Fragmented and under-funded

Two fundamental themes came out of UNISON’s national community seminar and conference in Chester last weekend – organising and funding. Each is an issue which presents particular challenges to the community sector.

Funding

On funding, activists at the seminar on Friday heard a detailed presentation from Rebecca Young, head of policy, research and campaigns at The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

Ms Young detailed the organisation’s recent research into the cost of delivering public services in the charity and voluntary sector. She said that the research surveyed over 300 organisations and, although it couldn’t claim to be fully representative of the voluntary sector, “it gives a meaningful snapshot of the experiences of voluntary organisations delivering public services in 2023/24.”

It found that charities have always been a part of the “ecosystem of public services” and provide just under £17bn worth of essential services.

Yet, due to a lack of adequate public funding, many of them struggle to meet the demand. As a result, they are either reducing the number of people they support, subsidising their funding with other sources of income, or withdrawing from public service delivery altogether.

On a workforce level, four out of five respondents said it was more difficult to recruit and retain staff. Meanwhile, 45% said it is already, or will be more difficult to pay the national minimum wage in the next year without subsidising funding, while 58% said the same of the real living wage.

Funding was again a theme during the sector’s conference, on Saturday, underpinning many of the motions.

One motion, ‘Pay for the real responsibilities of all care workers’ noted that introducing a national fair pay agreement would be a positive first step towards dealing with endemic low pay.

However, it also identified that to implement a fully evaluated national pay structure for care roles, UNISON must campaign for full funding from government.

And a motion on ‘the real value of the charity and voluntary sector’ called on the service group executive to campaign, with the NCVO and other appropriate organisations, for increased funding of the services the sector provides.

Organising

Elsewhere, several motions identified the host of difficulties faced in organising in the sector.

One motion, ‘Supporting organising in community hybrid workplaces’, acknowledged the central issues. It said: “Many community employers are small organisations with little or no HR or IT capability. As a result, there are particular challenges engaging staff as a coherent team and for UNISON to organise effectively.”

It went on to argue that this fundamental issue has only been compounded by the move to hybrid working, as “many charities have closed their offices, forcing their workers to become homeworkers.”

As well as having a huge diversity of employers, the community sector also has a particularly diverse workforce. The motion ‘Engaging and developing Black activists’ identified the continued reports of racism which Black workers experience. It argued that even with the success of the union’s Year of the Black Worker in 2023, there must be continued support for Black members to network and organise.

Another motion identified the vulnerability of migrant workers in the social care sector. The skilled worker visa leaves workers ‘tied’ to employers and can prevent migrant workers from raising issues in their workplace for fear of repercussion.

The motion called on the service group executive to ensure that those members are signposted toward appropriate UNISON support and that the issues they face are covered by the union’s campaign for a national care service.

 

The article Fragmented and under-funded first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Fragmented and under-funded

Two fundamental themes came out of UNISON’s national community seminar and conference in Chester last weekend – organising and funding. Each is an issue which presents particular challenges to the community sector.

Funding

On funding, activists at the seminar on Friday heard a detailed presentation from Rebecca Young, head of policy, research and campaigns at The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

Ms Young detailed the organisation’s recent research into the cost of delivering public services in the charity and voluntary sector. She said that the research surveyed over 300 organisations and, although it couldn’t claim to be fully representative of the voluntary sector, “it gives a meaningful snapshot of the experiences of voluntary organisations delivering public services in 2023/24.”

It found that charities have always been a part of the “ecosystem of public services” and provide just under £17bn worth of essential services.

Yet, due to a lack of adequate public funding, many of them struggle to meet the demand. As a result, they are either reducing the number of people they support, subsidising their funding with other sources of income, or withdrawing from public service delivery altogether.

On a workforce level, four out of five respondents said it was more difficult to recruit and retain staff. Meanwhile, 45% said it is already, or will be more difficult to pay the national minimum wage in the next year without subsidising funding, while 58% said the same of the real living wage.

Funding was again a theme during the sector’s conference, on Saturday, underpinning many of the motions.

One motion, ‘Pay for the real responsibilities of all care workers’ noted that introducing a national fair pay agreement would be a positive first step towards dealing with endemic low pay.

However, it also identified that to implement a fully evaluated national pay structure for care roles, UNISON must campaign for full funding from government.

And a motion on ‘the real value of the charity and voluntary sector’ called on the service group executive to campaign, with the NCVO and other appropriate organisations, for increased funding of the services the sector provides.

Organising

Elsewhere, several motions identified the host of difficulties faced in organising in the sector.

One motion, ‘Supporting organising in community hybrid workplaces’, acknowledged the central issues. It said: “Many community employers are small organisations with little or no HR or IT capability. As a result, there are particular challenges engaging staff as a coherent team and for UNISON to organise effectively.”

It went on to argue that this fundamental issue has only been compounded by the move to hybrid working, as “many charities have closed their offices, forcing their workers to become homeworkers.”

As well as having a huge diversity of employers, the community sector also has a particularly diverse workforce. The motion ‘Engaging and developing Black activists’ identified the continued reports of racism which Black workers experience. It argued that even with the success of the union’s Year of the Black Worker in 2023, there must be continued support for Black members to network and organise.

Another motion identified the vulnerability of migrant workers in the social care sector. The skilled worker visa leaves workers ‘tied’ to employers and can prevent migrant workers from raising issues in their workplace for fear of repercussion.

The motion called on the service group executive to ensure that those members are signposted toward appropriate UNISON support and that the issues they face are covered by the union’s campaign for a national care service.

 

The article Fragmented and under-funded first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Community conference told: ‘You are the stewards of the New Deal’

UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards opened the union’s national community conference in Chester on Saturday before introducing shadow deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who gave a speech to delegates before taking questions.

Mr Richards took aim at the recent Conservative government budget calling it “fantasy policy making, and a low piece of political theatre”.

“What did it offer to support the work that you or our members do? What about housing – an issue seen as the number one priority by younger workers?

“Where were the provisions to support people struggling with rapidly rising rents? Where were the big plans to address the shortage of new homes?

“In one of the richest countries in the world, how can this government ignore the fact that so many people have nowhere to live and no money to spend?”

And he continued: “Looking ahead, this year will be dominated by the continuing collapse of the government in the lead up to the general election.

“As a union, we aren’t starry eyed – we are a worker’s organisation and our aims and objectives are to improve work and pay and conditions. This won’t change no matter which political part is in power in whichever UK country.”

Hope for a different future

Mr Richards also spoke of being introduced to the shadow deputy prime minister while she was an activist in the union. He continued: “Angela’s heart and soul are in the trade union movement – she’s UNISON through and through and we’re very lucky to have her in that role.

“Importantly, she represents working class interests in parliament, and the Tories know this. They can’t stand a successful working-class woman – and there are far too few people with working-class backgrounds in parliament nowadays.”

He continued: “Conference, we need people Like Angela in government, and we need a government that listens to working people and trade unions.

“After more than a decade of mismanagement, austerity and public services cuts – this country deserves better – Angela and a new Labour government in Westminster offer hope for a different future.

Jon Richards speaks from the podium at UNISON's national community conference 2024

Jon Richards

Angela Rayner – raised in UNISON

Ms Rayner then spoke to delegates, saying how she was “born in Stockport, but raised in UNISON” and telling delegates of her journey from starting as a young member in the union.

Moving on to the upcoming general election, which must be held by January 2025, she took aim at the Conservative Party’s record in power: “The truth is they’ve had 14 years and the one question we have to ask ourselves is: do you feel better off?

“After 14 years, do you think your children have better opportunities? Do you think the services you provide are better and well-resourced compared to 14 years ago? No.

“The absolute chaos we’ve had under the Conservatives – especially during the last five to six years. They’d like you to think it’s the war in Ukraine or it’s the pandemic, but the truth is – globally, we’ve become a laughing stock.”

She noted the current prime minister’s commitment to ‘max out’ the UK’s oil and gas reserves as he announced more North Sea drilling last year, saying: “Rishi Sunak is looking backwards to fossil fuels instead of looking forward like Labour are with the Green New Deal – jobs for the future, technology for the future, aspirations for our children.”

She continued: “I think we’re at a crossroads now. We can choose to invest in the people of this country, to invest in our public services, to grow the economy – or we can choose looking backwards and more managed decline. That’s not what I want for my children or my grandchildren. That’s not what I want for you.”

Stewards of the New Deal

Speaking about the role unions play in informing Labour policy and holding the party to account, she said: “During this election, you are the stewards of the New Deal for working people. For the 1.5m homes that I’m going to make sure Labour builds, including council and social homes. Because we need social housing in this country.

“We need better terms and conditions. We need strong collective bargaining and we need to repeal anti trade union legislation that the Tories brought in.

“So, while we’re in these rooms, we should keep pushing. We should set our bar really, really high and we should keep pushing to make sure we do better. But to our members, to our friends and family, to our neighbours, we have to tell them what our movement’s success are.

“The last Labour government gave me Sure Start, the Labour government before gave me the opportunity to have a council house. The Open University, free education, the welfare state, the NHS – it was Labour governments that brought the changes.

“We have to explain to people that our movement isn’t perfect, but five more years of the Tories will decimate our communities.”

Concluding her speech, she noted that, regardless of polling, Labour won’t be taking anything for granted in the election run-in, but said: “If I’m lucky enough to become your deputy prime minister, you will see your fingerprints all over the next Labour government because I know some things are bigger than individual aspiration.

“Our movement is bigger than the sum of its parts and what we will achieve together will set us on course to give our children and grandchildren the future that they deserve.”

The article Community conference told: ‘You are the stewards of the New Deal’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Community conference told: ‘You are the stewards of the New Deal’

UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards opened the union’s national community conference in Chester on Saturday before introducing shadow deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who gave a speech to delegates before taking questions.

Mr Richards took aim at the recent Conservative government budget calling it “fantasy policy making, and a low piece of political theatre”.

“What did it offer to support the work that you or our members do? What about housing – an issue seen as the number one priority by younger workers?

“Where were the provisions to support people struggling with rapidly rising rents? Where were the big plans to address the shortage of new homes?

“In one of the richest countries in the world, how can this government ignore the fact that so many people have nowhere to live and no money to spend?”

And he continued: “Looking ahead, this year will be dominated by the continuing collapse of the government in the lead up to the general election.

“As a union, we aren’t starry eyed – we are a worker’s organisation and our aims and objectives are to improve work and pay and conditions. This won’t change no matter which political part is in power in whichever UK country.”

Hope for a different future

Mr Richards also spoke of being introduced to the shadow deputy prime minister while she was an activist in the union. He continued: “Angela’s heart and soul are in the trade union movement – she’s UNISON through and through and we’re very lucky to have her in that role.

“Importantly, she represents working class interests in parliament, and the Tories know this. They can’t stand a successful working-class woman – and there are far too few people with working-class backgrounds in parliament nowadays.”

He continued: “Conference, we need people Like Angela in government, and we need a government that listens to working people and trade unions.

“After more than a decade of mismanagement, austerity and public services cuts – this country deserves better – Angela and a new Labour government in Westminster offer hope for a different future.

Jon Richards speaks from the podium at UNISON's national community conference 2024

Jon Richards

Angela Rayner – raised in UNISON

Ms Rayner then spoke to delegates, saying how she was “born in Stockport, but raised in UNISON” and telling delegates of her journey from starting as a young member in the union.

Moving on to the upcoming general election, which must be held by January 2025, she took aim at the Conservative Party’s record in power: “The truth is they’ve had 14 years and the one question we have to ask ourselves is: do you feel better off?

“After 14 years, do you think your children have better opportunities? Do you think the services you provide are better and well-resourced compared to 14 years ago? No.

“The absolute chaos we’ve had under the Conservatives – especially during the last five to six years. They’d like you to think it’s the war in Ukraine or it’s the pandemic, but the truth is – globally, we’ve become a laughing stock.”

She noted the current prime minister’s commitment to ‘max out’ the UK’s oil and gas reserves as he announced more North Sea drilling last year, saying: “Rishi Sunak is looking backwards to fossil fuels instead of looking forward like Labour are with the Green New Deal – jobs for the future, technology for the future, aspirations for our children.”

She continued: “I think we’re at a crossroads now. We can choose to invest in the people of this country, to invest in our public services, to grow the economy – or we can choose looking backwards and more managed decline. That’s not what I want for my children or my grandchildren. That’s not what I want for you.”

Stewards of the New Deal

Speaking about the role unions play in informing Labour policy and holding the party to account, she said: “During this election, you are the stewards of the New Deal for working people. For the 1.5m homes that I’m going to make sure Labour builds, including council and social homes. Because we need social housing in this country.

“We need better terms and conditions. We need strong collective bargaining and we need to repeal anti trade union legislation that the Tories brought in.

“So, while we’re in these rooms, we should keep pushing. We should set our bar really, really high and we should keep pushing to make sure we do better. But to our members, to our friends and family, to our neighbours, we have to tell them what our movement’s success are.

“The last Labour government gave me Sure Start, the Labour government before gave me the opportunity to have a council house. The Open University, free education, the welfare state, the NHS – it was Labour governments that brought the changes.

“We have to explain to people that our movement isn’t perfect, but five more years of the Tories will decimate our communities.”

Concluding her speech, she noted that, regardless of polling, Labour won’t be taking anything for granted in the election run-in, but said: “If I’m lucky enough to become your deputy prime minister, you will see your fingerprints all over the next Labour government because I know some things are bigger than individual aspiration.

“Our movement is bigger than the sum of its parts and what we will achieve together will set us on course to give our children and grandchildren the future that they deserve.”

The article Community conference told: ‘You are the stewards of the New Deal’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON opinion: This is what community looks like

By UNISON’s assistant national officer for community, Haifa Rashed

I often get asked, what is the community service group? It seems a simple question, but even as an officer in the sector, it’s not simple to answer.

I can tell you who we represent. UNISON has 85,000 members in community, they are: housing officers, care workers, support workers, admin workers, project workers, children’s services workers and more.

I can tell you who those members work for. They work for charities large and small, non-profits and housing associations.

I can even tell you where they work. They can work in people’s homes offering frontline support and care, in women’s refuges, in LGBT+ spaces, in leisure centres or in offices like any other sector.

But when you look at the community service group as a whole, it’s hard to sum it up in one sentence and say – this is who we are. It may seem a bit of an academic exercise, but it has real consequences and tells us a lot about the issues community members face.

The range of roles, employers and workplaces make it a real challenge organising and representing members in the sector. There is no unifying pay structure and no national terms and conditions.

Moreover, many community members in UNISON sit within local government and health branches and this can have an isolating effect on them.

All of this makes it harder for workers in the sector to demonstrate their collective strength.

In turn, it makes the sector’s conference and seminar all the more important. Today (Friday), hundreds of community members will gather in Chester, debate issues workers are facing and find that common ground which they share.

Key among these issues is funding. Recent research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations surveyed over 600 charity leaders across the UK. It demonstrated the reliance of the public sector on charities and non-profit organisations and highlighted some stark truths.

The voluntary sector delivers over £11bn worth of public services every year but 87% of organisations surveyed subsidise public service contracts and grants from their own funds to carry out services.

Four in ten said the funding they are awarded in grants and contracts has never covered their true costs, while 44% said they have not covered their costs since 2020 (at least).

For members, insufficient funding means charities struggle to meet their minimum wage and living wage obligations, or they have to find savings elsewhere. This can be by charging workers to pay for essential DBS and other criminal records checks, or by reducing training opportunities or employer pension contributions. It also translates to stagnant wages, with the sector falling behind both private and public sector rises.

Inevitably, less attractive wages, worse terms and conditions and more pressure to deliver increasingly extensive public services with less real-terms funding leads to issues in recruiting and retaining staff. And without strong recruitment and retention, workers are asked to cover even more and to stretch even further.

In housing associations, this means dealing with people with complex mental health issues and effectively acting as a one-stop-public-service-shop – housing officer, social worker, benefits adviser and more. It’s little surprise that there is an increasing turnover rate in the sector, particularly in customer facing roles.

Meanwhile in social care, a sector with over 150,000 vacancies, the recent government decision to limit migrant workers bringing dependents will do nothing but worsen the vacancy crisis. This is low-wage work which is hard enough.

The decision will make it all the harder and leave members who work on the social care visa at risk of being ‘tied’ to their employers and vulnerable to unfair employment practices.

There is common ground among members in the sector through the issues that they face.

Yet, when I’m asked what the community service group is, I don’t say it’s a group of people united by facing the same set of issues – but by something more fundamental.

They aren’t working for private profits for shareholders, or to bring political glory to politicians – whatever their employer, workplace or role – they are all providing support for people who need it, and they take great pride in the positive impact of their work.

The article UNISON opinion: This is what community looks like first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON opinion: This is what community looks like

By UNISON’s assistant national officer for community, Haifa Rashed

I often get asked, what is the community service group? It seems a simple question, but even as an officer in the sector, it’s not simple to answer.

I can tell you who we represent. UNISON has 85,000 members in community, they are: housing officers, care workers, support workers, admin workers, project workers, children’s services workers and more.

I can tell you who those members work for. They work for charities large and small, non-profits and housing associations.

I can even tell you where they work. They can work in people’s homes offering frontline support and care, in women’s refuges, in LGBT+ spaces, in leisure centres or in offices like any other sector.

But when you look at the community service group as a whole, it’s hard to sum it up in one sentence and say – this is who we are. It may seem a bit of an academic exercise, but it has real consequences and tells us a lot about the issues community members face.

The range of roles, employers and workplaces make it a real challenge organising and representing members in the sector. There is no unifying pay structure and no national terms and conditions.

Moreover, many community members in UNISON sit within local government and health branches and this can have an isolating effect on them.

All of this makes it harder for workers in the sector to demonstrate their collective strength.

In turn, it makes the sector’s conference and seminar all the more important. Today (Friday), hundreds of community members will gather in Chester, debate issues workers are facing and find that common ground which they share.

Key among these issues is funding. Recent research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations surveyed over 600 charity leaders across the UK. It demonstrated the reliance of the public sector on charities and non-profit organisations and highlighted some stark truths.

The voluntary sector delivers over £11bn worth of public services every year but 87% of organisations surveyed subsidise public service contracts and grants from their own funds to carry out services.

Four in ten said the funding they are awarded in grants and contracts has never covered their true costs, while 44% said they have not covered their costs since 2020 (at least).

For members, insufficient funding means charities struggle to meet their minimum wage and living wage obligations, or they have to find savings elsewhere. This can be by charging workers to pay for essential DBS and other criminal records checks, or by reducing training opportunities or employer pension contributions. It also translates to stagnant wages, with the sector falling behind both private and public sector rises.

Inevitably, less attractive wages, worse terms and conditions and more pressure to deliver increasingly extensive public services with less real-terms funding leads to issues in recruiting and retaining staff. And without strong recruitment and retention, workers are asked to cover even more and to stretch even further.

In housing associations, this means dealing with people with complex mental health issues and effectively acting as a one-stop-public-service-shop – housing officer, social worker, benefits adviser and more. It’s little surprise that there is an increasing turnover rate in the sector, particularly in customer facing roles.

Meanwhile in social care, a sector with over 150,000 vacancies, the recent government decision to limit migrant workers bringing dependents will do nothing but worsen the vacancy crisis. This is low-wage work which is hard enough.

The decision will make it all the harder and leave members who work on the social care visa at risk of being ‘tied’ to their employers and vulnerable to unfair employment practices.

There is common ground among members in the sector through the issues that they face.

Yet, when I’m asked what the community service group is, I don’t say it’s a group of people united by facing the same set of issues – but by something more fundamental.

They aren’t working for private profits for shareholders, or to bring political glory to politicians – whatever their employer, workplace or role – they are all providing support for people who need it, and they take great pride in the positive impact of their work.

The article UNISON opinion: This is what community looks like first appeared on the UNISON National site.