Recently in strikes Category

There's a very insightful piece on the Guardian today about why the strikes in Southampton aren't making the council change direction on pay cuts.

Gregor Gall writes:

"In the case of Southampton, the Unison and Unite unions have not been able to create a Wisconsin-type of situation because the alliance between the residents and unions cannot be magicked out of thin air. These alliances need to be built before they are called upon in times of industrial disputes."

I was thinking something similar myself the other day when I proposed a slightly different solution to the ones we've seen discussed so far.

The council and unions are due to meet this Wednesday and the council is expected to come to the table with a fresh set of proposals.

Care staff at social care provider Quarriers will go on strike today at protest of pay cuts of up to 20%.

The strike isn't the first industrial action by care staff over cuts in the third sector, but it does reveal a growing trend. Industry leaders have warned there will be more problems like it in the months to come.

Certainly it represents a challenge for David Cameron's big society ideal because right now it appears voluntary sector providers are suffering just as badly as anyone else from reduced council budgets.

If you're working in the third sector and are being hit by pay cuts or company belt tightening due to the recession let us know.

Social workers and social care workers at Shropshire council will begin to receive ballot papers from tomorrow on whether to call a strike over plans to cut pay by up to 5.4%.

If the strike action goes ahead they would be the second set of council social care staff to strike following weeks of action at Southampton council.

The council has not come forward with any alternatives to its pay cuts of up to 5.4% since it was informed of the union's intention to ballot members last week, according to Unison.

The ballot closes on 8 September.

Home care workers in Bristol are to take to the streets on 3 September to protest about privatisation of their jobs.

The council plans to move all its home care provision into the private sector, which is hardly unusual, councils have been doing it for years. However, against a backdrop of widespread budget cuts, job instability and decreasing living standards, home care workers are understandably annoyed.

Unite say the changes will affect over 1,000 people's care.

Only 1,000 of 6,500 workers at Shropshire council have signed up to a new pay deal which cuts pay by up to 5.4%, the Shropshire Star reports.

Unfortunately a breakdown of how many social workers or social care workers are within that number is not available.

Unions in the region said the result was a "disappointment" for the council. However, the council's corporate head of organisational development, Jackie Kelly, said: "We expect plenty more to do so throughout September when the summer holidays are over."

It looks like they are not much closer to seeing eye-to-eye and avoiding strike action.

Social workers at North East Lincolnshire council seem to be the next group in a growing number of council staff set to go on strike.

Yesterday, the local Unison branch put out a statement saying it will reject the council's revised offer on changes to workers terms and conditions.

Social workers at Southampton council have already gone on strike over pay cuts, their compatriots in Shropshire may be set to walk out over cuts to pay and yesterday social workers in all of Northern Ireland look set to gear up for mass walk outs along with other staff in health and education.

North Lincolnshire still has a number of hoops to jump through before it even reaches the point of balloting members but given the general mood and the way other negotiations have gone a peaceful resolution looks a way off.

It's looks like it's going to be a turbulent autumn.

Image by kozumel on Flickr

There seems to be a magic number floating around when it comes to justifying changes to council social workers terms and conditions - 400.

Apparently wherever a council is changing people's pay or leave entitlements it will always save the council around 400 jobs.

That's how many jobs Southampton council are saving with their much disputed pay cuts. It's also the number of jobs which will be saved by changes in Plymouth.

Shropshire, to its credit, has been a bit more creative. Its cuts will save over 400 jobs, a figure which is probably shorthand for between 400 and 410.

It all seems a bit too convenient to me. Are councils doing their sums right? Just to make sure, the video below contains some basic instructions.