Barnet Council workers strike to stay public

Barnet Council workers on 48 hour strike over outsourcing threat

barnet 1

Barnet UNISON members who still work for Barnet Council will begin 48 hour strike starting on Monday 1 June.

The dispute involves coach escorts, drivers, social workers, occupational therapists, schools catering staff, education welfare officers, library workers, children centre workers, street cleaning & refuse workers, all of whom have made it clear they want to remain employees of the Barnet Council.

UNISON Branch Secretary, John Burgess, said: “Our members want to work for the Council, they want to be directly accountable to the residents of Barnet. Our members don’t want to work for an employer which will have to place the shareholders’ legal demands before local residents’ needs. Our members don’t want to work for an employer which  uses zero hours contracts. Our members don’t want to work for an employer which will not pay the London Living Wage as a basic minimum. Our members don’t want to work for an employer which won’t allow their colleagues to belong to their Pension Scheme, and our members don’t want to work for an employer which will take jobs out of the borough.

That’s why 87% of our members working for the Council voted ‘Yes’ to taking strike action. So far the Council has failed to come close to agreeing to any one of these demands.”

A Barnet UNISON member has written and produced a music campaign video called The easyCouncil Loco-motion which pretty much sums up the mood of members.

UNISON West Sussex Branch Committee has already donated £500 to the Barnet UNISON Industrial Action Fund to support workers there to take strike action.

We send our best wishes to UNISON members in Barnet taking action to preserve their public identity, jobs and terms and conditions.