less than 20 pence an hour for 2/3 of all staff, 82% of whom are women. They say that if they raise wages they'll have to cut staff - with an average 17% permanent vacancy rate that they cannot fill because wages are so low who do they think they are kidding! If they had more permanent staff maybe they wouldn't be spending so much of our taxes on overpriced agency cover.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Jul 02 - 03:02 PM

Quote from a piece in today's Guardian:

"Today local authority employers gather to ponder this week's strike. There was no doubt it was a success, not just getting out hundreds of thousands of workers but in a wave of public sympathy. Sky TV polled 75% support, local phone-ins were swamped, people honked their horns at the pickets. Who would not be touched by armies of women cleaners, carers and dinner ladies earning less than £5 an hour?"

The answer to that rhetorical question, of course, is "the men who control the main political parties, government or opposition!"

The scandal of agencies workers at double the cost being used to fill vacancies is the key thing, and most people aren't aware of how much money is wasted in that way. And it isn't that the agency workers get significantly more, if any more at all - the profit is creamed off by the people running the agencies, who are often people who learnt all about this kind of racket while working in local government jobs themselves.

But isn't it curious how that name Blair crops up again in an industrial struggle:

They say in Harlan County,
There are no neutrals there.
You'll either be a union man,
Or a thug for J.H. Blair.

Someone should rewrite the verses from Which Side Are You On. No, it's not thugs these days (though it was under Thatcher), nothing so blatant, but all the same, it's pretty clear which side they are on.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: Les from Hull
Date: 19 Jul 02 - 03:39 PM

Fight on Brothers and Sisters!

Les (formally from Hull City Council)

Subject: RE: BS: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: GUEST,Richard_Bridge
Date: 19 Jul 02 - 06:30 PM

Err - is that

(a) formerly; and

(b) a quote from the very underrated Tom Robinson Band?

Subject: RE: BS: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 20 Jul 02 - 02:10 AM

Just a little bit more background info... several departments of many councils use what is termed 'sessional' labour. Basically this is a pool of people who are not employed full or part time by the council but are available to work at a moment's notice. When a regular member of staff phones in sick and cover is needed, the sessionals are called and the first one to answer gets the work. They were also pre-booked to cover leave. These sessionals are paid at below the standard rate and have no benefits or security. The amount of work they get depends entirely on the demands of the system and their own availability.

One library I worked in had been staffed entirely by sessional workers for a whole year, because the council I worked for 'could not afford' to hire permanent members of staff. These sessionals would not be offered a full time position despite the obvious vacancies because they were not employed in the same way that casual or temporary staff were. And this is how they became 'UK Council of the Year 2000' (that and sacking people who were too sick to work but not sick enough to take early retirement - eg. those with chronic illnesses that were not classed as disablements).

But if you think that council workers have it bad, the Civil Service Union recently "accepted" a 2.5% rise (average raise of 12p per hour for the lower grades) ON OUR BEHALF because it was better than nothing, and we were asking for 4%. It was accepted on the grounds that something is better than nothing but sets an unhealthy precedent for future bargaining. So whatever you do UNISON, DON'T accept what they will offer you, because you will be tied for life. PCS didn't fight this time (and can you imagine all those Civil Servants out on strike - except, no, Maggie decreed that most Government workers don't have the right to strike like other workers do), and they have basically castrated themselves.

Whatever the offer, keep fighting for what you need!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: JudeL
Date: 20 Jul 02 - 04:55 AM

In Hertfordshire sessional workers used to be called the County Supply Scheme - same set up as above but the council paid whatever the hourly rate for the work covered and for training for necessary skills for the type of posts the person was registered for, stuff like basic food hygiene and moving & handling for care staff. This at least meant the possibility that replacement staff might actually help a bit - now they've handed a contract to Manpower to supply staff, who a) don't appear to understand that just sending a warm body isn't good enough (strange idea to them! but different jobs require different skills) or b) have enough people so they farm it out to other agencies (making it even less likely that they will send someone that is of some use). The individual staff working for agencies are not getting paid a fortune but the agencies are raking it in!

Subject: RE: BS: UK Council Strike 14th August
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 20 Jul 02 - 03:52 PM

Keep up th action, but I fear there will not be so much impact next month, as the schools are on holiday, better to leave it until the first week of September when the impact will be greater. Good luck-your wage is poor, conditions of employment are pretty poor too.Expectations of skill in many sections of council work far exceed the level of pay for those skills. Our ETA's are almost working as qualified teachers-they deserve a much better pay deal for a start, they also don't get paid for the holidays (Though many do work for school in their own time)As the placard said "What price education, education, education? Is your child worth it?