Edinburgh budget response: Defending services or administering austerity?

UNISON's Tom Connolly made the following submission to Edinburgh City Council's budget meeting today as Joint Trade Unions Staff Side Secretary.  

As we come towards the end of the organisational review processes associated with the Transformation programme, we have witnessed the loss of over 1400 jobs.

We have real concerns of the current and future impact on our member’s terms and conditions, their lack of resources and excessive workloads and the negative impact that this has on the services provided to the most vulnerable and deprived.

Cuts threaten safer housing for private tenants – and will lose council money, says UNISON

UNISON’s Edinburgh branch is warning that cuts to the council’s Private Rented Service Team could threaten safer housing for private tenants and lose the council hundreds of thousands in income.

The team ensures private landlords meet safety standards, especially in relation to houses of multiple occupation (HMO). They work closely with owners, agents and architects at the planning stages to ensure buildings comply with HMO standards.

Their work with public safety and the fire service is also key to ensuring that houses of multiple occupation are safe. Registered and unregistered lets and unlicensed HMO properties are investigated and reported on.

Landlords pay £55 to register and £11 for each property and with the number of registered landlords going up from 26,000 to 42,000 since 2008, income for the council is substantial - £9.7 million since 2011. But it could be more. It is suspected that there may be thousands of unregistered landlords in Edinburgh and cuts in staffing will hinder the ability to track these down, with all that means for protection for tenants and income for the council.

A UNISON Edinburgh spokesperson said: “The team has been working understaffed and under budget for years while workloads continue to increase. PRS staff have identified where savings could be made and where further revenue could be obtained, whilst continuing to provide a good service to landlords, agents, tenants and other stakeholders but this has been ignored.

“The council has pledged to: ‘Enforce tenancy agreements (Council and private landlord) with a view to ensuring tenants and landlords fulfil their good conduct responsibilities.’ How will this pledge be delivered with the Private Rented Service being cut?”

ENDS

What council cuts really mean - Tell your councillor and MSP 'enough is enough'

UNISON Edinburgh's latest cuts newssheet outlines how the cuts will affect you as a worker and you and your family as citizens. http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/un/undecember.pdf

What the cuts are doing to council staff...
Cutting 2, 000 jobs or around 10% of staff
Threatening compulsory redundancies
No plan to deal with the increasing workloads and stress.

Outsourcing of music instructors
Outsourcing a further 25% of home care work to lower pay providers.
Reducing wages in disability services whilst acknowledging  poor recruitment/ retention levels.

UNISON says ‘Our City’s still Not For Sale’ as Edinburgh privatisation looms again

In 2012, Labour, SNP and Green councillors combined to stop the wasteful privatisation of Edinburgh Council services after UNISON and the wider community united under the ‘Our City’s Not For Sale’ banner.

Now, officials are drawing up reports for Labour and SNP councillors (who are now the Council’s ruling coalition) that will put privatisation back on the agenda.

Sadly, UNISON is again having to campaign to say ‘Our City’s still Not for Sale’ and is calling on the coalition councillors to ‘Keep Edinburgh Public’ and honour the pledges that got them elected.

Council Transformation - Be champions of services not cuts

Statement on Edinburgh 'Transformation' by Amanda Kerr UNISON Branch Secretary.

UNISON has major concerns about this report to council.

With so little details can councillors honestly put hand on heart and say they they fully understand exactly what they are signing up to?

Whilst we can see how the report lays out a mini council approach, it is extremely unclear what lies beneath? Where does almost 1000 jobs disappear from and how was this figure arrived at?

Thanks to all who joined the lobby

A big thank you from UNISON Edinburgh to all those who turned out to lobby against council cuts this morning.

Lobby against the cuts 12 Feb

UNISON members will lobby Edinburgh Council on 12 Feb at 08.30 at the City Chambers against cuts that could mean the loss of 1200 jobs.

Edinburgh Council faces even more cuts this year on top of the millions already cut year after year. Our local services can’t survive any more of this.

40,000 jobs have been lost in local government across Scotland in recent years. In any other industry that would bring political calls for a rescue package.

These jobs are people. It is people that provide council services like cleansing, home care, public safety, roads, trading standards, child protection, residential homes and much much more.

The cuts also affect workers in the voluntary sector who provide services for the public. In fact the cuts affect everyone in Edinburgh. The vicious circle of cuts, less money in the economy and less tax coming in leads to even more cuts.

Everyone is worse off. Council workers, the people that rely on council services and local businesses.

The cuts are dressed up as a reorganisation but they are still cuts. Nobody is against better ways of providing public services but the nature of local services is that they need people to provide them.

A computer can’t deliver home care. The internet won’t collect the bins. That takes people and 1,200 of them could go with those left behind under intolerable pressure to carry on trying to deliver your services.

UNISON represents the people who deliver your services. Join us now to tell the council that we support Edinburgh’s services and we want them to do the same!

UNISON Submission to Edinburgh Finance and Resources Committee

The branch had a deputation along with Unite at today's Council committee that was looking at the reorganisation and cuts plans. Below is the submission made by John Stevenson, Branch President:

UNISON appreciates the position the Council finds itself in a result of the austerity agenda and the long term failure of central government to address local government funding.

We have highlighted the loss of 40,000 jobs across local government in recent years and the effect that has on services and the workloads of the remaining staff. In any other industry that would bring political calls for a rescue package.

We have also highlighted the failure of austerity cuts that create a vicious circle of more cuts while making the economy worse - but this morning we want to focus on four of the broad areas in the papers being considered.

UNISON slams Edinburgh 1200 job cuts dressed up as reorganisation

UNISON has reacted angrily to Edinburgh Council’s announcement of 1,200 job cuts over four years. The union has slammed the ‘dressing up’ of cuts as part of so-called new ways of working.

UNISON Edinburgh branch president John Stevenson, said: “These job cuts have come as a body blow to workers who have been struggling for years to maintain front line services despite cut after cut. Dressing this up as new ways of working cannot disguise the reality of cuts to front line jobs and services.

“UNISON will hold the council to its no compulsory redundancy pledge. But if people take go voluntarily, we have to speak up for the staff left behind. In many areas where people directly serve the public we are seeing increased levels of stress. A loss of a further 1,200 jobs will only make this worse as people are again asked to do more with less.

“These are not ‘roles’ as the council says. They are people delivering a service. This is not about a ‘Tesco’ council as some reports say – at least we hope not because Tesco is losing money and shutting stores.”

Branch secretary Amanda Kerr added: “At least half of the posts being cut are front line staff delivering direct services. Two per cent of front line service delivery posts will be cut along with 500 front line team leaders and specialist posts. These are not managers sitting in offices, these are people directly providing services.

“Many more are in customer service. It almost beggars belief that the council expects to improve customer service by cutting customer service jobs. Of course people want to access services on the web but they also want to speak to a person when they need to.”

UNISON’s Tom Connolly who is also staff side secretary for all the Edinburgh council unions, said: “The report is riddled with assumptions, hopes and ambitions but precious little evidence. We are also worried that it displays a lack of understanding of some ‘roles’ and how services need to be delivered.”

“We also concerned that the report leaves the door open for back-door privatisation and hints at challenging the council’s no compulsory redundancy pledge.

“UNISON will engage with the council on its plans but we will also consult our members on what they want us to do. Our annual general meeting in February will decide what we do to resist these further attacks on our members and Edinburgh’s services.”

John Stevenson admitted some sympathy for the council due to central government cuts but called for councillors to stand up for services:

“We have some sympathy for the council because it is cuts from Holyrood and Westminster that are causing the problem. 40,000 jobs have been lost across Scottish councils. If that had been any other employer, politicians would have been queuing up to demand action and a rescue plan. The least that councillors can do is stand up for services and not pretend they can go on cutting and cutting. They should publish a budget that shows what services could look like if these cuts were not being forced.

“We call again for the Scottish Government to make emergency funding available to councils pending the funding review. After all, Holyrood underspent by £444 million last year while presiding over cut after cut to local services and jobs.”

UNISON urges council to keep pre-retirement programme

Unions representing workers at the City of Edinburgh Council are today urging councillors to resist plans to abandon a scheme that allows staff to prepare for retirement. The scheme allows paid days off in the last year of work but the council now want to heap the cost on to employees. This could cost a cleaner £3,000 in their last year before retirement.

UNISON's Tom Connolly, speaking for the joint unions, said: "A positive change in legislation is being used as an excuse by the council management team to attempt to hive off the cost of the transition into retirement entirely onto employees."

He slammed an HQ bias which ignores the "psychological, emotional, social and other issues facing thousands of low paid Council staff - staff who have often spent decades looking after and caring for the most vulnerable children, young people elderly and disabled members of the community, we also have the manual workers who ensure our environment is kept clean and our public parks and gardens are well kept, all the above tending to be seen as low status, often physically demanding work."

"Some of the lowest paid staff in the country. Out in all weathers providing services to the public, home care, refuse, residential child care. These staff give years to the public sector reserving very little in return. Working above and beyond their contracted hours. The council management team is out of touch with the grass route staff."

And when it comes to cost, the council is ignoring the millions it saves by staff who regularly work 'above and beyond' in unpaid overtime to keep services going. TUC figures show that more than a quarter (27.4 per cent) of public sector staff did unpaid overtime of almost eight hours a week in 2013.

The full text of the submission being made today by Tom Connolly follows:

UNISON to lobby Edinburgh Council against cuts Thurs 13 Feb 08.30 City Chambers

UNISON, the union representing most Edinburgh Council workers, will lobby the council budget meeting on Thursday 13 February from 08.30 to 09.30 to expose the effects of austerity cuts on jobs and services.

“Edinburgh Council plans to put through £36 million in cuts. This is on top of £90 million since 2011, and £175 million since 2007. Services just cannot survive with this kind of attack year on year”, said John Stevenson, the union’s Edinburgh Branch President.

Edinburgh council budget staff side response

The Trade Union Side recognises that the City of Edinburgh Council like all other local authorities have seen a substantial reduction in their Grant Allocation from the Scottish Government and continue to operate within the financial constraints resulting from the Council Tax Freeze.

UNISON has ‘grave concerns’ over Edinburgh budget cuts

UNISON, the biggest union representing workers at The City of Edinburgh Council, has issued a statement announcing “grave concerns” about service cuts highlighted in the draft budget proposals produced by the council.

“While we have some sympathy for the cuts being forced on the council by Westminster and Holyrood, our members have grave concerns that the proposals would see a scathing reduction in all the essential services the council provides, and as a result will affect every Edinburgh resident”, said Tom Connolly, UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch service conditions officer.

Threat to Edinburgh Library Services

EDINBURGH’S LIBRARY SERVICES ARE UNDER THREAT

Edinburgh City Libraries are woefully understaffed. In the last five years this service has lost over 50 members of staff who have never been replaced. With such a huge staffing shortfall, the Library Service cannot be expected to adequately and safely staff all library locations and continue to provide high quality services to the people of Edinburgh.  Despite this, Library Management want to extend Saturday opening which will further stretch an already depleted workforce.

This problem is only going to get worse. Several colleagues are going to have their temporary contracts terminated and the 50 vacant posts are due to be deleted from the staffing structure by the start of the next financial year.

The decision to cut these jobs comes as a result of the Service Prioritisation packages designed to make £550,000 savings from the budget. There was a recent £300,000 payment which was hoped would be used to remedy the staffing crisis. This money is being diverted to maintain Sunday opening hours.  We feel this situation is unacceptable and unsustainable.

WHY WEREN’T YOU TOLD ABOUT THIS?

City of Edinburgh Council claim you were. They state that their decision was made as a result of one of the biggest public consultations in their history. 10,000 respondents is an impressive figure but it pales into insignificance when you consider that there are 180,000 registered library users in Edinburgh.  Only 5.5% of library users were consulted. That's 170,000 people who did not have a say in their library service – enough to simultaneously fill both Easter Road and Tynecastle Stadia 4.5 times over. This cannot be described as proper consultation.

 

WHAT SERVICES WILL BE LOST?

BookBug/Books for Babies/Rhymetimes

These awarding winning programmes which are set up, run and led by frontline staff have been proven to help in the mental and physical development of babies and toddlers. It has been shown to improve literacy levels, the ability to interact with others in a positive manner and also assists new mothers in developing their parenting skills. These are extremely valuable programmes yet, last year, two designated BookBug workers were lost to cuts.

Homework Clubs

These after-school workshops were set up to advise and assist young people in their education and are also run by frontline staff. Evidence shows that the Homework Clubs increases the potential for increased academic achievement amongst participants and it cannot be doubted that this increases their future employment prospects.

Adult literacy/Computer classes

These are other valuable services run and led by frontline staff. The positive outcomes are immediately noticeable. People become more confident as a direct result of these classes and are more prepared to interact with others.  Participants are also more prepared to pursue further self improvement and, as a result, their employment prospects rise.

Library Link

Library Link is yet another service provided by frontline staff.  It provides a regular opportunity for the elderly and infirm to visit their local library on a weekly basis. As well as being able to access the library services whilst having a cup of tea, in many cases this service is the only chance many of these people get the chance to leave their homes, meet friends or new people and generally interact.

Housebound Runs

There are some who, through no fault of their own, are unable to visit their local library. As a result staff deliver library services to them. Each customer has their own designated member of staff who forms a relationship with them and develops a working knowledge of their reading preferences.  Staff can tailor the service specifically to that individual customer. This ensures that the most vulnerable people are not denied the services that you and I enjoy from our library service.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

These services, along with many others, will disappear. Staff numbers are being decimated and the working week for the remaining staff is getting longer.  The quality and provision of the service will suffer irrecoverably. We cannot allow this to happen. 

In these tough economic times we need a strong, healthy and viable library service to help support vulnerable service users.  One quarter of the population of Scotland have difficulty with reading and writing – and this percentage increases in areas of our communities that suffer from deprivation.   We need librarians to help break the cycle of low literacy levels which are linked to poverty. When individuals do well, so do their families, communities and employers, present and future. 

UNISON are due to make a delegation to the meeting of the Full Council on Thursday 15 March to put forward our concerns.  

We will continue to make the case and fight for our Library service but we NEED your help!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You know the facts - now contact your councillor. Raise your concerns directly with them and insist that Libraries need adequate staffing levels to continue to provide an excellent service to you, your family and the people of Edinburgh.

You can also join the library. To value this service we've got to use it. All you need is photo ID and you're up and running. There's a world of knowledge just waiting for you in your local library.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LIBRARY SERVICE