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 […]