Comments on: The Brighton pay dispute: the union view

By: james?

james? — Tue, 28 May 2013 11:26:25 +0000

would the best solution at present not be to try and get the decision back in the hands of councillors. and in the meantime to take part in the consultation. in the mean time there does need to be a clear assessment of what the legal situation is i know of at least one case where the gmb was sued by its own female members over the equal pay act and they recieved substantial pay outs. if the union fails to come up with a solutin that wont lead to the council going bankrupt then maybe there dispute will not be with the council in the end. if same thing is being played out in birmingham it may be better if future articles on this try and discuss the issues by talking about all cases rather than just focusing on on one authority. after all alternative media should clarify things rather than just be whose saying what.

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 25 May 2013 19:37:02 +0000

I still have not see the numbers. Some staff will lose 4K a year, ok but how many?

The other point i dont understand is, are the binmen being asked to work bank holidays for no extra pay? Yes or No answer please!

By: Brian Mayers

Brian Mayers — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:27:02 +0000

So that’s why there has been such an excessive pile-up in the management residences! Do they not realise how much this has effected their environment? I know very well since I live in Ashdown Management… I understand why cityclean stopped working, but they should have used another means of protest.

By: James

James — Sat, 11 May 2013 21:00:42 +0000

It’s hard to know where to begin with this. I’ve been an enthusiastic member of several trade unions over the years, but disingenuous nonsense like this makes me wonder why.

I’ll start with one barefaced inaccuracy. Whatever Aberdeenshire did in 2013, they dealt with single status in 2007.
http://www.aberdeenshireunison.com/singlestatus/

There’s a series of other massive problems with this position I’d be happy to challenge.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:06:39 +0000

Jason Kitcat wrote a statement on his blog recently; see http://www.jasonkitcat.com. This is a difficult situation and it does seem that he bungled communications but I cannot see him wanting to screw over the lowest paid. Indeed, he says the wage bill will go UP rather than DOWN. On this issue, you are quite right to try to find common ground. I am in the Lewisham Green Party but would work with other parties to achieve justice and fairness. It seems to me the mistake was to say the officers would deal with the issue, as the officers are the main culprits, whereas JK et al should have said the council should vote on the report and any amendments.

It is heartening that most Green councillors and members, and Labour/Co-op, are trying to stand up for the lowest paid