07 November 2008
By Tash Shifrin
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has threatened to sack more than 4,000 staff and rehire them on new contracts in an attempt to push through changes to terms and conditions.
Hammersmith's action follows a similar tack taken by Birmingham City Council earlier this year and prompted Local Government Employers to warn that other authorities could follow suit.
Unions say proposed changes to employment terms at the London borough could force staff on to a seven-day contract that would compel them to work at weekends. Unison regional organiser Stuart Barber said: 'I'm clear that is one option they could go for.'
A council spokeswoman denied that any staff who did not already work at weekends would be forced to do so, but said enhanced rates would no longer be paid for Saturday, Sunday or evening working up to 8pm, with overtime payable only after 36 hours had been worked.
Union anger has been stoked by the council's issue of a formal HR1 notice of redundancy covering the entire workforce. The council spokeswoman said: 'We are committed to fully consulting with staff and the trade unions over the next three months.'
But she added: 'Should any staff member not voluntarily agree to the changed terms, one of the options we will consider is terminating their contract and offering them re-engagement on new terms and conditions.'
Hammersmith Unison's deputy branch secretary, Paul Widderington, hit back, saying: 'We've had one meeting with them and asked them to withdraw this notice. How can you have equal negotiations with a gun to your head?'
In April, Birmingham council terminated the contracts of all its staff in order to impose a new pay and grading structure, amid a prolonged dispute over implementation of equal pay.
An LGE spokesman suggested that authorities no longer saw mass sackings as beyond the pale. 'This is a path that may become more prevalent in future,' he said.
Although Hammersmith's move is primarily aimed at cutting costs, the LGE spokesman said the shift in mood among local authorities was prompted by a series of lengthy disputes over equal pay schemes.
'The long-term result... could be that councils view dismissing and re-employing staff as an easier option than they previously considered,' he said.
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