Wirral Council NJC Pay Update
Between 23 May and 4 July, UNISON held an industrial action ballot for members on NJC terms and conditions in England and Wales over pay. The results have recently been sent out across regions and branches.
As we have previously reported, due to the Tory anti-trade union laws, we can only legally take industrial action in employers where we achieve a turnout of 50% or more and unfortunately while we passed this turnout threshold in a number of employers, most of these were smaller employers.
UNISON are currently in the process of talking to the other local government unions, GMB and Unite, so that the 2023 pay dispute can be resolved and implemented as soon as possible. However, yesterday (24th August) Unite announced two days strike action in Chesterfield Council as part of a campaign to secure a better national pay deal. GMB have not yet begun to ballot their members, they plan to have concluded their ballot by the end of October.
UNISON is reflecting and learning from this years campaign (both positive and negative) and start work on next years pay claim.
We will keep members updated as we have more information.
Holiday Pay for Additional Hours Worked
Wirral Unison have been engaged in ongoing talks to correct an anomaly in the holiday pay received by members.
It has been clarified by legal cases that holiday pay should be based upon hours regularly worked, including overtime, not just contractual hours. The legal cases date back over a number of years, to 2015 and before.
What this means: if you work regular extra hours above your contracted hours, your holiday pay should be based on the hours worked. So if you have a contract for 20 hours a week but on average work 30 hours a week, your leave should be paid based on 30 hours.
Wirral Council have previously paid holiday pay based upon contractual hours. We have been in discussion for 6 years or more, but did not reach an agreement.
Wirral Council have now implemented a system without UNISON agreement. This is based upon
- All additional hours worked. UNISON agrees with this
- Based upon the European Holiday Entitlement 20 days, not the statutory or contractual leave
allowance. UNISON does not agree with this
- Backdated To 1st April 2023. Given how long we have been in discussions UNISON cannot
agree to this.
ARE YOU AFFECTED:
Wirral UNISON believes this is unfair.
We are therefore looking to support members who are adversely affected by the Council’s decision. This will be through collective means, and looking to pursue individual legal claims.
We are holding a members meeting on Wednesday 6 September at 3:45pm at Birkenhead Rugby Club, Park Road North CH41 8AA.
Please attend if you are impacted
If you cannot attend but what to be part of any action over this issue email unison1@wirral.gov.uk
Wirral UNISON’s Women’s Committee
We are hosting our next Women’s Committee meeting on Wednesday 6th September at 12pm.
This meeting is open to all women, who want to be involved in improving our working conditions. We will be looking at what works well, what can be improved (or more widely shared) and what future campaigns do we need.
This meeting will be a hybrid meeting, either in person at Rock Ferry Office, or online via Teams. Register here:
https://teams.microsoft.com/registration/swomenscommittee
UNISON North West LGBT+ Group Annual General Meeting
The UNISON North West LGBT+ Group will hold its Annual General Meeting on Saturday 2nd September 2023 from 1100 – 1500 hours at the UNISON North West Regional Offices, Arena Point, 1 Hunts Bank, Manchester, M3 1UN. We encourage people to attend in person however we will facilitate virtual access for anyone who specifically requests it.
The meeting is open to any UNISON member who self defines as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans plus (LGBT+) and is in a branch based in the North West Region. Travel and lunch will be provided.
Please register for the event via Eventbrite below
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unison-north-west-lgbt-group-agm-tickets-681065674767
Members are encouraged to join our mailing list by completing the online form at http://www.unisonnw.org/lgbtsubscribe and follow us on social media.
Enabling Services
The Enabling Services Review within Wirral Council is ongoing. One of the stated aims is “to identify work that may be of a similar nature taking place across the council to establish if we can reorganise it more efficiently”. A £3 million cost saving has also been attached to the project.
We know that work has been taking place by management to formulate proposals, once these proposals are released UNISON will be formally involved in the consultation.
However we know that members may have concerns now.
We are therefore organising a meeting for any members who think they may be in scope, to discuss any concerns and issues. The meeting will be at 12 noon on 5th September.
Please register by clicking on the link
https://teams.microsoft.com/registration/Enablingservicesreview
Published on: September 6, 2023