IWGB – Foster Care Workers Union – Page 3 – Working for Rights, Equality and Standards

Joining the Union!

May 29, 2018May 26, 2017 by admin

You can now join online, or download a form to print and post, by clicking the “How to Join!” menu item.

Hampshire and the South Area – Open Meeting

February 6, 2018May 1, 2017 by admin

IWGB England and Wales Foster Care Workers branch

2 days ago

An update from our Vice Chair, the formidable Jane Collins...

As you may know, as well as dealing with local West Yorkshire cases, I take on the most challenging national issues in my role as Vice Chair of IWGB FCWU. Not an easy task you may think due to the prolific bullying and abuse of power we all see day in day out in our unprotected but vital roles.

My approach is not to focus on what we don't have (worker's rights) and how that limits us, but instead to look for ways around it and find what we can use. Local Authorities have become so arrogant and complacent by pretending that their farcical internal complaints procedures are our only option that I think that even they forgot how much legislation and how many external professional bodies exist to hold them to account, well I didn't.

It's been a hugely successful year in terms of progress, defending our members and starting to gain real respect, as a force to be reckoned with around the UK.

My favourite case from a legal perspective (because it actually allowed me to use my brain and do some new research) was a same sex couple working for an IFA but being subjected to horrific homophobic bullying by employees of the Local Authority responsible for the children the couple had in placement. We had independent witnesses willing to testify

Not only did I have the hurdle of our self employed status to consider, which makes an employment tribunal under the Equality Act 2010 challenging, they didn't even work for the LA responsible for the abhorrent behaviour.

Justice for our members seemed to be impossible at first glance. However, after a bit of legal research, I discovered the Public Sector Equality Duty contained within the Equality Act 2010. This gives the Local Authority a duty towards members of the public...they got one of my scary "breach of public sector equality duty being reported to the EHRC" emails..sent directly to the Chief Executive of the LA..now they're extremely cooperative.

The senior manager of the IFA was a tad cross when I told them that we were working with the LA and we were "disappointed by the lack of support our members had received from IFA".

She said that I hadn't provided a "balanced view" and she wanted to speak to my "manager".

This was my reply...

"I received detailed information in response to your request from our members yesterday, unfortunately, as I have been in meetings all day with directors of children's services and strategic directors of corporate resources, I haven't had time to review it and forward it.

I am Vice Chair of a national union, I don't have a "manager". I do however give speeches in parliament with regards to the sorry state of the fostering system to cross party groups of MPs.

My role is to protect our members from bullying, unlawful discrimination and victimisation, not to comply with requests for "balanced" views.

I have set out our position, which remains completely unaffected by your email requesting to speak to my non existent manager.

It is your choice as to whether you choose to work collaboratively with us with regards to this issue or whether I take our issues directly to external professional bodies without your input. I generally find that people prefer to work with me rather than attracting external scrutiny, hence my busy meeting schedule with senior managers."

Yes my legal style is very blunt when I need to be but I can also be very reasonable and work collaboratively when that approach is possible. Translation...I'm a sweet little pussy cat really....

I'm going to do another post on some of the success stories from around the UK this year, which includes a whole range of cases where the future looked bleak for our members but they are all back fostering with clean records.

If you're not already a member maybe it's time to click that link as you never know when it might be you. ... See MoreSee Less

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IWGB England and Wales Foster Care Workers branch

3 days ago

2019 IS THE YEAR WE TAKE CONTROL OF OUR OWN WORKING LIVES, END THE OPPRESSION, CONTROL AND OWNERSHIP.

So many people speak for us, so many that have never fostered a child in their lives, so many seem to ‘know’ what it is to be a foster care worker, what we do, how we do it, how we feel, how we are treated, apparently they even know how ‘distressed’ we feel having a made up allegation against us (I’ve heard that patronising phrase more times than I care to remember in one or more of the 85% of unfounded allegations), your LA or agency have complete control over you, your future and your livelihood, and apparently know what you do, whats good for you, seems they think they know more about your life and your job than you do yourselves.

Just one example is the abuse of Devon carers, the last few weeks we’ve had Jo Olsen of Devon County Council sending excruciatingly patronising and abhorrent messages saying how she knew how carers felt, that they felt ‘challenged’ and ‘divided’ and how difficult it was for them (her slashing their pay down to pittance and expecting them to foster out of their own pockets to subside hers and other executives salary) a division she and her colleagues cleverly engineered themselves, pitting a workforce against each other, using carers to put down other carers....all to push through their damaging new proposals. Apparently she knew how ‘resisilent’ they were, how hard working...yet then slashed their pay.

Phil Norrey the CEO of Devon County Council (salary £3k a week) sunk to an astonishing new low for a Chief Executive when approving of this destructive, divisive and cynical proposal saying “Some carers have expressed a view that a Council that proposes to reduce the fee it pays, is demonstrating that it doesn’t value its carers. I don’t share that view..” Its incredible that these people have got away with normalising this attitude and behaviour towards FCW’s for so long that he actually had some warped idea that it was ok to write this.

Meanwhile, Jo Olsen who has never fostered a child in her life, and I doubt intends to, earns approx £2,600 a week, plus pension and full statutory rights, yes let me repeat that £2.6k week to exploit the very workforce that allows her to have a job by reducing their pay to next to nothing, a tenth of the minimum living wage, and expects them to live in poverty whilst she lives in luxury and they look after Devon’s most vulnerable kids 24/7.

But no, Ms Olsen apparently knew just how all the FCW’s felt, and how ‘difficult’ it must have been to ‘recover from this bruising encounter’ and then to add insult to injury used the children...pretty much telling the FCW’s that they had to pull themselves together for the sake of the children.

In the new year we must all get onto a massive recruitment drive, we must unite all carers en masse, we have strength in numbers, and together we can stop this control over our lives, stop working in a toxic environment and a climate of fear.

We are all so different, we all get paid so differently, we are agency or LA, we do babies or teenagers and everything in between, we all call ourselves different things at home with our children, every setting is different, every view..

But...we are also all the same, we are all foster carers, its what we do, its what no one else will do, we are colleagues, we are friends, we are a team and we all deserve better, and our children deserve better.

LETS UNITE, LETS SPREAD THE WORD, LETS GO BIG, LETS BECOME SUCH A FORCE THAT NO ONE CAN IGNORE US EVER AGAIN. ... See MoreSee Less

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IWGB England and Wales Foster Care Workers branch

5 days ago

Video in response to article posted, having read the article again I acknowledge that the author hasn’t said to stop private agencies or their profit making..it seems he is just against the venture capitalists.

Here’s my take on the article.. ... See MoreSee Less

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