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SINGLE STATUS CRUNCH TALKS TODAY

17-03-2008

Trade Unions will be holding crunch talks today to discuss their next move in Birmingham’s Single Status pay dispute. In a series of public meetings last week, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of continuing industrial action.

The joint unions will feel they have a strong hand when they meet this afternoon after management’s latest deal was rejected – but they will now carry out more formal consultations to find out whether there’s support for another strike.

National union bosses will also have a say – not least in whether to recommend acceptance or rejection of the latest offer.

The key to this is whether or not it their lawyers think the offer on the table fulfils the aims of the Single Status legislation – if it does, union leaders would be duty bound to give it their official approval.

Union sources suggest that this is unlikely though, because the introduction of a “contribution and assessment” element (ie performance related pay) is not seen as a key element of Single Status.

One official suggested on The Stirrer last week that by trying to roll this issue into the equal pay agenda, the Council had “shot itself in the foot” (see link here)