- Conference
- 2003 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 12 February 2003
- Decision
- Carried
This Conference notes with concern that unknown thousands of UNISON’s lowest paid members including catering assistants, cleaners, care workers and gardeners who work for local authorities and in the private sector (because of outsourcing) are still owed varying amounts of leave entitlement which was placed in suspension over twenty years ago.
Conference is also concerned that the longer this situation is allowed to remain the greater the risk of the suspension agreement being lost in the mist of time, indeed following the formation of UNISON and the ongoing retirement of ex-manual activists the knowledge within branches of the origins of the agreement is dwindling which leads to a higher risk of members who are entitled to suspended holiday payment not getting it.
Conference now believes that after waiting more than twenty years all monies owed under this agreement should be paid.
Therefore Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to formulate a national strategy to help secure the release of the suspended holiday pay, as part of this strategy Conference instructs the Service Group Executive:
1)To reopen negotiation with the National Employer on the suspension agreement (the implementation agreement, paragraph 16 Green Book) with a view to getting the debt paid.
2)To write to all relevant branches explaining the suspension agreement as mentioned in (the implementation agreement, paragraph 16 Green Book) and to ascertain the numbers nationally who still have holiday entitlement in suspense.
3)To offer guidance to branches on what should be done in the meantime to help secure the release of outstanding monies locally.
4)To report back to Conference 2004 on what progress has been made.