All members
circular,
Tayside Fire Brigades Union have been, since April 2005,
disputing the allocation of leave to members who work
the day duty system. This dispute has been led by the
grievance of flexi duty pay protected station officers
who are under the sixth edition NJC Scheme of Conditions
of Services entitled to 36 days paid leave.
Currently TF& R give these members
ONLY 28 days paid leave.
Members should be reminded that as early as 2005 it was
understood, BY ALL, that the interpretation
of leave being adopted by TF&R was inconsistent with
the Grey Book and management understood that weekends
at the start and end of leave periods could NOT
be included in leave periods.
Draft proposals have been obtained by local
FBU officials which change the allocation of leave and
concede this principal due to the fact that 2 periods
of 24hrs are free from duty each week. The continuation
of this dispute is due to the inability of Principal Managers
to accept that the stringent enforcement of leave periods
still leaves members short by either 2 or 4 days paid
leave.
Negotiations led to both parties seeking
assistance from the Joint Secretaries in November 2006,
however no offer was made by managers who attended and
managers requested an adjournment to seek legal advice.
Both parties sought this advice during 2007 and after
a further local meeting at which management stated they
had no further offer would be forthcoming, the FBU asked
for ACAS to be used to further the issue.
Management however asked for the reconvening
of the Joint Secretaries and the FBU attended this forum
for further negotiations this past week. To the FBU's
bitter disappointment Principal Managers once again made
NO offer in regards to the outstanding
grievance. We did however agree to further our dispute
with the Resolutions Advisory Panel, which will consider
the issue in the near future.
The Fire Brigades Union remain committed to achieving
a satisfactory conclusion to this dispute, we also remain
committed to the Joint Protocols on Industrial Relations,
however both parties must show this commitment.
A detailed update can be accessed here
or any member can contact myself or Brother Steve Mellon
for a report on the latest news.
Jim Malone BS FBU Tayside
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