UNISON recently raised concerns with the Council Leader through the Joint Consultative Committee about their members’ physical and mental health and wellbeing in the face of increased workload pressures and worries over job security. Mention was made by the Trade Union Side of a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development which found that a quarter of UK workers classed their state of mental health as moderate or poor.
The Trade Union Side felt that the pressures being applied to Local Authorities by the Government to deliver further efficiency savings was having a detrimental impact on staff’s health and wellbeing and, whilst welcoming the Council’s initiatives for improving on this, they felt that a more holistic approach was needed. They called on the Authority to be mindful of the impact on staff of changes in the workplace in pursuance of the efficiency agenda and argued that a full risk assessment of the mental health of staff needed to be undertaken so that the situation could be properly managed.
The Leader responded by acknowledging the concerns of the Trade Unions for their members. He assured the Trade Union Side that Barnsley MBC was a caring Council and that the wellbeing of its employees was of paramount importance.
He pointed to what would be a difficult time for all over the next few years having regard to the squeeze on the Authority’s finances and it was imperative that the Authority and the Trade Unions worked together to get through it. The Council would need to ensure that the correct support mechanisms were in place so that the impact on staff of any further budget reductions was kept to a minimum.
Comments
1 comment postedMaybe further training on policies and procedures for some managers would be helpful. Whilst their may be support mechanisms in place the impact on the staff by over spending in areas that reduce others budgets and staffing levels isn't being addressed. Thus this creates an unhealthy working environment for those who want to pride themselves within their roles and offer a service that is expected and more.
There are more departments and buildings that just Westgate and other employees would also benefit from the Well Being opportunities offered to staff there.