BARNET UNISON CARE WORKERS PAY DISPUTE

That this House notes with grave concern the continuation of the long-running industrial dispute between Barnet Council and Your Choice Barnet (YCB), a local authority trading company 100 per cent owned by the London Borough of Barnet, which provides services for adults with disabilities; further notes that this dispute relates to a 9.5 per cent pay cut imposed on low paid care workers on 1 April 2014; further notes that the pay cut imposed on the YCB care workers comes just a year after YCB workers saw over 30 per cent of their colleagues made redundant due to a restructure and all shift allowances were removed; believes there is excessive use of agency and casual staff meaning the regular staff carry an extra workload in familiarising casual staff with the work to be done; and calls on the London Borough of Barnet to enter into serious negotiations with YCB, Barnet UNISON and the local trade union, to resolve this dispute constructively and allow YCB to focus once again on its provision of high-quality services for adults with disabilities.