Outrageous interpretation

An anti-union campaign tainted with claims that Unite members were bullied and intimidated has led to the Church of Scotland de-recognising Unite and backing an in-house staff association.

In a statement the Church of Scotland linked the move to pay talks earlier this year which they claimed led to staff being unhappy with Unite.

“Calls for a staff association instead of the trade union have been heeded by the employer at a meeting this afternoon,” said Pauline Weibye, secretary to the Church’s Council of Assembly, “and we will now be working closely with the whole staff group to ensure that we have robust collective bargaining arrangements for the future.”

This is the same Pauline Weibye who signed a statement apologising on behalf of management, “for its role in any upset caused by the misunderstanding about the context, detail and process of the 2014 pay negotiations.”

She re-assured staff, in a joint statement with Unite that “both the employer and Unite have agreed to work to restore a positive relationship in the interests of all staff.”

This joint approach followed the problems which arose during the 2014 pay talks when Church of Scotland bosses implemented staff pay rises and told the union weeks after. This infuriated staff and led to a vote for industrial action.

Mary Alexander, Unite Scotland deputy regional secretary said, “Church managers walked away from pay talks and implemented the pay award structure that they wanted, waiting a couple of weeks before telling Unite what they had done.

“It takes a lot for our members to vote for industrial action particularly our members in the Church of Scotland who have the best interests of the church at heart.

Protocols

“Both sides agreed to revise the recognition agreement by introducing a more robust framework and greater clarity to avoid misunderstandings. It was agreed to introduce protocols for pay bargaining including clear timeframes, definition of roles, exchange of information and communication.

“Staff knew that things were going to change because of the joint statement and both sides wanting to agree a better way forward” said Mary Alexander.

“The ballot paper did not make it clear that voting to change collective bargaining arrangements meant de-recognition of Unite in favour of a management-backed staff association.

“The ballot itself was 93 to 80 on a turnout of just over 75 per cent. Thirteen votes is hardly a robust rejection of Unite especially given the management-backed campaign in support of the staff association.

“The ballot wording was ‘Should the current collective bargaining arrangements with Unite be continued?’ does not mention recognition at all. The joint process of change for the better – which included ACAS – has been hijacked and replaced with a divisive anti-union agenda which does the Church of Scotland no credit at all.

“Not only have the Church walked away from Unite” added Mary Alexander “they have also walked away from ACAS. We will continue to represent Unite members and will challenge the Church’s outrageous interpretation of the ballot.”