Tag: trade unions

PPE on it’s way to care homes across Scotland

Additional supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are to be delivered directly to care homes across Scotland to help meet the increased demand caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

NHS National Services Scotland will prioritise the delivery of stock directly to care homes where the virus is known to be present.

Stock will also continue to be provided to local hubs which supply PPE to other social care workers.

Each location will receive a week’s supply of equipment, including aprons, fluid resistant surgical masks and gloves.

The situation will be reviewed next week based on information supplied by care homes on their own supply of PPE stock.

The National Services Scotland Social Care triage service will continue to provide an emergency service in the case of unexpected short term demand.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The dedication of those who work in the care sector is hugely appreciated and ensuring those staff are protected is a priority for me.

“They are doing a remarkable job in very difficult circumstances, and we will support them as they do that.

“We have dedicated teams working on the procurement and distribution of PPE to our health and social care workers.

“I believe that providing additional supplies straight to care homes will ensure all care homes in Scotland have enough PPE to allow them to continue to safely provide care and support to their residents. It should also allow time for care homes to work on sourcing their own stock.

“We are also working closely with COSLA to ensure the existing service provided by the local hubs is working as efficiently as possible.”

Scottish Care Chief Executive Donald Macaskill said: “Scottish Care warmly welcomes the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary that direct distribution of PPE to care services will be introduced.

“This will significantly support the protection of staff, residents and clients and the staff who care for and support them.

“I am grateful for the immediacy of response from Scottish Government and the recognition of the need to take these measures with urgency. All of us are working with determination in challenging circumstances to meet the threat of coronavirus.”

On Thursday, Social care providers and unions warned that a critical lack of protective equipment and testing has allowed coronavirus to “sweep through” social care.   

In a joint statement – signed by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, UNISON, Unite, GMB and TUC – ministers are told that care workers and residents are still being exposed to unnecessary risk.

The care providers and union leaders warn that staff are being forced to risk their lives with care services struggling to get the equipment they need:  

“Social care is facing a crisis without precedent. Problems with supplies of protective equipment and a lack of testing is causing much anxiety amongst employers, staff, and the families of the people they care for. Many care home residents and care workers have already died.

“People who rely on social care are often more vulnerable to catching and dying from Covid-19. Yet a month into this crisis, many care workers are still working without suitable PPE, despite their heightened risk of exposure to the virus and to spreading it.

“A critical lack of PPE and testing of social care staff and service users is putting them at unnecessary risk of exposure – and means we are almost certainly underestimating how far the virus has spread.

The care providers and union leaders say that without urgent action the virus will continue to devastate the sector:  

“When patients with Covid-19 are rapidly discharged from hospitals to care homes to free up NHS beds, it risks spreading the virus to care homes and putting staff and residents in danger.

“We are pleased that the government has at last published its strategy for social care. But it needs to go further and action will be more important than words.

“Amidst growing evidence that Covid-19 is sweeping through social care with devastating results, we call on the Government to step up the fight against Covid-19 by:

  • Publishing a national procurement and distribution strategy for PPE that includes the social care sector, so that care homes and social care providers aren’t left to source their own PPE amidst global shortages and inflated prices.

  • Setting a clear deadline for when all care workers, clients, personal assistants and residents who need it will have access to testing.

  • Stopping the rapid discharging of Covid-19 patients to care homes unless there are key checks about safety

  • Fully involving the social care workforce and its unions and employers in responding to the crisis.

The care providers and union leaders say ministers must “learn the lessons” from the crisis and provide better funding for social care in the future:   

“Carers, local government, providers, regulators and civil servants are working tirelessly to respond to the crisis. But social care has been the poorer cousin of the NHS for too long. This pandemic is showing just how essential this largely female workforce is.

“Social care workers look after us all. Our parents, our grandparents, our partners, siblings and adult disabled children. Their work has long been undervalued, with services underfunded, staff often on the minimum wage or zero hours contracts and 122,000 vacancies in the sector.

“When this dreadful pandemic eases the Government must learn vital lessons about the failings of a social care system based on low pay and insecure work and put in place proper funding and a long-term plan for social care as soon as possible.”

Coronavirus crisis: local government unions call for consistency

Scotland’s leading trade unions in local government are calling on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to take urgent action to address the inconsistent approach being taken by local authorities, which could risk lives.

UNISON, Unite and GMB collectively represent over 120,000 workers in local authorities across Scotland, many of whom are on the frontline delivering essential services and providing care to vulnerable groups.

The trade unions have been involved in ongoing discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on their response to this crisis, but are increasingly concerned that the lack of urgency and consistency is now putting service users and workers at risk that it now requires the First Minister’s direct intervention.

In a letter to the First Minister the trade unions are highlighting a number of key concerns including:

  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Ongoing concerns regarding the availability and quality of PPE for workers. There are specific issues regarding the availability of PPE for those working with vulnerable users in home care settings and the need for urgent clarification over the self-isolation for workers who have been in close contact with service users confirmed as having the virus.
  • Testing Workers – There is an urgent need to test frontline workers in accordance with WHO guidance. There appears to be no strategy or consistency currently about when tests will be rolled out and who will be tested.
  • Social Distancing– Serious concerns continue about the ability of workers to observe social distancing measures at work.  There are particular difficulties with workers being told to travel to sites in the same vehicle – in waste and home care services in particular.
  • Key Workers– The need for greater clarity around who meets the definition of a ‘key worker’ because there are many situations where some workers in some authorities are being deemed ‘key workers’ and others are not.
  • Waste Collection– The need for a one nation policy on residential waste collection. 32 local authorities are doing different things – some maintaining a full service, others closing all waste and recycling centres.

The Joint Trade Unions state:  “UNISON, Unite and GMB have been raising a number of key concerns in relation to the inconsistent and potentially dangerous approach to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic with COSLA.

“We believe that local government workers, and those in the third and private sectors, delivering our essential services must be protected in terms of their health both physical and mental. To date this is not being done anywhere near effectively enough.

“We are on the brink of the peak of the pandemic and still there exist major concerns over the availability, and guidance around the use of, personal protective equipment – particularly in the social and residential care sector – testing of frontline staff, the difficulties in workers being able to observe social distancing at work and the definition of who is a key worker.

“The trade unions appreciate that this is an unprecedented time but the lack of national, consistent, guidance in these areas has the potential to put lives at risk.

“We need a national co-ordinated response – the First Minister needs to lead the effort to ensure that national guidance is both clear and consistently applied by local authorities.”

What are the rules if you’re temporarily laid off?

If you’re one of the workers who’ve been asked to go on furlough, make sure you know your rights.

The coronavirus outbreak has put the UK economy under immense strain, with businesses across the country shutting down to prevent the spread.

After discussions with trade unions, the government is to plough billions of pounds into a furlough scheme that will see the taxpayer give businesses 80 per cent of the wages of those employees who are temporarily laid off.

This should stop those business suffering a drop-off from making workers permanently redundant. It will ensure that more workers have enough money to cover their bills and leave businesses well-placed to ramp up activity once demand picks up again.

But while measures to protect jobs are welcome, it’s important that employers follow the rules when sending staff on furlough.

And if you’re one of the workers who’ve been asked to go on furlough, make sure you know your rights.

Despite the government having recently published guidance on how the scheme will operate, there are still a number of unanswered questions about the scheme. But this is what we know right now:

Bosses must follow the rules

Bosses can’t just stick workers on furlough or shorter hours.

An employee is regarded to have been laid off during a particular week if the employer does not have sufficient work for the employee and the employee is not paid as a result. (s.147(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996).

What does your contract say?

If your contract contains the right for the employer to impose a lay-off, they can simply do so.

But it needs to be for a reasonable period of time, not indefinite.

Collective agreements between employers and unions will normally include provision for minimum payments if employees are laid off for a period.

If it’s not in the contract, then the employer needs your written, informed consent. And they have to make it clear how long the lay-off will be.

The lay-off has to be kept under review and the employer must seek further consent if it lasts longer than expected.

What happens if this isn’t in your contract and you say “no”?

If an employee or their union objects to the lay-offs, the employer cannot simply impose it.

If workers say “no” and the employer attempts to press ahead, employees can resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal, and possibly also claim a statutory redundancy payment.

Or they can continue in employment but claim any shortfall in pay under the unauthorised deduction of wages laws.

This is especially helpful if you haven’t got the two years’ service needed to claim unfair constructive dismissal.

How much will I get paid?

The government will stump up 80 per cent of the wage costs of those laid off. It will also cover employer costs such as their National Insurance and pension payments at the minimum legal level.

It will only cover basic salary and not commission payments and is capped at £2.500 a month. This means that, as it stands, those who currently receive piece work “bonuses” would see their income fall substantially.

Employers can, and we believe should where they can afford it, top up wages to 100 per cent.

If your pay varies, your employer can claim for the higher of either the same month’s earnings from the previous year or average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year.

Who does it cover?

Employees who are paid via Pay as You Earn payroll, which is likely to include a number of agency workers as well as those working via zero hours arrangements. They must have been on the organisation’s payroll as of 28 February 2020.

The scheme also covers employees who were made redundant since 28 February 2020, if they are rehired by their employer.

But, as it currently stands, those workers who have gone onto short-time working will not be covered by the scheme. Those workers will not have their wages topped up to normal levels.

What about the self-employed?

The self-employed (or at least most of them) are covered by a separate Self Employed Income Support Scheme.

Am I entitled to redundancy payments?

An employee who has agreed to furlough (or to short-time working) either for four consecutive weeks or for a total of six weeks (no more than three being consecutive) in any period of 13 weeks can resign and claim a redundancy payment.

How do employers decide who goes on furlough?

Employers must use a fair process for selecting employees for furlough and be very clear about why they are making certain decisions.

They must be careful not to discriminate against particular groups of workers who are protected by equality law, either directly or indirectly.

For example, they must not choose to furlough a worker because their race or because they are pregnant, to do so would be direct discrimination.

Similarly, they should not ask disabled workers to agree to a temporary lay-off to avoid putting in place reasonable adjustments that would allow them to continue working during the current outbreak.

Examples of indirect discrimination would be selecting workers for furlough because of their caring commitments, a group of workers in which women are overrepresented.

I have two jobs. If I am furloughed from one, what happens to the other?

Each furlough arrangement applies to a single job you do. So you can continue working in one job while furloughed from another. The pay cap applies to each employer individually.

Can my employer give me work to do during furlough?

No. A furloughed employee can take part in volunteer work or training, as long as it does not provide services to or generate revenue for their employer.

But if you are asked to do training you must be paid at least the minimum wage/National Living Wage, even if this is more than the 80 per cent of wage that will be subsidised by the government.

Tim Sharp, TUC

TUC head calls on labour movement to pull together and avoid “self-pity and recriminations”

Working families won’t be sorry to see the back of the 2010s. It’s been a decade of austerity and pay stagnation – putting real pressure on family finances, the NHS and the public services we all rely on, writes TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady … Continue reading TUC head calls on labour movement to pull together and avoid “self-pity and recriminations”

Every little helps? Asda urged to show respect to ‘dedicated staff’

Asda profits have rocketed more than £92 million with a healthy chunk paid to directors – but at the same time the supermarket giant is threatening staff with no sick pay and the sack if they don’t sign a controversial new contract. Continue reading Every little helps? Asda urged to show respect to ‘dedicated staff’

“Broken economy” is driving record levels of household debt, warns TUC

Low pay, insecure work and austerity are feeding a growing debt crisis, the TUC has warned.

New TUC analysis published today shows that:

  • Unsecured debt per household rose to £15,880 in the first quarter of 2019, up £1,160 on a year earlier.
  • Over half of households report having unsecured debt, most commonly in the form of credit card debt (60%), overdraft (28%), personal loans (25%) and car finance (25%).
  • Young people are disproportionately likely to be in debt. 70% of 18-34 year-olds report having a type of unsecured debt. This drops to 33% among people over 65.

The TUC believes that persistent low pay is the key driver of household debt. Real wages are still lower than they were before the 2008 crisis and working families are struggling to make ends meet without going into the red.

The latest analysis also shows that of those households with unsecured debt:

  • 1 in 5 say repayments are a “heavy burden on their finances”.
  • 1 in 7 (14%) have fallen more than two months behind on repayments in the last year.
  • 45% don’t feel that they have enough money set aside for emergencies.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Our broken economy is forcing working families deep into debt.

“Low pay, insecure work and austerity have pushed millions of households to the financial cliff edge. Big corporations are raking in huge profits at working people’s expense. And successive governments have done nothing to avert the crisis.

“It’s time to reset the balance of power in our workplaces and our economy. Government must make more employers negotiate pay and conditions with unions. That will lift wages for everyone and stop working families having to rely on credit cards and overdrafts to get through the month.”

The TUC has published new proposals to ensure that workers get the chance to negotiate better pay and conditions through trade unions. These include:

– unions having access to workplaces to tell workers about the benefits of trade union membership, following the model in New Zealand

– new rights to make it easier for unions to gain the right to negotiate at workplace level

– new rights for unions to negotiate right across sectors, starting with hospitality and social care

The TUC is also calling for:

  • a £10 National Minimum Wage to be introduced as quickly as possible
  • a ban on zero-hours contracts, and a crack down on insecure work that means people don’t know how much they’ll earn from one week to the next

Ne’er Day campaign escalates as Usdaw makes the case for closing large shops on 1 January

Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw has published the results of an extensive survey of Scottish retail staff, who overwhelmingly back the closure of large shops on New Year’s Day, and is calling on all MSPs to support the motion tabled by Jackie Baillie MSP in the Scottish Parliament.

Usdaw’s survey of over 1,000 shopworkers in Scotland found that:

  • Three quarters feel they spend too little time with friends and family over New Year.
  • 72% have come under pressure to work on New Year’s Day or 2 January.
  • Four in ten don’t receive any premium pay for working on New Year’s Day.
  • 79% are not happy to work on New Year’s Day or 2 January.

The full survey results can be viewed at: www.usdaw.org.uk/NYDSurvey

Stewart Forrest, Usdaw’s Scottish Divisional Officer says: “This survey clearly demonstrates the strength feeling among our members. We have today written to all MSPs asking them to support Jackie Baillie’s motion calling for a decent break at New Year after the busy Christmas period.

“I have also written to the Scottish Retail Consortium urging them to reconsider their opposition to large stores closing on New Year’s Day. Usdaw does not accept that giving retail workers in large stores just one more day of guaranteed time off would have a negative impact on our high streets. 72% of our members who worked on New Year’s Day 2019 said that their store was either very quiet or fairly quiet.

“Usdaw is fully supportive of efforts to revitalise Scotland’s high streets. The livelihoods of our members depend on a thriving retail sector. That is why we are calling on the Government to implement an industrial strategy for retail and to take action on a whole range of issues, from business rates to parking charges and public transport, in order to breathe life back into the industry. We are seeking to work with the Scottish Retail Consortium, so we can tackle these issues together.”

Jackie Baillie MSP, (Scottish Labour, Dumbarton) said: “Retail staff work incredibly hard all year round, and are often on their feet for long shifts. Christmas and New Year is a time which should be spent with family, and there are few days in the year when families are off at the same time.

“The results of Usdaw’s survey show that the overwhelming majority of respondents want to spend more time with their families during Christmas and New Year.

“I hope that all of my MSP colleagues will recognise that everyone deserves a day off for New Year and will support the motion that I have tabled in the Scottish Parliament.”

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary, said: “We are very grateful to Jackie Baillie MSP for the support she is giving to our members and this campaign. New Year is a special holiday in Scotland, but this is not reflected in the experience of many retail workers.

“Under the Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Trading (Scotland) Act 2007, Scottish Ministers may, by statutory instrument, ban large shops from opening on New Year’s Day, subject to consultation.

“On behalf of Scotland’s retail workers, we are urging the Scottish Government to open that consultation and for MSPs to listen to shopworkers concerns about their work/life balance.”

Millions of lower paid workers have suffered pay cuts since 2010, TUC reveals

  • Average pay has fallen for millions of lower and middle-income jobs since 2010
  • The highest paid jobs have had an average 4% pay increase since 2010
  • Austerity and lack of bargaining rights has held down pay in working-class and middle-class jobs, says TUC

Continue reading Millions of lower paid workers have suffered pay cuts since 2010, TUC reveals

700 more jobs to go at Centrica

Scottish Gas owner Centrica plans to cut around 700 management and back office jobs under previously announced reductions as it faces “growing challenges,” the company announced this week.

The company said staff had been informed about the job losses, which are part of its ‘ongoing transformation’.

A Centrica spokesman said: “This difficult decision was made because we need to respond to the growing challenges we face. The energy market is going through continued rapid change, competition is fierce, our energy customers are leaving us and we’re operating under a price cap.

“Over the next 45 days, as part of a full consultation process, we will discuss the proposals and seek the views of employees and their representatives.”

Responding to the latest round of job cuts in Centrica, GMB Scotland Organiser Hazel Nolan said: “It’s the continued collapse of a once great British institution ahead of what will surely be a set of disastrous results next month.

“Iain Conn (Centrca’s CEO) is battling to save his skin on the back of a loyal workforce – thousands of livelihoods have already been lost and thousands more will pay the price for Conn’s rotten leadership.

“Let’s be clear that without intervention, sooner or later Scotland will suffer more pain; we expect a continued wave of cuts in the months to come and that’s more bad news for the fragile Scottish economy

“Iain Conn cannot keep cutting his way out of a crisis, Centrica will have to come forward with a credible recovery plan that reverses years of customer decline, defends jobs and works for the public interest.”

UNISON national energy officer Matt Lay said: “This is another terrible blow for a workforce that’s already seen hundreds of jobs go. It’s a catastrophe being repeated up and down the country as all the major energy suppliers axe staff in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way. If the government took the retail arms of the big six energy firms into public ownership these jobs could be saved. The staff could then help us all go green and ensure the UK meets its target to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

Earlier this week UNISON published Power to the People, a report calling on the government to nationalise the parts of the big six energy firms that sell energy to customers to help the UK hit its carbon neutral target by 2050.

The big six energy firms are British Gas (Centrica), SSE, E.ON, EDF Energy, Npower (Innogy) and Scottish Power (Iberdrola).