| UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch |
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11 September 2003 UNISON challenges Council to be 'straight with staff' and 'honest with nursery nurses'As job evaluation comes before a Council Scrutiny Panel today (11 Sept), UNISON is challenging the City of Edinburgh to be 'straight with its employees' in general and to be 'honest with nursery nurses' about its position on national deals. This comes after Edinburgh has refused to implement a nationally agreed deal on reviewing local government jobs. "The leadership of Personnel in Edinburgh and CoSLA is the same. Yet Edinburgh is reneging on the deal agreed with CoSLA in 1999. The Council argues that this is because it was only a 'rec- ommendation' to councils", said John Stevenson, UNISON Edinburgh Branch Secretary. "What trust can we now put in the so-called offer from CoSLA on nursery nurses pay? That too is just a just a 'recommendation'. Will the Council reject whatever that turns out to be, just like they rejected the job evaluation they negotiated themselves? It is time now to be honest with the nursery nurses." UNISON is angry that the 1999 'Single Status' deal traded losses in conditions for many staff on issues like leave and sickness for a promise of an evaluation of every Local Government job. It argues that Edinburgh has spotted (in the Council's own report) that this could show that staff are underpaid by as much as 7%, and so the Council has refused to keep its side of the bargain. "Our members feel betrayed not just by this, but by CoSLA's tactical leaking of the nursery nurse proposals before they have even been offered. The much publicised £18,000 figure - as the Council well knows - only applies to specialist nursery nurses who already earn that for a 37 hour week, 52 weeks of the year. It is no increase at all. For the rest, the absolute maximum they could get is £15,000 after two years training and 10 years in post - and they are NOT paid for school holidays", said John Mulgrew, UNISON Edinburgh's chief negotiator. The UNISON delegation today will argue that the Council should stick by the deal its own politi- cians signed up to in 1999. Otherwise staff - like the nursery nurses - will never be able to trust any national deals they sign up to. Because the union is convinced that most councillors are being kept in the dark about these issues, UNISON is preparing a briefing for all councillors. Today's delegation will be John Mulgrew, UNISON Service Conditions Co-ordinator and George Lee, Service Conditions Convenor. ENDS Further Information John Stevenson 0131 220 5655 (w) 07876 795 018 (m) |
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