Pay inquest to learn
lessons for the future
Learn the lessons
of the pay dispute
Now that the pay dispute is
over, lessons must be learned both in the branch and at Scottish level.
This was the unanimous call from the Branch AGM on 8 March which backed
a review of the dispute.
Moved by John Stevenson and
Kevin Duguid, the motion called for a branch working party to report within
three months on how the dispute was handled in the branch It also called
for a Scotland-wide review (see this page).
Branch Secretary John Stevenson
took that argument to the union's Scottish Council which backed the
call to examine a range of issues including:
- The role of the 32 branch
Local Government Forum, in particular the decision to depart from the original
action outlined in the ballot
- How to address the varying
support across Scotland l Negative, unofficial and misleading press briefings
- Clarity on the roles of full
time and lay officials.
"A huge amount of work
was put into this dispute by members officers and staff. "The work-rate
cannot be faulted but there are always lessons to be learned", John
had told the Branch AGM.
"While there were many
positive things, we must never again get ourselves into a position where
there are two conflicting recommendations on a ballot paper", he added.
Seconding the AGM motion, Service
Conditions Officer Kevin Duguid appealed for the review to be allowed to
do its job. The level of detail needed could not be adequately discussed
at an AGM.
Steve Coulson (Social Work)
called for the political as well as organisational issues to be addressed.
Branch President Joe Galletta
congratulated members who gave great backing to the one day strikes, with
a special word for those who were out so long on selective strike. He slammed
the tactics of the employers and pledged the union would resist any victimisation.
Building a Blueprint
for the Future
Scottish Local Government Chair
and Edinburgh Branch Chair Dougie Black is upbeat about the lessons to be
learned from the pay strikes.
"Whilst recognising the
deficiencies of the campaign, ultimately it was its success that delivered
the new offer.
"We hope this review will
bring a blueprint for the future on how the union runs action on this scale"
he said.
The review analyses the campaign
step by step from lodging the claim in December 2000. It notes the poor
return in the original ballot but the view that it had to be taken as a
mandate for action.
Not all branches responded
to the consultation on the first 'final' offer and the report
proposes full ballots alongside workplace meetings in the future.
Role of other unions
The problems stemming from
the split in the other unions' positions meant that the 'staff
side' could not function and issues like arbitration could not be progressed.
The report calls for new dialogue
with the other unions to look at issues like common ballot questions. The
role of full time officers and the problems with advice given at different
stages of the dispute is also raised and the Scottish Secretary is asked
to comment.
Action strategy
The role of the 'Forum'
of branches is also reviewed, especially its shift in role from a 'sounding
board' to taking decisions on tactics, like the change from the planned
1, 2 and 3 days of action.
While backing this change,
the report notes that it exposed serious concerns in some branches about
the ability to sustain the dispute and that some issues highlighted the
lack of a long term plan to win the dispute.
There should have been more
examination of the use of selective action and more central control and
co-ordination since this was a national dispute.
The report notes the issue
of staff side members also being on the Forum when the staff side and branch
views conflicted. It recommends a separation of the chair of the staff side
and the Forum.
Press problems
The Communications Officer
role is praised (the Communications & Campaigns Committee have also tabled
a review). The report outlines a long list of bulletins and briefings that
were produced and discusses the change from quite positive to very negative
media coverage.
The link is made between that
and the move to selective action hitting the public harder and calls for
more cohesive co-ordination of local action.
But there were also other factors
leading to negative coverage. Concern is raised about anonymous briefings
to the press during the dispute, especially after Forum meetings and the
report calls for delegates to maintain 'collective responsibility'.
National Committee
The National Industrial Action
Committee escapes criticism with the report noting that it was supportive
and acted in line with representations made by Scotland delegates.
After a year of dispute and
six months of strikes, the final offer was accepted on a ballot vote of
a 83% to 17% on a 46% return.
The Branch is setting up structures
to respond to the review.
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