Branch Secretary Report 2022

Along with colleagues in other regions I believe we came into 2021 feeling fairly positive. The sector had suffered terribly and worked so hard through 2020, that 2021 had to be better? There was a vaccination programme underway, there was a promise of increased funding and investment in the sector, and it felt like there was a potential way forward.

Fast forward 12 months and the position is not only unchanged but in fact worse. We have seen an exodus of staff from care due to the government’s insistence on continuing mandatory vaccination in CQC regulated homes. With limited opportunity for redeployment in care environments it was a difficult time, and many committed long-term staff left the sector. For those who we could manage to negotiate redeployment many were also affected by the recent extension of the mandatory vaccination requirement into all social care, so we were representing them in the same process again. The government’s decision to now reverse both sets of mandatory vaccination requirements is welcome, but the number of members already affected and treated poorly still remains.

We also experienced various providers making changes to terms and conditions - specifically changes to short-term working and lay off clauses - as they were caught out when covid-19 first impacted. We have sought to minimise the impact of these where possible and negotiated changes to protect members should these circumstances occur in the future.

The usual cycle of TUPE and redundancies as well as disciplinaries and grievances has kept the Branch busy with approximately 2000+ cases and queries registered with us this year.

The membership remained fairly stable which given the aforementioned increasing in leavers is encouraging. The Branch has plans to work with the regional office in increasing activist engagement and recruitment across the next year.

I would like to take this opportunity to also thank all of our stewards who have battled their employers on a myriad of issues this year. To pick out individuals would be too hard, but there has been significant work done and significant gains and successes throughout the year for which we are grateful.

Once again, a big thank you also to our employed staff who have negotiated a tricky year with their usual determination and hard work.