Trade unions are “under attack” from Bristol City Council over plans that could change how much paid time off reps get for carrying out their role, it is claimed. Unison “fundamentally disagrees” with the proposal which it fears could erode unions’ abilities to fight for workers’ rights, a council meeting heard.
Talks are underway between the local authority’s bosses and employee representatives to formalise many years’ custom and practice in a new written agreement. The council says it currently goes beyond statutory limits for time off for union reps – officially called facilities time – and that it wants to produce a process that is fit for the 21st century in a “leaner organisation” because it has not been reviewed for decades.
But Unison Bristol branch secretary Tom Merchant told the human resources committee that while the first recent meeting between the two sides over the issue was “constructive”, the union could never agree with what was being suggested and there was almost no middle ground. Mr Merchant told the meeting: “Let’s be clear – we cannot compromise on 90 to 95 per cent of what is proposed.
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“We know what the idea is and we fundamentally disagree with it.” He said Unison shared this position with Unite which had pointed out that trade unions had historically enjoyed a much better relationship with the council than what was required by law.
Mr Merchant said: “So it should not be the baseline levels of the Trade Union & Labour Relations Act and the Employment Act, it’s a stronger relationship that has social value and it has been built into Bristol City Council, making it a strongly democratic one. Whereas ourselves and Unite disagree over pensions levels, we are 100 per cent together on this that we cannot re-draw at all because it would prevent us from managing the day-to-day control of issues at work.
“We have a 6,000-strong workforce, hundreds of cases each year and we have to have the ability to organise ourselves, which has to be independent from how management views good employee relations in the workplace. We have had that for many years. I very much regret to say it feels very much like an attack on the trade unions.
“If we can keep the terms of reference to the core areas that management wants, the core areas we want and come to an understanding – not a new policy, an amendment – I think that is possible. But as a whole we still feel under attack as far as the facilities agreement goes.
“We can’t relinquish any of the rights we have as trade unions.” He said compromise was often found between Unison and the council but the union “can’t compromise on anything at all on this”.
Labour Cllr Kerry Bailes said: “We need to make sure they get their time off because if we are going to be as good an administration as we can be, they need to feel supported and need that support.” City council HR business partner James Brereton told members on Thursday, April 28: “Tom says there is a big gulf, I would say we have only had one meeting, we produced a rough document as a starter for those discussions.
“I suspect there is much on which we would agree. I hope it’s not about throwing babies out with bathwaters. Of course in some respects we do approach from different perspectives but there is common ground there and I’m very hopeful that over the coming weeks we will continue to have our private meetings and I hope we will make good progress and come back to this committee with something very worthwhile.”
He said a written agreement over union facilities time had been in place in 1996 when Bristol City Council was created but that this was long gone. “A large part of the day-to-day conduct of our relations with trade unions is custom and practice. We are seeking to write that down. That’s a good thing to do, for all sides,” Mr Brereton said.
Members heard the review was separate to the proposed cuts to corporate trade union duties in the annual budget in February, which were eventually dropped and full funding reinstated following criticism by opposition councillors and unions.
“The agreement is not about the budget. It’s about ‘what do good employee relations look like in Bristol City Council in the 21st century?’” A report to the committee said: “The council has legal duties in relation to trade unions. Its approach exceeds statutory limits for time off and has not been reviewed in many years.
“From the management perspective, the aim of the work is to properly account for the time off of trade union representatives between duties (paid) and activities (unpaid) and between service-based and council-wide activities. We will also be seeking to agree minimum and maximum levels of representation across the organisation.” It said the aim was for any changes to be in place by April 2023.
Government guidance issued by the Cabinet Office says trade union duties are paid while trade union activities can be paid or unpaid at the employer’s discretion. Examples of trade union duties include collective bargaining, such as over redundancy and employment terms and conditions, taking part in negotiations and attending disciplinary hearings, while trade union activities include union administration and correspondence.
