- Conference
- 2007 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 20 February 2007
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes and supports the important historical role the community and voluntary sector has provided in shaping public services – not as an alternative for directly-employed public sector workers, but as an innovator, working with local authorities and campaigning for new ideas and ways of working.
Conference also notes the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters, intended to prevent two-tier workforces where services have been transferred from the public sector. The Code states that “quality and good value will not be provided by organisations who do not manage workforce issues well. The intention of the public sector organisation is therefore to select only those providers who offer staff a package of terms and conditions which will secure high quality service delivery throughout the life of the contract.”
Conference believes that the pace and manner of the proposed increases in provision of public services by the voluntary sector, contained in the Treasury’s Third Sector Review Interim Report and the Cabinet Office’s Third Sector Action Plan, will present a real danger to members’ terms and conditions. There are serious concerns about the implementation of the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in services already being provided by the community and voluntary sector. If more statutory services are transferred to the voluntary sector, the result will be the loss of the voluntary sector’s traditional qualities, the creation of a sector which is a cheap option, and possibly poorer terms and conditions for workers. The existence of different terms and conditions in the same workplace will be compounded as more housing associations merge, creating large group structures and entailing even more staff transfers.
Conference calls on the SGE:
1.To work closely with the National Community & Voluntary Sector Forum as the SGE continues its campaign against the privatisation and marketisation of public services.
2.To campaign for a full and proper implementation of the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters, so as to prevent any possibility of a two-tier workforce in services provided by the community and voluntary sector.
3.To work closely with the National Community & Voluntary Sector Forum and regions to plan effective organising campaigns in community and voluntary sector workplaces to which services have been transferred. Strategic organising targets should be selected, making the most of areas of existing UNISON strength and our campaigns for better pay and conditions in the sector.