Fury over new care contracts

Jun 5 2008 by John Rowbotham

PEOPLE employed in the private care sector yesterday (Wednesday) staged a demonstration in Hamilton.

They and their union, Unite, are angry at the way South Lanarkshire Council allocated contracts worth £8.3m for the care of 128 adults with learning disabilities.

The demonstrators fear adverse changes to their wages and conditions if they have to switch employers as a result of the tendering process.

Tenders for the contracts were submitted by e-mail instead of the usual paper document form.

The names of the firms who had won the contracts were revealed to members of the council’s social work committee shortly after the demonstration took place outside the council’s headquarters in Almada Street.

Care Solutions will now provide the service in the Hamilton/Blantyre area with Key Housing Association winning the contract for Larkhall/Clydesdale.

Most of those employed in the sector are low-paid woman who provide a home care service for adults with learning difficulties.

As a result of the tendering process, some of the women face moving to a companies that currently do not recognise trade unions.

Roz Foyer, a Unite senior organiser, said: “We are unhappy that this work was put out to tender in the first place.

“The council claim they have to do that under European competition law, but other authorities believe that these services are exempt and don’t put them out to tender.”

Unite are also unhappy at what they term the “blind bidding process” used to decide who would win the contracts.

Ms Foyer added: “The council set up an e-auction for firms to tender for providing care at home by submitting charges by the hour.

“Bidders were given no information in the tender document on the current terms and conditions of the employees who would be transferred.”

Ms Foyer said the wages and conditions of employees who have to switch employers in such circumstances were protected by Transfer of Undertaking and Protection of Employment (TUPE) rules.

Unite were, however, concerned that the winning bidders would not have adequate funds to cover the pay, pensions and employment conditions of those employees who will be subsequently transferred.

The union believes the council should guarantee the wages and conditions of those faced with transfer as a result of the tendering.

“We are calling on the council, as the authority responsible for the whole tendering process, to make a clear commitment that they will protect and honour the TUPE rights of all employees involved in this transfer,” added Ms Foyer.

“Unite believes that the council have an obligation to ensure that their competitive tendering process will result in the continuation of a high quality sustainable service.

“However, we are extremely concerned that this process will result in the employees and service users being adversely affected.

“For this reason, we are requesting a review of the tendering arrangements to ensure that the appropriate funds are available for the sustainability of these services.”

A council spokesman said: “In the tendering process, quality over cost was paramount: 60 per cent of the evaluation process scrutinised quality issues and 40 per cent of the scoring looked at price.

“As with any contract, the care and support tender process has followed council standing orders to the letter.

“Any contract of a large monetary value such as this also has to comply with European directives.

“The use of e-tendering is part of the Modernising and Efficient Government aims encouraged by the Scottish Government.

“The process for this tender is a secure electronic version of the traditional paper-based tendering process.”

She said they would not compromise on the quality of care provided to clients, and added: “TUPE arrangements are set in stone to protect employees’ rights.

“None of the employees in this case is employed by the council; they are employed by external providers.

“It is not in the gift of the council to take a decision on TUPE arrangements.

“TUPE rights have to be invoked by employees transferring from the employment of one external provider to another.”