Independent negotiators to mediate between BASW and CSW

Two independent social workers have been appointed by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the College of Social Work (CSW) to work as mediators between the two organisations in their long running battle on the structure of representation for social workers. David N Jones, former general secretary of BASW, has been appointed by the association. He is currently the independent chair of the adult and safeguarding board in Leicester, and immediate past president of the International Federation of Social Workers. Penny Thompson, chief executive of the General Social Care Council has been appointed by the CSW. She has previously worked as a chief executive of Hackney borough council and an executive director of social services in Sheffield. Jones has not been involved in negotiations between the bodies so far, and both have been appointed "in a personal capacity", BASW have said. The two organisations are hoping the appointment will help bridge the divide and in a joint statement, Thompson and Jones said: "We fully support the proposals made by the social work reform board that there should be a national voice which unites the social work profession." "We recognise that social workers in general have been perplexed by the disagreements between the different parties in recent months. We also recognise that there are important issues of principle which need to be addressed." Talks between the two organisations on joining forces fell through at the end of last year when BASW objected to a deal between CSW and Unison to automatically sign up members to the union unless they opted out. Following delays, the college opened its memberships earlier this month . It said any further decisions on the deal with Unison will now be taken by the college's first board, which will be elected in April. This article is published by Guardian Professional. Join the social care network to receive regular emails and exclusive offers.