Agenda and minutes

There were none.

There were no declarations of Members' interests. For transparency Councillor Charlotte Gerada informed those present that she is a member of Unite and GMB union; Councillor Cal Corkery declared that he is a member of Unison and Unite. 

RECOMMENDED that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Purpose

To present the Trade Union Facility Time Report 2023/24 ensuring the Council fulfils its statutory obligations in respect of the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) 2017.

RECOMMENDED - that the Employment Committee:

a)    Notes the data in Appendix 1 and the fact that the Appendix will be the report published on the PCC website, and the Government maintained website.

b)    Notes that the data will be included in any relevant Annual Report and Accounts that are published by PCC.

Natasha Edmunds, Director Corporate Services, introduced the report and informed the Committee that this report is statutory and describes trade union (TU) facilities time for its central function employees and education function employees.  PCC recognises Unison, Unite and GMB trade unions for central function staff and Unison, Unite, GMB, NEU, NASUWT, ASCL, Voice and NAHT trade unions/professional associations for education function staff.

Members' comments

Councillor Corkery stated that he would like to place on record that the feedback he has received recently and on an on-going basis from local union representatives is that they now enjoy a very productive working relationship with the council. He added that this not only benefits employees but helps manage services well and ensure that the public are able to access high quality public services when they need to.

Councillor Sanders echoed these comments, noting that the positive working relationship with the unions had developed since the pandemic and that the council recognised the benefits of having a strong local TU team.  He suggested that following the recent King's Speech, a future report on emerging legislation would be useful.  This was agreed with Councillor Corkery also noting that including the impact on suppliers and partners would also be helpful.

The Director of Corporate Resources agreed to bring a report to the next meeting, noting that the depth of information available will depend on when the Bill is published.  She also noted that some of the initiatives proposed to date, such as day one rights to flexible working, were already part of the progressive approach to employment policy at the council.  She added that the HR team is already looking ahead to future developments and that the team will continue to meet regularly with TU representatives over the summer and into the future. 

Councillor Gerada noted that the increase in TU facilities time set out in the report is very positive.  She added that she also regularly checks in with TU representatives and that it is indicative of the good working relationship between the council and the unions that reports such as this do not reveal any surprises.  She offered her thanks to the Director of Corporate Resources and the team for all the work done to achieve this. 

RESOLVED - to:

a)    Note that the data in Appendix A attached to the report will form the report published on the PCC website and the Government maintained website.

b)    Note that the data will be included in any relevant Annual Report and Accounts published by PCC.

c)    Note the good and improved working relationship between the council and unions.