Fremantle Trust

Cabinet resources committee reports on Catalyst and Fremantle care services for the elderly provision.

Return to photo report.

A few pics from Saturday's Fremantle careworkers' rally for you to enjoy... report to follow soon.

This story is also posted at liberalconspiracy.

As many of you will know, the Fremantle Trust careworkers are planning another day of strike action this Saturday:

Fremantle careworkers Carmel Reynolds, Anne Quinn, Lango Gamanga and Sandra Jones say they knew their working lives were about to take a turn for the perverse when Fremantle management began talking about cutting careworkers' sick pay and holiday allowances late last year.

It didn't take long for the talk to evolve into policy. 'It went from 'we're going to have to take your holidays and your sick pay' to 'we'll do all that and we'll freeze your pay and cut your weekend enhancements.' Reynolds says.

She and the other careworkers had been worried about their salaries and terms and conditions ever since Barnet Council outsourced its care contracts to Fremantle and transferred staff to the trust's employ, but the council had fallen over itself to reassure careworkers their new employer would be as great as their old one.

God knows those of us on the union circuit have heard that one a million times in the last few years, but unfortunately, there are hundreds of consultants out there who can still make it sound fresh at negotiating meetings, and even more local councillors who are dopey enough to fall for it, so it'll be a factor until such time as leading members of the New Labour cadre stop privatising public services (fat chance) and/or decide to legislate to consolidate worker protection (ditto).