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Meeting documents

Personnel Partnership

Committee Minutes

Fri Jul 18 2008

Related Documents:
agenda for these minutes

Present:-

Councillors Greenslade , Hannon, Hart, Leadbetter, Owen and Smith

Mr Franceschini (Chairman) Mrs Andrews, Ms Flemington, Mr King and Mr Ryles

Mrs Barnes, Director of Personnel Performance, Mr Andrews (UNISON Regional Organiser)

PP/73 Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman

AGREED that Mr Franceschini and Councillor Greenslade be elected Chairman and

Vice-Chairman respectively.

PP/74 Minutes

AGREED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 May 2008 be signed as a correct record.

PP/75 Members Allowances and Expenses

This item was considered as a matter of urgency in view of press reports of 14 July 2008.

The Vice-Chairman reported that he had received representations from councillors

on adverse publicity claiming that Unison had spoken strongly against members allowances and expenses. Devon county councillors had always taken the basic Inland Revenue rate rather than any higher increase.

Staff Side stated that it was their understanding that the union representative concerned had been seriously misquoted and had tried to have the inaccuracies corrected.

The Staff Side would approach the press concerned again regarding the inaccurate press article and also disassociated themselves with certain inaccuracies and remarks of the press article.

PP/76 Shaw Healthcare Update

Management Side updated members on progress with the arrangements Shaw Healthcare had put in place for meeting with union representatives. There were to be 3 formal meetings per year involving Shaw s head of HR and senior management and trade union representatives. Shaw showed a commitment to this at top managerial level. A preliminary meeting had been held on 11 July to set the processes. There was a series of planned consultation sessions not dissimilar to what the union was currently used to, albeit that Shaw did not formally recognise trade unions for collective bargaining.

The Staff Side reported on their trade union representation at meetings with Shaw management. Although there were some outstanding matters they wished to settle prior to the transfer of staff at the end of August eg pay grading, there had been a major shift by Shaw towards what the union wished to see and the Staff Side had been more reassured at the last meeting. The Staff Side still hoped there would be local meetings between union representatives and Shaw to deal with issues on the ground.

Members were pleased that a far better solution had been achieved than Shaw had originally proposed.

PP/77 Local Government Boundary Review

The Staff Side presented a paper following the Boundary Committee s published recommendations for Devon on 7 July 2008. Staff Side requested the early appointment of a joint (shadow) negotiating forum to facilitate the smooth transition of services and employees to any finally agreed local authority for Devon. Unison also wished to make representations as primary stakeholders in the process. Unison supported the status quo for Local Government in Devon, protection of services to the people of Devon and the defence of Unison members employment. In the absence of a staffing commission Unison requested the commencement of local negotiations to establish criteria for staff transfers.

The Vice-Chairman reported that he was pleased that the Boundary Committee had announced that a single unitary council for Devon was its preferred option to go forward for consultation and hoped this would win support. Devon s relations with the district councils was good and they were working together. This was an unsettling time for staff and members. The authority may not know until March 2009 whether the county council elections currently due to be held in May 2009 would take place. There would be a lot of work to do in a short time period and the Employer s Side would share information with the Staff Side as it came in. The possible option of Exeter combined in a unitary with part of East Devon (to Exmouth) and Teignbridge (to Exminster) was an unexpected announcement of the Boundary Committee and this had not yet been costed and so did not yet meet the 5 strict financial criteria of the Committee.

Whatever the final outcome, significant resources were needed for reorganisation and as well as the authority currently meeting as a group of Devon councils, it was recognised that early discussions between authorities and unions to share best practices was required. Such joint discussions would be considered further at the Corporate Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee (CJCNC) on 23 July 2008. Both the Director of Personnel Performance and the Staff Side also highlighted work they were both doing independently.

AGREED that a joint (shadow) negotiating forum be established without delay to facilitate the smooth transition of services and employees to any finally agreed local authority for Devon, to be enacted via the Joint Secretaries.

PP/78 County Hall Green Travel Plan Update

The Director of Personnel Performance reported that meaningful negotiations were taking place and progress being made eg with a bus ticket salary sacrifice scheme reducing fares by up to 40% and a similar arrangement for train fares was being investigated. The potential for unequal treatment of staff living to the west of Exeter which was being reconsidered, as was the fuel conversion of DCC vehicles in order to achieve a greener method of travel. The Director was also re-examining the potential for inequality of treatment between DCC employees and Health Primary Care Trust employees on their transfer to County Hall premises.

The Travel Plan was to be considered further at the Corporate Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee (CJCNC) on 23 July, with a report to the Executive on 29 July 2008.

PP/79 Pay Award 2008

The regional Unison representative reported on the 2 days of national industrial action, 16 and 17 July 2008, including a march in Exeter on 17 July of around 800 Unison members which he felt showed the depth of feeling of members. He requested the authority to encourage the Local Government Association to return to the negotiating table and talk to the union nationally. Further strike action during September had not been ruled out.

The Employers Side supported further talks at national level.

The Director of Personnel Performance paid tribute to how the strike had been conducted within the authority. However she stated she wanted to formally record her dis-satisfaction to Unison regarding her request for the Atkinson Unit to be the one establishment within the authority she was seeking exemption for in view of the vulnerability of its clients and that no agreement had been given at a very late stage. Other such units eg the Vinney Green Unit in Bristol had received exemption.

The Staff Side explained the difficulties they had had with staff sickness on strike days

at the Atkinson Unit and with the lines of communication in trying to establish from the regional office whether an exemption had been granted.

Both side agreed that there needed to be a consistent approach across the country and the regional Unison representative undertook to follow this up at national level.

AGREED

(a) that the Director of Personnel Performance relay the Partnership s wish for further national negotiations via the management side process;

(b) that the Unison Regional Organiser investigate the position on exemptions for establishments such as the Atkinson Unit nationally and report back to the Director of Personnel Performance.

PP/80 Job Evaluation Update

The Staff Side highlighted issues of concern including:- that employees were experiencing delays in being told the outcome of their JE appeals; that a greater use of all the trained analysts to attend appeal panels across directorates would lessen the workload of the few currently involved; that there was concern over payroll s capacity to cope with JE pay and delays in finalising the process for staff and the need to keep re-prioritising JE work.

The Director of Personnel Performance responded to all the concerns and reported on action she had taken. The Corporate Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee had worked well in discussing such concerns and so this would be considered further at the CJCNC on 23 July 2008.

The Employers Side sympathised with staff experiencing delays with appeals and pay and the need to expedite the JE process was recognised in view of the impending Local Government Boundary Review work. This may result in the need for more resources to JE. Members of the Policy and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also raised concerns at the ability for the JE process to be completed on time and that the JE appeals process in schools was still in early stages.

PP/81 Dates of Future Meetings

Monday 15 September 2008 at 3pm (briefing to be confirmed)

Special meeting to consider the Local Government Boundary Review;

Friday 16 January 2009 at 10.30am (10am briefing)

The meeting started at 2.30pm and finished at 3.45pm

The Minutes of this Committee are published on the County Council's Website at:-

Date Published: Fri Jul 25 2008

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