Tag: UNISON

UNISON: Tory hypocrisy as they clap workers on a Thursday and slap them on Monday

UNISON’s Edinburgh Council branch has reacted angrily to attacks on council workers by Conservative leader Ian Whyte in the Evening News (18 January), and has urged the public to get behind staff who have worked ‘above and beyond’ throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Tom Connolly, UNISON Edinburgh branch secretary, said: “Councillor Whyte (below) should be praising the work of council staff who have been providing services above and beyond throughout the pandemic.  Again this is an example of Conservative hypocrisy, clapping workers on the Thursday then slapping them on the Monday.”

Slamming Ian Whyte’s call for staff to be compulsorily redeployed to tasks ‘like winter maintenance’, Tom Connolly added: “I’m sure the public would have questions to ask if staff were taken off tasks like child protection or environmental protection to clear pavements. The fact is that council workers have volunteered in droves to help out throughout the pandemic, inventing new ways of working and ensuring services are delivered where possible. They deserve thanks not criticism.

“Thankfully, the public see the real picture. They see under-pressure, under-paid NHS, Social Care & Council staff and all key workers putting themselves on the frontline to help the vulnerable.

“Councillor Whyte’s comments are the more galling given the Conservative austerity onslaught that has seen local government cut to shreds with 50,000 public service jobs cut in Scotland. The local Conservatives should do something meaningful, such as calling for greater public sector investment

“The real lesson the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is not so-called flexibility to cover up cuts. It is that if all public services had been adequately maintained and grown, we would have been in a much better place to respond.  

“UNISON stands with our members and all keyworkers and thanks them for all that they have done and continue to do.”

Capital faces council services catastrophe

UNISON calls for government help as city council faces hundreds of job losses due to Covid and funding crisis

Edinburgh UNISON, the union representing most Edinburgh council workers, fears that hundreds of jobs could go over the coming months due to the Covid Crisis and poor funding settlements from the Scottish Government.

Tomorrow (Thursday 24 September), Edinburgh councillors will discuss the updated budget shortfall of £12.2 million due to the council’s Covid response.

Gerry Stovin, Edinburgh UNISON assistant branch secretary said: “With this figure, plus the proposed £25 million in cuts already approved for next year and this year’s cuts and savings not achieved, we could be facing a further £50 million of cuts over the next 12 months.

“This would have a disastrous effect on essential services the public rely on, especially at this critical time.

“UNISON is calling on the Scottish Government and COSLA to agree short term additional funding to cover the cost of Covid, financial flexibility and fundraising powers along with a fairer budget settlement for April 2021 for all Scottish councils.”

NHS workers call on government to show its appreciation for them

Early pay rise of at least £2,000 to every NHS worker is needed

Health staff across the UK – including nurses, paramedics, cleaners, domestics and porters – have embarked on two days of campaigning to urge the government to give an early, significant pay rise of at least £2,000 to every worker in the NHS.

Staff in UNISON branches based in NHS hospitals, ambulance stations and clinics will be using social media and taking part in socially distanced events to press home the message that health workers deserve much more than applause for their efforts during the pandemic.

Health workers know the public backs an early NHS pay rise, but now want to see the government show its appreciation for staff by bringing forward the pay rise due in April.

UNISON’s pay claim – delivered to Downing Street last month – would see every NHS employee receive an increase of at least £2,000 by the end of the year.

This early wage increase – equivalent to around £1 an hour extra for all staff – could give ailing local economies a much-needed boost as workers spend the extra money in their pockets on the high street, says UNISON.

With the arrival of autumn, and the increasing rates of infection, UNISON believes now is the perfect time for the government to show the high regard in which ministers say they hold NHS staff.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “Infection rates are rising in care homes and out in the wider community, and hospital admissions are on the up.

“The pressure on staff is beginning to build again, as the NHS tries to open services shut earlier in the year and deal with the backlog of cancelled appointments and operations.

“That’s why now would be the perfect time for the Prime Minister and Chancellor to show they can do more than clap for NHS staff, and demonstrate their appreciation in a much more practical way.

“Boris Johnson’s pie in the sky plans for any time, any place, anywhere ‘moonshot’ testing would cost a mindboggling £100bn. An early pay rise for NHS staff would be a tiny fraction of that and would make a huge difference to individuals and the services they help provide.

“Investing in the NHS and its incredible workforce is a must for the government. It would help the health service tackle the mounting staff shortages that were already causing huge problems even before the virus hit.

“An early pay rise would also be the country’s best way of saying a heartfelt thank you to every single member of the NHS team.”

‘Pay Up Now’ for NHS staff: socially distanced demonstration tomorrow

UNISON, Scotland’s biggest health union, will hold socially distanced demonstrations across Scotland tomorrow (18 August). The demonstrations are the next stage in UNISON’s campaign for a pay rise for NHS staff.

UNISON Pay up Now campaign is thanking the public and asking them for their continued support for a NHS pay rise.

The trade union is calling on the Scottish Government to reopen the NHS three year pay deal, and for ministers to sit down with the trade unions to discuss a pay rise for all NHS staff.

NHS staff have had real term pay cuts over the last decade with significant extra costs over this pandemic. Including extra childcare costs because they are working extra shifts, extra transport costs because of restricted public transport, extra costs because they have being isolating from family, or even extra laundry costs and buying personal PPE.

NHS staff have been working long hours and many report being mentally and physically exhausted. Their response to this pandemic has been heroic.

Tom Waterson, chair of UNISON Scotland health committee said: “UNISON are organising socially distanced demonstrations across Scotland on Tuesday 18 August to show the strength of feeling of NHS staff about pay.

“The public support for our heroic NHS workers throughout this pandemic has been amazing. Thursday night clapping was hugely appreciated by health workers across the UK.

“However the reality is that NHS workers have seen their pay eroded over the past decade and some NHS staff are amongst the lower paid in Scotland. So please continue your support for NHS workers. They deserve it.”

Government action on coronavirus in England ‘a catalogue of errors’

A National Audit Office (NAO) report has catalogued the UK Governement’s response to the coroanvirus pandemic.  UNISON says the report is ‘a catalogue of errors’ and highlights a ‘complete absence of planning or thought for social care’.

The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) provides a factual overview of the response by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other bodies during March and April 2020 to prepare the NHS and adult social care in England for the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the second report in the NAO’s programme of work on government’s response to the outbreak.

After declaring a Level 4 National Incident in relation to COVID-19 in late January, on 17 March the NHS set out measures to prepare for a surge in infections. From 13 March DHSC began to issue guidance to the care sector before publishing an action plan for adult social care on 15 April.

So far, government has allocated £6.6 billion from the Coronavirus Emergency Fund to support the health and social care response to COVID-19 and £3.2 billion directly to local authorities to respond to COVID-19 pressures across local services.

Action taken by the NHS to increase capacity meant there were enough beds and respiratory support nationally at the peak of the outbreak in April.

Between mid-March and mid-April, the NHS increased the number of beds available for COVID-19 patients from 12,600 to 53,700, by, for example, discharging patients and postponing elective, or planned, procedures.

Planned activity fell by 24% in March 2020 compared to March 2019. The NHS also contracted with private hospitals to use up to an additional 8,000 beds, and established temporary Nightingale hospitals.

This meant that nationally the number of COVID-19 patients never exceeded the number of available beds.

From early March to mid-May, available ventilators and other oxygen support also increased, with the number of mechanical ventilators rising from 9,600 to 13,200. Over the April peak, the NHS also met the national demand for oxygen supply.

Other measures implemented to help the NHS cope with the outbreak included the temporary deployment of 18,200 additional staff to clinical and support roles, of which around 8,000 were retired or former staff making themselves available for such roles.

There have been numerous outbreaks of COVID-19 within adult care homes in England, with more than one in three reporting an outbreak between 9 March and 17 May. This peaked at just over 1,000 homes in the first week of April.

Some parts of the country were more affected than others, with the North East being the area with the largest proportion of its care homes (just under half) reporting an outbreak by 17 May.

Patients discharged quickly from hospitals between mid-March and mid-April were sometimes placed in care homes without being tested for COVID-19.

On 17 March, hospitals were advised to discharge urgently all in-patients medically fit to leave in order to increase capacity to support those with acute healthcare needs.

Between 17 March and 15 April, around 25,000 people were discharged from hospitals into care homes, compared with around 35,000 people in the same period in 2019.

Due to (UK) government policy at the time, not all patients were tested for COVID-19 before discharge, with priority given to patients with symptoms. On 15 April, the policy was changed to test all those being discharged into care homes. It is not known how many patients discharged to care homes had COVID-19 at the point they left hospital.

The £3.2 billion funding for local authorities was to help them respond to COVID-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including adult social care. Some in the sector are concerned that local authorities have not increased the rates they pay to care providers. In a survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, around half of local authorities said they were temporarily increasing rates.

Testing for health and social care workers has faced challenges.

On 17 March the NHS announced that testing would begin being rolled out to NHS staff with symptoms. Limits on testing capacity meant tests started to be rolled out to symptomatic NHS staff from 27 March.

This was extended to care workers on 15 April and to the rest of their households two days later. From 28 April, all care home staff were eligible for tests but the DHSC capped the daily amount of care home tests at 30,000, to be shared between staff and residents.

The government does not know how many NHS or care workers have been tested in total during the pandemic.

Based just on tests carried out by the NHS, NHS England & NHS Improvement estimates that the number of NHS staff and the people they live with who were tested increased from 1,500 to 11,500 a day during April.

A range of bodies across health and social care have raised concerns about the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).

At the start of the outbreak, the only central stockpile of PPE was designed for a flu pandemic. Although an independent committee advising on stockpile contents had recommended in 2019 that items such as gowns and visors should be included, these had not been stockpiled.

The central procurement route set up to supply PPE during the outbreak met the modelled PPE requirement (under a worst case scenario) for some items in NHS trusts, but distributed 50% or less of the modelled requirement for gowns, eye protectors, or aprons. It only addressed a small proportion of the modelled requirement for PPE among social care providers.

Within its wider programme of COVID-19 related work, the NAO will undertake more detailed assessments of specific elements of the health and social care response, which will also help to identify lessons for subsequent stages of this pandemic and other future emergencies.

Launching the report, Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “This report demonstrates the enormous efforts of staff across health and social care to respond at speed to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While we have not sought to evaluate government’s response in this report, our work raises some important considerations.

“The speed and nature of the response in health and social care has been shaped by longstanding differences between the sectors and ongoing financial pressures. Government’s ability to increase beds, ventilators, PPE and testing has varied in part because of the number of other bodies, both national and international, with which it has had to engage.

All of these issues need to be taken into account as government plans for the later phases of the pandemic and future emergencies.”

Readying-the-NHS-and-adult-social-care-in-England-for-COVID-19

Commenting on the report, UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “This is a catalogue of errors and highlights once again a complete absence of planning or thought for social care.

“Discharging patients to care homes without testing was simply scandalous and accelerated the spread of the virus among an obviously high-risk group.

“This report confirms what staff have said from the start, that the supply of protective equipment in social care was woefully inadequate.

“And it makes clear the (UK) government doesn’t know how many people have actually been tested in care.

“It’s plain the care sector was out of sight, out of mind in the early stages of the pandemic. The result has been a tragic and catastrophic loss of life.

“When the government announced compulsory face coverings for the NHS but made no mention of care, it was clear lessons haven’t been learned. The sector’s still being treated as an afterthought.”

Council to place 500 staff on furlough

As the City of Edinburgh Council announces 500 staff will go on furlough, UNISON has stepped up to ensure they are protected and has called for long term investment to protect local jobs and services after years of cuts.

Tom Connolly, UNISON City of Edinburgh branch secretary, said: “Our members have responded heroically to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis – providing support to the most vulnerable members of our communities, looking after the children of key workers and collecting our refuse to name but a few examples.

“As we begin to move out of lockdown our communities will need even more support than ever before. After years of cuts, only sustained long term investment will protect jobs and services at Edinburgh City Council.”

The union has ensured that furloughed staff will continue to get full pay and pensions contributions.

Tom Connolly added: “It is regrettable that UNISON members may be finding out about the councils furlough announcement through the media.

The unions had initial contact from the employer on Monday (8 June) about the proposal to furlough groups of staff.  Immediate reassurance was sought and given that every member of staff would continue to receive full pay, full pension contributions, and all other benefits associate with their job during the period of furlough.

“It was also recognised that by using the furlough scheme in what had to be specific income generating sectors, and had needed to be closed down due to COVID-19,  the council would benefit financially by the sum of £500,000 .

“We continued in dialogue with the employer up to late on this afternoon and are fully confident that our members affected will be fully protected, we would accept nothing less.

“What is  clear, our council has suffered year in and year out from the constant cuts to funding from both the Westminster austerity agenda and real term cuts to local government funding from the Scottish government. The huge responsibilities placed on local government by the pandemic has massively impacted on an already precarious financial position.

“The issue of funding for council services now and in the future must be addressed and all costs associated with the provision of added services resulting from COVID-19 should be fully met by the Scottish Government.

“As we begin to move out of lockdown our communities will need even more support than ever before. Only sustained long term investment will protect jobs and services at Edinburgh City Council.

“Negotiating on behalf of and supporting our members during this time of crisis has been of paramount importance to UNISON and that is what we will continue to do.”

‘Widespread anxiety’ as schools return in England

Anxiety is widespread among school workers about their safety, their families’ and that of pupils ahead of a return to the classroom across England today, says UNISON.

UNISON has published a catalogue of concerns from support staff who make up more than half the schools’ workforce.

Teaching assistants, catering staff, administrative workers, caretakers and other school employees have told the union they are being banned from wearing protective masks, denied gloves when handing packed lunches to parents and being spat at by children with behavioural issues.

These issues are among hundreds reported to UNISON’s PPE alert web page by support staff, including many who have continued to work in schools during the lockdown.

They also include accounts of having to buy their own hand sanitiser, parents failing to social distance when they visit and working without hot water in schools attended by the children of key workers.

In separate findings, a survey by UNISON based on responses from 12,781 support staff has found that three in ten (30%) are losing sleep, suffering high anxiety or both as a result of plans to open schools more widely in England.

Only a small minority (4%) said that schools had adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

The union is calling on ministers to make schools have enough PPE to protect staff, their families and the children they look after from the risks of infection from coronavirus.

UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “Support staff are essential to schools running properly and they shouldn’t have to feel scared about doing their jobs.

“But it’s no wonder they feel anxious and are losing sleep – and that makes for worried parents too.

“Schools need much more time to complete their risk assessments and ensure that, wherever possible, support staff aren’t being made to fill in for teachers.

“Parents need their minds putting at rest that teaching assistants, catering workers and other support staff have access to all the masks and gloves they need. Or they simply won’t send their children back.

“A delay to the reopening plans will allow unions and government the space to work together to reassure staff and families in England that the return to school can happen safely.”

Comments made by school support staff in emails to UNISON’s PPE alert include:

  • “I‘m making packed lunches in a primary school and also work as a cleaner (in a primary school). I have to hand over the lunches to the children’s parents each day and was told I cannot have gloves as they are a risk.”
  • “We’ve been told we can’t wear masks. But if a child has a first aid issue then we have to be close to that pupil to administer first aid.”
  • “I’m a teaching assistant working with key worker children. We have no PPE – no hand sanitiser, no gloves, nothing. We have soap but no hot water.”
  • “The school cannot source sanitiser anywhere so we need to supply our own and claim the money back from the school.”
  • “Parents aren’t maintaining distance at the door, and children aren’t being sent in clean clothes as requested. I was coughed on twice today and a child sneezed on me.”
  • “I’ve worked one-to-one with a pupil who on the first day spat at me. He’s aggressive and they’ve placed us in a small room together. My daughter has asthma – I’m so worried we considered sending her to grandparents until this is over. We’ve been told not to wear masks because they could scare the children.”

Remembering the workers who lost their lives to Covid-19 at work

Today is International Workers’ Memorial Day, when trade unions around the world remember workers who lost their lives and commit to keep the living safe.

This is the story of Peter, Mary, Cheryl, Zeeshan and Emeka – five UK workers who were taken by Covid-19.

Today is International Workers’ Memorial Day, when trade unions around the world remember workers who lost their lives and commit to keep the living safe.

This year we especially remember the frontline workers who lost their lives to Covid-19 while looking after our loved ones and keeping our country running.

We will be forever in debt to the workers who have died during this pandemic – our nurses, doctors, care staff and other essential workers.

Remember the dead, fight for the living.

Minute’s silence

At 11am today – Tuesday 28th April – take part in the minute’s silence.

It will be a moment to pay tribute to the sacrifice made of so many workers during the pandemic, to remember those who’ve sadly lost their lives, and to thank all those who continue to do vital work at great risk.

The initiative is supported by the government, and reps may wish to request employers mark it, by asking the workforce to cease work for one minute at 11am.

Help spread the word about the minute’s silence, by encouraging as many friends and colleagues to take part, whether in their workplace of at home.

You can quickly spread the word by posting this tweet, sharing this Facebook status or asking your contacts on WhatsApp to join you in taking part in the silence.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “For every minute this pandemic continues, people are making extraordinary sacrifices to keep us safe and run our vital services.

“The least we can all do is spare a moment to pay our respects and show our gratitude to all the key workers who have lost their lives.”

The silence is also an opportunity to think about all those workers who are continuing to keep the country safe and functioning, says UNISON.

Society of Occupational Medicine calls for a goal of zero workplace deaths due to COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) is today renewing its call for the UK government to prevent any further work-related deaths.

Scores of UK healthcare workers have already died from COVID-19 infections and their deaths will be marked today at 11am with a moment’s silence. But at SOM, we do not believe that work-related fatalities due to COVID-19 exposure are inevitable. In fact, we believe a goal of zero work-caused fatalities is achievable.

Today is the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, an initiative supported by the United Nations. SOM backs the aim of raising awareness on the adoption of safe practices in workplaces and the role that occupational safety and health (OSH) services play.

As politicians discuss the end of the lockdown and people plan their return to work, we believe it is essential that all employers conduct risk assessments to ensure the safety of all employees.

With the proper application of safe systems of work and the use of a hierarchy of control, no worker should die of work-acquired COVID-19.

Concern has been raised about the shortcomings of and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), but PPE should be considered the lowest form of protection. Employers must consider a range of controllable factors in the work environment and this includes the use of design, engineering and administrative controls.

SOM is calling for robust and increasing access to occupational health (OH). The need for advice from occupational health doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, hygienists, ergonomists etc. is required. The need to protect our workers has never been greater and is the core role of OSH.

SOM is also supporting a multidisciplinary drive across sectors to raise awareness, share knowledge and engage employees in solutions. It is encouraging workplaces to design-in exposure prevention measures as advised by the Health and Safety Executive – helping employees take the opportunity to better understand the risks and demonstrate good practice in their work.

Dr Will Ponsonby, Society of Occupational Medicine President said: “The UK could and should have aimed for a target of zero work-caused fatalities in this pandemic. The need to protect our workers has never been greater, and that goal must be put in place as the foundation for all future planning.”

Fair pay for public sector workers?

Guaranteeing a fair deal for the public sector workforce and protecting lower-paid workers underlines the wellbeing focus of this year’s Scottish Budget, according to new Finance Secretary Kate Forbes – but local government trade union UNISON says care workers are being undervalued. 

Scottish Government policy decisions mean the starting salaries for staff in a range of public sector professions in Scotland are already higher than in England, including:
• a newly-recruited teacher will earn £26,697 in Scotland, compared to £24,373 in England
• a band 5 staff nurse will earn £24,670 in Scotland, compared to £24,214 in England
• a newly-recruited police officer will earn £26,037 in Scotland, compared to £20,880 – £24,177 in England

The 2020-21 Public Sector Pay Policy published alongside the Budget includes a range of measures to further support the public sector workforce:
• a guaranteed 3% pay uplift for public sector workers earning up to £80,000
• a cash uplift of £750 for public sector workers who earn £25,000 or less
• continuing the Scottish Government’s commitment to the real Living Wage, now set at £9.30 per hour
• limiting to £2,000 the basic pay increase for those earning £80,000 or more

Ms Forbes said: “Wellbeing and fairness are at the heart of this year’s Budget, and promoting the wellbeing of our public sector workers by protecting and increasing their pay is an important part of that.

“This pay policy responds to real-life circumstances, with measures to help us tackle inequalities by protecting the salaries of lower-paid employees. And of course investing in our hardworking public sector workforce will also help deliver top-class public services while supporting jobs and the wider economy.

“I am grateful for the engagement Ministers have had with the trades unions and others, and now hope Parliament will work with us to pass this Budget and reward our vital public sector workers.”

However Local government union UNISON says care workers are being treated unfairly and is campaigning to see better pay and conditions for these key public sector workers.

Christina McAnea, UNISON assistant general secretary, said: “For all the things that are wrong with the care system in this country, we have a workforce that are passionate and committed. They care desperately about the people they look after. That’s a fantastic place to start in trying to build a care system that works.”

But care workers are not treated fairly. Care is in crisis, thanks to a system that has been underfunded and ignored by governments for years. Care workers and the people that they look after are paying the price.

UNISON is campaigning for change and urges councils across the country to sign up to their Ethical Care Charter. The union is fighting to win:

  1. Decent jobs, including:
    • A real living wage
    • Full pay for sleep-in’s and travel time
    • Fair contracts, no zero hours
    • Enough time to care
    • A safe working environment
  2. Quality standards: A national framework for care, with pay and training linked to standards.
  3. Fair funding: We are building political alliances and public support to get the right solutions for care workers and care users.

Local government umbrella body COSLA says the Scottish Government draft budget falls far short of what it considers a fair settlement for the country’s councils. 

COSLA says the draft budget results in a £95m (£300m real terms) cut to revenue and £117m (£130m real terms) cut to capital budgets.  The impact of these cuts will continue to be felt.  This budget does not recognise the vital role Local Government plays in the economy across Scotland.

COSLA Environment and Economy Spokesperson Councillor Steven Heddle said:  “Councils campaigned strongly for an increase in funding so that we can continue to develop local economies that provide fair and accessible work opportunities for everyone.

“Regretfully, the Government has again ignored these warnings and failed to recognise the unique role councils play in growing local economies.

“We are the main employer in almost every local authority in Scotland providing a tenth of Scotland’s workforce. If any other part of the economy was facing the risks we are, the Government would step in.

“When councils have the money to invest in capital projects, the benefits are felt across communities – from training and apprenticeships to support for local supply chains – this year’s Capital Budget will mean these benefits will all be lost.

“Less core revenue funding for economic development support, planning and regulation will also hit communities hard.

“We are calling on the Government and the Parliament to address these concerns, listen to our asks and prevent the loss of essential council services which communities rely upon.”

Silent Slaughter: Community groups and Trade Unions urge council cuts rethink

Capital Coalition poised to slash city services by more than £34 million 

Campaigners from North Edinburgh Save Our Services and representatives from Edinburgh Tenants Federation will appeal to city councillors to draw back from making swingeing cuts to council services across the city when they speak at  deputations to the City Council’s Budget meeting on Thursday. Continue reading Silent Slaughter: Community groups and Trade Unions urge council cuts rethink