GMB North West and Irish Region Connect Magazine May 2019 | Page 8

Picketline to negotiating table for
Unions at Cammell Laird
Talks between the unions and Cammell Laird appear
to be making progress with all sides meeting on a
weekly basis.
The space created to allow a dialogue, agreed only
after industrial action and constructive interventions
from local politicians, appears now to be very timely.
The situation has changed in recent weeks following
the suspension of serving redundancy notices by
management and postponement of strike action by
the GMB and other unions.
The dispute is over the threat to 291 jobs, despite
promises of investment and newly commissioned
work. Also management appeared to be breaking
previous protocols agreed with the unions,
particularly around compulsory redundancy
selection, creating major concerns about the
targeting of individuals. Regional officer Albie
McGuigan has been leading the negotiations for the
GMB, holding weekly meetings with management
and bi-weekly meetings with the taskforce. He said:
“Things didn’t look great when we had to take strike
action in face of the cuts.
“
news
news
IT’S GOOD TO GAS
ABOUT STRESS AND
MENTAL HEALTH
So far there has
been 50 voluntary
redundancies
GMB reps are taking the
fight to the bosses over work
related stress and mental
health, with many demanding
new policies to tackle this
growing problem.
At the start of the year the
region launched its new
“Tackling Stress and Mental
Health” two-day course.
As part of the outcomes all
were set targets to achieve
improvements in new and
better policies to reduce
stress at work.
One of the biggest successes
came during one of the two
Liverpool courses,
However since the talks started the number of work
orders has increased significantly, this includes new
work and advancement of work packages for BAE
Systems. “Support funding has been provided by
both councils and an amnesty on rates has been
applied. Albie said: “In the last few months we have
looked at mitigating the job numbers and through
negotiation we have successfully argued those at
risk down from 240 to 110. We are continuing to do
that as we never believed the planned redundancies
was down to a genuine drop in work orders but was
primarily an attempt to cut costs. Consequently every
member of the workforce has remained gainfully
employed on productive output. This obviously raises
the question of who would have carried out the work
if they had been dismissed. We have negotiated a total
of 65 secondments to BAE in Salmesbury, where our
members will move for six months, retaining their
terms and conditions but remaining employed by
Cammell Laird.
Overall a decent campaign although it’s not over yet.”
“
In the first
month around
70 reps
have turned
out at five
courses run in
Manchester,
Oldham, Belfast
and Liverpool
when David Knowles a GMB
Regional Shop Steward at British
Gas/Centrica, wrote straight
to their top management team
asking why a company that size
did not have a Mental Health
policy.
The response was swift
and very positive
The next day he was
invited by Head of HR to join
a top level group who were
being brought together to
develop a new Mental Health
policy.
David told the rest of the
reps on the course: “Before
the course I checked with
HR and found there was no
such policy. I expressed our
concern as GMB reps and
was duly invited to take
Two Day
Course
part in the group delegated to put a
new mental health policy in place.
This is exactly what we were tasked
to do on the course – demand
involvement for the GMB in what is
an essential health and safety issue
affecting so many people.”
We need to talk more openly about it
and create a better understanding”.
His MD obviously agreed with that
position and the invitation from
the head of HR to participate was
immediate.
“
Remove
the
stigma
“It is essential
we remove the
stigma
attached to
mental health
problems
and I would
personally like
to see more
effort put in
regarding this.”
Paul McCarthy
inbrief ...
TOP COMPANIES
In his correspondence
to the Managing
Director GMB rep
Davy Knowles told
them “Everyone in
British Gas is aware of
the absence levels and
that can’t continue
STRESS AND
MENTAL HEALTH
Specific policies such
as Stress, Mental
Health, Absence
Management, Dignity
at Work or Bullying
and Harassment were
on our shopping list
for reps, with some
impressive results
feeding back to the
union education office
at Columbus Quay.
FOLLOWING ITS
GREAT SUCCESS
More courses are
planned across the
region, resulting
hopefully in similar
successes.
Feedback from other activists
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Feedback from other activists, following attendance on the course, has been
less spectacular but nevertheless in a similarly positive vein. Requests for
new health and safety committees and partnership approaches to carrying
out surveys as risk assessments for mental health have been lodged across
the region. Eradicating bullying at work is another area where reps are
plastering their noticeboards and canteens with GMB Zero Tolerance for
Bullying posters, raising the union profile dramatically and helping recruit
new members on the back of these important campaigns
9