Unison Archives - Page 3 of 4

Harrogate council HQ ‘like the Mary Celeste’, says councillor

A councillor has compared Harrogate Borough Council‘s headquarters at Knapping Mount to the abandoned ghost ship the Mary Celeste, due to the number of staff still working from home.

The multi-million-pound Civic Centre opened in 2017 and can accommodate up to 500 council workers. However, the council is still encouraging many staff to work from home despite lockdown restrictions being removed.

Nick Brown, the Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, told the Stray Ferret yesterday that he was unsatisfied with the response of Conservative council leader Richard Cooper to a question he asked at a council meeting last week.

Cllr Cooper said decisions about working practices should be made by senior officers rather than councillors.

Cllr Brown told the Stray Ferret:

“We councillors agreed to spend £13m on a new Civic Centre, opened in 2017, for officers to work in. Yet the leader now tells us that it is not members’ business to require council officers to work there.

“Prior to the covid pandemic, the Civic Centre was a busy place where I as a councillor could find the officers that I wished to speak to. Now it is like the Mary Celeste!”.

Cllr Brown believes ending the work from home policy would “benefit the local economy”.

He added:

“Our Conservative Prime Minister has given a clear message to end working from home in the public sector, in order to boost the economy.

“As a Conservative-led council, I believe we should get officers back at their desks and using the Civic Centre.”

The public sector workers union Unison said it “broadly supports” the council’s decision to allow staff to work from home.

David Houlgate, branch secretary for the Harrogate district, told the Stray Ferret council staff proved during the pandemic they can work from home effectively.

He added:

“We believe the government’s Living with Covid strategy to scrap all remaining covid rules in England was reckless.

“So we broadly support this cautious approach taken by Harrogate Borough Council about returning to the Civic Centre at this time.

“Staff have demonstrated over a two-year period that they can deliver vital public services whether or not they are in the office or working from home.

“We’re confident that that can continue, though poor pay does present an ever increasing risk.”

‘Agile working’

The Stray Ferret has asked the council for the number of staff currently working from home who would normally be in the Civic Centre.

A council spokesperson said:

“Following the updated guidance in relation to the end of Plan B measures, staff are permitted to work from the office should they wish to or are required to do so.

“The number of staff using said office(s) differs day-by-day so it would be difficult to provide a comprehensive figure. Staff also come and go from the office depending on their job role; housing and planning officers for example.

“And while covid has seen a significant increase in staff working from home – and rightly so – many staff were already doing so. The civic centre was designed in such a way that staff could hybrid work or ‘hot desk’ if they so wished.

“Agile working is something adopted by many local authorities and companies long before covid and is one of the many benefits of working for Harrogate Borough Council.”

Harrogate council strike action averted after national ballot

The prospect of Harrogate Borough Council staff going on strike over pay has been removed after a national ballot.

Trade union Unison balloted members over whether or not to take industrial action after members rejected a 1.75% pay increase last year.

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

Of 62% of Unison members in the Harrogate district, 74% voted to refuse the pay offer.

However, a national ballot held last month on whether to take strike action over the offer saw just 14.5% of Unison members turn out to vote.

Under government trade union laws, strike action cannot legally progress unless there is at least a 50% turnout for the ballot and the majority votes to strike. Because the national turnout was just 14.5%, the strike will not therefore take place.

David Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate branch of Unison, said the proposed 1.75% pay offer would only increase pressure on frontline council services.

He said:

“While an overwhelming majority of those who voted were prepared to show their anger at the employers’ derisory 1.75% pay offer by taking strike action, they are prevented from doing so because the number of votes cast in the ballot is less than 50% of the number entitled to vote in the ballot.

“With inflation predicted to hit 6% this year, this amounts to another real terms pay cut for council workers across the country and will increase the pressure on frontline services, already struggling with a huge number of vacancies and losing employees at an alarming rate.”

Council staff ‘deeply unhappy’ over pay

Unison and other trade unions have said they will now look towards next year’s pay offer.

Mike Short, head of local government at Unison, said:

“The results show there’s deep unhappiness among council and education staff about a pay offer so far below the spiralling cost of living.

“There’s a real danger local authorities and schools will now lose staff to employers willing and able to grant above-inflation wage rises. Leading supermarkets, hospitality outlets and other private sector firms have either made, or are considering, pay increases allowing workers to keep on top of rocketing bills.

“Unison will consider its next steps and liaise with other unions when their ballots are complete.”

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.”

Unison in Harrogate to ballot on strike action after rejecting pay offer

Unison at Harrogate Borough Council is to ballot members on industrial action after rejecting a “derisory” pay offer.

Members of the union voted to refuse a proposed increase of 1.75% last month. The offer followed a national consultation from the Local Government Association over a pay increase.

Of a turnout of 62% of its members, 74% voted to refuse the pay offer. Union bosses described the proposal as inadequate and “derisory” and recommended that members turn it down.

Now, Unison has said it will formally ballot its members on industrial action.

Dave Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate local government branch, 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-19 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.”

Union officials said they intend to send out ballot papers in November or early December.

They added that any industrial action would be taken in the New Year, although this would be dependent on the outcome of the ballot.

The move to ballot on industrial action follows 79% of Unison members across England and Wales voting to reject the pay offer.

Unison Harrogate rejects ‘derisory’ council staff pay offer

The Harrogate Borough Council branch of Unison has voted to reject a pay offer following a ballot with members.

The trade union held a ballot, which closed on Friday, over whether to accept a proposed increase of 1.75%. The offer followed a national consultation from the Local Government Association over a pay increase.

Unison officials described the offer as “derisory” and recommended members reject the proposal.

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

Dave Houlgate, Harrogate branch secretary of Unison, said it was “little surprise” that staff voted to reject the proposal.

He said:

“Staff are worn down after years of real-terms pay cuts and with inflation at nearly 4%. Despite this they’ve continued to go above and beyond during the pandemic in providing much needed services to support residents and businesses alike in the district.

“There has still been no formal public recognition for their efforts from the council but to be clear, Unison is in no doubt that council staff have been fantastic over the past 18 months or so and at the very least deserve a decent pay rise for once.”

The Harrogate branch balloted borough council staff, while North Yorkshire Unison consulted with school staff.

The branch will now await the results from ballots across England and Wales before taking further steps, which could include industrial action.

Harrogate Borough Council have been approached for comment.

250 jobs ‘under review’ at Harrogate council

Nearly 250 jobs at Harrogate Borough Council are under review in a potentially major shake-up of several departments.

Not all 250 staff in the review are at risk of losing their jobs but some will receive ‘at risk’ letters warning them that they could be made redundant.

The review is across departments, including parks and environmental services, transport, street cleaning, pest control, bereavement services, recycling and waste.

Trade union Unison is currently holding a consultative ballot with members who are employed by the council over whether to accept the local authority’s “derisory” pay offer.

Dave Houlgate, Unison’s Harrogate branch secretary, said council staff were experiencing “review fatigue”, with members feeling “overworked and undervalued”.

He said:

“This is the latest in an ongoing cycle of reviews staff at Harrogate Borough Council have been through now over the last decade.

“It could be said that staff are now experiencing ‘review fatigue’, which on the back of the ongoing pandemic and derisory pay offer does present a challenge in relation to ongoing recruitment and retention issues.

“Our members feel overworked and undervalued.

“Whilst this is clearly a major review, Unison remains confident that none of our members at Harrogate Borough Council will be made redundant against their wishes in this particular review.”

A council spokesperson said the review was about ensuring “the best value for money for the taxpayer”.

They added:

“All organisations, whether they are public or private sector, routinely review their services so that they are fit-for-purpose.

“This review will provide us with the opportunity to listen to feedback from our staff and partners – such as the union – and ensure we provide the best service possible for our customers, residents and of course staff.

“As the union have suggested, a review doesn’t automatically mean job cuts. The purpose of this review is to ensure a better service for everyone and create opportunities for existing and new people to join our team, learn new skills and support the delivery of our services.”

Unison in Harrogate ballots council staff over ‘derisory’ pay offer

The Harrogate Borough Council branch of Unison is holding a consultative ballot with members in local government over whether to accept a “derisory” pay offer.

The trade union is recommending members reject the offer, which could lead to another ballot on whether to take industrial action.

Unison is balloting members at Harrogate Borough Council, its new council-owned leisure company Brimhams Active and Ripon City Council.

School staff will be balloted separately by the North Yorkshire Local Government branch of Unison.

Dave Houlgate, Unison’s Harrogate branch secretary, said:

“Council and school workers have been offered a 1.75% pay rise with those on the very lowest pay point being offered 2.75%.

“This is yet another derisory offer which will only compound the local government recruitment and retention crisis and increase the demand for in-work benefit support.

“The fact is that with inflation at 3.8% this is another real-terms pay cut and comes on the back of local government pay having fallen by a quarter since 2010.

“This is a shocking way to treat staff who went above and beyond during the pandemic, kept communities safe, supported businesses, cared for the most vulnerable and ensured schools remained open throughout successive lockdowns.”

Mr Houlgate added women make up the majority of local government employees, and were among the lowest paid in the country. He added:

“It’s time they and the services they provide were properly recognised. Pats on the back and the occasional well done don’t pay bills or feed families.”

“No one wants to take industrial action but sometimes it does become necessary and that may be the case this time.”

The consultation ballot ends on 24th September.

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment.

Unison awaiting answers over Harrogate council staff using public toilets

The trade union Unison is still in talks with Harrogate Borough Council over some staff having to use public toilets during office hours.

The union first raised concerns in April when plans to move Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre into the Courthouse Museum got underway.

As part of the move, roles are set to be amalgamated — tourist information officers and museum assistants will become ‘visitor experience assistants’ and become part of the council’s new Destination Management Organisation led by Gemma Rio to coordinate tourism.

The museum site doesn’t have adequate on-site toilet facilities, forcing staff to use public toilets on Cheapside.

Unison has argued the situation was never ideal and is now no longer viable as more staff join them.

The council and union representatives have met in recent weeks to discuss alternatives. The union is now waiting for the council to respond.

David Houlgate, Unison Harrogate branch secretary, said:

“We’ve asked them [the council] to identify somewhere for staff to have decent welfare facilities. We both agree Portakabins wouldn’t be suitable.”

The union has said it is also making contact with local organisations to see if it’s possible for staff to share facilities.

Mr Houlgate added:

“The union understands there won’t be any compulsory redundancies but there may be some voluntary redundancies. We want to avoid any compulsory redundancies.”

‘Not possible to install toilets at museum’

A council spokeswoman said

“The Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre has relocated into the Courthouse Museum at Knaresborough Castle as planned. This coincided with the castle’s reopening following lockdown on July 19.

“The decision to relocate the tourist information centre into the courthouse museum pre-dates the creation of the Destination Management Organisation and the restructure that is currently being undertaken.

“There is no toilet available on site at Knaresborough castle and museum and due to the historic nature of the site it is not possible for us to install one.

“For this reason the staff at the castle are required to use the public toilets in the adjacent car park which are owned, managed and cleaned by Harrogate Borough Council.

“Staff at the Castle have used these public toilets for as long as the site has been staffed. However, we are continuing to explore alternative arrangements within the vicinity”.

200 Harrogate council leisure staff set to transfer to new company

Union bosses have said they have received assurances there are “no plans” to change conditions for council staff after this week’s overhaul of leisure services in the Harrogate district.

Some 200 Harrogate Borough Council employees transferred to a new local authority controlled company called Brimham’s Active at the start of August.

Brimham’s Active will run the council’s 11 leisure venues, including The Hydro in Harrogate, Knaresborough Pool, Ripon Leisure Centre and Nidderdale Pool.

The move has raised employment concerns among those staff affected but Unison said all workers will maintain their current terms and conditions.

David Houlgate, secretary of Unison Harrogate local government branch, said the union will continue to monitor the situation after the company becomes active.

He said:

“We have been successful with our campaign and have received assurances that there are no plans to change existing terms and conditions following the transfer.

“We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure this position does not change.”

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said all leisure staff would transfer to Brimham’s Active under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, better known as TUPE, on August 1.

New leisure company

The council voted last year to create a new local authority controlled company to take over the running of its leisure facilities.

At the time, council officials said the move would save £400,000 a year and that the authority would have a majority of representatives on the new company’s board.

The company has since been incorporated and appointed seven directors. They include local councillors, council officers and Mark Tweedie, who has been appointed managing director of Brimham’s Active.

According to Companies House, Zoe Appleton-Metcalfe, Wallace Sampson, Samuel Gibbs, Stan Lumley, Trevor Watson and Pat Marsh have been appointed directors.

The council has also announced a £26 million investment in the Harrogate Hydro and a new leisure centre at Knaresborough, which was expected to be financed by borrowing from the government.

In June last year, Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for tourism and sport, said the new company and investment plan “came hand in hand” and would help the authority save money.

Straight Talk: Masks? Compulsory vaccination? Unison’s approach seems contradictory

This opinion column is written by Marilyn Stowe. Marilyn built the largest family law firm in the UK, which she ran from Harrogate. She sold her firm in 2017 to private equity left the law and is now a writer and speaker.

‘Now isn’t the time to ditch mask wearing’ solemnly intoned Christine McAnea, this week. She is General Secretary of Unison, the UK’s largest Union, which provides public services in the NHS. Unison is clearly unhappy with the lifting next week of emergency legal requirements imposed on the population during the pandemic.

She slammed the Prime Minister for ‘side stepping the responsibility that comes with Government’ and added ‘Talk of personal responsibility could see NHS and care staff put in impossible, potentially abusive, situations. They’ll be the ones left to ensure people continue to mask up.’

Are you for or against mask wearing after next week? I loathe them, and blame the damn things for a nasty chest infection I suffered recently, after attending a four hour meeting in a stuffy set of offices, all the time wearing a mask. I developed a cough, took a couple of covid tests both of which were negative, but interestingly when I went to my (reopened) hair dresser, several of the customers had the same non Covid cough, all of them blaming their masks. Whether breathing in and out, your own CO2 for four hours is the cause or not, I find it hard to believe that a non medical mask, a piece of paper or bit of cloth is going to protect someone else from me or me from them of an easily spread viral respiratory disease. Just over a year ago world science said it wouldn’t and there is still no consensus as to its overall efficacy. I’m pleased though the decision is now up to me, and I will wear the mask as required even though I loathe it and regard it largely as a placebo for others.

Unlike vaccines. They’re in a demonstrable world class success league, as numbers of deaths have dropped globally post vaccination. I’ve nevertheless got friends who refuse to have it and as it’s their choice and their life, presumably they feel lucky. I do believe in their freedom to choose, but always balanced against the right to impose restrictions in the interests of the general public on the non vaccinated. Thus various countries are refusing to admit non vaccinated travellers and, in my view, they are entitled to do so in the interests of their own citizens.

This week in Parliament, MPs also voted to mandate that from October it will be a legal requirement for all staff in CQC registered care homes to be double vaccinated. One of the worst aspects of the pandemic has been its impact on residents in care homes, sitting ducks, thousands dying alone in an unstoppable rampage unable to say goodbye to their own families. It seems a must, that our loved ones are protected to the hilt as this pandemic is far from over, as even double vaccinated, there is no guarantee of immunity from the disease. Care homes must do their best. So staff must now choose to be vaccinated or reassigned elsewhere. If they do not wish to be vaccinated and I understand their right to choose, they must not impose a risk in care homes.

Harrogate district’s three conservative MP’s voted in favour of the mandatory requirement, but they were slammed again by Unison, who you might think would be overjoyed with the decision given their criticism of the government over masks. Not a bit of it. They tweeted after the vote:

‘ Concerning that conservative MPs in our area voted to allow the state to mandate vaccination.

“We encourage all our members to get vaccinated, but making it law is not the way a liberal democracy should operate’

That’s politics for you.

Straight Talk: Refusing Grantley Hall a helipad is petty

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‘Not possible to install toilets at museum’

New leisure company

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