Tribunal to hold a public hearing
UNITE regional officer Bob Lanning is questioning what would happen if members rejected a supposedly binding decision of a tribunal panel in their pay dispute with the States.
Deputy industrial disputes officer Stuart Le Maitre confirmed yesterday that a tribunal panel would decide the issue of pay. Further details will be announced when the date and membership of the panel has been established. The outcome would be binding.
Hundreds of public sector workers went on strike on Wednesday and some are still working to rule. The States has offered them a 2.3% pay rise when the cost of living is 2.9%
Mr Lanning said it amounted to a pay cut.
‘Members are asking why they are less important than nurses when they are doing jobs that others don’t want to do,’ he said. ‘Just because a lot of them are women does not mean that they are not the breadwinners for the family.’
The tribunal will be a public hearing which Mr Lanning hopes could take place in the first half of July.
‘What happens if these people [Unite members] are so angry that they are not prepared to accept the decision?’ he said. ‘This is something I’ve put to employer representatives in the past.’
Strikes in Guernsey were rare, he said, and the issue at stake amounted to 0.6% – and these were the lowest paid public sector workers.
He believed it would be far better for Unite to put its case directly to States representatives rather than involving a third party.
The other matter at stake was the sacking of the Airport Fire Station union rep. Mr Lanning said he was hoping to arrange a further meeting with the States to discuss that next week.
‘The States decided to throw away the rule book when they did it and there was no recourse to any industrial tribunal,’ he said. ‘This is more than about just one person and we are fearful that it could be repeated with any individual.’
Unite could decide to summons the States on that matter or members could decide to take further action.
