Category: social work

Lancashire County Council – Social Care Support Worker Strikes

The Chair of the Social Work Forum has sent a message of support to staff in social work teams across Lancashire who are taking a second round of strike action over salary grades and working cover. It reads:

As Chair of UNISON’s National Social Work Forum, on behalf of the Forum, I am writing to offer you a strong message of solidarity for the action you are taking and to send you our best wishes.

No one wants to go on strike, but Lancashire County Council’s obstinate refusal to pay you the correct rate for the duties and responsibilities you undertake is fundamentally unjust, and it is right and proper that you have taken steps to challenge this in pursuit of fair pay and a fair grading.

The Covid pandemic shone a spotlight on the vital work adults’ Social Care Support Workers do with vulnerable adults. We know how important Support Workers are in teams delivering Social Work support services alongside Social Worker and OT colleagues. For too long too many Councils (like Lancashire) have exploited their Social Care Support Workers and used them as ‘Social Workers on the cheap’. The time has come to say, ‘enough is enough’ and your strike is providing inspiration across the country for other workers who are being similarly mistreated, undervalued and underpaid.

You have clearly tried over a number of years to engage the Council in a productive manner and in good faith to resolve this matter – and they have thrown this good will back in your faces. This is no way to treat dedicated and skilled staff who are providing services to the community under difficult circumstances.

There is a growing reawakening within the Trade Union movement about the need to stand together. Your action is an important part of building the momentum for the kind of change needed in our society; a rebalancing of power in the workplace; a reversal of the growth in inequality, and the challenging of employers who wilfully underpay and exploit their staff.

Solidarity from the National Social Work Forum. Good luck with your dispute. Please let us know of what further support we can offer.

Kerie Anne, Chair, National Social Work Forum

The article Lancashire County Council – Social Care Support Worker Strikes first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Lancashire County Council – Social Care Support Worker Strikes

The Chair of the Social Work Forum has sent a message of support to staff in social work teams across Lancashire who are taking a second round of strike action over salary grades and working cover. It reads:

As Chair of UNISON’s National Social Work Forum, on behalf of the Forum, I am writing to offer you a strong message of solidarity for the action you are taking and to send you our best wishes.

No one wants to go on strike, but Lancashire County Council’s obstinate refusal to pay you the correct rate for the duties and responsibilities you undertake is fundamentally unjust, and it is right and proper that you have taken steps to challenge this in pursuit of fair pay and a fair grading.

The Covid pandemic shone a spotlight on the vital work adults’ Social Care Support Workers do with vulnerable adults. We know how important Support Workers are in teams delivering Social Work support services alongside Social Worker and OT colleagues. For too long too many Councils (like Lancashire) have exploited their Social Care Support Workers and used them as ‘Social Workers on the cheap’. The time has come to say, ‘enough is enough’ and your strike is providing inspiration across the country for other workers who are being similarly mistreated, undervalued and underpaid.

You have clearly tried over a number of years to engage the Council in a productive manner and in good faith to resolve this matter – and they have thrown this good will back in your faces. This is no way to treat dedicated and skilled staff who are providing services to the community under difficult circumstances.

There is a growing reawakening within the Trade Union movement about the need to stand together. Your action is an important part of building the momentum for the kind of change needed in our society; a rebalancing of power in the workplace; a reversal of the growth in inequality, and the challenging of employers who wilfully underpay and exploit their staff.

Solidarity from the National Social Work Forum. Good luck with your dispute. Please let us know of what further support we can offer.

Kerie Anne, Chair, National Social Work Forum

The article Lancashire County Council – Social Care Support Worker Strikes first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON is standing up for social workers and their profession

 

Summary

  • UNISON is working to highlight the contribution of social workers
  • The union has made four new Standing up for Social Work films which can be found below or at the social work page.

Social workers play an important role in supporting the most vulnerable in society and make a real difference to individuals and families by helping them live their lives more successfully. This could be helping to protect vulnerable people from harm or supporting people to live independently.

But it’s a job that is often either hidden or portrayed negatively in much of the media – social workers help thousands of vulnerable citizens along with their families and carers, yet many publications and reporters are only interested when something goes wrong.

This negative image for the profession leads to staff demoralisation and even causes some to quit. On top of that, social workers have endured a decade of cuts, rising demand for services, growing caseloads and more, causing unimaginable pressure in an already stressful job.

UNISON is the lead union for social workers, with over 40,000 members in the profession.

Those members need investment in wider services in order to do their own jobs. After thirteen years of austerity there are not the community services to refer people to – clubs for disabled children, youth groups, hostels, counselling and mental health services, parent groups and children’s centres.

It means social workers are seeing people at breaking point and the cases they are holding are more complex.

Showing the benefits of social work

“I enjoy achieving change for people who strive to have more successful lives.”

UNISON wants to highlight the positive contributions that social workers make, the benefits of being a union member, and the value and challenges of being a social worker.

To help do that, four films were commissioned earlier this year, featuring UNISON members Angela Medford, Evelyn Williams, Istvan Gulyas, and they are now available to watch and share.

“I enjoy achieving change for people who strive to have more successful lives,” says Angela, a senior social worker in South Lanarkshire (pictured above).

“We are presented within the media as being a relatively negative concept. What is not represented is the positive attributes that the social work profession can bring to people’s lives.

“Being a member of UNISON gives you some comfort in utilising your own autonomy in terms of decision making.

social worker Istvan Gulyas

“The thing I most enjoy about social work is making a difference.”

For senior social worker Istvan (pictured above), who’s based in Surrey, “the thing I most enjoy about social work is making a difference,” but he’s clear that one of the biggest challenges facing the profession is retention.

“I think it’s vital to join the unions for protection at work, improving terms and conditions and pay, and enhancing organisational culture so that you can have a healthy environment to work in.”

Now a UNISON rep, he says it allows him to support his colleagues “through individual and collective issues.

“My advice to my colleagues who haven’t yet joined the trade union is to join one. Social work is a high-risk environment … you can be subject to complaints which the union can effectively help you out.”

social worker Evelyn Williams

“That sense of making positive change for others, that’s a real sense of achievement for me.”

Evelyn (pictured above) is also a senior social worker – in her case, in Caerffili/Caerphilly. “That sense of making positive change for others, that’s a real sense of achievement for me.”

Noting that her part of Cmyru/Wales is “not diverse,” she explains that: “I’ve seen, listened to and been subjected to racism, not just within the workplace, within the community.”

But she is full of praise for the “real commitment, certainly led by UNISON, who have had that dialogue over and over again with the employers, to say you need to change.

“UNISON are the people who give you that voice. They’re the one who will fight for you and recognise when you haven’t had the training, when you haven’t had the support.”

To find out more about UNISON and social work, watch the four films:

You can also visit the social work page.

On 3 November, the national Social Worker of the Year Awards take place, with UNISON sponsoring the Team of the Year, Adult Services category. 

The article UNISON is standing up for social workers and their profession first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON is standing up for social workers and their profession

 

Summary

  • UNISON is working to highlight the contribution of social workers
  • The union has made four new Standing up for Social Work films which can be found below or at the social work page.

Social workers play an important role in supporting the most vulnerable in society and make a real difference to individuals and families by helping them live their lives more successfully. This could be helping to protect vulnerable people from harm or supporting people to live independently.

But it’s a job that is often either hidden or portrayed negatively in much of the media – social workers help thousands of vulnerable citizens along with their families and carers, yet many publications and reporters are only interested when something goes wrong.

This negative image for the profession leads to staff demoralisation and even causes some to quit. On top of that, social workers have endured a decade of cuts, rising demand for services, growing caseloads and more, causing unimaginable pressure in an already stressful job.

UNISON is the lead union for social workers, with over 40,000 members in the profession.

Those members need investment in wider services in order to do their own jobs. After thirteen years of austerity there are not the community services to refer people to – clubs for disabled children, youth groups, hostels, counselling and mental health services, parent groups and children’s centres.

It means social workers are seeing people at breaking point and the cases they are holding are more complex.

Showing the benefits of social work

“I enjoy achieving change for people who strive to have more successful lives.”

UNISON wants to highlight the positive contributions that social workers make, the benefits of being a union member, and the value and challenges of being a social worker.

To help do that, four films were commissioned earlier this year, featuring UNISON members Angela Medford, Evelyn Williams, Istvan Gulyas, and they are now available to watch and share.

“I enjoy achieving change for people who strive to have more successful lives,” says Angela, a senior social worker in South Lanarkshire (pictured above).

“We are presented within the media as being a relatively negative concept. What is not represented is the positive attributes that the social work profession can bring to people’s lives.

“Being a member of UNISON gives you some comfort in utilising your own autonomy in terms of decision making.

social worker Istvan Gulyas

“The thing I most enjoy about social work is making a difference.”

For senior social worker Istvan (pictured above), who’s based in Surrey, “the thing I most enjoy about social work is making a difference,” but he’s clear that one of the biggest challenges facing the profession is retention.

“I think it’s vital to join the unions for protection at work, improving terms and conditions and pay, and enhancing organisational culture so that you can have a healthy environment to work in.”

Now a UNISON rep, he says it allows him to support his colleagues “through individual and collective issues.

“My advice to my colleagues who haven’t yet joined the trade union is to join one. Social work is a high-risk environment … you can be subject to complaints which the union can effectively help you out.”

social worker Evelyn Williams

“That sense of making positive change for others, that’s a real sense of achievement for me.”

Evelyn (pictured above) is also a senior social worker – in her case, in Caerffili/Caerphilly. “That sense of making positive change for others, that’s a real sense of achievement for me.”

Noting that her part of Cmyru/Wales is “not diverse,” she explains that: “I’ve seen, listened to and been subjected to racism, not just within the workplace, within the community.”

But she is full of praise for the “real commitment, certainly led by UNISON, who have had that dialogue over and over again with the employers, to say you need to change.

“UNISON are the people who give you that voice. They’re the one who will fight for you and recognise when you haven’t had the training, when you haven’t had the support.”

To find out more about UNISON and social work, watch the four films:

You can also visit the social work page.

On 3 November, the national Social Worker of the Year Awards take place, with UNISON sponsoring the Team of the Year, Adult Services category. 

The article UNISON is standing up for social workers and their profession first appeared on the UNISON National site.

South Gloucestershire workers continue strike dispute

Social workers and occupational therapists (OTs) working for South Gloucestershire council are to strike twice this week.

Staff will walk out for two days of action, today (Tuesday) and again on Thursday (1 June) after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action in a dispute over pay.

UNISON has been in dispute with the local authority since last summer. The new dates follow three days of strike action in April.

The dispute started after a decision by the council to award staff in children’s services an additional temporary £3,000 payment on top of their basic annual salary. This uplift was not offered to those doing the same job in adult services.

According to the union, a quarter of local authorities are now offering these “market forces” supplements as many are facing significant problems attracting and keeping staff. But UNISON says more staff should receive the supplement.

Dan Smart, branch secretary, UNISON South Gloucestershire said, “Social workers and OTs support people with some of the most challenging issues and situations in society, from domestic abuse to mental health issues.

“Of course, we support pay rises for all workers, but when my colleagues and I at South Gloucestershire council found out we were to be underpaid by £3000 per year in comparison to children’s social workers, we felt insulted and angry.

“Adult social workers have exactly the same qualifications as children’s and are facing very similar challenges in recruitment and retention.

“With the cost-of-living crisis, many are having to vote with their feet and go to where the pay is better. Some of our members have had to  take second jobs just to make ends meet for their families.

“This is the fourth day of strike action in the dispute, with another strike due on Thursday 1 June, which shows the strength of feeling of our members about this issue.

“We urge the council to come forward with an offer to enable us to progress. But in the meantime, we’ll be keeping up the pressure with a lobby of councillors on 12 June and beyond, to ensure our members are treated fairly.”

UNISON South West regional organiser, Jayne Jackson, added: “Strike action is always a last resort, but staff are determined to take a stand on this important issue.

“Negotiations to date have sadly not led to a resolution. But only through talking will this issue be settled. The council must double its efforts to end the strike by paying up and showing it values all its social work employees.”

UNISON head of local government, Mike Short, said: “Social work is an extremely demanding job and councils everywhere are finding it difficult to attract and hold on to staff.

“If this employer is to tackle staffing problems and maintain safe and effective services, councillors should be making these payments to all social workers. Otherwise, experienced employees will simply up sticks and leave for workplaces offering better rates of pay.”

The article South Gloucestershire workers continue strike dispute first appeared on the UNISON National site.