CYWU and UNISON IN ACCORD!

Following upon the conference and the sharp exchanges about the significance of the trade unions it is heartening to observe a rare moment of agreement between CYWU[UNITE] and UNISON – not that the shaking of hands is without its contradictions!

Unison bids to stave off youth cuts and Tory outsource plans

In a draft motion set to be put before members at its local government conference in June, the union will call for youth services to be put on a statutory footing, directly controlled by local authorities.

The body is also calling on other unions to join its fight against the outsourcing of youth services to voluntary sector organisations.

In response, Dillon Hughes, secretary for the Confederation of Heads of Young People’s Services , exposes his organisation’s  utter lack of backbone by claiming that  times of financial constraint are often when local authorities are at their most innovative and open to partnerships – to be translated generously as ‘we’ll do whatever is asked of us’.

Whilst Doug Nicholls, Unite national secretary for community and youth workers couldn’t resist a hint of sarcasm, he praised UNISON’s plans. “We’re delighted Unison has adopted a policy we first adopted in 1939,” he said. “We look forward to working with them to make it a reality.”

And the Campaign looks forward to working alongside both of them.

Jobs in Birmingham Threatened

Around 1,300 early years and youth services jobs in Birmingham are under threat as part of a council wide reorganisation.

Read more at  Birmingham Threatened.

Victory in Oxfordshire,but the Fight continues

Doug Nicholls reports that:

Campaigning by Unite/CYWU led to great public outcry in Oxfordshire when people realised that the Conservative Council was proposing a cut of £2.3 million to youth work across the County. Determined opposition means that this proposal has now been withdrawn. Unite/CYWU members in the Council are delighted with the victory, but they are maintaining a work to rule and  a preparedness for strike action against attempts to reduce youth mentoring services and to attack JNC terms and conditions in that part of the service.

It shows the simple truth that where we are united and strong, youth work is defended the best.

Also, youth workers in Coventry are entering their eighth week of industrial action next week with an escalation of action and a strike day on 12^th January.

Successes are few and far between. So this is certainly cause for cautious celebration.

Don’t Decimate Youth Services!

Apologies this post should have appeared before Xmas, but it still remains pertinent and is supplemented by further news from Oxfordshire.

Doug Nicholls informs us a number of supportive initiatives being pushed by CYWU [UNITE]. We appreciate this level of energy and commitment.

UNITE has set up 11 new regional youth committees and will be holding a youth conference in February. Doug has spoken to the national officer responsible for this development, who has agreed that we can send some youth workers to speak on the Campaign to the national event.  He has also persuaded the General Federation of Trade Unions [GFTU] to hold a youth conference on February 18^th , where our In Defence argument will be circulated. It is hoped too that  next GFTU Executive  will discuss and lend their support to the Campaign.

Unfortunately too Doug draws our attention to the worsening situation in Oxfordshire, already infamous for its underspending on youth provision, where the council is proposing devastating cuts – see the Oxford Mail article.

We are grateful as well to Michael How for the link to Council unveils new phase of ambitious efficiency plans

I must say that this press release is chilling evidence of the mind-set of the ‘new managerial’ caste, both bureaucrats and politicians. Ninety million pounds of cuts are hailed as Oxfordshire County Council unveiling the second phase of its ambitious strategy to deliver more efficient services and greater value for money to residents. The Leader of the Council announces that we have been using this as an opportunity to re-evaluate radically how we work, strip out the things we don’t need, become leaner and more efficient and deliver world-class services in which every Oxfordshire pound is working as hard as possible for residents.”

‘Leaner, efficient world class services’ – you wonder how they don’t puke on the vomit of their weary clichés. And it starts to be Pythonesque when you envisage eager Pound notes running round delivering meals on wheels, collecting the rubbish and putting out fires. And here I am naively thinking that it is council workers, who do their damnedest against the odds to deliver services.

MOVING FORWARD

My effort to give an overview of what’s going on within the campaign begins:

The past few weeks have been hectic. The first national steering group meeting was held in Wigan, whilst Sheffield and Huddersfield hosted differing, but significant gatherings of students and workers, young and a little older. Regional steering groups have met in the North-East and the West Midlands with the South-East due to meet any day now.

Within I try to mark major issues such as the way in which we might organise:

I have been caught off guard by a significant feeling amongst some supporters that we need a new professional association for youth workers; that there is a collective organisational void; and that a powerful independent voice is lacking. For what it is worth I had not seen beyond the development of a campaigning network. Ironically too I have been reading Doug Nicholl’s fascinating account of the Community and Youth Workers Union’s journey from professional association to trade union. Indeed I remember back in the late 70′s clashing within the then Community and Youth Service Association with members, who opposed the shift to becoming a trade union. In this context, is talk of a professional association a step backwards or forwards?

The full summaryMoving Forward IDYW touches also on relations with trade unions, training and education as well as reports on the many meetings held in November.

TT