Liverpool social workers punished by council for striking
Kate B | 19.01.2005 19:15 | Repression | Workers' Movements | Liverpool
Liverpool social workers report the awful problems they've faced since returning to work from strike action. Social workers took strike action last year to protest at their pay and conditions, and have been singled out by management since they returned to work last week.
The return to work of 100 striking Liverpool social workers has been marred by even cruder attacks on union members by Liverpool City Council.
A last-ditch plea to get the NEC Industrial Action Committee to keep our strike official - at least until we got assurances that we wouldn't be victimised - was rejected. We returned to work on 11 January 2005.
Attendance at staff meetings has been compulsory, which means that we have had to endure the Duxbury Assistant Executive Officer praising scabs for keeping the service going during our strike action. Scabs were even praised for improving things during the strike. During all this, other managers (some of whom are ex-union stewards) stood behind us like the Gestapo.
Some of us who had gone on strike rather than go off work because of the stress of impossible caseloads came back to find the same caseloads and three or more cases on top.
Three people put in their notice immediately, and were told to go home - not to work their notice out. Others are looking urgently for jobs elsewhere.
It's clear that the council wants us all to leave, and to employ a fresh and compliant workforce made up of scabs and people from overseas.
We thought that management would hold off victimising us. We were wrong. On our second day back, in the evening, three strikers - two of whom are senior union stewards and two other senior stewards who supported the strike but weren't from the childcare sector - received letters delivered by couriers which ordered them to get to council headquarters. Once there, they were all suspended on gross misconduct charges.
We warned our officials that this would happen, just as we warned them that this employer intends to utterly smash UNISON in Liverpool.
A campaign to defend the suspended members and defend the union from these attacks has been launched. Petitions have been issued which we urge everyone to fill in and fax to David Henshaw and Mike Storey, the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council respectively. We also urge people to fax and email letters of protest about their attacks on the union.
We also need as many people as possible to come to a lobby of the next Council meeting at 4pm on 26 January at the Liverpool Town Hall in Dale Street.
A last-ditch plea to get the NEC Industrial Action Committee to keep our strike official - at least until we got assurances that we wouldn't be victimised - was rejected. We returned to work on 11 January 2005.
Attendance at staff meetings has been compulsory, which means that we have had to endure the Duxbury Assistant Executive Officer praising scabs for keeping the service going during our strike action. Scabs were even praised for improving things during the strike. During all this, other managers (some of whom are ex-union stewards) stood behind us like the Gestapo.
Some of us who had gone on strike rather than go off work because of the stress of impossible caseloads came back to find the same caseloads and three or more cases on top.
Three people put in their notice immediately, and were told to go home - not to work their notice out. Others are looking urgently for jobs elsewhere.
It's clear that the council wants us all to leave, and to employ a fresh and compliant workforce made up of scabs and people from overseas.
We thought that management would hold off victimising us. We were wrong. On our second day back, in the evening, three strikers - two of whom are senior union stewards and two other senior stewards who supported the strike but weren't from the childcare sector - received letters delivered by couriers which ordered them to get to council headquarters. Once there, they were all suspended on gross misconduct charges.
We warned our officials that this would happen, just as we warned them that this employer intends to utterly smash UNISON in Liverpool.
A campaign to defend the suspended members and defend the union from these attacks has been launched. Petitions have been issued which we urge everyone to fill in and fax to David Henshaw and Mike Storey, the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council respectively. We also urge people to fax and email letters of protest about their attacks on the union.
We also need as many people as possible to come to a lobby of the next Council meeting at 4pm on 26 January at the Liverpool Town Hall in Dale Street.
Kate B
e-mail:
info@uul.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.uul.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
Disgusting
19.01.2005 21:05
I find such treatment of people quite disgusting. What makes it worse is that these people were striking for better conditions for those they are trying to help.
I will be there and, as someone who is a Unison member, will definitely be supporting the Liverpool social workers.
Uni Son
Also...
19.01.2005 21:08
Uni Son
background
19.01.2005 21:58
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Name and shame them
19.01.2005 23:35
no names
re:background
20.01.2005 23:41
http://www.scouseproud.com/board/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=258&start=0&sid=e36f795540ae1aedb524f6d9a6ff7a8a
Howie
e-mail: howardpaterson@onetel.com
Homepage: http://web.onetel.net.uk/~howardpaterson
re: Also...
21.01.2005 10:07
http://independent.livjm.ac.uk/unison/docs/Petition.doc
Howie
e-mail: h.paterson1@livjm.ac.uk
Homepage: http://independent.livjm.ac.uk/unison
action
24.01.2005 10:09
the whole of liverpool should be there. why is this allowed to happen:
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14729551%26method=full%26siteid=50061%26headline=children%2ds%2dlives%2d%2dare%2dat%2drisk%2d-name_page.html
get involved.
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