STRIKE ACTION – WEDNESDAY 30TH NOVEMBER – INFORMATION

Posted: November 29, 2011

There will be widespread local disruption today as thousands of pubic sector workers walk out in a row over pension reforms.

Scores of schools are closed and other services including libraries, councils, PCSO’s and hospitals are also affected.

Emergency services will run as normal though.

The following local schools are closed on Wednesday 30th November:

Bram Longstaffe Nursery School, BARROW

Hindpool Nursery School, BARROW

Askam Village School, ASKAM-IN-FURNESS

Black Combe Junior School, MILLOM

Braithwaite CE (VA) Primary School, KESWICK

Brough School, KIRKBY STEPHEN

Brunswick School, PENRITH

Calthwaite CE School, PENRITH

Captain Shaw’s CE School, MILLOM

Clifton School, PENRITH

Crosby Ravensworth CE School, PENRITH

Crosscrake CE School, KENDAL

Culgaith CE School, PENRITH

Dane Ghyll School, BARROW

Flookburgh CE School, GRANGE-OVER-SANDS

Greengate Infant and Nursery School, BARROW

Ireleth St Peter’s CE School, ASKAM-IN-FURNESS

Kirkby Stephen Primary School, KIRKBY STEPHEN

Leven Valley CE School, ULVERSTON

Levens CE School, KENDAL

Lindal and Marton School, ULVERSTON

Lindale CE School and Community IT Centre, GRANGE-OVER-SANDS

Lowther Endowed School, PENRITH

Morland Area CE School, PENRITH

Newbarns Primary School, BARROW

North Walney Primary School, BARROW

Pennington CE School, ULVERSTON

Penny Bridge CE School, ULVERSTON

Ramsden Infant School, BARROW

Seascale School, SEASCALE

Shap Endowed CE School, PENRITH

South Walney Community Junior School, BARROW

St Mark’s CE School, KENDAL

St Mary’s CE Nursery and Infant School, WINDERMERE

St Oswald’s CE Primary School, KENDAL

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, BARROW-IN-FURNESS

Staveley CE School, KENDAL　

Tebay Community School, PENRITH

Temple Sowerby CE School, PENRITH

Waberthwaite CE School, MILLOM

Windermere CE Junior School, WINDERMERE

Dowdales School, DALTON-IN-FURNESS

The Lakes School, WINDERMERE

Millom School, MILLOM

Ulverston Victoria High School, ULVERSTON

Yanwath School, PENRITH

St Benedict’s Catholic High School, WHITEHAVEN

LOCAL SCHOOLS CONFIRMED AS REMAINING OPEN IN CUMBRIA:

Park View Nursery School, MILLOM

Asby Endowed School, APPLEBY-IN-WESTMORLAND

Bassenthwaite School, KESWICK

Bolton School, APPLEBY-IN-WESTMORLAND

Burlington CE School, KIRKBY-IN-FURNESS

Crosthwaite CE School, KENDAL

Grange CE School, GRANGE-OVER-SANDS

Grasmere CE School, AMBLESIDE

Hawkshead, Esthwaite School, AMBLESIDE　

Langwathby CE School, PENRITH

Low Furness CE Primary School, ULVERSTON

Penruddock Primary School, PENRITH

Ravenstonedale Endowed School, KIRKBY STEPHEN

St Patrick’s CE School, Kendal, KENDAL

Thwaites School, MILLOM

Ulverston CE Infant School, ULVERSTON

Warcop CE School, APPLEBY-IN-WESTMORLAND

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School, DALTON-IN-FURNESS (Partial)

St Columba’s Catholic Primary School, BARROW-IN-FURNESS (Partial)

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FROM NHS CUMBRIA:

In the majority of cases, public holiday cover will provided to enable the minimum level of participating union members to be at work, and still for NHS services to function and meet the essential needs of patients.

Public holiday cover includes accident & emergency departments, emergency surgery, minor injury units and essential community nursing.

In addition, important services such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, renal dialysis and emergency dental services will also continue to be provided.

Some non-emergency hospital clinics, outpatient appointments and planned surgery will be postponed.

Where non-emergency services or clinics are be postponed, plans are in place to ensure that patients’ are informed as soon as possible and appointments re-scheduled.

The NHS in Cumbria would ask people to think carefully before they go to their GP, A&E department or other NHS service on 30 November.

The NHS Choices website www.nhs.uk also has information about self-treating these types of condition. This will help the NHS in Cumbria to ensure that emergency services are free to deal with serious and life-threatening situations.

All emergency mental health services will continue to operate as normal. In addition, minor injury units and rapid response nursing teams will continue to be provided. A basic community nursing service will be in place.

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FROM CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL:

Employees are under no obligation to tell their employers in advance that they intend to strike, therefore there is no way of predicting the total number of staff who will be taking part in the industrial action. Please note, the Fire Brigades Union and Retained Firefighters Union are not part of the industrial action. There are no plans to close any council offices or stop delivering frontline services. The council has business continuity plans and we anticipate that frontline services will be operating on the day.

The county council has asked all local authority schools to inform us if they have already decided to close and to notify parents that they may have to send pupils home on the day, depending on the number of employees who take action.

The county council is discussing with the unions whether they will consider exemptions for ‘life and limb’ services and these discussions are ongoing.

All managers are being briefed on their responsibilities, including how they need to prepare for the potential impact of absent staff, how they can redeploy staff onto essential functions, and how they need to report non-attendance on the day. All county council staff have been advised that taking part in industrial action is a breach of contract and they will have no entitlement to pay for the period of the action.

Advice to staff has also been issued to cover areas such as absence due to sickness, confirming attendance on the day, childcare commitments due to school closures, whether annual leave or flexi-time leave is permitted on the day, and rules on picketing.

However, previous experience of industrial action suggests it can be very challenging to provide comprehensive figures on the total number of staff who have taken part in the industrial action until several days after the strike – the council’s primary function on the day needs to be centred on providing essential services rather than compiling data.

Jim Savege, Corporate Director for Organisational Development, said: “The council has now received formal notification from the majority of trade unions that their members have voted in favour of a strike on the 30th November. Although we know how many of our staff are union members, the actual numbers of employees intending to strike will not be clear until the day as employees are under no obligation to inform us if they intend to strike until the actual day.

“However, we are not planning to close any of our services such as libraries, Household Waste Recycling Centres, trading standards offices or other council offices in advance.

“Obviously our priority is to continue to deliver services to those who need them and to protect the vulnerable throughout this time. The council has robust contingency plans in place to maximise service continuity and backup plans are already in place.”

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