Imagine getting up, getting dressed, going to work … only to be told to go home again because you no longer have a job.
That was the reality described by delegate after delegate at UNISON’s community conference in Southport today.
They saw it happen to friends and family in the wake of high profile charity collapses such as Kids Company, the British Association of Adoption and Fostering and Eaves Housing for Women.
“It happened to Kids Company, it could happen to any of us,” said Doreen Davis of UNISON’s community service group executive: “Mass redundancies of our UNISON members, our community members.”
The conference was debating an emergency motion in the wake of a House of Commons select committee report into the Kids Company collapse which made headlines earlier this year.
The union called for more financial transparency from charity trustees and protection for UNISON members and other staff; vowed to produce guidance for union reps who fear their charity might be in difficulty and work with the Charity Commission and employers’ organisations to promote proper consultation.
