Crunch time for Single Status Equal Pay and Conditions
John Mulgrew, Service Conditions Co-ordinator
We had expected to be balloting all Council staff
on a single set of conditions and a new Pay & Grading
Structure by now, however at the end of 2007 we seem
to be as far away from this as we were at the end
of 2006.
The Council did propose a new ten grade structure
in the summer of 2007 however this was rejected by
the Branch on the basis that we believed the grades
were set too low resulting in large groups of membership
suffering a pay cut and also that progression through
grades was based on Performance Related Pay (PRP).
We start 2008 expecting that Council will present
the Trade Unions with a further proposal for a Pay
& Grading Structure at the end of January/early February.
This along with a single set of conditions regarding
working time payments will allow negotiations to commence
in earnest.
Given the importance of this to the majority of our
members this years report takes the form of a briefing
on the process and how it will affect you. A further
update be given at the AGM. Refinements continue to
be made to the Job Evaluation Scheme and as a consequence
the job evaluation scores of posts continue to change.
Due to this ever changing situation we have been
unable to provide any detail to members on their job
evaluation score however we expect to receive details
of the final scores along with the proposed Grading
Structure and we will advise members of the outcomes
as soon as possible. There is a right of appeal if
members believe their job has been incorrectly scored.
Pay & Grading Structure
It is likely that the Council will propose a structure
of 12 grades. When a job is evaluated it would be
given a number of points in a scoring system. This
should mean that jobs are more fairly compared.
The ranges of points are then matched to grades that
decide your pay. The proposal is there would be be
no split grades as there are now (eg GS1/2 or AP1/2).
The Council are still keen that grades have a "bar
point", or as they call it, competency point, within
the grade, PRP determining progression beyond this.
With only "high performers" being allowed to advance
beyond a set "bar point" (Council put this at 10 -
20% of staff) we must resist this as it really means
the "bar point" will be the top of the grade for most
members.
The outcome of Job Evaluation and the transfer to
the new structure will result in the majority of members'
earnings remaining largely unchanged but there will
be groups of staff who will benefit and some who will
potentially lose out. We will be working hard to minimise
any downgradings.
Pay Protection
The National Single Status Agreement allows three
years pay protection if people's earnings fall. This
may impact in Edinburgh where we have better protection
arrangements. The Council wants pay protected at existing
earnings, meaning protected staff would not automatically
get increments they might have been due under the
current system nor will they get annual pay awards.
Their pay will effectively be frozen.
Pay protection would continue for the three year
period or would end earlier if the new grade "catches
up" with existing earnings. Staff will transfer to
the new grade at the end of the protection period.
Obviously some members could be facing substantial
reductions in pay as a result of Job Evaluation and
one of our priorities must be to keep these situations
to an absolute minimum.
Equal Pay
The Branch is currently progressing about 2,000 Equal
Pay Claims for Manual and APT&C members. These claims
are at different stages of the process. Some of them
are additional claims following the compromise agreement
that Council offered to settle claims in 2006 but
failed to meet the timescales.
Job Evaluation is designed to address Equal Pay
by ensuring that jobs rated as equal or comparable
receive the same pay. It is this principle that results
in existing Bonus Schemes effectively breaching Equal
Pay Legislation and Bonus may cease to exist once
the new structure is in place.
Other Conditions
Alongside the new Pay & Grading Structure there
will be a package that covers overtime rates, shift
allowances, unsocial hours payments, standby and call
out.
For those members who currently qualify for these
payments the allowances in the Working Time Payments
part of the package will be as critical to their new
earnings as the Job Evaluation outcome.
We will consult as fully as possibly once negotiations
on these matters get underway. Consultation As details
come forward, the Branch will consult widely on these
proposals as the package will undoubtedly affect different
employment groups in different ways.
We will be asking UNISON's Equality Unit to check
that the final package meets the principles of Equal
Pay. The final package will affect you and your fellow
members in different ways. For some, Job Evaluation
and grading will be the major issue.
This will obviously be the case where wage levels
are reduced. For others, who work non standard hours
and those who regularly work overtime, the rate paid
for this may be the major issue, particularly if the
new proposed rates do not maintain existing earnings.
Whatever the individual issues the Council will be
proposing the changes as a package and that is what
you will ultimately be asked to decide on. At the
end of the day it will be you, the members, who decide
whether it is accepted or rejected by voting in a
ballot.
General
The major focus of this report has been on corporate
issues but rest assured Branch Officers will continue
to provide advice, support and representation whenever
members require it and will ensure that members' interests
continue to be looked after during reviews, restructurings
and the everyday matters of discipline and grievance.
For example the Branch is typically dealing with
300 ongoing cases for individual members at any particular
time.
And Finally………
Thanks must be given to the long suffering Branch
Support Staff, Eileen, Julie, Monica and Nicky who
put up with a lot on our behalf and always manage
to retain a smile and a sense of humour
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