Single Status 1

RUDGE CLAIMS UNIONS "DON'T WANT TO SETTLE POLITICAL STRIKE"

18-04-2008

Birmingham's Single Status boss Alan Rudge has claimed the unions "don't want to settle" in the pay dispute which threatens to bring the city to a standstill.  In this open letter, issued in a bid to head off next week's two day strike, Rudge argues that the dispute is politically motivated.
 
Once again the City Council's unions seek to disrupt the lives of ordinary men and women by striking over the single status pay and grading review.  Why?  

Why, when nearly 90% of staff get more money or stay the same?  

Why, when almost two thirds of staff have voluntarily accepted their new contracts?

Why, when the Council has committed itself to reducing those who lose to no more than 3.5% at the end of a full protection period in March 2011?

Why, when independent auditors show that we have a wage structure which doesn't discriminate?

Why, when we are introducing a pay structure which rewards individual contribution and excellence similar to schemes governing the pay of thousands of people working in the private sector?

Why, when we've done this with no job cuts or service cuts and with one of the lowest Council Tax rises in the country?

Everything the unions do shows they don't want to settle.  
 
They ask for information we can't give them without breaking the law.  They reject a hard negotiated £5m new offer on the basis of a show of hands by less than 10% of their members. They reject arrangements for pay progression common everywhere else.  They refuse to ballot their members, despite assurances that they will. They walk away from talks and conveniently forget Unison's boycott of single status consultation for more than 18 months, yet accuse the Council of failing to negotiate.

It's no coincidence that the unions have chosen to strike on the same day as teachers of the NUT, over which the Council has no direct influence.

This is a political strike.  The unions appear to have little concern for Council staff and even less for the people of Birmingham.  Unfortunately, the only conclusion is that they want to maximise disruption for political ends.

I want this dispute settled.  My staff and I have always been prepared to meet at any time.  The unions should show their good faith by calling of their quite indefensible strike now.
 
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