LOCAL adult social care provider Catalyst Choices has expressed disappointment that none of those who condemned proposed changes in pay and working conditions contacted them directly to discuss their concerns, with 70 per cent support from employees and no cuts to basic pay.
Managing Director David Osborne says consultation with the employee owners has been ongoing since June of last year with the overall majority agreeing to make adjustments to enhancements and sick pay and to increase the minimum hourly wage to £9 per hour effective from 1st April.
He says this outcome represents a better overall position for the future sustainability of the whole organisation and maintains Catalyst Choices as one of the highest paying care providers in Warrington.
His comments followed condemnation from Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols and local councillors over cuts to care workers’ pay and working conditions.
The MP and twenty two Warrington councillors wrote an open letter to Catalyst Choices, expressing their concern about the care company’s proposed cuts to its employees’ pay and working conditions.
The letter also noted that “frontline staff are struggling with understaffing and unmanageable workloads.”
The letter, which also called on Catalyst Choices to give its employees a voice at work through recognising trade unions, was also signed by thirty two local politicians, faith leaders and business owners.
Catalyst Choices started out as a Warrington Borough Council-led service that “spun out” of the Council in 2015 and is now an employee-owned, not-for-profit social enterprise.
With a client base of over 500 adults and a workforce 300 strong, Catalyst Choices is one of the largest care providers in Warrington.
This financial year will see a reduction in income of £600,000 and like other care providers, Catalyst Choices is trying to do more with less.
Mr Osborne added: “We have to operate within the parameters of what our customer is prepared to pay, whilst keeping overheads low and trying to reward our frontline staff who are ultimately our business owners.”
As an employee-owned organisation, Catalyst Choices is committed to giving employees a voice as well as a stake in the organisation’s success.
Mr Osborne continued: “Our staff team is our biggest and most valuable resource; we respect them enormously. Staff are represented by an elected Staff Council drawn from the wider workforce, as well as a Staff Director who sits on the Board.
“Catalyst Choices supports individual employee’s rights to be Trade Union members and includes Trade Union Workplace Stewards on both its Staff Council and Health and Safety Committee.
“A consultation period has been ongoing with the employee-owners since June 2019 to understand how Catalyst Choices can remain competitive in the marketplace, whilst ensuring that they attract and retain high quality staff and offer equitable and attractive terms and conditions.
“Existing terms and conditions, inherited from when the organisation was Council-led, have prevented Catalyst Choices from being a competitive option in the market-place, leading local authorities to commission services from their cheaper competitors.
“At the start and the end of the process it was made clear that no changes would take place without a majority of support from employees and the final outcome of the consultation has been agreed by an overwhelming 70% majority who have ensured that no cuts will be made to basic pay.
“The employee-owners have agreed to make adjustments to enhancements and sick pay and to increase the minimum hourly wage to £9 per hour effective from 1st April. This outcome represents a better overall position for the future sustainability of the whole organisation and maintains Catalyst Choices as one of the highest paying care providers in Warrington.
“Catalyst Choices is committed to equitable representation of its Trade Union and non-Trade Union members in matters relating to the running of the organisation. It is disappointing that signatories to the open letter have not contacted us directly to discuss their concerns.
“The Board remain open to discussions about Trade Union recognition and have extended an invitation to UNISON to approach us with suggestions on how to accomplish this effectively within an employee-owned business.”
