Falkirk - Pre Hearing Review
A Pre Hearing Review (PHR) with Falkirk Council gets under way next week - Monday 17 March.
We are challenging the way in which the home care service was reorganised in 2002 - because this was done with a proper re-evaluation of people's jobs - and as required by their conditions of service.
This reorganisation created various levels of home care posts - beyond the one national core job (paid at Manual Worker 5) that had existed up until that point.
The problem is that the changes were introduced without considering the skills levels and responsibilities of these jobs - as required by the 1999 Single Status Agreement.
So, in effect, the council just ignored the rules about treating all employees equally - and changed the pay arrangements for female home carers - while completely ignoring the fact that many traditional male jobs (with less skill and responsibility) continued to be much better paid - see post dated 9 January re male bonus earnings in Falkirk.
To add insult to injury, these changes were backed by the trade unions at the time - resulting in some carers being effectively downgraded - even though the national agreement said that a home help could not be graded at less than Manual Worker Grade 5.
The unions should be ashamed of themselves - and significantly are not part of next week's PHR hearing - because they sold out their members years ago.
Whatever the outcome of the PHR - all Falkirk cases (home carers and others) will continue to move forward through the tribunal process - until we get a result through a GMF hearing, or via a negotiated settlement, in the event that Falkirk comes to its senses and decides to sue for peace.
News about the Falkirk PHR will be reported here next week.
We are challenging the way in which the home care service was reorganised in 2002 - because this was done with a proper re-evaluation of people's jobs - and as required by their conditions of service.
This reorganisation created various levels of home care posts - beyond the one national core job (paid at Manual Worker 5) that had existed up until that point.
The problem is that the changes were introduced without considering the skills levels and responsibilities of these jobs - as required by the 1999 Single Status Agreement.
So, in effect, the council just ignored the rules about treating all employees equally - and changed the pay arrangements for female home carers - while completely ignoring the fact that many traditional male jobs (with less skill and responsibility) continued to be much better paid - see post dated 9 January re male bonus earnings in Falkirk.
To add insult to injury, these changes were backed by the trade unions at the time - resulting in some carers being effectively downgraded - even though the national agreement said that a home help could not be graded at less than Manual Worker Grade 5.
The unions should be ashamed of themselves - and significantly are not part of next week's PHR hearing - because they sold out their members years ago.
Whatever the outcome of the PHR - all Falkirk cases (home carers and others) will continue to move forward through the tribunal process - until we get a result through a GMF hearing, or via a negotiated settlement, in the event that Falkirk comes to its senses and decides to sue for peace.
News about the Falkirk PHR will be reported here next week.
