Agenda item

(To receive a report from the Executive Director responsible for People Management, which seeks the Executive approval for the recognition of the Royal College of Nursing as a Lincolnshire County Council recognised Trade Union)

1.    That the recognition of the Royal College of nursing as a LCC recognised Trade Union be approved

2.    That the facilities time allocation for the RCN representatives be agreed by the Director responsible for People Management in consultation with the relevant portfolio holder.

Consideration was given to a report by Debbie Barnes, Executive Director responsible for People Management which outlined the decision made in November 2016 to in-source the children's health service 0 – 19 (25 SEND) and for it to be provided by the Council's Children's Services Department, and the request for Trade Union Recognition by LCC of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which is one of the two main Trade Unions (the other being Unison) who support this staff group.

Fiona Thompson, Head of People Management, guided the Executive through the report and made reference to the following:

·         240 employees were due to transfer into Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) on 1 October 2017.

·         There was a need for any Trade Union seeking recognition by the County Council to meet the criteria as set out in the Council's policy on Trade Union recognition.  It was confirmed that the RCN met all three of the criteria.

·         It was not anticipated that there would be any additional budget implications from this proposal as members paid their own membership fees.

The Executive were advised that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board had considered the report concerning the Trade Union Recognition of the Royal College of Nursing at its meeting on 27 July 2017.  The Board had unanimously supported the recommendations contained in the report.

Additional comments made by the Board included:

·         It was suggested that unions should look into having learning representatives as these would be beneficial to staff and to the employer.  There was a vast array of courses available to help staff which could be promoted through learning representatives.

·         It was queried what the relationship was like between Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and whether the Council had negotiated with them before.  It was confirmed that the Council had not negotiated with the RCN before, but engagement meetings had been taking place between the RCN and Unison in the NHS and the Executive Director of Children's Services.  The Council's Unison officers were now being engaged in preparation for the forthcoming consultation.

Clarification was sought regarding learning representatives and the Executive was advised that they were a Trade Union officer who had responsibility within the union for encouraging the development of staff.  It had worked well in Unison and it was thought that it should be extended to the RCN.

Officers advised that the Council currently recognised 14 unions on its approved list.

A discussion took place regarding the entitlement of the various trade unions to facilities time for accredited representatives to undertake representation and attend relevant meetings.  It was noted that the Council's policy was currently for a total of 18 half days, or nine whole days in any 12 month period.  Any additional time would need to be agreed with the Executive Director.  It was reported that the duties which would be included within this facilities time would be things such as attending grievance and disciplinary hearings as well as relevant meetings.   It was noted that GMB had a full-time 'organiser' post which was funded from outside of the Council.  It was queried whether the entitlement for the RCN workforce representatives should be the same as other unions with larger memberships. 

The Executive was advised that the Executive Director for Children's Services had not yet finalised the details with the RCN regarding entitlements for facilities time, and would be working through these details in due course.  It was suggested that the Executive Director should discuss this with the portfolio holder.

It was queried whether a list of existing entitlements for facilities time for each union could be made available showing the time in days.  Officers agreed to circulate this information as requested.

RESOLVED

1.    That the recognition of the Royal College of Nursing as a LCC recognised Trade Union be approved

2.    That the facilities time allocation for the RCN representatives be agreed by the Director responsible for People Management in consultation with the relevant portfolio holder.