UNISON News Edinburgh

Pressure brings re-think on job evaluation chaos

Despite the urgent need for a fair and transparent grading system, the council now says it will not be implemented until July 2008.

"While we are frustrated at yet another delay, we are pleased our rejection of the existing plans as 'unacceptable' seems to have led to the council reviewing its position", said John Mulgrew, Branch Service Conditions Co-ordinator.

Job evaluation is part of the Single Status deal signed in 1999. In addition, the law means the council must come up with a scheme that delivers equal pay.

"UNISON has been pushing urgently for a fair deal but the union cannot sign up to anything that is not equality-proofed", added John.

The current proposals would have seen some strange gradings with thousands of staff losing money. The council's reasons for reviewing its position include: l

They need more time to ensure the Job Evaluation scores and outcomes are accurate
They need more accurate information on current earnings of staff and how these will be affected by the new pay and grading structure

"During the next few months branch officers will negotiate hard with the council to get agreement on a fair scheme", said John.

The union also hopes to get information about the allocation process. This is where 'scores' are given to 'profiles' based on job descriptions. The rate for the job will be based on these scores.

"As this information becomes available there will be all stewards' meetings and information will also be issued to members", said John.

Any final scheme will have to be scrutinised by UNISON HQ with a ballot to follow. Check the website for briefings as talks progress.

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