Single Status hell in Leeds

[Jim]

Thanks to Jim Jarrett for this report on the Leeds Single Status strike taking place within the refuse department

So single status hell has finally hit Leeds. Poor Loiners aren’t getting their bins emptied! Shock Horror! When it hit Calderdale it barely registered a media blip! At the start of this year Calderdale had a contented and highly motivated workforce in its Parks and Streetscene Department. Now as final pay deductions loom in October people are going on long term sickness with stress, those who can get out to better jobs are doing so, and those that remain are demotivated, demoralized and despondent. Even the directorates senior management structure has collapsed! We have been ‘consulted’ ‘cajoled’ threatened with the sack, divided and in the end forced to accept their despicable pay cuts. The unions failed us utterly and we have no more confidence in them than in the council. When the cuts finally bite they will lose members. Representations were made through MPs to central government whose response was that as Single Status was drawn up in the Major era, it was neither their fault nor their responsibility and we should consult our councillors – those very people advising us to consult them!


Calderdales’ Mission Statement of ‘Everyone Different – Everyone Matters’ is a joke in poor taste. Single Status should have been opposed by the Unions at national level on day one – but that’s a bit difficult when they helped draw it up, happily oblivious of the monster being created! Single Status (which was meant to be to everyones benefit), will, when its all done and dusted, turn out to have been the biggest disaster to hit local government in recent times. Councils may think they can get away with it in the short term, but in the end they will reap what they sow. The legacy of their moral failure will be bitterness, division, lack of belief in local democracy, worker apathy and erosion of the quality of public services. Calderdale got rid of its council binmen long ago. The present contractor, Sita, is creating wheelie bin mayhem which is resulting in public fury! At least the Leeds binmen have got enough bottle to call a strike! Pity the rest of Britains binmen don’t come out in sympathy! But I wouldn’t hold my breath for ‘protected pay’ or ‘compensation’ Calderdale Council considered that route, and were advised it leaves them wide open to legal action, which is after all the demon driving this unprecedented national disaster. Thatcherism, union gullibility and U.S. Tort Law. look no further! So much for ‘New’ Labour! My message to the Leeds binmen? Show those who talk rubbish what the real thing looks like! Keep up the good work lads!

[johnfricker]

Single Status should have been opposed by the Unions at national level on day one – but that’s a bit difficult when they helped draw it up, happily oblivious of the monster being created!

Having regard to the national unions' abject failure (right from the beginning when Tendring's pay review results were announced in 1999) to condemn the life-altering pay cuts being suffered by their members, I'm not sure if 'happily oblivious' is the right term to use. 'Happily complicit' seems more appropriate.

[eastisred]

To all single status victims,
In a different situation those who negotiated single status could be doing time for fraud. The union negotiators have moved away from the basic equal pay principle of 'equalising up' in favour of an equalising down process, on the grounds that it is unrealistic to expect equal pay to be properly financed. Throughout the negotiations they had some kind of an argument to justify this position. How can this be argued now with the banks getting £350bn todate? The point is we live in a very wealthy society. So where's our small share of the cake?
Single status was sold to us as the solution to pay inequalities, inspite of many legitimate concerns which were brushed aside. What were these experienced negotiators doing with their backup teams of legal and other advisors? The truth is the shop stewards have been marginalised, although some went along with this.
The problem is one of accountability or lack of, as evidenced by the shambles that the NJC has become. Why should the employers take the two main unions seriously when the GMB leaders openly scab and Unison surrender, as happened during last year's dispute, leaving Unite with no option but to go along with this, to maintain the pretence of a spurious unity.
Ironically the unions correctly argue for the maintainence of the NJC while at the same time weakening it. Who's bright idea was it to remove the schools from the national body, undermining our negotiating strength? I heard it was the unions. Or have I got this wrong?
Our members are led by donkeys, or is it sheep?
As a shop steward I have explained to our members the importance of accountability. The negotiating process needs to be democratised. It will take a revolt by the members to do this. Otherwise we will be getting up in front of our members year after year explaining away the inexplainable.

Angrily yours
My first time airing these views

[Jim]

Ironically the unions correctly argue for the maintainence of the NJC while at the same time weakening it. Who's bright idea was it to remove the schools from the national body, undermining our negotiating strength? I heard it was the unions. Or have I got this wrong?

It was indeed the Unions. Time will tell whether this is a good idea. It has proved disasterous for the Higher Education and Further education workforce who have had their seperate negotiating bodies for some time, H Ed have received a 0.5% pay offer this year.

As a school employee I am in two minds about the situation. Companies like Sodexo, GS4 etc are moving in to schools en mass taking over catering, premises and admin roles. OK we are protected by TUPE but in the long term pay rates, T&C's etc are fatally undermined by privatisation. A statutory underpinning of School Support Staff T&C's may stop the vultures picking us off.

[chianti]

not been here for a while - apologies for that.

Have finally got news about our single status hearings. 22nd Sept. Will let you know how I get on.

Folk in Leeds - you have my heartfelt sympathy.

cheers
Ann

[Badger]

To all single status victims,
In a different situation those who negotiated single status could be doing time for fraud.

Not just those who negotiated it Eastisred - all those who have continued to stick by the process, in full knowledge that they will be making life-altering pay cuts for their members.
I still wonder whether unions who have supported single status could not be sued by members who have been affected by pay cuts. These unions have cajoled these members into parting with significant amounts of money, promising that in return they will protect them! (Also, the unions only succeeded in getting members to accept the single status agreement by advising them (incorrectly) that no-one should be affected.) The unions have happily accepted the subs from these members and then taken them to the cleaners.