Cheshire UNISONPage 1
Cheshire East
The Printworks Park West
The Chief Executive Sealand Road
Cheshire East Council Chester
Westfields CH1 4RN
Middlewich Road
Sandbach Tel: (01244) 346894
Cheshire Fax: (01244) 344995
CW11 1HZ
18thJanuary 2017
Dear Sir
Unison response to the proposals contained in the Pre Budget Consultation document commenced at the Corporate Meeting held on 14th November 2016
The discussion document provided by management contained the title ‘starting the conversation’, this being on the information contained in consultation document open to the public.
Unison comments at the meeting were as follows:
The pre budget consultation report commits the council to estimated savings on matters affecting staff reductions, terms and conditions changes, and outsourcing of key services, which will affect both of the aforementioned in addition to future job security and pension implications.
The report does not provide the necessary detailed information for either trade unions or staff to comment on despite these being major issues affecting the whole workforce.
However budget decisions will be based on the identified savings from these actions which means regardless of how many conversations take place or indeed, if there is any detail to inform such conversations responses at this stage are extremely limited.
The council report uses phrases such as " focus on what matters ", " the council serves the people " and " people live well "
Given the council have cut its staff since 2012 by 48% with future staff restructures that require savings of £5 million in 3 key directorates, which will see further job cuts what "matters " is clearly NOT the staff of Cheshire East Council.
The council states in its outcomes it will provide services to the people to ensure quality, and equity of access. However the budget proposed for 2017 and beyond recommends amongst its many proposals it will:
- outsource adult social care services,
- reduce staff across children's workforce,
- refer to DWP universal credit cases,
- seek alternative solutions to care interventions,
- reduce grants to Citizen Advice Bureau,
- create "leaner" methods of carrying out social care practices.
All of the aforementioned in effect transfer the responsibility and delivery of major services to the most vulnerable groups living in the Cheshire East area, away from the council and conveniently the employment and financial responsibilities.
The proposal to save £2.1 million by changing all care services from an in house provision to ‘broader care sector’ which will include closures does not fulfill the councils identified aim to ‘be flexible and responsive’ as such action will be perceived as the council washing its hands of the staff and the current service it provides
The proposals affecting terms and conditions that are immediately identifiable ie mileage rates and user criteria will result in further pay reductions for members that are not sustainable given current pay awards, that when compared with costs of living amount to a pay cut for the last 4 years .
The equality impact assessment of these proposals is not accepted, as the conclusion does not match the statistical analysis.
Unison is seeing an increase in restructures, which do not produce a " best fit " scenario, but believe these are being used as a vehicle to down grade pay, whilst requiring no real reduction in workload with future loss of pay after protection periods close, without identifying what functions and actions will no longer be carried out.
The Cheshire East Council statement of accounts for 2015/2016, highlights that despite the shrinking nature and downsizing of the Council workforce, that a number of key Corporate Leadership Team management posts have received significant increases on their basic remuneration package.
This does not reflect well on Cheshire East Council, and given that the budget proposals contain further restructures and staffing reductions, that our Unison members are at breaking point, through increasing workloads and the subsequent increase in the amount of workplace stress, which has been identified as part of a recent Staffing Committee absence management report.
Unison is equally concerned at pension implications for members, which will be directly affected by outsourcing proposals and will respond once the full information is available.
Overall the councils goal to " become a smaller council " through these and other identified measures, and using staff pay terms and conditions and jobs to produce savings and retaining significant amounts in its reserves is opposed by UNISON.
At this juncture and no doubt beyond once staff and unions have received the full detail of how such proposals are to be introduced in 2017 based on the recommendations to Council.
Yours faithfully
C C Nicholson
Craig Nicholson
Branch Secretary
Cheshire East UNISON