UNION leaders have been blasted after they pulled out of joint talks over major scope of government reforms.
Chief Minister Allan Bell insisted reforms would not be delayed, even if that meant sidelining unions that didn’t engage in a constructive way.
The Unite union has told the Department of Infrastructure that it has pulled out of joint negotiations with rival Prospect over proposed changes to staff terms and conditions and the way services are delivered at the airport and operations division.
It is understood it has also walked out of a joint platform with Prospect in talks with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture and with the Public Sector Pensions Authority’s working group looking at cutting rates of redundancy pay.
As part of scope of government reforms, departments have been given a deadline until the end of this year to review services to see how they can be delivered in a more efficient and cost-effective way.
This could included contracting out or part-privatisation of some services.
Infrastructure Minister David Cretney said: ‘Unfortunately we have been notified that Unite will sit down with the department but they won’t sit down with Prospect. This will make negotiations more protracted and difficult.’
Chief Minister Allan Bell admitted: ‘It’s a matter of concern.’
He added: ‘I would have expected a more mature approach given the issues affecting the island at the moment. I would have thought they would grab this opportunity to work closely with government departments to find an achievable way forward.
‘Instead, Unite’s leadership seems rooted in the 1970s and fails to recognise the difficulties currently facing the Isle of Man.’
He added: ‘These changes are going to be brought in – they have to be brought in, in a relatively short time. There is a danger if the unions don’t engage in a constructive manner many decisions will be made without their involvement.’
Mr Bell said he would not want to pre-empt what the final recommendations of the departments’ scope reviews might be.
But he said the employment structures needed to be streamlined and modernised. ‘It needs to be more relevant to the Isle of Man – not rooted in the past,’ he said.
Mr Bell has announced that consultation will begin after Easter on proposals to establish a Public Services Commission which will replace the Civil Service Commission and the Whitley Council pay negotiating body for manual workers
Unite regional industrial organiser Eric Holmes insisted the union wasn’t dragging its feet on reform. ‘Absolutely not,’ he said.
‘Whitley Council has sole signatory rights to a lot of the departments’ work. We did think we could share a joint platform with Prospect but unfortunately Prospect’s aims and protections don’t coincide with those of the manual workers so we’ve now pulled out.
‘What Prospect is happy to give away is not what the manual workers are happy to give away. We’ve met with the chief officers of all the areas and they understand what the problems are. It’s disappointing they are having to do things twice.’
Mr Holmes said the proposal for the single employing authority was ideal for the civil service but did not suit the manual workers.
He added: ‘The Chief Minister’s aim is to get rid of Whitley Council - this is what this is all about.’
Angela Moffatt, negotiations officer for the Prospect union, said: ‘We have about 70-plus Whitley Council members in Prospect. We have members all over the public sector.
‘We have not agreed or discussed any proposal to “give away” anything. I’m astonished at what Eric Holmes has to say.
‘We will always work with other unions to be able to achieve the best for employees. We are committed to that – and that won’t change. At no point has Unite raised an issue with Prospect other than to say that civil servants can’t negotiate for Whitley Council.
‘However, we have never negotiated for Whitley Council – so Mr Holmes’ remarks are obtuse. We can’t negotiate for Whitley Council – although we do speak for our Whitley Council members. It’s almost as if they are seeing problems that don’t exist.’
It is understood that Unite is still participating in a number of formal joint negotiating bodies including at the MEA, port services and education.