Nov 04 - Unite Disagrees With GSD Over Borders And Coastguard Agency
Unite the Union says it disagrees with the GSD in its approach towards the Borders and Coastguard Agency (BCA). The Union says that neither the BCA nor the other agencies mentioned by the GSD have been “forgotten.” This comes after the party distributed leaflets detailing its plans for the agency.
A statement from Unite continues: “Unite the Union prides itself on negotiating the best terms and conditions possible for our members. We also pride ourselves on keeping all negotiations with employers confidential until such time that agreement has been reached. However as a consequence of a leaflet handed out today by the GSD regarding the Borders and Coastguard Agency (BCA), Building Works Agency (we can only assume that they mean the Housing Works Agency (HWA) and the Highway Enforcement Officers (HEO’s) we feel that we need to set the record straight.
“Unite does not share the view that these three departments mentioned by the GSD have been forgotten. We have been working in partnership with the Government to resolve longstanding issues on both terms and conditions and structures. Within the HWA we negotiated the inclusion into the agency of the technical grades from the Housing Ministry. Government have also afforded the workforce the chance to shape their own future by forming a working group to allow them, with Unite, to submit a proposal for the future. This work is currently ongoing but we feel that through this mechanism we will be able to achieve a long term future which is not possible with the current agreement of 2 for 1 (signed by the previous government) which would eventually see the agency disappear.
“With regards to the HEO’s Unite has already negotiated with the Government the transfer of employees to the BCA. However this has been done in a pragmatic way that does not force individuals into jobs that they are not happy to undertake. Government has afforded these individuals options on where they will be transferring and committed to honouring their current terms and conditions or bettering them. We must also add that these individuals were employed by the previous Government on a 3-year contract and thanks to Unite we were able to negotiate permanent contracts with the current Government.
“Focusing on the BCA we are happy to say that the issues relating to the Agency have almost all been resolved thanks to the goodwill of the current Government and the hard work of our shop stewards and committee members. A special mention must be given to Wayne Victor (the current shop steward) and Willie Recagno (previous shop steward) for the hard work, patience and foresight displayed. We are however surprised that the GSD are offering to respect the Terms and Conditions of the 2010 Collective Agreement when we have already agreed vast improvements on said agreement with the Government which are in the process of being drafted. Unite and its members would not accept any future Government backtracking on agreements already in place and we would look to take appropriate action if this was the case. The issues of interpretation have already been agreed and amendments are now being introduced. We are also happy to announce that the issue of manning levels and female officers is also being addressed, although thanks to the hard work of Unite and the Government we have already increased the manning levels of the BCA by over 40%.
“In fact, in the past four years the only persons who have forgotten the BCA, the HEO and the HWA have been the GSD.
“To summarise Unite the Union feels that it is misleading for the GSD to state that they will deliver measures if elected that have already been achieved by the hard work and commitment of our members, officials and the current Government. There is still a lot of work to be done, and we are committed to doing this in partnership with whichever party is in power.”
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