Leicester City Single Status update
Dear Colleague
IMPORTANT UPDATE ON SINGLE STATUS
As I am sure you are fully aware your employer has now taken the step of implementing the single status proposals without actually gaining agreement from the GMB on your behalf.
You will also have read the numerous bulletins put out by your employer referring to that fact that the Trade Union side is to blame for this - I have informed GMB members previously about our position on this. The feedback from all of you suggests that you understand the position that we had to adopt on behalf of members. So I don’t intend to justify the stance GMB took on our members behalf again.
Moving forward - as your employer could not get a collective agreement from the Trade Union side, they now intend to seek agreement with each of you individually.
As I understand it they will begin doing so almost immediately, some of which letters have been sent out to all employees asking them to accept the new salary and terms and conditions with a response required by 4th February 2011.
Clearly Leicester City Council have chosen a disgraceful way to conclude this situation, they could have continued to listen to GMB and to at least try to resolve our issues. Instead what they are doing to all of you is unilaterally imposing changes to your rates of pay and your terms and conditions which many of you feel you have little choice but to accept regardless of the fact that in some cases this will mean a loss of income every month!!
As your employer refuses to listen when we sit around a table with them we are left with no choice but to make them listen by taking a stand against this imposition - GMB will be consulting with our members for a view on whether the majority would wish to support strike action. If you do then we will conduct a formal industrial action ballot and together we will show Leicester City that GMB members will not be bullied.
Attached to this letter you will find a consultative ballot paper that we would ask you to complete and return to us. All forms need to be back at my office by 12noon on 28th January 2011 and the vote will be counted on that day.
We do appreciate that because of the way that Leicester City Council are insisting on you making a decision before our period of consultation is even due to end this is making the timescale very tight - with your responses being due back to Leicester City Council by 4th February 2011 - so we would ask you to consider the following:
If you wish to accept the Council proposals then you would sign the relevant documents and return by 4th February 2011 and begin working to the new terms and conditions from
1st March 2011.
Anyone gaining from this process will have any increase backdated to 1st July 2010.
Anyone losing out through this process will have their existing basic rate of pay protected until 30th June 2012.
Leicester City Council have decided that the above back pay and protection will only apply to those who decide to accept the proposals.
If you do not wish to accept the proposals for your own post then you must think carefully about the course of action you choose to take.
What is clear at the moment is that Leicester City Council intends to terminate the existing contracts of all employees and have already served notice of their intention to do so. Therefore if you choose not to accept the new terms and conditions remember that keeping your existing ones is not an option that your employer is offering.
What they will offer to you is the opportunity to be re-engaged in your current post but, of course, on the new terms and conditions. If this should happen your employer will not pay you back pay or award you any pay protection!
The GMB will be seeking a legal view for any member who does not sign up for the new terms and conditions but we would urge you to bear in mind that many other local authorities have managed to use the same process that Leicester City Council is adopting. In all of those cases legal advice was sought but unfortunately the law was against us and there were few cases that were successful.
If you decide not to sign up then please contact the branch office (0116 2232276) as a matter of urgency, but please bear in mind that this is an individual decision that you have to make.
Yours sincerely
Sian McClarence