Councillors on Bath & North East Somerset Council are demanding answers from top council officers as a potential strike looms in its children’s social care department.
The UNISON practice picket in Keynsham on 14th January | Photo © Amy Rushton
Team managers and deputy team managers in children’s social care were sent ballot papers last week to vote on whether to take industrial action, after they were put on the same pay grade as some of the staff they manage as part of the council’s “being our best” (BOB) pay review last year.
Children’s social worker and UNISON branch secretary Toni Mayo added: “Morale is shot to bits.
“It’s utter chaos, and members are angry both about what the council are doing and how it’s being done.”
The two sides in the dispute are engaging with each other through the advisory, conciliation, and arbitration service (Acas).
At a council scrutiny committee on Monday 19th January, Joanna Wright (Lambridge, Green) said councillors had not been informed about the discussions going on.
She said: “The ‘being our best’ pay review was meant to improve things for officers across the council.”
She continued: “Now it would appear that social work managers are on the same pay grade as practitioners, which is causing problems, and that there seems to be a problem with morale in the level of social workers at B&NES, who it would appear are being paid less than many other local authorities.”
Councillor Wright asked how the morale of social workers was impacting their work in frontline services.
Meanwhile, Lesley Mansell (Radstock, Labour) asked how children’s social care was being impacted and whether a similar issue could happen in the council’s adult social care department.
Darryl Freeman, the council’s new executive director of people, said it would not be appropriate for him to comment in detail but that he would feed their concerns back to the head of HR and raise how issues around industrial action were communicated to councillors.
Mr Freeman added: “From my experience in my contact with frontline workers, I have rarely come across a more motivated and committed and passionate group of people working with very vulnerable children and people across B&NES.
“It is the case that a small number of our colleagues are unhappy with their current terms and conditions, whether that’s about morale or that’s about their terms and conditions.”
Director of children’s services Jean Kelly said: “I think the majority of staff in children’s [social care] benefitted positively from the ‘being our best’ arrangements, social workers included.
“As Darryl says, there are a small group of colleagues in that management and senior practitioner grade who have expressed unhappiness.”
She said: “We are working hard with colleagues to find a solution or some solutions to the issues that they are raising.”
Vice chair of the scrutiny panel Councillor Liz Hardman (Paulton, Labour) said: “It looks like there is an inequality action here where some senior practitioners are paid the same as main grade that they are supervising.
“It does need to be resolved. It’s never black and white but it looks like quite a simple issue here.”
Council officers will give councillors on the scrutiny committee an update on the situation at their next meeting or sooner. The strike ballot closes on 4th February, with the result expected to be made public within days.
A UNISON figure said: “With the pace that members are returning their ballots, we may know sooner.”
An earlier “indicative” ballot, to measure support for industrial action ahead of an official ballot, came back 100% in favour on a 100% turnout.
Over 40 people, including UNISON staff from across the council, attended a “practice picket” outside Keynsham Civic Centre last week to show support.
UNISON branch chair Amy Rushton said: “B&NES is underpaying its managers in children’s social care compared to other local authorities and it is the only local authority that has a bottleneck where front line staff are managed by workers on the same grade.
“They have got this wrong but are refusing to put it right. The longer this goes on the more staff we are going to lose.”
Acas’ chief conciliator, Joanna Nunn, said: “It is positive that the parties have agreed to use Acas conciliation.
“Acas has experienced and skilled conciliators that can offer a confidential space in talks to help the sides in dispute find a mutually acceptable resolution.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
