unions Archives - The Stray Ferret

Ambulance workers in Harrogate district on strike again today

Ambulance workers in the Harrogate district are staging another one-day strike today.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff who are members of the GMB union have set-up another picket line outside the ambulance station on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate, close to the hospital.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are among those taking part in the industrial action, although ambulance workers will continue to respond to the most serious incidents.

Further ambulance strikes are planned on March 6 and 20 and Harrogate District Hospital will be hit by a two-day nurses’ strike beginning on March 1.

GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison urged the government to “talk pay now” and claimed ministers were unwilling to solve the dispute.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the strikes “only cause further disruption for patients” and he remained “keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable”.

Harrogate district teachers go on strike — and firefighters could be next

Teachers in the Harrogate district will go on strike today — and firefighters could be next.

The district has seen a wave of industrial action in recent weeks involving rail, postal, nursing and ambulance workers.

Members of the National Education Union, Britain’s largest teaching union, are on strike today in a move that will affect many local schools. Today will also see no Northern train services operate on the Harrogate and Knaresborough line.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of the NEU North Yorkshire, said picket lines were being organised at Grove Road Community Primary School in Harrogate and King James’s School in Knaresborough.

There is also the prospect of Harrogate district firefighters walking out after the results of a strike ballot this week revealed 88% of Fire Brigades Union members voted yes on a 73% turnout.

The FBU has given the government and employers until February 9 to come forward with an improved pay offer to avert what would be the first nationwide fire strike since 2003.

Harrogate is the only fire station crewed 24 hours in the Harrogate district and is likely to be affected by any action.

Harrogate Fire Station on Skipton Road

It is not known to what extent other local fire stations would be involved. Ripon is crewed from 8am to 6pm each day and on call outside these hours. There are 24-hour on call stations at Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Masham and Summerbridge plus a volunteer station at Lofthouse.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said:

“This is an absolute last resort for our members. The responsibility for any disruption to services lies squarely with fire service employers and government ministers.

The government has urged the FBU to “reconsider and keep negotiating” and said it is working to mitigate any risks posed by a strike.

Harrogate district nurses vote to strike

Nursing staff in the Harrogate district have voted to go on strike over pay and patient safety concerns.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust nurses were among those from many trusts in England that voted to strike, the Royal College of Nursing said today.

A spokesman for the trust said it would be for the union to decide when a strike will take place.

Many of the biggest hospitals in England will see strikes by RCN members but others narrowly missed the legal turnout thresholds to qualify for action.

This is the first statutory ballot on industrial action across the UK in the 106-year history of the RCN.

Industrial action is expected to begin before the end of this year and the RCN’s mandate to organise strikes runs until early May 2023, six months after members finished voting.

Nursing staff were balloted following NHS Agenda for Change pay announcements this year. The RCN said in a statement this left experienced nurses 20 per cent worse off in real-terms compared to ten years earlier.

RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said:

“Anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough. The voice of nursing in the UK is strong and I will make sure it is heard. Our members will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work.

“Ministers must look in the mirror and ask how long they will put nursing staff through this. While we plan our strike action, next week’s Budget is the UK government’s opportunity to signal a new direction with serious investment. Across the country, politicians have the power to stop this now and at any point.”

England Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he “deeply regretted” some union members had voted for action and said the government’s priority was “keeping patients safe during any strikes”. He added:

“The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.”

Rail strike: 10% of Harrogate and Knaresborough trains to run today

Rail services in Harrogate and Knaresborough will be severely affected by a second day of strike action today.

Only about 10% of services are expected to operate on the line between York and Leeds.

Rail operator Northern is expected to be among the worst affected by today’s industrial action by the RMT union.

A third strike is expected on Saturday.

People hoping to travel by train to the first day of the England vs New Zealand Test match at Headingley will be among those affected.

Harrogate station has been largely deserted for the last two days.

Many services ran yesterday but passengers had heeded warnings not to travel.

Rail campaigner Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said:

“We are very concerned that this unnecessary national rail strike will risk driving people away from rail and thereby undermine and set back rail’s steady recovery from the pandemic.

“We express deep regret and concern given the uncertainty the industry and its consumers face following the effects of covid on passenger numbers.

“We ask management and government to get talking to the unions resolve things and for everyone to avoid further aggravating tensions by making hostile or critical comments. We urge the union to be more considerate of the impact on passengers of all categories.”

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A statement by Northern said:

“Customer safety is our priority, we advise you not to travel between Tuesday 21 and Sunday 26 June and make alternative plans.

“There will be no replacement buses or alternative travel provided.”

Harrogate council staff could strike over ‘derisory’ pay offer in New Year

Strike action over a “derisory” pay offer for council staff could take place in Harrogate in the New Year.

Unison at Harrogate Borough Council is set to ballot members over whether or not to take industrial action after its members rejected a 1.75% pay increase last month.

Of a turnout of 62% of its members, 74% voted to refuse the pay offer.

The offer followed a national consultation from the Local Government Association over a pay increase.

A draft timetable will see members receive ballot papers from December 1 and close on January 14.

It means strike action could take place as early as February, if members vote for this option.

David Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate branch of Unison, has described the pay offer as “inadequate” and “derisory”.

He said:

“This overwhelming majority makes clear the strength of feeling among local government workers about their pay, here in Harrogate but nationwide too.

“Council and school workers have been the unsung heroes of the covid pandemic, working tirelessly and often at risk to their own safety to serve their communities.

“Meanwhile, since 2010 the value of their pay has fallen by 25%. The 1.75% pay offer is completely inadequate and Unison members have made their feelings about it clear.”

Teachers need vaccine says Harrogate union rep

A Harrogate teacher is supporting calls by a union to ensure teachers are vaccinated alongside other frontline workers.

Sharon Calvert, teacher and the national executive member of NASUWT for the Harrogate area, believes teachers need to be vaccinated for their own health and to ensure schools can safely reopen.

The government has said 88% of all covid fatalities are from vulnerable groups making it necessary to prioritise the vaccine for those most at-risk.

When schools reopened in September many introduced a bubble system to reduce contact between students and staff. Some age groups were told to wear face masks in corridors.

Ms Calvert supports her union’s campaign ‘Vaccinate to Educate’. The union launched a petition which has reached almost 460,000 signatures and is set to be debated in parliament tonight.

Ms Calvert said:

“Teachers are frontline workers! We have seen whole year groups sent home and many in the schools in the Harrogate area struggle to maintain a safe environment. It would be prudent for all educational staff to be tested and prioritised to be vaccinated to ensure that staff will be protected.”

Many teachers are still heading into school to teach vulnerable or key worker children.

Ms Calvert said specialist schools are also open and, due to the children’s needs, teachers are unlikely to be able to maintain a safe distance or wear face coverings:

“Special schools are still open to all students. Staff at these schools are working with vulnerable young adults who may need personal care, certainly a two meter distance is not achievable so the staff need to be prioritised as caregivers as well as teachers.

“This will also protect those vulnerable students.”

‘Council now talking to us’ says union

Discussions have been held between the council and trade unions over plans to transfer sport and leisure services to a private company.

Unison has this morning confirmed that it has met with Harrogate Borough Council representatives to discuss the proposal to form a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC) to run its leisure facilities.

Unison branch secretary David Houlgate said:

“We are thankful that the Council is now talking to us and the meeting yesterday was helpful. We are also pleased that the Council has let us have some written detail too. We need to take a good look at that but already we can make the following observations:

“Clearly the council has ambitious plans for new and upgraded facilities and we cautiously welcome this but it has to be remembered that sport and leisure is a discretionary service so we would not wish to see high spending in this area impact on other, more critical, services elsewhere which could put jobs at risk.”

As well as the council’s six six leisure centres and its Active Health service, the plans could include transferring Little Explorers Day Nursery, the Turkish Baths, and community centres in Jennyfield, Fairfax and Knaresborough to the LACC.

According to a report set to be considered by HBC’s cabinet next week, transferring services stands to save £222,000 in business rates and £76,000 in VAT, with improved financial performance of £130,000 per year. There would be additional costs of £144,000, leaving savings of £284,000 per year, in the council’s figures.

The council has projected an increase in revenue of around £500,000 – equivalent to 10 percent of its current income – as a result of being run by a single-focus company.

The report also states that the council commissioned four studies into its leisure services in and alternative ways of delivering them, in 2018. It adds:

“SLL’s final report was presented to Cabinet on December 16, 2019 and as a result cabinet agreed in principle to progress the creation of a Company to run its sport and leisure facilities and services.”

Discussions between HBC and unions this week follow a public disagreement between them. Unison said on Monday it was disappointed that the council had failed to make any contact with its members – a claim which HBC branded “ridiculous”.

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The council consulted with residents last month about the proposals. In the report to cabinet, the results show 46 percent of the 433 people who responded either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the plans. Twenty-seven percent agreed or strongly agreed, while 27 percent neither agreed nor disagreed.

“We have seen the council report and it would appear that this decision was actually taken last year, so we do wonder what the point of the recent resident’s survey was. Having now seen the survey responses it does seem to confirm our view that there is not much support from the 433 residents who responded, for sport and leisure to be run by a LACC.”

The union has welcomed measures to protect employees, including keeping them in the local government pension scheme. However, it raised concerns about changing terms and conditions after the LACC is formed, and the possibility that an outside provider will be found to run services in future.

The proposals to create the LACC will be put before the council’s cabinet when it meets online next Wednesday, June 17.