Strategy document discussed at the September Branch Committee

Strategy
The following text was part of a discussion at the Branch Committee meeting held in September, and an earlier discussion at a strategy meeting held in August

Maintain a position in opposition to cuts

• ·          Work with the community
• ·         Call on the council to set a deficit budget

Maintain a view that we will oppose compulsory redundancies

• ·         Any threat of compulsory redundancies to be reported to BC
• ·         As a matter of cause and at an early stage to discuss what action a group/dept. are prepared to take and support them in any action.
• ·         Branch wide action to be considered if council is not doing upmost to avoid CR.
• ·         Raise all potential compulsory redundancies with the council
• ·         Seek ways to avoid CR by having more flexible Redeployment (e.g. training,  job manipulation., flexible retirement)

Agency staff procurement and zero hour contracts

• ·         To monitor and scrutinise use of agency staff
• ·         Work with and provide a submission to the scrutiny panel on procurement 
• ·         Use councils commitments to campaign for end zero hour contracts
• ·         In light of recent scandal in government it proves we need to demand better contract monitoring, use scrutiny to raise this.
• ·         Maintain campaign to bring more services back in house.
• ·         When not in house demand LLW, no zero hour contracts, decent pensions, terms and conditions and TU recognition. 

Council to better use of services it has:

• ·         It is unacceptable to see service go when there is work
• ·         Provide proper monitoring of all including small and/or one of contracts, 
• ·         Bring down the departmental silos, if work can be done by staff in other departments let them do work, end any need for internal services to bid.
• ·         Internal services to get priority over external contracts e.g. homecare.