Dear Member
We're back! Over the last week significant problems with Unison’s IT, has meant we have been unable to send bulk emails for more than a week.
We apologise for this absences and any inconvenience that it has caused; albeit that the problems have been out of our hands. It has been such a busy week as week as well, and I’m sure many of you will have been watching the Dominic Cummings saga with interest. Of course for many a more immediate concern has been the issue of the schools re-opening. Whether you area parent or you work in a school you will be looking for clarity and re-assurance, so it is with schools that we will begin our update
Schools
Unison along with Teaching Unions, and many parents, has serious concerns about the rush to wider opening in schools.
We are aware of the impact of missing school for an extended period can have upon a child’s education, but we take no lessons from the government about the impact upon disadvantaged households and communities, given the years of austerity and cuts to funding that this government has implemented over the past decade. We all want schools to return as early as it is safe to do so. In the meantime we need to continue support the children of key workers, and increase the support provided to vulnerable children. We are also mindful of workers who may be facing pressure from employers to return to work. No worker should suffer a financial detriment due to schools not being fully open.
We have been campaigning strongly on this issue and discussing with the Council, School Leaders and Heads to ensure safety is the priority. You may be aware that last Monday Wirral Unison along with the teaching unions in Wirral held a public online rally to address concerns related to the wider opening of schools in our area. The event was extremely well attended and has now been viewed by over 6000 people! We were privileged to hear from some wonderful speakers, perhaps most notably from local student, Ellie who spoke with passion and confidence about her concerns around the wider re-opening of schools. The common theme from all our speakers including trade unionists and politicians is that schools should not and cannot open to more children until it is safe to do so.
If you didn’t see the rally, it can be viewed via Facebook, here’s the link https://www.facebook.com/videos
The rally was reported on in the Liverpool Echo; d the article can be read here https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/thousands-attend-virtual-rally-against
Last week the Council also issued a statement clarifying that whilst there remained safety concerns they would not expect any school to re-open on a wider level. They confirmed that they did not expect any school to follow the government guidance around re-opening from 1 June. Wirral Unison welcomed this statement from the council, that appeared to provide reassurance to staff working in schools but also to pupils and their families. They were clear that “Wirral Council does not expect parents or carers to send their children to school from the 1 June “. No parent should be expected to send their children back to school until they are assured it is safe; not the 1 June, 8 June or15 June but only when it is safe.
Nor does Unison expect that any member should have to take unpaid leave or reduce hours as result of childcare issues because the school has not opened on a wider level. We know that not all employers may see things this way, but please get in touch with us if you have any concerns about this or any school related matter – as a school worker, or as a parent.
High Risk or Vulnerable
We are that the Government appear to be watering down the protections that surround those who are high risk or vulnerable. With the infection rate yet to be suppressed and test, track and trace still an ambition we know this will cause concern to many of our members. We will be opposing any weakening of measures to protect this category of people within the workplaces. If you are affected by this please get in touch. We would expect any proposal to bring people back into the workplace to involve a genuine consultation around risk assessment and protection measures to be put in place. We will be returning to this in future emails
Care Workers
There has been a dramatic shift in the public’s perception of care workers as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with most people believing they should be better paid and better valued, according to a survey published today by the Fawcett Society.
More than seven out 10 people (72%) said care workers were underpaid, and three-quarters thought they should get at least the living wage of £9.30 per hour) Eight out of 10 said workers should be entitled to decent terms and conditions, and seven out of 10 agreed that home workers should get paid for travel between their appointments.
The research comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act 1970 on Friday, which gave women the legal right to equal pay. Eight out of 10 care workers are women and the undervaluing of caring work is a fundamental cause of unequal pay.
In Wirral Unison has spearheaded the campaign for better pay and conditions. We have got the Council to commit to pay the Real Living Wage for all Care Workers and there is an expectation that Care Workers receive full sick pay.
Of course the battle is only half won. Many Providers are refusing to implement the Real Living Wage and are trying to avoid sick pay. That is not good enough. We will keep the pressure up. 20 out of 21 Providers who provide care on behalf of Wirral have agreed to implement the Real Living Wage, this is welcomed however the picture in Supported Living and Care Homes is not so encouraging. We will continue our campaign until every Care Worker gets fair treatment.
If you are a Care Worker not receiving the Real Living Wage or full sick pay drop us a line. We may be unaware of what your employer is doing.
Early Years /Nurseries
With everything else going on, you may have missed the fact that the DfE thought that the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend was the ideal time to send planning advice to nurseries about re-opening. Whether attached to a school or as separate entity we know many of our members working in nurseries will have many concerns. This Government advice can be found here: planning-guide-for-early-years-and-childcare-settings
Unison is able to offer specific advice for members on the re-opening of early years settings and that can be accessed in detail here: Unison Early Advice
Please get in touch if you have any concerns or questions. One issue that has arisen is that the DfE guidance says that any child showing symptoms of COVID 19 should be tested, whereas the NHS guidance says that the test is not suitable for under 5s. Unison is seeking urgent clarification on that, but as we understand it there is still no testing for under 12’s available on Wirral.
Changes to Children’s legislation- Scrap SI 445 - Adoption and Children
The government recently passed changes to children’s legislation under emergency procedures that allowed for little debate. These measures weaken some of the statutory protections that our most vulnerable children currently have. We welcome the position of Wirral Council that it does not intend to apply any weakening of protective measures for children. However, not all council’s are taking such an approach and therefore Unison nationally is campaigning for this statutory instrument to be repealed. In order to support the campaign, members are encouraged to write to their MP using this link https://www.nyas.net/campaigns/write-to-your-mp-to-protect-rights-during-covid-19/
Social Housing
The Government has published new guidance about moving home (England only) which includes information for social housing providers.
Social housing landlords will need to carry out their activities in line with the government’s latest advice on social distancing in the workplace. Practices for housing workers should be altered in line with this wider guidance, including: property inspections, viewings, tenancy sign-ups and Right to Buy services. Social housing landlords should avoid moving tenants who are showing symptoms of coronavirus or are self-isolating or shielding (with some exceptions).
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak#social-landlords
Webinars for Members who work in Schools
Continuing our School programme online, we have four courses coming up in August for Schools staff:
Promoting Positive Behaviour in the Covid Rules School
UNISON have put together these sessions for schools staff to be able to support children returning to the school environment and readjusting to either school as normal, or school with extra regulations. 2 of these sessions are running, on 26th and 27th August:
26th Aug: promoting_positive_behaviour_26th_aug
27th Aug: promoting_positive_behaviour_27th_aug_2020
Dealing with Pupil Violence in Primary and Secondary Schools
Separate sessions for Primary and Secondary school members looking at how to identify escalating aggression and managing aggressive and violent outbursts. For more info and to book:
Primary: dealing_with_pupil_violence_in_primary_school_26th_august_2020
Secondary: dealing_with_pupil_violence_in_secondary_school_27th_aug_2020
That’s all for today everyone! We will have more tomorrow, please pass them on to colleagues and urge them to join Unison if they haven’t done already. Here’s the link to join up! JOIN UNISON
Take care of yourselves and each other. We’ll be back in touch tomorrow.
In solidarity!
Lois and Dave
Dave: davidnjones@wirral.gov.uk 07880199539
Lois: loisfounds1@wirral.gov.uk 07384512521
Published on: May 27, 2020