11 October 2002
Linda Dickens, professor of industrial relations at Warwick Business School, has provisionally agreed to head the commission, set up by local government employers and trade unions in the wake of this year's protracted pay dispute.
A spokeswoman for the Employers' Organisation, which represents councils, confirmed: 'Dickens has provisionally accepted, but there are some details to finalise.'
Dickens, Public Finance understands, has demanded that the EO and the three unions involved in this year's strike – Unison, the GMB and T&G – reduce their suggested representation on the commission.
The unions and employers wanted a 15-member body – seven representatives each and an independent chair. But Dickens said the commission should have just five members, including her, in order to make decision-making easier and more effective.
Privately, both sides said her suggestions were 'negotiable and workable', as she had the confidence of councils and unions alike. A compromise figure is likely to be announced when the make-up of the commission and its terms of reference are revealed next week.
Should the individual unions insist that they each have a representative on the panel, it could signal the end of any hopes for an Equal Opportunities Commission presence. The unions had favoured an EoC contributor, although a compromise deal with four representatives from each side 'could still be brokered', one union source claimed.
This year's national strike by council workers was settled by an agreement for pay rises of 7.8% to 10.9% over two years, and the plan was to have the commission up and running by mid-September. Its findings will form the basis of the sector's pay settlements from 2004.
PF has also learned that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will fund part of the cost of the commission, but it has steered clear of demanding representation. A source said: 'The department wants the commission to be 100% independent, so its input is likely to come from the supporting secretariat.'
PFoct2002
