Letter to Santa

[steveL]

Interesting that HBC is so secretive about its dealings with unions but it's hardly surprising. The difference between union/employer relations in the private sector and what happens at HBC is that in the latter case the two are joined at the hip.

Remember the leaflet claiming that some of the money allegedly saved by doing away with an elected mayor would be used to introduce a 'living wage' for council workers? It wasn't true.

Here's an extract from the Finance and Policy Meeting on 23rd November.

"As reported previously the implementation of a Hartlepool Living Wage was included within the proposed package of Terms and Conditions changes. These changes were designed to provide a net budget saving, after reflecting the cost of implementing the Hartlepool Living Wage, of £200,000 and this amount was included in the 2015/16 base budget.

Following the outcome of the Trade Union ballot which rejected the proposed package of Terms and Conditions savings Members requested a further report on the options for implementing a Hartlepool Living Wage, whilst recognising that the net budget saving included in the 2015/16 base budget will not be achieved.

The proposed net saving of £200,000 included within the 2015/16 base budget from changes in Terms and Conditions cannot be achieved as the Trade Union ballot did not provide a mandate to implement these proposals. Therefore, alternative savings will need to be identified."

In other words, after unions said 'thank you, very much' for the introduction of a living wage, they were then allowed to veto the council's plans to pay for it, forcing the council to look at cutting services to find the money.

'Management', as most of us understand it, is non-existent within HBC., All such decisions are apparently dependent on union approval; unions who, incidentally, happen to also play a large part in deciding who gets to be a Labour councillor.

This is not healthy, it's against the pubic interest and it's a long way from being democratic.

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/hartlepool-council-s-plea-over-trade-union-bill-1-7606152#ixzz3tLPKQ7MA

[DRiddle]

unions who, incidentally, happen to also play a large part in deciding who gets to be a Labour councillor

In many respects that surprises me. I'd assumed the local Labour lot just wondered around Hartlepool looking for waifs and strays to join up. My guess would have been that their selection criteria included the emotionally unhinged, incompetents, as well as those who they just generally felt a bit sorry for. There are a couple of Labour Councillors who, if I passed them in the street, I'd give them a bit of pocket change ...

I'd genuinely surprised that some of these people are actually chosen.