Date: Mon 13 Oct 2008
Voluntary Sector unites to demand Fair Funding
Early this week (W/b Monday 13 Oct) a broad coalition of voluntary
organisations and unions will launch a petition calling for fair
funding where Scottish public service contracts are undertaken by
the voluntary sector.
The petition - jointly submitted by the STUC, SCVO, Unite, UNISON
and Community Care Providers Scotland urges the Scottish Government
to demonstrate commitment to the third sector by agreeing a National
Framework for Public Service Contracts between the Scottish Government,
purchasers and providers.
This is the first time voluntary sector employers and trade unions
have joined together to campaign, demonstrating the danger posed
to the contribution of the increasingly professional voluntary sector
to high quality public services by current funding challenges.
Simon Macfarlane, UNISON's Lead Officer for the Community & Voluntary
Sector said; "We hope there will be a massive response to this petition
as our members in the sector are really suffering as a consequence
of skewed tendering processes and real term funding cuts. Pay and
conditions in the voluntary sector were already well below the public
sector, but the latest funding crisis means there is increased downward
pressure on pay. Our members look after the most vulnerable with
compassion, dignity and respect. They deserve to be valued not caught
up in a spiral to the bottom with the services they provide being
shunted from one provider to the next based on who can provide the
service cheapest."
Some voluntary organisations are being contracted to perform public
services for less than those services cost to deliver - putting
at risk the quality of services for the most vulnerable in society.
Stephen Maxwell, Associate Director of SCVO said: "The voluntary
sector's front line workers are crucial to the sector's capacity
to provide high quality personalised services to Scotland's 'at
risk' citizens. Their contribution to essential public services
deserves to be rewarded at the same level as their front-line colleagues
in the public sector. Voluntary organisations need to be funded
fairly to cover the full costs of employing front-line staff at
this level, particularly when their alternative funding sources
will be under added pressure as a result of the financial crisis".
Jackson Cullinane Deputy Scottish Secretary for UNITE said "UNITE
fully supports this joint petition to highlight the grave issues
affecting workers across the not for profit sector. We are committed
to exposing the shameful funding cuts being carried out by local
authorities where low paid workers, who are contracted to deliver
key public services, are being expected to literally subsidise the
state by sustaining cuts to their pay and conditions. These workers
deserve pay equality with their colleagues in the Public Sector
and we will be bringing a range of evidence to the Parliament to
demonstrate the need for it to act urgently on this issue."
The petition urges the Scottish Government to agree a National
Framework for Public Service Contracts between the Scottish Government,
purchasers and providers, based on the principles in a 2007 pact
agreed between the submitting organisations. It covers the key areas
of concern:
* A commitment by public sector purchasers to fund wages and conditions
of employment for front line workers in third sector providers at
the same level as front line workers in the public sector
* Five year contracts for third sector service providers to replace
current short term funding arrangements
* Agreement on the appropriate use of competitive tendering to
minimise disruption to the users of services, reduce transaction
costs and increase the stability of jobs and services
* A government initiative to improve the standard of public sector
commissioning to achieve the government's aim of high quality personalised
services
* Fresh Best Value Guidance to strengthen the importance of quality
and effectiveness proportionate to cost; defining quality, how to
measure it, and the role of service users, families, trade unions
and the wider community in monitoring and assessment.
It is important to note that the voluntary sector in Scotland is
worth just under £3.9bn and research by SCVO has found that the
sector employs an estimated 129,000 professional paid staff, more
than employment in Financial Services, and the Electricity, Gas
& Water Supply industries. ENDS
Note to Editors: The full text of the pact is available
at http://www.scvo.org.uk/scvo/PolicyAndParliament/
ViewPolicyInformation.aspx?
al=t&page=&all=&from=PDSR&Info=1570&TCID=55&Page
Name=Procurement%20and%20Public%20Service%20Reform&CatID.
For Further Information Please Contact: Simon Macfarlane,
UNISON 07703 194 132 Jackson Cullinane, UNITE 0141 332 7321 Mark
Ballard, SCVO 07790 601 995 & 0131 474 8029 Dave Moxham, STUC 07891
026870 Annie Gunner, CCPS 0131 337 3295 Chris Bartter - UNISON Communications
Officer - 07715 583 729(m)
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