Unite union requests meeting with council

“Cant wait to read the filton voice on this...front page news given union's comments about the council....”

“Unions?

Bring back our Maggie.”

“AliGate,

Not all councillors were aware of this union involvement and they should be.

Another example of some councillors trying to keep things quiet. Is this in the public interest? I think it is as Ray says,a publicly funded council managing a multi million pound operation and we have a union official saying things have been wrong for years and all the staff calling them in. He also says successive administrations have failed to address the issues. Remember we are paying for this operation.
As soon as the council started to look at saving money (rightly so given the waste we all agree they have been responsible for) staff started appearing at council meetings. Coincidence?
We also have Labour councillors who have publicly stated they would support nothing that would cost jobs, does this include supporting a council have have a lack of management structure, policies and procedures?? Not good you surely must admit.
On the staff politeness point I can honestly say often many don't even smile or say please and thankyou. The courtesy of a lot of the staff is lacking. Courtesy costs nothing.You are obviously lucky to be probably well known enough that they greet you with a smile :)”

“@Aligate, there must be a lot of personal staff issues to pull in the unions!!...usually if an employee has a personal staff issue they talk to their line manager, why have so many attended a union meeting???

Interesting comments, you clearly are closer to the action than many. But if you read Steve preddys words (scroll down below) he confirms several times management failings for many years at the council. Someone has to be accountable. Having checked the NALC guidelines as bernadette mentions they confirm a Town clerk role is repsonsible for running a council and managing it, councillors give the orders to be followed. Why if this has been going on for years has it gone unaddressed? Concerns raised through an audit commission report were disregarded by councillors and clerk.
I completely disagree this is a private matter. Staff are paid from public funds and are carrying out a public duty, if it weren't for taxpayers there would be NO leisure centre or pub.
If this issues are personal, how come you know????? Not very personal are they and why pull in the unions?? South Glos HR services are charging Filton council a fortune because they are on the phone to them every other day because they cannot deal with HR issues internally. This is costing us money. We have a right to expect an efficient, professionally run council. It spends a million pound plus a year and half of this is in salaries, it is not a charity organisation. The ratepayers makes sever losses every year and yet staff are complaining about conditions??

I also agree that there aren't any feebdack forms and generally people I speak to who use the centre, say there is a high level of complacency because its a council run facility not a commercial one. There is an air of couldnt care either way as they know their job will be there as a council.
Labour councillors don't like looking at efficiency and have even told their colleagues why are they being so nit picky over spending! They are totally in bed with the unions and would rather spend our taxes irresponsibly than protect the public purse.
With every respect, Labour branch know what the issues are because most of the councillors sit on staffing and then toddle off to their monthly meeting to discuss it. why do you think they voted to discuss filton matters in private???? They have also been creaming off issues and sticking them into staffing to hide financial matters.
They are trying to sweep operational management issues under the carpet and that is not right.”

“Thanks bernadette for clarifying that one. The trouble is no-one knows what the issues are, your all grasping at straws and jumping to conclusions and getting it all very wrong.
The issues are personal and the only people that should know are the leisure centre employees, the union rep and the councillors that sit on staffing.
Staffing issues should not be put out in the public domain but resolved internally and with the help of the union if employees ask for it, they are there to support them after all thats why they contribute from their salaries.
The town council have put managers in place to manage therefore it's their job to do do and supervised by the town clerk!
I don't think you can blame Filton town councillors for this one as much as some people often like to. They may have to make some decisions if not resolved.
Just for the record I find the staff at the Leisure Centre helpful, hardworking and very pleasant.
As for dedication the duty manager was phoned at 21.10 and asked to work her rest day the following day. She came in after her 12 hour shift worked 6.45 to 20.15 no questions asked and no grumbles just so that the Leisure Centre didn't have to shut that day. Ok so she gets paid normal time or can have another day off, big deal, no incentive to cancel her day off all done as she's committed and puts the service users first, that's dedication.
Please find out the facts and issues if you need to pry into personal staffing issues and plaster them on websites.
Thank you”

“@bernadette, if the chair of council isnt addressing this matter then he should resign with immediate effect and take the clerk with him if what you say is true.”

“Mr Preddy should really work on his people skills, as it seems his best form of defence is to attack. As he has openly criticised the administration and has confirmed he has been involved for some time, it seems to confirm his approach and others is not working. Unite should therefore be distanced from the town council and those responsible for allowing this situation asked to report on why.
Management by stealth can no longer be tolerated and councillors can no longer keep making excuses, blaming external forces for shoddy practices. It is they who are ultimately accountable to the policies and procedures of this council and the employment of the employees.”

“I believe it is the responsibility of the town clerk, who earns a vast salary, to do preformance reviews and set management structures in place ,as the NALC description of the role states , if they dont exist then what has the clerk been doing for the last 20 years .
Councillors meet once a month , they create policy it is the duty of the town clerk to ensure that these policies are carried out effeciently, are the town clerks responsibilties being reassessed here . If as stated The ratepayers loses money , there is a bar manager in place , is he being held accountable for the losses , does he report to the town clerk who oversees all the managers within the leisure centre,
If the current chair of Filton Town Council is addressing these failures within the leisure centre then I applaud him ,it takes courage to implement change . it is about time this happened and I truly hope that the union and the residents wil lsupport and assist him to deliver the necessary changes”

“The only attempt to avoid attending an open meeting with councillors, is Mr Preddy as the annual assembly IS attended by all the councillors...

Does this mean the filton labour party pub crawl is off? I wanted to buy Rog a pint as he must be saving to pay the new boules and speedway fees...”

“Mr Preddy, Unite union official says he met a Conservative councillor only because "he was introduced to him". Glad you made that clear as we would hate to think you were working on a cross party basis as a union? Perish the thought of impartiality.
This confirms Filton council should not be entertaining the involvement of Unite on this internal matter. As Mr Preddy confirms he has met with previous councils on this and failed, so why allow him any more air time.
The staff must accept change, jobs are a premium and they have had a very comfortable stable unchallenged period, but change is a good thing.
We would like to see council introduce feedback mechanisms so users/customers of the facilities can rate all staff performance, this council continues to fail to accept they are in a service industry and in competition with surrounding businesses. Its time to wake up and leave the past behind. There is not one formal current method of capturing feedback and this is completely inappropriate for a service provider of this size.”