| UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch |
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Brakes put on redundancies at Usher Hall Following hard negotiation and an overwhelming 'yes' vote in a ballot, the threat of redundancies has been lifted at the Usher Hall. As part of a major arts investment, the council won significant grants topped up by its own money for a major transformation of the Usher Hall over the next 18-24 months. The venue will only open during the forthcoming festival weeks. Early discussions appeared positive with some staff being kept in a core group to assist the refurbishment and make early preparations for the reopening. It looked like redeployment would be on offer to others, with the staff group being put back in place when the hall reopened. "Nothing could be further from the truth", said John Ross, Service Conditions Convenor. "The union and staff were told any redeployments would be permanent. There would be a new staffing structure made up of posts which anyone could apply for. "Many staff were being told they would have to apply for their own current jobs". Questions were asked but management said they had no detail on what any new structure would look like. They refused to accept this would be a 'review' and that the agreements which give staff greater protection should be followed. UNISON was forced to carry out a consultative ballot for industrial action against potential redundancies and this won an overwhelming 'yes' vote from members. "Management were forced to back down we now have agreement that matching processes will be used to place staff in any new structure", said John Ross. Existing staff will be given rights for preferential interviews for other posts where they are not directly matched. Mike Durnan, Corporate Services Senior Shop Steward, said, "This is a victory for commonsense. Firstly, it gives opportunities for those who wanted to work in such a unique environment to continue developing their careers in that field. "But secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it demonstrates to managers that the union will take whatever measures are required to ensure the application of open and transparent procedures which have been agreed between the employer and the unions." John Ross stressed "There are still at least 18 months to go to the proposed reopening and I would assure all concerned we will be monitoring this situation as it develops. "There are still proposals for the creation of a trust and the possibility of outsourcing the ticket sales function along with some of the technical expertise cannot be ignored." |
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