Panel awards States manual workers 5%
Wednesday 10th September 2008, 2:29PM BST.
Martin Priaulx, Professor R Lewis and Peter Budwin at the industrial tribunal held for the workers pay dispute. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0635643)
STATES manual workers were yesterday awarded an above RPI pay rise of 5% for this year.
Both sides in the long-running pay dispute left relatively satisfied with the decision of an independent panel called into settle the issue.
The main contention was pay – Unite the Union on behalf of around 1,000 public sector workers was claiming September’s RPI of 4.9% plus 3%, while the Public Sector Remuneration Committee was offering just 3% for most grades and 5% for those in pay bands F and G.
‘This was something we expected to get through negotiation, it hasn’t happened. We had to have a tribunal to say what we’d be saying all the time was right – 5% is what should have been offered,’ said Unite regional industrial organiser Ron Le Cras after the decision was announced late yesterday afternoon.
‘In another two or three weeks’ time we will be writing to the PSRC to start the 2009 pay talks. That’s when we’re going to see what’s really going to happen in this island as regards pay.’
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It might be legal but is it fair. It seems the panel has awarded the minimum amount. The PSRC have not had to make the decision, the employees have no trust or confidence in the PSRC. So we can expect the same thing next year unless the system is modified or scrapped completely.
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How qualified are the members of the panel to make this decision?
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Bearing in mind the States Budgeted only 3% for 2008, it seems there is more pressure on the States revenues and the ever increasing demands on available finance.
Mick
It seems the PRSC and its staff are returning to their approach of about ten years ago, when they simply refused to enter into meaningful negotiations, and spent a small fortune of running the Tribunals.
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Year in, year out, decades in, decades out this farce goes on unending. It seems that not since those far off days when the late Peter Dory was its President that the Civil Service Board actualy wanted to negotiate a settlement with the States Maual workers.
Funny though Civil Servants never seem to have the problems with thier negotiations as the Manual workers do. Perhaps if the Civil Service Board made a manual worker its chief negotiator the problem would go away.
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From the start of these negotiations it was most likely that the outcome was going to be a basic RPI increase which is basically what the manual workers received, instead of wasting thousands of pounds and many hours debating what is almost inevitable why don’t the government of this island budget for an RPI increase from the beginning of the year?
Surely it would make more sense to do this as it is unreasonable of them to expect the lowest earners to accept anything less in todays economic climate.
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It will be interesting to see what the Civil Servants award themselves!
There is no doubt that the credit crunch is affecting the low earners the most and therefore that is why they felt they had no option but to hold out for a better deal than that offered by the PSRC. As mentioned above there is now little faith in the abilities of the PSRC to ‘negotiate’ any settlement, and the whole shennanigan is about to begin again.
How much is the real cost of sending this dispute to a tribunal, when factoring in the costs of civil service staff and possibly increased sickness levels/stress caused by the ongoing dispute?
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Totally agree with you Stephen John tribunals’ should be the exception rather than the norm. The Island has and pays for a negotiating committee that seems to be reluctant and incompetent at best. It was unfair to expect the lowest paid to even consider accepting what would have been a wage reduction. At least the tribunal recognized this and awarded RPI. Maybe next year (sorry this year) RPI could be the starting point. Whilst on the subject is it right the outcome of the tribunal was made public before the union had the chance to tell its members, how we would feel if our award were relayed through the media?
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Perhaps some sharp witted Deputy will ask the question as to why, if the PRSC were relatively satisfied with the 5% outcome, they were not prepared to go beyond 3% in negotiations, apart for a few employees.
Or perhaps the PRSC, unkike everyione else, were unaware of the RPI figures .
Playing games with peoples? Or just plain useless?
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Good for the Manual workers who work damn hard to keep this island ticking over. Whilst other groups who hold the island to ransom gain an extra £1000.00 for the next 6 months if they promise not to take any further industrial action! Good for you Airport Firemen………….
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Oh well, that one will cost us millions. What with the rest of the civil service wanting to ‘maintain the differential’.
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Jackie
I assume you don’t agree with any States workers receiving a fair RPI increase, I expect you’ve had no payrise or bonus for 2008 then?
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