Council disappointed that ACAS-facilitated talks were unable to move GMB negotiations forward

Wiltshire Council has today (9 December), attended an ACAS-facilitated meeting with the GMB Union, with the aim of discussing a way forward to ultimately resolve the issue of proposed changes to some employee terms and conditions.

The council entered today's talks in good faith, as it has done throughout the past year. This is demonstrated by the council making changes to the initial proposals and offering a four-year pay protection. These were accepted by UNISON and Unite the Union but rejected by GMB.

The council was keen today to listen to proposals from GMB on how this could be moved forward. Disappointingly, GMB came to the talks with no new proposals and continued to reiterate that they will not accept anything less than lifetime protection for current staff.

Given the current dispute and the difficulties in progressing this forward, the council asked GMB to consider arbitration on the pay protection period, which is the next step in the recognition agreement to resolve disputes. Arbitration is when an impartial third party makes a decision on a dispute to resolve it. The arbitrator considers the arguments from both sides of the dispute, and they then make a decision based on the evidence presented, and both parties are bound to abide by it. Unfortunately, GMB rejected this option.

As the talks today have not led to significant progress or a resolution, GMB has confirmed that the planned strike action by some members of the council's parking team will still  take place from 10-17 December.

The council has confirmed that it will hold open the date of 16 December for further conciliated talks to take place, should the GMB come up with some reasonable proposals for consideration by the council and the other recognised unions

Terence Herbert, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, said: "We are disappointed this strike action will go ahead and that GMB refuses to work in the best interests of its members. By coming into today's talks with no new proposals GMB appears to be happy for its members to lose money by striking next week.

"Civil Enforcement Officers who strike will see an impact in their salaries in January as a direct result of the GMB's refusal to accept a generous four-year pay protection with an agreement to conduct a pay review during that period.

"We entered talks hoping these would avert this strike, but GMB seems unwilling to want to find compromise, despite the other two recognised unions - Unite the Union and UNISON - agreeing to the proposals.

"However, we are well prepared to deal with any potential impact on our parking services as a result of the strike.

"While the strike is being held, car park users should continue to pay for parking as normal, as all charges and restrictions remain in place and we will have trained staff monitoring all sites. Any penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued during the industrial action will be issued by trained staff and will be legally enforceable.

"Although no resolution has been reached today, we have offered to continue talks with the GMB. Strike action will not help move us forward in resolving this matter.

"We need to resolve this as quickly as possible for the sake of our staff, ensuring they are fairly and appropriately rewarded, while agreeing policies that are standardised, fit for purpose, financially viable and support delivery of the council's Business Plan."