THE States pay body is blocking modernisation, it is claimed today. A long-running disagreement arose as to how much more a radiographer should be paid for taking on extra responsibility for diagnosis - something that has happened in the UK with a 15% rise.
The Association of Guernsey Civil Servants has drafted in the union, Prospect, to help with the negotiations, which have been to the industrial disputes officer but with no resolution.
National secretary Frank Allen said that Prospect had now written to the Policy Council asking it to step in to settle the issue after the Public Sector Remuneration Committee stopped talking to the union.
‘We’re very frustrated about the issue,’ said Mr Allen.
‘We got nowhere with PSRC and we have the situation that if we can’t get something done on this, the department will have to start looking at getting another radiologist - that’s expensive.’
A radiographer is educated to degree level and takes an image that is given to the doctor who interprets it.
But, with proper training, radiographers can do basic reporting.
‘If you can have a radiographer doing basic reporting, you can free up radiologists for much more important work,’ said Mr Allen.
The association got involved in June, with the issue then going to the industrial disputes officer.
But he ruled there was no dispute under Guernsey law.
‘We’ve requested to meet the Policy Council to progress matters,’ said Mr Allen.
‘We want members to be able to report.’
It also affects the sonographers, who do ultrasounds.
A total of six or seven people who could be trained to report cannot be until the pay issue is resolved.
‘We had a full day under the auspices of the industrial disputes officer, which he will admit was a waste of time because of the PSRC’s approach. It’s a sad situation,’ said Mr Allen.
‘Now we have written to the chief minister and are still waiting for a reply. We want to move forward. It epitomises everything about modernising the service, expanding their knowledge. We’re getting nowhere, but it’s not through want of trying.’
It is not clear how much of a rise the PSRC is proposing, but it is short of the UK’s 15%.
Mr Allen said that the committee had refused to come up with a business case for its argument.
It had also, he said, refused to accept the offer of a Hay job evaluation - a procedure used extensively to work out suitable pay scales - to settle the issue, despite union assurances that it would accept the results.
‘The frustration for us is that we get huge stick as a civil service and sometimes you have to take it on the chin, but this is an example where we’re saying ﾓmodernise the service, move it forwardﾔ, but we’re getting nowhere.’
PSRC chairman Jonathan Le Tocq would not comment on the details of the case, saying it was about ‘pay and conditions’.
‘It’s a minor thing, but hopefully it’s going to a third party and will get resolved.’
He confirmed that negotiations had been going on for some time with no agreement.
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