Agenda item - Trade Union Recognition Agreement

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Agenda item

Trade Union Recognition Agreement

Report of the Executive Director, Finance & Resources

Decision:

1)            That the Committee authorises the Head of Human Resources &

Organisational Developmentto sign the attached voluntary Recognition Agreement on behalf of the council.

Minutes:

72.1      The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Finance & Resources that requested permission to authorise the Head of Human Resources & Organisational Developmentto sign a voluntary Trade Union Recognition Agreement on behalf of the council.

 

72.2      Councillor Janio stated that he did not see how the proposals would help trade union members in any way, or how the proposals were a way to proceed, especially in the context of the recent LGA Peer Review that expressed the view that relations between the council and trade unions were dysfunctional and needed to be “reset”.

 

72.3      Councillor Wealls noted that £50k had been allocated for trade union facility time in July 2017, £50k was allocated to Cityclean in October 2017, and a further £50k was identified in the Budget papers for trade union facility time. Councillor Wealls stated that he felt the report was an odd one to bring to committee and would restrict the council in any outsourcing arrangement it may come to. Councillor Wealls supplemented that the agreement would impact upon the council’s reputation with the private sector and that ultimately, council tax payers and the residents of Brighton & Hove would lose out.

 

72.4      The Chair asked Councillor Wealls to be mindful of the language used and inference made adding that the report did not ask for a financial contribution and that the allocation agreed by committee in July 2017 had been from a pre-existing underspend.

 

72.5      Councillor Bell asked how many employees had been consulted on the proposals, who had provided the text of the proposed agreement, and how many unitary authorities had similar agreements in place.

 

72.6      The Executive Director, Finance & Resources stated that discussions with HR, Legal Services, trade unions and members of the administration had led to the proposals and the wording of the agreement arose from further negotiations with the trade unions with legal input. The Executive Director, Finance & Resources clarified he was unaware of a similar agreement in place in other authorities.

 

72.7      Councillor Bell asked for clarification that the agreement had only arisen through internal discussions and there had been no consultation with any external bodies to confirm the proposals were legal and acceptable. Furthermore, Councillor Bell asked for clarification that there had been no consultation with other authorities nor was there any evidence that trade unions had consulted with their members on the proposals.

 

72.8      The Executive Director, Finance & Resources answered that the proposals had been drafted using the council’s internal legal officers. The Executive Director, Finance & Resources added there was further information in the report on LGA guidance that had been taken into account.

 

72.9      The Executive Lead Officer, Strategy, Governance & Law clarified that the agreement had been drafted by the council’s Legal Team and external counsel advice had been sought in doing so. The Executive Lead Officer, Strategy, Governance & Law noted that the proposals considered voluntary rather than statutory recognition that meant it was a local agreement that gave more flexibility. Had it been a statutory agreement, the proposals would have been submitted to the Central Arbitration Committee. The Executive Lead Officer, Strategy, Governance & Law noted that in cases where staff would be transferred to an alternative provider, there would not necessarily be a transfer of trade union recognition. The Executive Lead Officer, Strategy, Governance & Law emphasised that the council did already recognise trade unions and the proposals recommended doing so formally.

 

72.10   Councillor Bell asked for confirmation that the agreement would stand any legal challenge.

 

72.11   The Executive Lead Officer, Strategy, Governance & Law confirmed that it would and that it would be incorporated into employee terms of employment.

 

72.12   Councillor Peltzer Dunn stated that the GMB and Unison were large organisations and asked for clarification if similar agreements had been proposed or made with any other local authorities.

 

72.13   The Executive Director, Finance & Resources stated that he did not have that information available.

 

72.14   Councillor Peltzer Dunn stated that on the basis that there was no evidence that any other local authority or trade union had deemed such an arrangement necessary, he did not see why an agreement was required.

 

72.15   Councillor Mac Cafferty noted that those people signing the agreement on behalf of the trade unions would very likely have opposed the legislation when it was originally introduced in 1992. Councillor Mac Cafferty stated that at the time, the legislation had been understood by trade union representatives as an attack on their rights of collective bargaining and effective representation. Councillor Mac Cafferty stated that he recognised and welcomed the importance of such an agreement. Councillor Mac Cafferty supplemented that it was important to understand why the trade unions felt compelled to sign such an agreement, namely that there was anxiety about the potential for transfer of employment away from the council. Councillor Mac Cafferty surmised that the council’s own workforce, when faced with a degree of potential change, deserved some certainty about its future.

 

72.16   Councillor Yates stated that there were thousands of local authority staff nationwide who had faced significant challenges as a result of outsourcing and some of the comments made were a poor reflection upon members of the committee. Councillor Yates stated that the proposals would go some way to protecting staff from austerity measures. Councillor Yates agreed with the comments made by Councillor Mac Cafferty about trade union aversion to signing such agreements and that the fact that position had now shifted, was demonstration of the trade unions’ willingness to reset relations. Councillor Yates noted that such agreements had been in place in NHS organisations for a significant amount of time and that was important in the context of greater health integration.

 

72.17   Councillor Wealls requested a recorded vote and this was supported by the committee.

 

72.1      The Chair put the recommendations to the vote with the following outcome:

 

Councillor Bell: Against

Councillor Hamilton: For

Councillor Janio: Against

Councillor Mac Cafferty: For

Councillor Mitchell: For

Councillor Morgan: For

Councillor Peltzer Dunn: Against

Councillor Sykes: For

Councillor Wealls: Against

Councillor Yates: For

 

Total:

For: 6

Against: 4

Abstentions: 0

 

72.2      Therefore the recommendations were carried.

 

72.3      RESOLVED- That the Committee authorises the Head of Human Resources & Organisational Developmentto sign the attached voluntary Recognition Agreement on behalf of the council.

Supporting documents:

 


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