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September 24, 2008
NNC PAY DISPUTE AND INDUSTRIAL ACTION
I am writing to you following the recent NEC held on 3rd September 2008 to report on the discussions and decisions in relation to the pay dispute and industrial action.
Pay
As I have indicated in recent pay bulletins and Napo News, progress is being made in the ongoing pay negotiations. Napo’s negotiators and the Negotiating Committee are gaining confidence that an acceptable offer could be proposed by the employers in the near future.
However, talks are ongoing and we have made clear to the employers that progress must be made quickly given the length of time since the unions made their claim and the unacceptable withholding of increments in April. There is a meeting of the full NNC at the end of September by which time we would expect to know the employers’ final position on pay.
Industrial Action
The NEC spent some time considering a report from the Industrial Action Steering Group which included proposals for industrial action if the pay talks are unsuccessful. Some very useful observations and feedback were received from branches.
The NEC was told of advice received from Thompsons, Napo’s solicitors, which specifically related to industrial action short of strike action. This advice drew on relevant case law and the approach of employers in disputes in other sectors particularly those involving the withdrawal of goodwill and working to rule. It is not appropriate to report this advice in detail in a Circular which might be seen by the employers but it is clear that action short of strike action has particular risks associated with it and does not necessarily protect members from the threat of a loss of pay.
Following extensive debate, the NEC accepted that Napo’s best interests lay in organising strike action. Its advantages are that it applies universally to members who can take action collectively at the same time; by asking only one question of members i.e. that they vote either ‘for’ or ‘against’ strike action the position of members would be unequivocal; and strike action is straightforward to organise and deliver compared with other forms of action. Given that there is concern that a one day strike might have a minimal impact the value of a two day strike, with the option of further stoppages, in line with the recent local government action, was felt to be the most effective strategy as it would reduce the risk of work being shoehorned into another part of the week.
After serious consideration the NEC agreed to accept the following two recommendations from the Steering Group:
That Napo prepares and ballots for the delivery of 2 consecutive days of strike action.
That the ballot paper should only ask one question – relating to the willingness to deliver the strike action – and should not include a question about action short of strike action.
The NEC has also agreed that the ballot, if needed, should only address pay and not workloads (which is also the subject of a separate formal dispute) as resolving the workloads dispute is not a process compatible with pay issues and Unison is not in dispute with the employers over workloads. Branches have recently received the first bulletin on the joint union Justice Week in December where a number of campaigning activities have been mapped out, workload issues will be a key component. If the pay disputes result in a ballot for strike action the strike is likely to be organised to take place in Justice Week.
Next Steps
As has been stated in the first section of this report it is our hope that industrial action in relation to pay will not prove necessary. However, it is vital that branches begin to prepare for such an eventuality ensuring that members are aware of the NEC’s decisions and the reasons for them. Branches should immediately establish Strike Committee in coordination with the local Unison branch.
The next meeting of the Industrial Action Steering Group is on the 1st October, if at that time, pay talks have failed to make progress, further advice on the ballot timetable and action by branches will be issued. Any comments and information for the Group should be sent via Chivalry Road (info@napo.gov.uk).
We hope that we can negotiate a fair and proper pay rise for members. But if not, we must all be ready to deliver strike action which demonstrates to the employers that probation staff will fight for justice both now and in the future.
Yours sincerely,
JONATHAN LEDGER
General Secretary
Posted by Hampshire at September 24, 2008 03:35 PM