Blame all round as nurses industrial action ballot opens
WITH a pay tribunal rapidly approaching and industrial action looming, both sides of the nurses’ pay debate have blamed the other for the breakdown in negotiations.
Royal College of Nursing convenor for Guernsey, Kenny Lloyd, claimed the Policy & Resources Committee have been unwilling to meet on a regular basis.
‘Policy and Resources have chosen not to negotiate.’
‘If you tally up the time we’ve had including time with the Industrial Disputes Officer, it’s very, very little total face-to-face time.’
Patricia Marquis, RCN Regional Director, said there had been four hours maximum of actual negotiation with deputies.
Mr Lloyd was especially frustrated that one meeting with the IDO had been conducted with the two parties in separate rooms.
These accusations were refuted by P&R in a statement that claimed the RCN were responsible for the gridlock.
‘The RCN is wrong to say we have only met with them for a ‘‘few hours’’.
‘This follows other misleading claims where the RCN has accused P&R of not attending meetings when the reality is we have taken the lead in organising face-to-face meetings with the unions ahead of the IDO’s involvement, and have attended all meetings as instructed by the IDO since the dispute was formally lodged.
‘The IDO did organise one meeting where the unions and P&R representatives, including the president of the Policy & Resources Committee, remained in separate rooms.
‘This was the IDO’s decision on how best to manage the meeting, but the president and officers attended throughout and were ready to engage in any way.
‘The IDO has also organised two other meetings where P&R and union representatives were all together.’
Mrs Marquis also questioned the effectiveness of the IDO’s intervention.
‘The IDO hasn’t contributed helpfully. There are a number of things we’re not happy with, including no notes being taken by the IDO in meetings despite the complicated nature of discussions.’
The RCN said it would participate fully in the tribunal process but would still hold a ballot on industrial action. That begins today.
P&R urged the RCN not to pursue strike action because it did not believe a positive outcome was possible.
‘If the RCN do not intend to engage with the conciliation process seriously, the IDO has referred the matter to an industrial disputes tribunal for a legally binding resolution.
‘As a result there is no benefit in carrying out industrial action in respect of which neither the union nor its members have any legal protection.
‘It would only serve to cause disruption for patients and colleagues.’
Mrs Marquis acknowledged strikes would impact patients, but said it would do its utmost to minimise this.
She also labelled P&R’s reference to lack of legal protection as ‘bullying’ and ‘scaremongering’.
P&R said it simply wanted to ensure RCN members were fully informed of any legal implications.
‘The Policy & Resources Committee has highlighted that [the tribunal] is a legally binding process and will go ahead whether or not industrial action is held.
‘This is different to UK law and we have been concerned that AfC members who are used to working in the UK may not be sufficiently aware of this.
‘That is why we have made our employees and the unions aware that legal protections for those who take part in industrial action in the UK, do not exist in Guernsey law.’
