U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Post

Today I was informed by the Community & Public Sector Union (CPSU - PSU Group) that a Heads of Agreement has been signed with the state of Victoria, netting some materially good wins for Victorian Public Service workers including, but not limited to; pay increases, a lump-sum cost of living cash payment, an additional one-off lump-sum payment for shift workers, and various entitlement enhancements including, but not limited to a substantial increase to caregiver parental leave, and the creation of a working group to explore new ways of working within the public service sector. This is the power of #collectivebargaining. #unionpower #solidarity

At least 20 states enacted legislation related to public employees’ position requirements or qualifications, up from 18 in 2023. Positions targeted by states ranged from judicial branch employees and public safety personnel to teachers and even conservation employees. States are altering prerequisites for public sector employment by reducing previous experience required, reevaluating or removing degree requirements, and convening work groups or task forces to make administrative recommendations. Other strategies include examining citizenship requirements and increasing the accessibility of positions to people with disabilities. #EHworkforce https://lnkd.in/d_epMfWQ

Social Workers HAVE THE EXPERTISE to conduct Functional Capacity Assessments. NDIS Planners must continue to be educated on the scope of practice of Social Workers and their knowledge, experience and expertise in conducting and reporting on FCAs. FCAs are NOT exclusive to OTs. Letter received 22nd October from Aaron Verlin, Acting General Manager, Service Design, NDIA. "We recognise Social Workers as allied health professionals who can provide a range of reasonable and necessary supports to participants, including therapy supports, provided they are a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers. Social workers can also design, implement and assess the effectiveness of therapy supports, which may include assessing and evaluating an individual’s functional capacity. The new legislative changes will also provide clear guidance on which allied health professionals can conduct functional capacity assessments."

Article for the #TruroVoice ——————- This week I met with dedicated care workers from #Cornwall. We have a large demand for social care here. Our population tends to an older demographic and with many people leaving friends and family to retire down here, the availability of good care is especially important. Assistance for people who have disabilities to live independent lives and get support into work if they choose that path is also important. However, as we know, the social care system is close to breaking point. The combination of years of underfunding and a fragmented privatised system means that thousands of elderly and disabled people are unable to get the level of care they need, while money continues to bleed out of the system. Skilled care workers are chronically underpaid for what they do, often at minimum wage, and so good people leak out of the system as it pays better to work in the local supermarket. I worked as a teaching assistant at Falmouth School for 7 years. Working in a school in a supporting role is another sector where the pay is low – sometimes at minimum wage. What these 2 sectors have in common, apart from the poor rates of pay, is that they are highly skilled jobs which are incredibly important to support society. And that the people who work in them are far more likely to be women. Next week, the #Employment Rights Bill will be debated in Parliament. The provisions are too numerous to fit into this column, but some that will be particularly important are: sick pay, parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal from day 1; improving family friendly rights and flexible working; measures to tackle zero hour contracts; strengthening redundancy rights and tackling the nasty practice of fire and rehire. However, on top of all of these, the Bill gives respect and recognition for social care workers and school support staff through a fair pay agreement in adult social care and the reinstatement of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. This will be a gamechanger for the low paid workers, mostly women, who work in care and schools. It means that pay and terms and conditions for care workers and school support staff can be negotiated nationally and a minimum set across the country. Of course, the funding issue will be crucial and reform towards more secure and better long-term funding arrangements for local authorities and schools will be vital. But, I am so pleased that the Government has chosen these 2 sectors to be the first to have the opportunity for fair pay agreements. Women who have caring responsibilities are often limited in the hours they can work and historically that has meant, however skilled and important their jobs are, the pay can simply not be enough to live on. To change that will be transformational for so many. This Employment Bill is a huge step forward and I am proud of it.

This morning we got together with a brilliant panel and a large audience to look at the implications for employers of the shift in public policy and packed legislative agenda under the new Government. It was wonderful to call on Leon Emirali, Lorren Martin (nee Crabbe) and Ros Marshall to reflect on current positions, the implications of the promised Employment Rights Bill and other public policy and offer forward-thinking advice for employers. Of particular interest to clients of Bright Horizons is the question: what will it all mean for employers of working parents and carers (i.e. all employers, but with a specific lens)? We looked at how focusing on good employment practice will continue to be a key driver for leading employers, who tend to be above the safety net of legislation in any case, whether on default flexibility, rights around parental leave, or protection from unfair dismissal (one of the centres of concern for bodies such as the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and which featured in audience questions for Lorren Martin today). We heard tips from Leon Emirali for engaging with Government, drawing on his Whitehall background, and insights from Ros Marshall spanning everything from what it takes to be an award-winning large employer, to how the Government is engaging positively with the childcare and education sectors, and through to childcare funding and all its many implications and likely changes of nuance (understandably toward more disadvantaged families), meaning employers may need to lean in more on supporting their own employees. Thanks again to our engaging panel and active audience! You can Listen Again on this link: https://lnkd.in/eZ_jieZW #EmploymentRightsBill #UKLegislation #Employers #HumanResources #BrightHorizonsUK #BrightHorizons

Creating services and making them available to everyone who needs them. Promoting the expectation among service providers, customers, families, caregivers, and policy makers that employment services will result in employment. Learn how federal and state policy can support all #PWDs who want to be employed. Explore the new National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) report, “A Framework to Increase Competitive Integrated Employment through State Policy.” bit.ly/40br2sg

The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England Report by Skills for Care lays bare the scale of the workforce challenge facing the social care sector, now and in the future, and adds urgency to the calls for workforce reforms. SCIE urges the Government to take bold, decisive action to tackle the workforce’s short-term and long-term needs. This includes addressing low pay, which remains a significant issue, as well as improved employment contracts, better working conditions, career development, and training opportunities. Read our full response, authored by our Chief Executive, Kathryn Smith, here: https://lnkd.in/eBgiqaBT #SocialCareUK #SocialCareReform #SkillsForCare

Maryland Colleagues, please take a moment to contact your elected officials and ask them to oppose to MD SB 379. This bill seeks to remove portions of the licensure requirements for social workers in Maryland. 1.     Lowering professional standards is especially concerning in a field that often serves people who are vulnerable. Consumers in Maryland deserve to be served by social workers who meet the same professional standards as social workers in other states. 2.     For many years social workers have advocated to be recognized as health professionals. Removing licensure requirements diminishes our parity with other health professions, threatens eligibility for licensure portability, and ultimately reduces our earning potential. Click the link below to find out more and take action: https://lnkd.in/ee7Sw77k

A new project seeks to identify and remove barriers to public service throughout Minnesota, and help attract more applicants to public sector roles that have been historically tough to fill. On the Public Sector HR Beat with PSHRA. https://lnkd.in/eeXM-Mch

#Healthcare #Education #Publicadministration (Includes, Justice, Law and order, regulatory) and #public #transport i.e basic metro/bus suburban/rural services should and must be duty of the State ..Period No #business could and should run those. Business works on basic premise of #profitability which is good and efficient, until we try to push on those #welfare arena. These four above avenues is the reason #STATE collects #taxes. In human race not everyone is competitive! The above subjects are necessity for #future value creation within #societies. If society tries to eliminate those weak, infirm and uneducated then how it is #human being in the first place? WWII taught us what sort of discrimination was done to different sections of #support population. They tried to remove disabled, infirm and ethnic sections. Still in USA corporates have the audacity to push such #policy in garb of #efficiency! #Democracy is nothing but #collective bargain for basic human rights against force of brute resource takeovers, overlooking long term gains. #Democracy in no way hampers #meritocracy or #innovation or #wealth or #efficiency. Actually the conversation is modulated in such way so as the distort the discourse of cartel practices, lobbying and #resource grab. It is #State job to provide fair play ground and checks/balances on inordinate use of power collusion. This is why #Democracy is important i.e. to have some amount of influence by "collective tiny men". #Health #education #safeenvironment is a basic human right and #markets and #businesses have no "Business" to be there in!