Issue - meetings

This report outlines progress regarding the pay negotiations for the

financial year 2019/2020. 

Discussion:

Members considered a report on the progress of the pay negotiations with the Trade Unions for the financial year 2019/2020.

The joint pay claim from the Trade Unions (TUs) consisted of three elements:

·         a 5% increase on all pay points.

·         the deletion of all pay points below the Foundation Living Wage

 2019/2020 OR £9 per hour (NJC minimum wage), whichever was the

 higher.

·       a return to National Pay Bargaining.

The Council’s pay offer to the TUs was:

·                0.60% paid as a general cost of living increase;

·                0.40% paid in accordance with the performance arrangements

as detailed under MedPay.

A Diversity Impact Assessment had been undertaken on the proposals as set out in Appendix 7 to the report.

The Assistant Director, Transformation referred to the pay negotiations protocol as set out in paragraph 3 of the report and stated, with regards to Action 6 (meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on 30 January 2019), that no representatives from Unison or GMB had attended this meeting (Unison had given apologies for this meeting owing to unforeseen circumstances and GMB had been contacted on a number of occasions prior to the meeting to confirm their attendance). Therefore, it had not been possible to discuss the pay negotiations at the JCC meeting.

A Member commented that the Council’s proposed pay award did not go far enough with regards to increasing pay for low paid staff when some employees were using foodbanks and also taking into account the increase in cost of living which was higher than the proposed pay increase. It was also suggested that the non-attendance of Unison and GMB at the JCC meeting earlier the same evening may reflect frustrations about pay negotiations.

A Member commented that the focus of the pay claim should be to increase very low salaries and that the increase in Council Tax and the cost of living would both exceed the proposed pay award. The Member welcomed the review of MedPay which would be discussed later in the meeting. The Member questioned the effectiveness of the pay negotiations protocol when the Council’s pay offer remained unchanged through the process and that there needed to be meaningful negotiations on the pay award.

The Assistant Director, Transformation stated that the trade unions were actively encouraged to make proposals around the total rewards package, for example, flexible working and annual leave. In addition, the Medium Term Financial Strategy provided a sum for the proposed pay award which officers were required to work within.

Decision: 

The Committee agreed to recommend the following to full Council:

a)     that £841,800 is allocated for pay awards and that this is distributed in accordance with paragraph 8.2 of the report, and;

b)     to delegate to the Assistant Director, Transformation the authority to agree the competency based awards for staff assessed under MedPay at Levels 1A, 1B and 2.

In accordance with Council Rule 12.6 Councillors Khan and Maple asked that their votes against both the decisions be recorded.