Privatisation of Probation Services in the National Offender Management Services

Conference notes with extreme concern that the creation of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) threatens to privatise many Probation Services, worsen provision to clients and drive down the terms and conditions of probation staff. This threat has been exacerbated by the undue delay in the Government agreeing to extend the two-tier workforce protections to […]

21st Century Social Work Review

Conference notes the many initiatives that have taken place and are ongoing in Scotland in relation to the development of Social Work. These include:- 1)The establishment of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and Care Commission 2)The introduction of the 4-year Social Work degree and the “fast track” schemes for postgraduates 3)The Care in Scotland […]

Pregnancy Rights

Conference notes that some women still face discrimination in the workplace purely because they are pregnant. Each year, around 30,000 working women are sacked, made redundant or leave their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination. No woman should be penalised for being pregnant. An investigation recently found that some women are unaware of their rights during […]

Information and Consultation Regulations

Conference notes that the new Information and Consultation Regulations come into force in April 2005. These new regulations are having an important impact on all workplace relations but particularly in the Community and Voluntary Sector. Conference notes that the Information and Consultation Regulations will introduce important new rights for employees to be informed and consulted […]

Defending National Terms and Conditions

Conference notes that the 2004/7 pay deal included a review of the Green Book Part 2 national terms and conditions which were likely to include sick leave payments, annual and maternity leave arrangements and working hours. The employers also stated “this proposal [the 2004 offer] contains within it an explicit expectation that authorities will take […]

For A Shorter Working Week

Local government workers are coming under increasing pressure to work longer hours, often for no extra recompense, to cover for staff cuts and shortages. This is causing massive increases in stress levels exacerbating the situation and leading to further absence and staffing shortfalls. This spiral has been clearly demonstrated in the opinion polls conducted for […]

Playworkers

Conference believes that Playwork and Playworkers are having a very difficult and threatening time due to various local authorities making cuts in play provision and services at a time when they are already grossly underfunded. Playwork has been disrespected and misunderstood despite vast evidence of the great value of the work. Cuts are being made […]

Bullying and harassment

Conference recognises across Local Government, Further Education, Careers and Voluntary Sector that lay representatives are being inundated with increasing numbers of bullying and harassment cases. These cases are very often complex, time consuming and emotionally demanding and many lay representatives are ill equipped to deal with them. Conference therefore calls on the Service Group Executive […]

Strategic Area Reviews (STARS) and FE/6th Form Colleges

This Local Government Service Group Conference notes with concern the vast amounts of money controlled by unelected, unaccountable quangos in the UK and the influence, for good or bad, on the lives of all of our members. This is perhaps demonstrated most clearly in the case of Boards of Management, which are the governing bodies […]

Funding and the Community and Voluntary Sector

Conference acknowledges that a key issue for the community and voluntary sector is funding, which affects the quality of services and the pay and rewards for staff who deliver them. In particular, community and voluntary sector organisations with short term funding arrangements are likely to experience cuts or even closure when funding stops. Conference notes […]

Agency Workers in Local Government

This Conference notes: 1)The large number of staff employed as agency staff within local government 2)That the employers in local government use agency staff as a measure to deal with what are long term recruitment and retention problems which are attributable to poor pay, terms and conditions 3)Agency staff are also used as a measure […]

Privatisation of Education

Conference notes with concern the undermining of comprehensive education and the incremental and multi faceted process of privatisation and the continued marketisation of education which has taken place since 1997 through private management of state schools; privatisation of LEA functions; and the continued use of PFI. The Government’s 5 year strategy for education will speed […]

Domestic Violence

Conference is concerned that it is still not widely known that domestic violence accounts for at least 25 per cent of all violent crime, that one in four women will experience domestic violence at some time in their lives, and that every week at least two women will be killed by violent partners or ex-partners. […]

Return to Work following Childbirth

A law is already in place to ensure that women have the right to return to work after maternity leave. All too often, women are returning to work to find their job role has changed, their responsibilities and even their workplace. Although against current regulations, opportunities to return to their previous work are often denied […]

Work Life Balance

Conference welcomes campaigning materials produced by the National Women’s Committee on work life balance and flexible working. Unfortunately, Conference must also note that the application and interpretation of work life balance has been very different between and within organisations, to the detriment of women. Conference recognises that many employers do not encourage job sharing, or […]