Union Ballot

A reader from North Lanarkshire has been in touch to say that she has received ballot papers from her trade union about a new pay and grading structure within the Council.

Now I haven't seen the documents as yet, but I find it highly suspicious that a trade union should be conducting a ballot about new pay arrangements and term-time arrangements when there are so many issues unresolved from the ongoing Employment Tribunal.

If you ask me, the timing is also completely mad as the schools are now breaking-up for the summer holidays which means that people are unable to discuss what's going on at their workplaces, as normal. 

I am making arrangements to see these papers although if anyone can scan and email them to me, that would help speed things up - markirvine@compuserve.com

In the meantime, if I were a trade union member in North Lanarkshire I would certainly not be voting to support or bring in any new changes at this pint in time. 

Instead I would insist that the Council is required to explain how it intends to settle all the outstanding equal pay claims and address the evident failings in its job evaluation scheme (JES) which have been exposed so brutally at the ongoing Employment Tribunal.

Remember the Employment Tribunal has only been suspended to allow settlement discussions to take place and will start up again in late August/September 2014 if agreement is not reached.