Council's 'Bring a Butty' session is toast

12:43pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Leigh Marles

Council's 'Bring a Butty' session is toast Council's 'Bring a Butty' session is toast

A "Bring a Butty" lunchtime learning session to hear about problems faced by disabled people failed to whet the appetites of Wirral social services staff.

Managers have been forced to cancel the event due to lack of interest.

The session, scheduled for noon today at Birkenhead Town Hall, was announced earlier this month in an email from their manager to all staff at the department for adult social services.

The message heralded it as "a chance to hear about some of the important work going on across Wirral...the knowledge could improve how you work or it could provide an opportunity for joint working with benefits for all."

But this morning a somewhat terse follow-up email glumly said: "The 'Bring a Butty' session has been cancelled due to poor take up. Thank you."

Had there been a more enthusiastic response, workers would have been addressed by Chris Wardle from Merseyside Disability Federation.

The email invitation says: "They help you so you can be more effective in your work of breaking down the barriers faced by disabled people."

Council chief executive Graham Burgess said: “The department has just completed a round of staff roadshows, which were well attended by several hundred people.

"The events were extremely useful and resulted in many valuable contributions from across a number of different service areas. "As these only finished last week, the decision was taken to cancel today’s session.

“There are a range of activities now going on to make sure that staff are given opportunities to meet face to face with managers and raise any concerns or suggestions that they have.

"There have been criticisms in the past about lack of engagement - this is just one of several ways in which we are addressing this and we make no apology for doing so.”

Comments(23)

Cheesy Peas says...
12:56pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Next week: Council employees invited to join team building sandcastle competition.

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unbeleivable says...
1:01pm Fri 14 Sep 12

For Gods, teaching them to learn to listen would be a start.

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Inniebear says...
1:23pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Weren't the staff roadshows mandatory? That explains why they were well attended...

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Hugo2009 says...
1:25pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Give the rank and file employees some hope by the rapid dispatch of the arrogant guilty senior managers that still exist and that have brought the whole of the working for the Council to the level of almost total disgust and contempt.

I have met dozens of council minions who do not have a clue what other departments actually do, because of the secrecy attitude and fear of punishment from the Empire Builders in top positions. Where the stench of corruption is rank.

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bigfoot says...
1:30pm Fri 14 Sep 12

unbeleivable wrote:
For Gods, teaching them to learn to listen would be a start.
Its the managers not the frontline staff who need to listen,staff are lucky to have a decent lunch break and not expected to have it 'Al desko', The 'well attended' roadshows that the 'poacher turned gamekeeper' quoted was ttended by staff under threat they still don't learn do they?
In recent years the department has 'dissed' the voluntary and community sector especially Wirral Association for Disability,Wirral Society for the Blind and Wirral Society for Deaf People,now it's too late you can't put the genie back in the bottle.
20+ years ago Wirral was the envy of authorities nationwide for its cooperation working with the community,in fact the social services would have found it difficult to fulfil its statutory roles.

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council officer says...
10:04pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Inniebear wrote:
Weren't the staff roadshows mandatory? That explains why they were well attended...
Everything changes yet nothing changes! The front line staff know what needs to change and who needs to go. Unfortunately, they are petrified for their jobs so say nothing. Burgess has to be ruthless if things are to change and not be talked out of doing the right thing by people who are part of the problem. Go speak with the communities and listen intently to what they say and give your word to the front line staff so they can speak up without senior officers making their lives hell. All the stories about the atmosphere in the cou cil being horrendous is spot on. I can vouch for it. How are we supposed to do our jobs properly when we're scared to move.

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LocaLGovwatcher says...
11:01pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Base line belief for Graham Burgess, WBC Chief Executive 'The truth shall set you free.' A good place from him to start.

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montague1 says...
9:28am Sat 15 Sep 12

Council Officer's comments Re' staff being petrified to speak out for fear of losing their jobs is absolutely true.
I have suggested in the past that any "tours" of the offices by truth seeking individuals to meet with staff, should NOT be "Guided / Steered " towards the TOADIES Senior Managers know will toe the Party Line and spout drivel about the Wonders of Wirral DASS, and how things are just hunky dory.
Any individual seeking the TRUTH should be able to visit any office UNANNOUNCED and speak to all staff,
unfettered by the "SHADOW" TRAILING BEHIND, FROWNING GRIMLY BEHIND THEM, at anyone who just might dare to tell it as it is!
I must in all fairness add that there ARE ONE OR TWO, (yes sadly only one or two, who have amply demonstrated they do have integrity and NOT SOLD OUT.
Mr Burgess would be well advised to make HIS BUTTY'S and head off in the direction described.

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Positive thinker says...
5:44pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Is this story really worth printing
I've neve read such a load of crap

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montague1 says...
7:05pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Work for the Council by any chance Positive thinker?.
Your comment is so reminiscent of the drivel spouted by the Toadies I mentioned earlier.

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Positive thinker says...
9:32pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Would love a job at the council.

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bigfoot says...
10:24pm Sat 15 Sep 12

You have to wait to start after until the stiches are taken out after your lobotomy!

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uncatom says...
7:49am Sun 16 Sep 12

Positive thinker is a misnomer

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uncatom says...
7:49am Sun 16 Sep 12

Positive thinker is a misnomer

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saraharrowsmith says...
3:57pm Sun 16 Sep 12

These comments on here epitomise the challenge facing the council. Moaners and whingers. On the one hand they accuse the council of keeping them in the dark and then castigate it for running a staff engagement programme. I doubt the chief executive will be concerned. I'm sure the vocal minority spend their time sniping and commenting on this site wheras the silent majority carry on doing their job. A few on here still calling for largescale job losses using fake names. Frankly they are just after a quick promotion ie get rid of my manager so a vacancy comes up. Pretty pathetic. As for the the likes of the hugely arrogant Montague1 why should we listen to anything they say when we can't judge his or her motivation?

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saraharrowsmith says...
4:00pm Sun 16 Sep 12

And yes this story is a non story suggesting the reporter responsible is getting desperate for news. Most orgaisations, the one I work for included, will run staff engagement programmes with some working and some not. Why the Globe thinks this is a story is beyond me. I'm sure very few people turn up to community meetings or councillor surgeries but does this mean they should be scrapped?

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bickyboy says...
8:37pm Sun 16 Sep 12

Let's take an example from the civil service. They run a survey in which you're only allowed to comment on the performance, attitude and competence of your immediate line manager. Pretty pointless, because in my experience the barrier to good management tends to be found much higher up, in the rarified stratosphere where "sending a few dozen emails and having a meeting, maybe a telekit too" is considered a good day's work. What's needed, not only in local government but in the workplace in general is the provision of genuine opportunities for workers to be absolutely and constructively frank about the leadership of their managers; and vice versa. Only thus can a climate of suspicion, fear and mistrust be eroded, where it exists. People would probably come along to such meetings without being coerced; in order, if nothing else, to let off steam.
Of course, I'm not daft enough to think any of the above will ever happen in any meaningful way.

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montague1 says...
9:09am Wed 19 Sep 12

just why Saraharrowsmith has found reason to describe me or anything I have written as arrogant I cannot begin to fathom.
To suggest that as S A puts it, people whinging and moaning so that a manager is sacked in order that said
moaner/whinger can take that job, is ludicrous beyond words!
Based on what evidence?.
Presumption? Speculation?
I would describe it as utterly stupid, not to mention arrogant and pompous in the extreme.

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bickyboy says...
9:42am Wed 19 Sep 12

Relax, montague. You've been bitten on the ankles by a troll. Not a particularly bright one, but a troll nonetheless. I'd be surprised if we see scaryarrowroot on this site ever again.

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montague1 says...
9:54am Wed 19 Sep 12

Thanks for that bickyboy, very amusing.
I think everyone has now sussed her/him!!.

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montague1 says...
9:56am Wed 19 Sep 12

PS: I am always relaxed.
thanks again.

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Leigh Marles says...
10:06pm Wed 19 Sep 12

We're not really "desperate for news".

As usual there's more news going on in Wirral than you could shake a stick at.

Some of it we can even legally tell you about.

I just thought it was an interesting snap-shot of town hall life.

I could be wrong, of course.

Leigh Marles,
Editor.

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montague1 says...
10:56pm Wed 19 Sep 12

you are Not wrong Leigh.
There was a time when staff would and
did turn out for meetings,lunch time or not.
That was at a time when they felt
valued and were treated with respect.
Sadly, those values are no longer held in the least regard by Management and they foolishly have lost the respect and
loyalty of very many staff in the process.
Ask just about any staff member and I know with certainty you will have this
confirmed.
That is a story well worth following.

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