Information about my work as a Labour Councillor for East Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet

Monday 21 October 2013

UNISON Petition to Capita

I am a PROUD member of the UNISON Trade Union, and I received this communication from them recently, and I hope you will sign it:


"You may be aware that as a result of Capita winning a contract to deliver back office services for Barnet Council nearly 350 jobs will be lost to our community and up to 150 staff made redundant.
 
Our branch is determined to try to convince Capita that there is another way to deliver services to Barnet residents.
 
On behalf of all of our members now facing redundancy I am asking you for an act of solidarity and support.
 
I hope that you are able to both sign and encourage your family and friends to sign this petition which is now on line. There are a lot of staff and their families hoping for your support. To view and sign the petition click on this link http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/capita-keep-our-jobs-in-barnet
 
Below is a copy of the petition.
 
Tell CAPITA - TO KEEP OUR JOBS IN BARNET - Community Petition
 
"Dear Mr Pindar
As Chief Executive, you will be aware of the Capita Plc consultation with former Barnet Council staff starting on Monday 7 October 2013. You will know the Capita Plc proposal means hundreds of jobs are to be lost to Barnet, with no certainty that these will be recreated elsewhere in that community, resulting in a loss of local knowledge and another severe blow to the local economy that will have a negative impact on any remaining Council staff, residents and local traders. In the current economic climate this is unacceptable. I would ask that you directly intervene and provide a commitment that a new service solution is found that both protects and creates jobs in the community they serve."
 
Why is this important?
In August 2013, Barnet Council signed a ten year £320 million contract with Capita Plc to take over the provision of the following services take over the running of the council's back office services which includes customer services, human resources, finance and payroll, IT, revenues and benefits, estates, corporate procurement and commercial services.
 
Capita Plc proposed solution is to provide these services in Capita Call centres elsewhere in the UK which will ultimately lead to approximately 350 jobs losses to our community and upwards of 150 redundancies in Barnet.
 
We are passionate about local public services and believe people providing them have local knowledge and are accountable to the residents of Barnet. Not only that but local job losses will have a negative impact on our local economy as working people become jobless with a reduced income to spend in the local economy." "