Dear Member
Hello again! We realise this is the second update that many of you will receive from us today- apologies we had some technical difficulties which meant that yesterday’s didn’t go out when we hoped it would! Anyway, back to today, we hope you are all keeping well and if at all possible have managed to (safely) enjoy some of the lovely weather.
Care workers survey
At the weekend we asked our members who are care workers to provide some information about your experiences of working in the care sector through this crisis. Many of you have already responded and we are really grateful for you taking the time to do this, it is invaluable information that helps us to negotiate better pay, terms and conditions on your behalf. If you haven’t had a chance to respond yet, we will repeat the questions now just as a reminder. If you do have time to respond, that would be great- the more experiences the better! It goes without saying that your responses will be treated with the strictest confidence.
1. Where do you work?
2. Do you work with clients who have possible or confirmed case of coronavirus; or those in the extremely vulnerable group?
3. What is your hourly rate of pay?
4. Do you receive sick pay, that is more than SSP?
5. If so how long does this last for?
6. Do you receive any PPE?
7. Is the PPE adequate for the tasks you are required to do?
Residential Care
We’re sure many of you will have seen in the press in recent days, the issues that are arising in care homes as a result of Coronavirus. As a Trade Union, we are obviously concerned about the welfare of our members who work in residential care settings but also for the vulnerable residents who are equally at risk. We have opened a dialogue today with the Council to seek reassurances as to how this situation will be managed locally. We hope that Council officers and indeed home owners and operators will share our concerns and put appropriate measures in place. We will, of course keep you updated with progress but if you work in care home by all means contact us with your experiences.
Council workers
If you are at high risk, we have an agreement with the Council that you are based at home. If you can do your job from home, you should as far as is possible but if not you will be at home on full pay unless and until the employer finds suitable work for you to do at home. If you are encountering any problems in following this advice, please get in touch and let us know.
Further to our discussions with the Council around home working arrangements we have today started discussions around how appropriate equipment e.g. monitors, chairs, keyboards etc will be provided to staff. We have also raised the question as to whether a home working allowance should be paid to compensate for additional costs incurred whilst working at home.
We have raised that in the agile working guidance it states that staff should be filling in their flexi sheets as normal, we know that for many people it will not be feasible (thorough no fault of your own) to work a standard 36 hour week or indeed to be as productive as you would be in more normal circumstances. Again, if you are having any issues in this regards please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Schools
As you are hopefully aware Unison nationally continues to pressure the Government to ensure that working arrangements for our key workers within schools are as safe as they can be in the current circumstances. The Government has now produced some new guidance on social distancing which is contained here for your information https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings
We have also highlighted some relevant sections that may be of particular interest to our members which are below.
Q: What does effective social distancing involve in practice in educational settings?
As much as possible, children, young people and staff should be spaced apart at all times.
This means:
• sitting children at desks that are far apart
• ensuring everyone queues and eats further apart than normal
• keeping apart when in the playground or doing any physical exercise
• visiting the toilet one after the other
• staggering break times
• putting guidelines on the floor in corridors
• avoiding unnecessary staff gatherings
Social distancing measures should also be in place when providing meals, or food for collection, from families of free school meal pupils not in school.
This approach also applies to further education settings, including for learners who may be taking part in practical learning. Clear messaging to young people attending the setting about the purpose of social distancing, and personal hygiene, is likely to be particularly important.
Q: What does social distancing involve in early years settings where children are very young?
We acknowledge that social distancing for settings with very young children will be harder to maintain. Staff should implement the recommended measures as far as they are able, whilst ensuring children are kept safe and well cared for.
Staff should pay particular attention to handwashing before and after supporting children who need help with nappy changing, toileting or eating, as well as avoiding touching their own face whilst at work. Teachers and other staff may want to use age and developmentally appropriate ways to encourage children to follow social distancing, hand-washing and other guidance, including through games, songs and stories. They should encourage parents/carers to reinforce these messages at home, by asking them to remind their children.
As much as possible, settings should seek to prevent the sharing of food, drink, utensils, equipment and toys. Equipment, toys and surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected more frequently.
Q: What should educational settings do in terms of daily cleaning regimes?
We recommend that all educational settings follow the Public Health England (PHE) guidance on cleaning for non-healthcare settings.
Where healthcare, and certain personal care support, is delivered within settings (particularly special schools), then additional measures may apply: see PHE guidance.
Settings should clean and disinfect equipment, toys and surfaces more regularly. This includes keyboards, mouse, tables, chairs, door handles, light switches and bannisters.  
Q:Townfield Academy
We are sorry to have to report that Townfield Academy has informed us that they will be pressing ahead with the consultation on a restructure that proposes a number of compulsory redundancies amongst support staff at the school. This is very disappointing, as other Schools in Wirral have agreed with us that it would be inappropriate to proceed with such consultations during this time of crisis. We are aware that there are financial pressures in the school (possibly as a result of financial mismanagement) although we await further details as to the exact cause of the financial problems the school faces. However, it is clear that the current Corona virus crisis is likely to have a significant impact upon the funding of many public sector organisations (including schools) and therefore any consultation at this time is premature. We will be robustly challenging these proposed redundancies and will update you further. It is in situations like these that its more important than ever that your union has accurate and up to date contact information for you, here is the link to update your details with the branch https://www.unison.org.uk/my-unison
Bin Workers
We are aware that today Wirral bin workers employed by Biffa have refused to work due to Corona- virus health fears. The workers have been asking for appropriate health and safety measures for over a fortnight to minimise the risk to them from corona virus. We understand that Biffa have failed to take these concerns seriously and the workers are not prepared to have their health and the health of their families placed at needless risk. We express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Unite the union, working on the Wirral bins in their struggle for safe working conditions!
Thanks as always for taking the time to read our updates and we hope you’re finding them useful and informative. Your comments and queries are of course ever welcome and our contact details are below.
We want to reach as many of our members as possible through these emails so if you know of any members that aren’t receiving them, please tell them to get in touch so we can add them to our mailing list.
Equally, if you are reading this because it has been shared with you and you’re not a member, here’s the link to join up! Join UNISON today Click here
In solidarity!
Lois and Dave
Dave: davidnjones@wirral.gov.uk 07880199539
Lois: loisfounds1@wirral.gov.uk 07384512521
Published on: April 8, 2020