THE politician who heads the Civil Service Commission has launched an astonishingly robust attack on ‘ridiculous’ union demands.
Michael MHK Alf Cannan, who also chairs the employers side of the Whitley Council, said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ by the ‘bullying’ behaviour of employees side secretary Eric Holmes.
His attack came after Mr Holmes cancelled further Whitley business after what he terms ‘disrespect’ shown by the chairman and employers’ side.
Mr Holmes has written to Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK requesting his direct intervention.
This follows a row over ‘facility time’ with the union claiming its chairwoman Deborah Halsall was not granted time out of work by her line manager in the Department of Social Care to attend a pre-meeting ahead of a full meeting of the Whitley Council.
Mr Cannan said: ‘I am extremely disappointed that Eric Holmes and his Whitley colleagues have chosen to behave in a such a manner at this crucial time.
‘Whilst people are losing jobs, nursery schools are closing and government is undergoing a major transformation programme, the unions are choosing a fight because they allege that one of their members was not granted facility time for a pre-meeting and because this matter was not sorted out to their satisfaction, they have been disrespected.
‘Eric Holmes and his Whitley Council colleagues must recognise that the situation has altered and they can no longer bully their way through government.
‘We are no longer listening to ridiculous demands from the union for items such as the installation of defibrillators across government buildings or HGV drivers being given allowances to obtain UK licences.
‘From now on I expect Whitley Council business to be conducted in a professional manner as befits the economic circumstances. The gravy train is over.’
But Mr Holmes hit back, insisting it was Mr Cannan who was adopting a bullying approach.
‘I think he’s being naive. He’s hitting out in the wrong direction. It’s not the first time he’s done this. If he accuses us of bullying and being on the gravy train, where do we go from here? He shouldn’t be in politics.’