Response by Jo Miller

Further to UNISON's letter dated 18th May, Jo Miller has now responded.  The letter below was recieved at 18:00 last night.  It is clear from this response that our advice was correct and despite rumour to the contrary Letter A is being accepted by DMBC as it does not place condition on acceptance of new T & C's.  Any managers who query this with members should have there attention drawn to this letter.  Your employment is not at risk by returning Letter A along with the signed contract.  Should members feel uneasy about submitting Letter A, they should simply return the signed contract to DMBC, but still return Letter B to UNISON for us to initiate legal claims on your behalf.

Jo refers to the majority of staff in terms of them being sympathetic to DMBC's plight of spending cuts.  Whilst this may be true, how many staff were harassed, bullied and threatened into signing the variations to contract?  We would like to hear from members willing to speak to our solicitors if they feel this was the case!
   
It appears that DMBC do not wish to enter further negotiations with the Trade Unions as we requested in our letter.  We believe this position will change when potentially 1300 legal claims are lodged by Trade Union members.  UNISON will always try to protect and fight for all its members.

One Voice 28th May 2012

DMBC &, "The Sidestep Shuffle!"

News reaches us as we all move in to the weekend that DMBC have sent a letter to UNISON Regional HQ in Leeds responding to the news that Doncaster UNISON is now preparing to initiate Unfair Dismissal claims for hundreds of members. This despite the fact that the letter telling them came from the Doncaster Branch!

So what are we to make of this odd move and JM's seeming refusal to engage with locally elected reps?

Well it is exactly what it is! Having spent much of her recent career, "operating," at top levels & despite her oft tweeted commitment to, "engagement," it seems that JM believes that DMBC only needs to talk to those at the top!

Not that Yorks and Humberside UNISON should remain blameless in this - the involvement of Regional Officials earlier in the year was a classic example of how to, "muddy the waters," and may have created the impression for our esteemed leader that such behaviour (rude, though we are sure unintentional!) was acceptable.

For the avoidance of future misunderstanding perhaps we can offer the following advice; UNISON members in Doncaster elect their local representatives (Convenors and Stewards) and it is to those members that we are accountable. Regional Officials are paid employees of UNISON and, as such, facilitate the work of the Branch. Communications from the local Branch should secure a response TO the local Branch!

Either this or there is a risk that the Corporate DMBC approach could begin(?) to smack of, "I'll talk to your mother!"

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Yesterday, Jo Miller posted on the council’s intranet that she had responded to the letter UNISON sent her last Friday regarding legal claims on behalf of members. We can only assume that Jo's response has gone astray as, to date, no such communication has been received. She went on to say that “the legal advice the council has received to date is that we are doing the right things in the right way”.  She further goes on to state that they have referred UNISON’s letter to the council’s external lawyers for further advice. If the legal advice is so good, why would it need to be referred to “External Lawyers”?

On the advice of Thompsons Solicitors, UNISON is confident that the action we take on behalf of our members at tribunal stands a high probability of success.  Let's hope that when this external advice confirms our position Jo is not too surprised. 

Just because she has communicated to staff that this is right, doesn’t make it so!! Despite the assertion by Jo that only 804 people are yet to sign, approx 1300 staff were issued with dismissal notices.  All 1300 are able to take up the “unfair dismissal” claims.  UNISON has been able to waive the 4 week rule to access legal services. This will enable people to join UNISON and lodge a claim against DMBC with us.  Look out for the new One Voice newsletter next week for further updates.  

UNISON IS CLEAR THAT IT WILL PROCEED WITH CLAIMS ON BEHALF OF ITS MEMBERS!

One Voice - 21st May 2012

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS

THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN SENT TO ALL MEMBERS AFFECTED BY TERMS AND CONDITIONS CUTS AND WILL BE ARRIVING IN THE NEXT 2 DAYS.

Correspondence to Chief Exec at DMBC

One Voice - 14th May 2012

UPDATE FROM MEMBERS MEETINGS 8th/9th May 12

At our members meetings over the last 2 days, we have been asked for a Word version of the Jo Miller template letter. Despite various attempts to upload this, we're finding it difficult. In the interim, please contact us at branch office and we will be happy to e-mail the document to members as an attachment. It is important that you do not amend the wording of the document as this was drawn up by our solicitors and the wording is all important.

Please continue to check out this page for updates and advice, we will continue to update regularly.

This is the letter drafted by Thompsons Solicitors for members who have not signed up to the T & C's changes that DMBC are making.  You should return this letter to DMBC and not the letter DMBC ask you to return.  You should receive a copy of this in the post shortly along with further advice on what happens next and what to do.  If you don't receive anything by Tuesday 8th May, please contact Branch Office on 01302 320793 and we will despatch another copy for you.



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One Voice - Mayday Special Edition