Subject: |
City Clean Dispute Resolution |
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Date of Meeting: |
13 October 2021 |
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Report of: |
Chief Executive |
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Contact Officer: |
Name: |
Geoff Raw |
Tel: |
291132 |
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Email: |
geoff.raw@brighton-hove.gov.uk |
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Ward(s) affected: |
All |
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
Note: Urgency
By reason of the special circumstances below, and in accordance with section 100B(4)(b) of the 1972 Act, the Chair of the meeting has been consulted and is of the opinion that this item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.
Note: Reasons for urgency
The special circumstances for non-compliance with Council Procedure Rule 3, Access to Information Procedure Rule 5 and Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), (items not considered unless the agenda is open to inspection at least five days in advance of the meeting) are that the report relates to an ongoing trade dispute which has been the subject of ongoing negotiations and the up to date position and information set out in the report was not available at an earlier stage.
That the committee:
Movement of Drivers and allocation of rounds
Pay and Grading
Pursual of additional actions to resolve dispute
4.1
Other options for consideration relate to the management of the
dispute going forward. If the dispute is not resolved quickly the
council will consider engaging third party support to support all
sides of the dispute in reaching a resolution. Options to be
considered are as follows:
· ACAS offer both conciliation and arbitration services that the employer could seek to utilise, with agreement from GMB. Collective conciliation involves a neutral person providing support to both parties to reach agreement. Arbitration involves a third party working with each side and making a decision to resolve the dispute. Arbitration is usually used when conciliation has not been successful.
· Both parties could request support through the national joint secretaries to access the dispute resolution mechanism as part of the National Joint Council. It is not clear if the regional structures are in place either on the employer or union side, but further exploration of this route could take place in agreement with GMB.
· Third party Industrial Relations expert could be engaged to support the council and union to reach agreement. Various options could be considered, such as the support that was accessed in the 2019 dispute.
7. FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:
Financial Implications:
7.1 The financial implications appear in the part 2 report on this agenda,
Lead Finance Officer: Nigel Manvell Date: 11 October 2021
Legal Implications:
7.2 The legal implications appear in the part 2 report on this agenda
Lawyer: Elizabeth Culbert Date 11 October 2021
Equalities Implications:
Sustainability Implications:
7.4 No specific sustainability implications arise from this report.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Appendices:
Appendix 1: GMB Ballot Paper
Appendix 2: Employer’s revised formal offer (movement of drivers) 06 October 2021
Appendix 3: Employer’s revised formal offer (movement of drivers) 11 October 2021
Documents in Members’ Rooms
None
APPENDIX 1
Appendix 2
City Clean dispute.
Formal Offer (movement of drivers)
Version date: 06.10.21
The following draft offer outlines a formal proposal from the employer for resolving the dispute on the basis that the current industrial action scheduled from 8th October onwards is suspended.
The headings below relate to the areas of concern that have been highlighted by GMB as the grounds for the dispute. This document has been updated following the meeting with the GMB on 6th October 2021.
1. Moving drivers due to performance concerns
Management agree to invoke formal procedure (disciplinary or capability) whenever it felt necessary to move drivers for performance, conduct or capability reasons. Prior to any formal action, an informal meeting/discussion and/or standard setting would take place.
Drivers that have been moved will return to their rounds. This will be done in discussion with the individual driver so that any needs relating to that individual are addressed
Management have met with GMB to go through the drivers that have been moved so that agreement can reached around who is impacted
2. Ensuring the drivers and their crew go out on the round they are allocated to
Where all members of the crew, the driver and the vehicle are available to work, they will work the round that they are normally allocated to and not be moved to work on a different round.
In circumstances where this does not happen, management will review the reasons why there was deviation from this.
3. Covering rounds when Reps are on trade union duties
Where a driver is released on trade union duties, management will prioritise cover for their round using pool or agency drivers.
In circumstances where the round is not covered due to pool or agency drivers not being available, management will look to providing an additional loader for that round to support with catch up where there is capacity to do so.
Management to work with GMB reps to explore ways of improving the resilience of the communal bin rounds.
4. Prioritising permanent staff over agency staff
Management acknowledge that Drivers are contracted to work from 5am and 7am depending on which part of the service they work. Some Drivers start work at 6am and on occasion agency workers who also start at 6am have been allocated to these rounds ahead of permanent Operatives who start at 7am.
Management would like to address this in such a way that works for our permanent staff and which creates consistency with start and finish times. Management propose to undertake a review of this with GMB so that we can agree a solution that works for all staff.
5. Rounds being changed without consultation / following the agreed process
Round changes should only happen following a meeting with the crew and union. The meeting will be carried out by operations managers (ie Team Leaders, Operations Managers, or Head of Operations). These managers will be reminded that this must be done prior to any final decision on round changes.
Where round changes are being considered, management should engage with staff at an early stage of the process.
6. Covering a round when drivers are unwell or on annual leave
When a driver is unwell or on annual leave, management will seek to cover that round using agency or pool drivers.
Management will work with the trade union to develop a process for determining how collection of missed work/leave cover is prioritised. This could include providing an additional loader where there is capacity to do so.
Appendix 3
City Clean Dispute: Revised Formal Offer (Movement of Drivers)
Version date: 11.10.21
The following draft offer outlines a formal proposal from the employer for resolving the dispute on the basis that the current industrial action scheduled from 12th October onwards is suspended.
The headings below relate to the areas of concern that have been highlighted by GMB as the grounds for the dispute. This document has been updated following the meeting with the GMB and the administration on 8th October 2021.
1. Moving drivers due to performance concerns
Drivers that have been moved will return to their rounds. This will be done in discussion with the individual driver so that any needs relating to that individual are addressed
Management have met with GMB to go through the drivers that have been moved so that agreement can reached around who is impacted. Any standard setting or other letters sent by management relating to the decision to move a driver from their round for performance reasons will be removed from that individuals file.
Where all members of the crew, the driver and the vehicle are available to work, they will work the round that they are normally allocated to and not be moved to work on a different round.
In circumstances where this does not happen, management will review the reasons why there was deviation from this.
3. Covering rounds when Reps are on trade union duties
Where a driver is released on trade union duties, management will prioritise cover for their round using pool or agency drivers.
In circumstances where the round is not covered due to pool or agency drivers not being available, management will look to providing an additional loader for that round to support with catch up where there is capacity to do so.
Management to work with GMB reps to explore ways of improving the resilience of the communal bin rounds.
4. Prioritising permanent staff over agency staff
Management acknowledge that Drivers are contracted to work from 5am and 7am depending on which part of the service they work. Some Drivers start work at 6am and on occasion agency workers who also start at 6am have been allocated to these rounds ahead of permanent Operatives who start at 7am.
Management would like to address this in such a way that works for our permanent staff and which creates consistency with start and finish times. Management propose to undertake a review of this with GMB so that we can agree a solution that works for all staff.
5. Rounds being changed without consultation / following the agreed process
Round changes should only happen following a meeting with the crew and union. The meeting will be carried out by operations managers (i.e. Team Leaders, Operations Managers, or Head of Operations). These managers will be reminded that this must be done prior to any final decision on round changes.
Where round changes are being considered, management should engage with staff at an early stage of the process.
6. Covering a round when drivers are unwell or on annual leave
When a driver is unwell or on annual leave, management will seek to cover that round using agency or pool drivers.
Management will work with the trade union to develop a process for determining how collection of missed work/leave cover is prioritised. This could include providing an additional loader where there is capacity to do so.
7. Monitoring and oversight of delivery of these commitments
Officers will provide regular updates regarding the delivery to the commitments made in this offer to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee as part of the City Environment Modernisation Programme update reports that are presented to committee. Management will provide GMB with a copy of the update prior to committee to allow for comment.
End.