Dear Member
Hello! We hope you all had a lovely long weekend if you had some time off and if not we hope you are able to take some time this week to rest. It was a very strange, long bank holiday and many of us will have missed seeing friends and loved ones as we usually would over the Easter period. This, alongside the continued stress the crisis is having on so many and the fact that we are entering our 4th week of lockdown, means that many are experiencing emotional challenges and at times, relationships are fraught. If you’re struggling at all, please remember that help is available, in our previous updates we have included information about where to access support and they’re all available through the website http://www.wirralunison.co.uk/. You can also access support through Unison’s ‘There For You’ welfare charity https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/services-support/there-for-you/ You can of course also contact us directly and we will signpost you to the most appropriate provision.
As will be the case for many of our members over the weekend, our work didn’t stop and here are some updates from the last couple of days:
Care Workers:
Wirral Care Workers (Online) Rally
Thursday 16 April 6:30-7:30pm
Health or Hardship – A Choice No Worker Should Have to Make!
• Why Care Workers are Key Workers, and need to be treated as such
• Celebrating and Explaining the Real Living Wage
• What we are doing about gaining Full Sick Pay for Care Workers
• Why PPE and Testing is so important to Key Workers
Speakers Include:
Angela Eagle MP
David Jones Branch Secretary Wirral Unison
More tbc
This Rally is open to all Wirral Care Workers, both members and non-members. Email Dave or Lois for the link to access the rally
Care Workers and sick pay:
We have raised today with the Council, the pressing need for them to facilitate full sick for Care Workers. Many Care Workers, are faced with receiving the pitiful SSP if they are unable to work as a result of Coronavirus, or in some cases nothing at all. Weather someone is sick, symptomatic, vulnerable or very vulnerable or living with someone who is, they should not be penalised financially for staying away from work and minimising the risk of infection. This may literally be a matter of life and death for our Care Workers, their families or the vulnerable people they support. Care Workers deserve better than to be left in this awful situation. We will continue to campaign until Care Workers get appropriate sick pay protection.
Residential Care:
Members will have seen that the media has recently picked up on issues we have been raising for some time. In particular, that residential care may be a breeding ground for infection and spread of Coronavirus. We are clear, steps need to be taken to protect both staff and residents. We have all sadly read the recent stories of multiple deaths in care homes around the country, as yet nothing similar has been reported in Wirral but Unison will continue to make representations to ensure that steps are taken to minimise risk as much as possible, by those who are responsible for doing so. We want Care Workers to receive appropriate sick pay, have access to the right PPE and not have to travel miles outside of the borough to access testing. We will continue to work with the Council to make sure that Wirral’s Care Workers are protected.
Edsential
Edsential have withheld a 2% pay rise that was expected by workers within this company, that is owned by Wirral Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council. We have been told that this is due to financial pressures as a result of the Coronavirus crisis, however we have not seen any clear evidence to demonstrate this. We do not believe that in a council owned company, our members should be at a financial detriment. We are continuing to challenge the company over this matter and will update further in the coming days.
Council
Sickness, disciplinaries etc.
As previously advised, we have agreed with the council that owing to the current crisis it is not appropriate to expedite meetings related to sickness, disciplinary, capability etc. apart from in exceptional circumstances. If you are asked to attend meetings of this kind, please get in touch with your Unison rep immediately and they will be able to advice you.
Annual Leave
If you have tried to cancel your annual leave as a result of the impact of Coronavirus and this request has been rejected by your manager, please contact us and we will take this matter up for you. We are aware that whilst in some cases people may still be able to utilise their leave during the current crisis, for many of our members, they may have had to cancel holidays or other plans and may therefore not get the benefit they would normally get from a period of annual leave. No one should be at a detriment as a result of this crisis and this includes your annual leave.
Homeworking policy
We have now opened discussions with the council on a homeworking policy. These discussions are at a very early stage but we will keep you updated. When published the home working policy will impact all staff who are working from home, if only on a temporary basis and will outline what is expected from you and importantly what you can expect from the local authority. We want to ensure as your representatives at work, that the policy is clear, fit for purpose and protects you.
Wirral Unison in the News!
Wirral Unison has been active in promoting and defending the best interests of our members, across all employers throughout this crisis. We have worked with and, where appropriate challenged employers to ensure your voice is always at the forefront of decision making. We have been successful in getting some significant press coverage during this period of crisis and here are two examples:
https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/18371239.townfield-primary-school-plans-criticised-union/
https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/18373714.heading/
Hopefully these regular emails, continue to be of use to you and provide information you need. However if you have a specific query about work, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, our contact details are as ever at the bottom of this email.
Please feel free to share this email with your work mates and if they’re not in a Trade Union, encourage them to join. Equally, if you’re reading this email because someone has shared it with you and you haven’t joined up yet, here’s the link! Join UNISON today Click here
We hope you all have a lovely evening, stay safe and keep well. We’ll be back in touch with more updates tomorrow.
In solidarity!
Lois and Dave
Dave: davidnjones@wirral.gov.uk 07880199539
Lois: loisfounds1@wirral.gov.uk 07384512521
Published on: April 15, 2020