Proposal to Merge Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Glasgow College of Food Technology

UNISON Scotland's response to Scottish Executive Consultation Proposal to Merge Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Glasgow College of Food Technology

JUNE 2004

Executive Summary

UNISON believes that so far the merger process is unsatisfactory. The pace of discussions is too hasty and liable to have a detrimental effect upon the future of a merged college.

UNISON believes that there should be a properly negotiated and agreed policy on voluntary redundancy and voluntary early retirement.

UNISON would object to any intentions to create a new job evaluation scheme without prior negotiation.

UNISON proposes a Shadow Negotiating Group.

UNISON urges the shadow board to set up a properly negotiated and agreed timetable for harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment within the new institution (agreed with the Shadow Negotiating Group).

UNISON disagrees with the present negotiation method, which is non-negotiation, and referred to as consultations (a series of consultation papers from the shadow board).

UNISON urges that a vigorous bid be made to the Funding Council to meet the costs of harmonisation of staff pay and conditions.

UNISON is opposed to the outsourcing of any contracts currently done in-house.

UNISON is opposed to any initiatives involving Private Finance Initiatives (PFI).

Introduction

UNISON is Scotland's largest trade union representing 150,000 members delivering public services in Local Government, Health, further and higher education, energy (gas and electricity), water, transport and the voluntary and community sector.

This paper constitutes UNISON Scotland's response to the consultation document issued by the Scottish Executive; Proposal to Merge Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Glasgow College of Food Technology.

Response

UNISON welcomes the intentions of the merger, which according the consultation document will,

"yield substantial educational and financial benefits… and deliver the greatest benefits to all stakeholders…and make a major contribution to the intellectual, economic and social wellbeing of Scotland".

Part C: Staffing

UNISON welcomes the general intentions stated at the beginning of the section entitled, "Staffing",

"Employees of the new College will benefit from new opportunities, different challenges, innovative activity and an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity."

It is however, important that this intention is delivered in practice.

5.7.2 The Management of Change

The document states that,

"Change agents and training and development initiatives will be identified and programmes devised to engage employees in the merger process".

UNISON however, believes that so far the merger process is unsatisfactory. The pace of discussions is too hasty and liable to have a detrimental effect upon the future of a merged college. The process has actually been a series of "consultation" papers handed out to people, stating the intentions of the new institution. There has not been adequate time for people to respond. There is a concern that this is being used to avoid any real discussion or negotiation. As a consequence staff feel alienated in the process.

The document states,

" In view of the significant changes and challenges required to establish the new institution, it is likely that some employees might request voluntary redundancy or voluntary early retirement. Consideration will be given as to how this might assist in merger implementation".

This is not acceptable. UNISON believes that there should be a proper negotiated and agreed policy on voluntary redundancy and voluntary early retirement. The policy should be universal in that its terms should apply to all persons and posts affected by voluntary redundancy or early retirement.

UNISON disagrees with the proposed communication group,

"A communication group comprising representatives from each of the existing colleges has been established".

UNISON requests a properly constituted Shadow Negotiating Group for the colleges and trade unions in order to deal with all matters relating to staffing.

3. Human Resource Planning

The document states that,

" An employee skills and qualifications inventory shall be developed. This will assist in the deployment of staff, identification of skills gaps and planning employee development programmes".

UNISON seriously questions the need for a new employee skills and qualification inventory. Information regarding skills and qualifications should already exist. UNISON would object to any intention to create a new job evaluation scheme without a negotiation process. It is UNISON's view that a proper matching and slotting-in process would solve most problems related to merged employees.

In relation to this the document states,

" A standard format for job descriptions shall be developed. The exercise will require consultation with employees and their trade union representatives".

UNISON disagrees with the present negotiation method, which is non-negotiation, and referred to as consultation. UNISON disagrees with this statement. This should be negotiated now with the trade unions, not post merger. Agreements need to be sought before the merger takes place, in order to assist a smooth transition. UNISON is concerned that the writers of the document are trying to avoid negotiation and agreement.

Staff Appointments

This statement is vague and open to interpretation,

"A primary HR objective will be to develop the new institution's policy and procedures for employee recruitment and selection. This will assist in the appointment of the best candidates for employment and also promote equality of opportunity and diversity. This policy and procedure shall be subject to consultation with trade union representatives".

UNISON's concern is that the shadow board is planning to weaken employees' terms and conditions of employment and change the conditions for future employees, which could lead to a two-tier workforce. This would be completely unacceptable.

Terms and Conditions of Employment

UNISON seriously questions this statement,

"The new institution will aim to implement pay and conditions which reward employees for their skills and efforts; provide a rate of pay which is at least comparable with other similar organisations; promote flexibility of employment and achieve equality of treatment".

Firstly, we disagree with the comparison with "organisations" as opposed to colleges as a comparison. Secondly, we do not agree with the term, "flexibility", and call for it to be removed. If the intention is to change or de-skill employees' work, we would object to this.

In the two paragraphs beginning,

"A previous section indicated that the College would work with employees and their representatives to develop a set of terms and conditions for teaching staff, support staff and senior managers for the new institution whilst recognising the impact of TUPE regulations. "

And ending,

"It will, therefore, be important that negotiations with employees and their trade union representatives are based on realistic expectations".

UNISON would also expect the new college to have "realistic expectations" of the negotiations, bearing in mind the protections in the TUPE regulations.

These statements, as others throughout the document, make assumptions which have not been negotiated or agreed. UNISON hopes that the shadow board is not attempting to use this and other consultation documents as the major form of negotiation. If the shadow board is truly seeking a smooth and successful transition to a new institution, than UNISON proposes that a properly negotiated and agreed timetable for harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment be set up within the new institution. This should be agreed by the proposed Shadow Negotiating Group (mentioned above).

In the statement,

"There is likely to be a cost to any harmonisation of employee terms and conditions…It would thereafter be up to the new institution to realise efficiency gains in future years to finance the ongoing cost of harmonisation".

UNISON urges that a vigorous bid be made to the Funding Council in order to meet the whole cost of harmonisation of conditions to avoid detriment to any employees pay and conditions of employment.

UNISON disagrees with the paragraph beginning and ending,

"It is recognised that there will be a significant call on the time of management and trade union representatives to research, discuss, and negotiate a new set of terms and conditions for both teaching and support staff… The alternative might, however, result in a longer period of consultation and negotiation running closer into the date of merger, which would be less than ideal".

The amount of funding is inadequate for trade union representation in terms of the time involved to discuss and negotiate the terms and conditions for all the staff. The current arrangement on offer, is half a day for each of the eight support staff shop stewards, and a proposed payment of £50.00 per week. UNISON is wholly opposed to payment of representatives by the institution. UNISON prefers appropriate, quality time off in order to give proper consideration to all the tasks required to be undertaken. This would ensure a smooth transfer to the new institution. UNISON expects the same diligence and financial resources to be applied to assist all parties involved in this detailed and complex set of negotiations. UNISON does not accept that there has been a "significant increase in the amount of paid time-off" for trade union representatives.

Employee Training and Development

UNISON seriously questions this entire section. Information regarding skills, qualifications, training and development should already exist. These issues should be negotiated now with the trade unions, not post merger.

Health and Safety and Employee Assistance Programmes

The Shadow Negotiating Group should agree to establish a Health and Safety Committee for the new institution prior to merging.

Part D: Estates and Facilities Management

Developing the Estates Strategy

5.8.2

UNISON refers to the paragraph,

"Planned preventative maintenance associated with the existing college estate will impose a continued and growing cost on the new College that might eventually prevent it from sustaining the financial benefits associated with merger; and options for best value will be a key consideration".

This statement is extremely vague. UNISON is opposed to any initiatives involving Private Finance Initiatives (PFI), which this statement could imply.

Intermediate Objectives

5.8.10

In reference to the bullet point,

"Harmonisation of estates related service contracts"

Again, this is a vague statement. It could imply the outsourcing of estates services contracts, which UNISON would be firmly against. UNISON is opposed to the outsourcing of any contracts currently done in-house.

Part F: Business Plan/ Financial Aspects

There is no indication of the value of the estate's assets of the proposed new institution. But it will be significant. If there is any intention to sell off any of these assets, then UNISON would expect a proportion of the profits to be used to pay for the harmonisation and improvement of staff pay and conditions. As the consultation document states, the new institution will be a centre for educational excellence in FE. UNISON therefore expects that the new institution would set the same standards of excellence and forward thinking for the provision of staff pay and conditions of service.

Summary of Financial Projection

The document states that,

"The cost benefits of merger will include efficiency gains in teaching activities and support functions, reduction in cost duplicated in the separate organisations, savings from buying in greater volume, etc".

This contradicts the stated intent of excellence in the provision of teaching activity and support functions. UNISON is concerned that this could mean a reduction in the number of teaching and support staff in the new institution, which UNISON would be opposed to.

Conclusion

UNISON believes that so far the merger process has been unsatisfactory. The pace of discussions is too hasty and liable to have a detrimental effect upon the future of a merged college. The best way forward for a successful merger would be to have a Shadow Negotiating Group. UNISON believes that the present system of sending out a series of consultation papers is not a satisfactory method for negotiation and agreement. It is undermining confidence in the merger process by raising concerns that should be properly addressed within an appropriate negotiating forum.

For Further Information Please Contact:

Matt Smith, Scottish Secretary
UNISONScotland
UNISON House
14, West Campbell Street,
Glasgow G2 6RX

Tel 0845 355 0845 Fax 0141 342 2835

e-mail matt.smith@unison.co.uk