Academy Shunned

Academy Shunned

Published: 11 January, 2013

• STAFF, parents and carers at The Bridge school celebrated an amazing victory when the board of governors met on December 18 to give children, staff, carers and parents the best gift possible – complete rejection of the Gove-style academy proposals.
Governors were not aware of the fact that trade unions had conducted a ballot of members and had totally rejected the proposals as this had been kept secret from them.

The three trade unions at the school, Unison, NUT and GMB, worked together in a really well-co-ordinated and concerted manner to oppose the proposals.
The Bridge is a special needs school and our steward at the school, Jenny Densham, deserves much of the credit for the success in rejecting the proposals.
This is what happens when the major trade unions work together. We say: ‘Well done to all our members who fought this proposal.’

Mike Calvert
and Jane Doolan
Islington UNISON

Jane in action fighting for members

Fighting cuts in Islington

Islington UNISON AGM 2015

Islington UNISON AGM 2015

women in UNISON

Union warning that split shifts will force care workers to leave

Cllr Richard Watts, Mike Calvert, Jane Doolan and Cllr Andy Hull at the launch of a staff manifesto
Published: 6 March, 2015
by PETER GRUNER
CARE workers in Islington are warning that the service will deteriorate if they have to split work over longer periods and different times of the day.
Unions are blaming management for the introduction of complicated split shifts which take no account of travel times, and family and other commitments.
The situation is so bad that Unison and GMB trade unions are saying that many of the most experienced care workers are threatening to leave the service.
Split shifts are where working hours are divided into two blocks or more. A shift might start at 8am and go on until 11am with a five- or six-hour break before workers have to come back for another four-hour stint.
The row is particularly embarrassing for the council coming a year after it signed an Ethical Care Charter with the unions which put an end to “poverty wages”, banned the infamous 15- minute care visits and stopped clients being put to bed by busy care workers at 5pm.
Unison branch secretary Jane Doolan blames management for not listening to the complaints of the borough’s 40 care workers.
“Many of our care workers are suffering anxiety and stress,” she said. “They worry about the amount of time it takes to get to a client and whether they can provide a proper and professional service.
“Remember, our care workers are helping clients live at home and ensuring they don’t need to go into full-time care.”
Unison’s deputy branch secretary Mike Calvert fears the new system could be the beginning of “creeping casualisation”.
He said: “It could mean staff given less flexibility and less employment protection.
“We know the council wants the Care Charter to work but some managers are not interpreting the word of it.”
Islington commissions homecare services for vulnerable residents with moderate care needs to enable them to keep their independence by living in their own home as long as possible.
The Care Charter sets minimum standards to protect the dignity and quality of life for people who need homecare.
It commits councils to buying homecare only from providers who give workers enough time, training and a living wage so they can care properly.
It also bans the use of zero-hour contracts, pays the London living wage and  matches the time allocated to visits to the particular needs of a client.
Welfare chief Councillor Janet Burgess said: “I’m sorry if our care staff have problems over their shift systems but this is an issue they should discuss with their managers.
“We are proud of our Ethical Care Charter, which should mean good working practices. It should also mean there are no rushed 15-minute care slots and people being put to bed at 5pm.
“It’s a difficult problem and I hope it can be sorted out. We need continued good quality of care.”

Jane on picket duty in the summer

Jane speaks at the town hall

Jane gets supplies for the picket lines

Jane leads the Islington contingent TUC 2012 national demonstration in London

Jane leading the Islington contingent on the TUC National Demonstration in London 2012

Greetings to all members

Greetings to all Members

My name is Jane Doolan. I am Branch Secretary of the Islington Local Government Branch.

I have been an activist for 35 years and have held a number of positions within my Branch.
I was also the Staffside Secretary and Joint Trade Union Convenor.

As a woman parent and carer, I have seen the impact of the Government's austerity measures on the quality of life of all members and in particular women members.

UNISON is made up of 78% women members- many of whom are part time and low paid- and I see first hand, the day to day difficulties that they face. A lot of these women work in schools, often paid very poorly and not always treated very well, meaning some may have to do two or three different jobs to try to make ends meet.

I have a wealth of experience that I want to share with colleagues at local, regional and national level.

I was born in London of Irish immigrant parents and I have lived in London and the Republic of Ireland.

I have two teenage daughters and live in Hackney which is one of the most diverse boroughs and possibly one of the poorest in the country.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.

In Solidarity

Jane

Request for Nomination for Female Local Government NEC Seat

Request for Nomination for Female Local Government NEC Seat

                                                     

Jane Doolan  

Branch Code: 03492

Membership number  1179349

I am seeking  nomination from your branch for the female local government NEC seat. I am currently Branch Secretary of the Islington Branch (1999) and as an activist of  35 years I have seen the damage successive governments have wreaked on Local Government and it's workforce.

My Experience  

I have held a number of positions in Islington. Branch Chair, Assistant Branch Secretary, Vice Chair. I  have also held the positions of Staff side Secretary and Joint Trade Union Convenor. I was an active member of the miners support group and this resulted in the twinning of Islington with the Tower Colliery South Wales. I represent UNISON on the Greater London Provincial Council and previously the Greater London Employers Forum

I was instrumental in bringing the ALMO back in house as well as the Cleaning contract. Indeed our cleaning staff are some of the best paid in London . Most recently I was part of the negotiating team that brought the waste contract and the repairs contract back in house. This was successful despite opposition from some leading council officers.

Our council, with my branches support, was one of the first to introduce the London Living Wage and I along with other activists am working towards the implementation of the Living Wage for our members in Care UK.

Islington and Southwark were the first Councils to adopt UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter and this was due to the hard work of colleagues and myself in achieving this.

I argued against and campaigned against the proposal to turn our local Libraries over to a Trust. Local Councillors argued it was the only way to save this service but some 3 years on every Library remains intact and Islington still has one of the best Library Services in the country.

Pay

Our members have been taking pay cuts in real terms for the last five years. The Local Government pay campaign last year was an unmitigated disaster. Members who took strike action ended up with less than the original claim Once again we have been tied in to a deal that gives us no hope of a pay rise in the near future. I put a motion to our branch committee calling for a Special Service Group Conference in October and I fully support the need for this conference to happen. Whether our members agreed with taking strike action or not they lost confidence in the campaign.

The Future

I want to share my experience with members. I want to campaign for better pay and terms and conditions for our members. I want us to be in a position where we recruit new members and they have the confidence in our ability to deliver. We need new members and new stewards and we need to recruit younger people and educate them in what real Trade Unionism is all about.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I hope your branch will nominate me for this position. I have enclosed a nomination form and which needs to be returned to UNISON HQ.

Yours in Solidarity

Jane Doolan