Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012: Workforce Change and Consultation Part 1

Report on Cabinet meeting of the 8th November 2012 Part 1 with video.

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Wirral Council: Trade Unions Protest at Labour Cabinet’s Decision to Consult on Future Job Cuts and Changes to Terms and Conditions

Last night’s Cabinet meeting was so well attended, that the room venue had to change at the last-minute from the Council Chamber (capacity fifty) to the Civic Hall (capacity hundreds). Its usual venue of Committee Room 1 is being used for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Unusually both the Civic Hall and the balcony were packed following a picket at 5pm outside Wallasey Town Hall.

In scenes that haven’t been seen at a Cabinet meeting since the Labour/Lib Dem Cabinet tried to close Wirral’s libraries (which led to the public inquiry led by Sue Charteris), the Labour Cabinet Members were booed on entering the Civic Hall. The first video (part of a longer playlist of the meeting) shows the first three items of the meeting, which are Declarations of Interest, Minutes and Workforce Change and Consultation and the report for this last item can be found on Wirral Council’s website.

There was a change to the original recommendation proposed and seconded by the Labour Group which was circulated to those at the meeting. This amendment (which was agreed) is below:

Proposed amendment

Agenda Item 10
12.1 a) 4. The potential impact on staff of the officer budget options including redundancy

b) Immediately suspend applications to the council’s existing employee enhanced Voluntary Severance Scheme

————————————————————————————————–
Revised recommendations (agreed)

12.1 That the Chief Executive is authorised to:

a) Open formal consultation with Trade Unions and staff under TULRCA (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992) and as a matter of good practice on:

1. Changes to the council’s enhanced discretionary severance scheme policy under the Local Government (Early Termination of Employment) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006.

2. Changes to the local conditions of service.

3. The terms upon which to implement the final stages of Job Evaluation, under the 1997 National joint agreement.

4. The potential impact on staff of the officer budget options including redundancy.

b) Immediately suspend of the council’s existing employee enhanced Voluntary Severance Scheme.

12.2 To recommend to the Employment and Appointments Committee that this report is considered and the Chief Executive is authorised to open consultation as outlined in Recommendation 12.1 (a) and that Recommendation 12 (b) is implemented.

The Chief Executive will report back on the progress of consultation the special budget Cabinet on 20 December 2012.

Below are links to the various videos of this Cabinet meeting.

Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012 Part 1 Workforce Change and Consultation
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012 Part 2
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012 Part 3
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012 Part 4
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012 Playlist

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Author: John Brace

New media journalist from Birkenhead, England who writes about Wirral Council. Published and promoted by John Brace, 134 Boundary Road, Bidston, CH43 7PH. Printed by UK Webhosting Ltd t/a Tsohost, 113-114 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, England, SL1 4PF.

4 thoughts on “Cabinet (Wirral Council) 8th November 2012: Workforce Change and Consultation Part 1”

  1. Best video you’ve posted Mr Brace. Keep them coming over the next few weeks. Hugely ironic stuff for me, having been sold down the river by colleagues of Joe Taylor AND by individuals I recognise in the room (photos in the Globe) who have in the past acted through self interest, and stood shielded behind the petticoats of the senior managers and councillors they are deriding here. Audience great for the large part, but all official speakers in the room have forked tongues.

    1. Thanks, politics is all about trust and betrayal and the union line seems to be, we helped you [Labour] get elected, so why don’t you do what we want when in office?

      So Labour politely listened, then went ahead anyway (with some minor modifications). A lot of people at Wirral Council will lose their jobs (and this’ll reduce the money coming in to union coffers), but some people would class this as “poetic justice”. As you have pointed out, clearing up the mess left behind by years of things not being right, the payoffs, the early retirements and compensation have left the finances in a right pickle.

      The only option left to them is to make hundreds of people redundant (after the required 90 day consultation obviously). Quite who gets the chop though depends on which of the budget options they go for in December/February,

      It’s times like these which make me glad I work in the private sector and nobody can fire me or make me redundant.

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