Annual Report 2017 - nipsa.org.uk · Annual Report 2017 Annual Report 2017 Follow us on VisitContact www. .org.uk Headquarters 54 Wellington Park Belfast BT9 6DP Tel: 028 9066 1831

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Annual Report 2017Follow us on

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ForewordOfficers and Secretariat 2017 �� i

Seconded Officers: Civil Service �� iii

Seconded Officers: Public Officers �� v

General Council �� vi

Committees and Meetings ��vii

Resolutions and Motions ��xi

Headquarters Organisation Chart �� xxiii

Section ANIPSA HeadquartersGeneral IssuesA1 Amnesty International �� 2A2Bill of Rights �� 2A3 Equality Committee �� 3A4 Global Solidarity Committee �� 5A5 Health and Safety Committee �� 7A6 Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) �� 8A7 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGB&T) Group �� 8A8 Pensions ��10A9 Policy and Research Unit ��14A10 Public Service Defence Campaign ��15A11 Youth Committee ��15

Organisation and AdministrationA12 Appointment of Auditors ��17A13 Donations 2017 ��17A14 Headquarters Staff ��18A15 Membership ��18

Contents

A16 NIPSA Annual Conferences �� 19A17NIPSA Financial Review�� 19A18 NIPSA IT �� 19A19NIPSA Premises �� 19A20 Organisation and Recruitment Report: Civil Service Group �� 20A21 Organisation and Recruitment Report: Public Officers' Group �� 21A22 Services for Members �� 22A23 Trades Councils �� 22A24 Union Learning �� 23

B SectionCivil ServiceB1 General IssuesB1.1 Accommodation �� 26B1.2 Equal Opportunities �� 26B1.3 Equal Pay �� 28B1.4 Grading Reviews �� 28B1.5 National Trade Union Committee (NTUC) �� 29B1.6 NICS Internal Audit �� 29

Annual Report 2017

ContentsB1.7 2017/18 NICS Pay �� 30B1.8 NICS Grading �� 30B1.9 Occupational Health Service (OHS)/ Welfare Support Service �� 31B1.10 Review of Central Whitley Council Constitution �� 32B1.11 Review of Trade Union Arrangements �� 32B1.12 Annual Benefits Statements 2017 �� 34B1.13Employee Contribution Rates �� 34B1.14In-Service Revaluation of Alpha Scheme at 1 April 2016 �� 34B1.15Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) Pension Board �� 34B1.16Pensions Earnings Cap for 2017/18 �� 34B1.17Pensions Increases for 2017 �� 35B1.18Pensions Savings Statements�� 35

B2 Personnel ManagementB2.1 Civil Service Appeal Board (CSAB) �� 36B2.2 Cross-Cutting Reform Programme �� 36B2.3 NICS HR �� 36B2.4 NICS Mediation Service �� 36B2.5 Personal Secretary/Executive Assistants (EOII) �� 37B2.6 Selection and Appointments �� 37B2.7 Sickness Absence �� 39B2.8 Travel and Subsistence �� 40

B2.9 Uniform Appeals Policy �� 40

B3 Group ReportsB3.1 Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) �� 41B3.2 Department for Communities (DfC) �� 44B3.3 Department for the Economy (DfE) �� 47B3.4 Department of Education (DE) �� 49B3.5 Department of Finance (DoF) �� 51B3.6 Department of Health (DoH) �� 54B3.7 Department for Infrastructure (DfI) �� 57B3.8 Department Of Justice (DoJ) �� 62B3.9 The Executive Office (TEO) �� 65B3.10 Agri Food and Bio Sciences Institute (AFBI) �� 66B3.11 Aramark �� 67B3.12 Arts Council Northern Ireland�� 67B3.13 Charity Commission for NI �� 68B3.14 Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) �� 68B3.15 Consumer Council Northern Ireland �� 69B3.16 Cross Border Bodies �� 69B3.17 Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI) �� 70B3.18 Equality Commission �� 70B3.19 Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) �� 71

B3.20 Invest NI �� 71B3.21 Labour Relations Agency (LRA) �� 72B3.22 Mount Charles �� 73B3.23 National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) �� 73B3.24 Northern Ireland Assembly �� 75B3.25 Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO)�� 77B3.26 Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) �� 78B3.27 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission �� 78B3.28 Northern Ireland Water (NIW) �� 78B3.29 NSL - Traffic Enforcement�� 82B3.30 Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) �� 82B3.31 Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) �� 84B3.32 Public Prosecution Service (PPS) �� 85B3.33 Sport Northern Ireland �� 87B3.34 Tourism Northern Ireland (TNI) �� 88B3.35 Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland (UREGNI) �� 88

Section C Public OfficersC1 National Joint CouncilC1.1National Joint Council (NJC) Pay �� 90C1.2Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)/ Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) �� 91NJC: Appendix 1 �� 92

C2 Education & Further/ Higher EducationC2.12017/18 Budget �� 94C2.2Review of Residential and Outdoor Education Centres �� 94C2.3Children and Young People’s Strategy 2017-2027 �� 95C2.4Voluntary Youth Work Funding �� 95C2.5Strategic Review of Youth Service Local and Regional Funding Scheme for Voluntary Organisations �� 96C2.6Assistant Director – Tier 3 Posts �� 96C2.7Review of Youth Service �� 97C2.8Duke of Edinburgh – Joint Award Initiative �� 97C2.9Joint Negotiating Council �� 98C2.10Classroom Assistants �� 98C2.11Car Allowances�� 99C2.12 Job Evaluation �� 99C2.13 Transport ��100C2.14 Facilities Management ��100

Annual Report 2017Annual Report 2017

ContentsC2.15Pay Protection ��101C2.16Public and Privilege Holidays ��101C2.17Extended Day Programmes ��102C2.18Education Welfare Service ��102C2.19Internal Audit Transformation ��103C2.20 School Development Service ��103C2.21Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES) ��104C2.22Strategic Plan 2017-2027 ��104C2.23 Use of Agency Staff – Education Authority ��105C2.24Education Authority: North Eastern Region ��107C2.25 Education Authority: South Eastern Area ��107C2.26 Education Authority Western Region (EAWR) ��108Further/Higher Education ��109C2.27Southern Regional College (SRC) ��109C2.28 South Eastern Regional College (SERC) ��110C2.29South West College (SWC) ��110C2.30Queens University Belfast (QUB) ��110C2.31Stranmillis University College (SUC) ��111

C3 Health and Social CareC3.1Health and Social Care (HSC) Budget Cuts – Trust Saving Plans ��112C3.2Health and Social Care (HSC) Expansion of ICT Shared Services ��113

C3.3Health and Social Care Joint Negotiating Forum (JNF) ��113C3.4Health and Social Care (HSC) Pay 2017/18 ��114C3.5Health and Social Care (HSC) Pay 2018/19 ��114C3.6Health Reform ��115C3.7Health and Social Care (HSC) Residential Staff - Working Rotas ��115C3.8Health and Social Care (HSC) Restructuring ��116C3.9Health and Social Care (HSC) Working Time Regulations ��117C3.10Health and Social Care Trusts ��117C3.11Business Services Organisation (BSO) Board ��128

C4 Libraries NIC4.1Budget 2017/18 ��130C4.2Summer Opening Hours ��130C4.3Review of Branch Library Managers (BLMs) ��130C4.4Review of Libraries NI NIPSA Constitution ��130C4.5Capability Policy ��130C4.6Open Libraries ��130C4.7Universal Credit ��131

C5 Local AuthoritiesC5.1Review of Public Administration (RPA) ��132C5.2Councils ��132

C6 Northern Ireland Housing ExecutiveC6.1Social Housing Reform Programme ��151C6.2NIPSA Publication – Our Homes, Our Future: Protecting Public Housing ��151C6.3Stock Transfer ��151C6.4Reclassification of Housing Associations ��152C6.5Review of Private Rental Sector ��152C6.6Fundamental Review of Social Housing Allocations ��153C6.7Housing Benefit ��153C6.8Restructuring ��154C6.9HR Policies ��154C6.10Equality Issues ��154C6.11Job Evaluation Scheme ��154C6.12 Membership and Recruitment ��154

C7 Other BodiesC7.1Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) – Pay, Terms and Conditions Dispute ��155C7.2Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC) ��155C7.3Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) ��155C7.4Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) ��156C7.5Disability Action ��156C7.6Extern ��156

C7.7General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) ��157C7.8Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) ��157C7.9Housing Associations ��158C7.10Law Centre Northern Ireland ��159C7.11Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) ��159C7.12 Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) ��160C7.13 Northern Ireland Local Government Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) ��163C7.14Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency (NIGALA) ��164C7.15 Windsor Women’s Centre ��164

Branch OrganisationCivil Service Group ��166Public Officers' Group ��170

Annual Report 2017Annual Report 2017

During 2017 public services faced crisis after crisis which was not of the making of the civil and public servants who work tirelessly in difficult circumstances but by the ongoing austerity agenda of both the Tory Government and the NI Assembly who have been unable to put their difference aside and reject austerity�

The issues facing members have not significantly changed and they remain frustrated by the system which is failing them and their families� Pay continues to decline in real terms with meagre below inflation increases� Members are frustrated with this and are demanding above inflation increases�

The issue of Brexit also dominated the political scene with Theresa May deciding to call a snap General Election which she believed would strengthen the Tory mandate� This was almost her undoing as workers rallied to the Corbyn led Labour Party� The Tories were then forced into a confidence and supply arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the promise of £1bn� During the year little or none of that £1bn made its way here to fill the gaps in our hard pressed public services� Towards the end of the year the media was reporting crisis after crisis in our health service with A&E departments bearing the brunt of the problem and staff reaching breaking point� It is clear that the confidence and supply arrangement and austerity are not working and we must rise up and demand adequate and properly funded public services�

Towards the end of the year the Department of Finance took the unprecedented step of issuing a Budgetary Outlook document which outlined unprecedented cuts to public services, a potential increase to the regional rates and cuts to services that would have a significant impact on the most vulnerable�

2017 also saw a significant attack on NIPSA when the Department of Communities decided to recall two NIPSA Seconded Officers� While the detail of this is reported in the body of this Annual Report we note it here because it was worrying that civil servants would take this significant step in the absence of a political administration� There remains a question as to why they acted in this way� While there are many issues which divide our politicians we are pleased to note that all the political parties supported NIPSA against this vicious attack and we thank them for their support� We also congratulate and thank all of the NIPSA members who wrote letters and turned out to protest and helped secure our very significant success in forcing back management’s attack on NIPSA�

The scourge of Welfare Reform and in particular Universal Credit commenced in September� This meant that new claimants – including those in work and NIPSA members became subject to this regime and the unwelcome sanctions that have been well documented in the media� A task for NIPSA and the wider trade union movement is to ensure the regime of sanctions and other harsh elements of Universal Credit are not imposed in Northern Ireland�

Quite rightly there was significant outcry when the legislation came into force regarding the 2 Child Tax Credit Cap and what is generally known as the “Rape Clause”. An emergency motion was unanimously supported at the NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference calling for pressure to be exerted to scrap this draconian legislation and NIPSA supported the rally organised for 21 September�

Foreword

We also asked members to write to their MPs asking them to support scrapping this discriminatory law reform� Unfortunately issues of an equality nature have become a political football and rather than listening to the will of the people various steps have been taken including the use of the ‘petition of concern’ to ensure that the equality agenda for the LGBT community, women’s rights including the right to choose and the call for a Gender Equality Strategy are all ignored�

Under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions a campaign was launched in late November – Better Work, Better Lives� The three key elements of the campaign are; an end to the scourge of low pay and to promote decent work; better improved investments in our public services; and an end to the 1% pay cap� Around 160 activists across various affiliates have signed up to this campaign which will have many facets and will be taken forward over the next 18 months�

NIPSA continues to argue in the media for the alternative to the austerity agenda by putting forward the call for a socialist economic model that can give our members a better life� Just as in previous years it is the NIPSA local representatives on the ground, working on behalf of members on a voluntary basis, who are the backbone of this union� We are confident that working collectively we can fight back against austerity and attacks on our members and representatives and continue to deliver in the interests of all members�

Carmel Gates President

Helena McSherry Vice President

John Toal Honorary Treasurer

Alison Millar General Secretary

Annual Report 2017

i

Officers and Secretariat 2017

Officers 2017

President: Carmel Gates

Vice-President: Helena McSherry

Honorary Treasurer: John Toal

Secretariat at 31st December 2017

General Secretary A Millar

Deputy General Secretaries K Bannon B Graham

Policy and Research Officer J McVey

Assistant Secretaries G Alexander P Mackel K McCabe T McMullan

A McMillen Vacant Vacant

Higher Executive Officers C Arkinson T Brownlee N Connor(temp) K Graham

R Graham D Harte K Kelly A Law

J Munton T Thomas R Wilson(temp)

Executive Officers

A McDonnell C McDonnell(temp) M Ó’Coisneacháin(temp) L A Scott(acting)

N Aspin(temp) M Donnelly(p/t) T McAteer W McCallum

ii

Secretariat and Committees

Senior Personal Secretary E Buchanan

Personal Secretaries K Barrett D Dawson S Johnston A Leckey

C McConnell F McCrory(p/t)

Telephonist/Receptionist A Wright

Administrative Officers K Doherty O Forbes (Career Break)

P Hartin L Hudson

G Jarvis(p/t) J Jennings(p/t) G Jones C McLeish(p/t)

P Murray B Nugent D Whitford

Caretaker A Burns

General Assistants A Mekelburg(p/t) S Overend(p/t) D Rolley (p/t)

Annual Report 2017

iii

Seconded Officers: Civil Service

Central Whitley

M McKeown, Assistant Trade Union Side Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9066 1831, Fax: 028 9066 5847NIPSA HQ, Harkin House, 54 Wellington Park, Belfast. BT9 6DP

Department of Education (DE)

J McNulty, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9127 9659, Fax: 028 9127 9100Room G22, Rathgael House, Balloo Road, Bangor. BT19 7PR

Department for the Economy (Df E)

F Cammock, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9052 9366Room 21, Netherleigh, Massey Avenue, Belfast. BT4 2JP

Department for Communities (DfC)

M Morgan, Departmental Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9037 6314

J McCloskey, Assistant Departmental Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9037 6278

J Toal, Assistant Departmental Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9037 6277

C Gates, Assistant Departmental Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9037 6118

T McKillop, Assistant Departmental Secretary, ��Tel: 028 9037 6073DfC Trade Union Side Office, The Design Centre, Level 4 East, 39 Corporation Street, Belfast. BT3 1BA

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)

J Calvert, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9052 5645NIPSA Office, Room G2, 18a Newforge Lane, Belfast. BT9 5PX

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)

A Wise, Departmental Secretary, ��Tel: 028 9052 0802

G McCleary, Assistant Departmental Secretary, ��Tel: 028 9052 0809

M Walsh, Assistant Departmental Secretary, ��Tel: 028 9052 0816NIPSA Office, Room 510B, Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast. BT4 3SB

Department of Finance (DoF)/The Executive Office (TEO)

P Dale, Departmental Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9016 9641, Fax: 028 9016 3118

E Farrell, Assistant Departmental Secretary,

G McKeever, Assistant Departmental Secretary,

Room 17, Craigantlet Buildings, Stormont, Belfast. BT4 3SX


iv

Department of Health (DoH)

P Feighan, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9052 2877NIPSA Section Office, Room 9, Annex 1, Castle Buildings, Stormont Belfast. BT4 3PP

National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI)

T Croft, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9039 5178c/o Cultra Manor, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, Holywood. BT18 0EU

Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA)

D Toner, Trade Union Side Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9052 1791Room 377, Parliament Buildings Belfast. BT4 3XX

Public Prosecution Service (PPS)

James Murphy ......................................................................................................................................................................Tel: 028 9089 7040NIPSA Office, Belfast Chambers, 93 Chichester Street, Belfast. BT1 3JR

Department of Justice (DoJ)

L Hoy, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9076 5720

S Brown, Assistant Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9076 5722Block 1, Knockview Building, Stormont Estate, Belfast. BT4 3SH

Department for Infrastructure (DfI)

J Veighey, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9034 6230

J Rooney, Assistant Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9054 1025

B Dornan, Assistant Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9034 6248

M Robinson, Assistant Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9054 1003NIPSA Office, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Belfast. BT2 8EB

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)

T Godfrey, Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9092 2828

G Walsh, Assistant Secretary,

NIPSA Office, PSNI Lisnasharragh, 42 Montgomery Road, Belfast. BT6 9LD

Annual Report 2017

v

Seconded Officers: Public Officers

EA

H McKinstry, Staff Side Officer, �� Tel: 028 3751 2359, Fax: 028 3751 2387EA Southern Area HQ, Trade Union Side Office, 3 Charlemont Place,The Mall, Armagh. BT61 9AZ

HSSPS

B Crawford, Deputy Staff Side Co-ordinator, �� Tel: 028 9064 4811, Fax: 028 9049 185512 Hampton Manor Drive, Belfast. BT7 3EN

NIHE

J McCaffrey, Trade Union Side Secretary, �� Tel: 028 9031 8416, Fax: 028 9031 8417

S McDaid, Assistant Trade Union Side Secretary,

NIHE Housing Centre, 2 Adelaide Street, Belfast. BT2 8PB


vi

General CouncilAttendance of Members at General Council Sessions :June to December 2017

Name Possible Actual

Allaway, A 3 0

Baker, P 0 0

Booth, B 6 6

Clarke, R* 1 0

Clarke, S 6 4

Clarke, Y 6 6

Collins, L 6 4

Conlon, S* 2 1

Creaney, T* 5 5

Crilly, D 4 3

Dobbin, M* 1 1

Gates, C 6 6

Hoy, L 6 4

Killen, T 6 6

Lawlor, P 6 5

Lynn, B 6 6

Maguire, D 6 6

Malone, G 6 5

McKeown, M 6 5

McKinstry, H 6 6

McSherry, H 6 6

Morgan, M 6 6

Mulholland, B 6 5

Mulholland, P 6 6

Murchan, C 6 1

O’Sandair, R 6 6

Scott, J 6 5

Toal, J 6 6

Wilson, R 4 1

* R Clarke took up seat on 14 November 2017 following the resignation of D Crilly on 31 October 2017.* S Conlon took up seat on 19 October 2017 following the resignation of A Allaway on 17 October 2017.* T Creaney took up seat on 17 July 2017 following the resignation of P Baker on 1 June 2017.* M Dobbin took up seat on 19 December 2017 following the resignation of R Wilson on 6 November 2017.

Annual Report 2017

vii

Committees

Membership of Committees at 31st December 2017

General Purposes Committee

C Gates B Lynn H McKinstry H McSherry

M Morgan C Murchan J Toal

Equality Committee

P Cobain L Collins T Creaney M Dummigan

S Harvey M Loughran S McConville T Millar

A Murray P Nicholl A Rea J Scott

Welfare Fund Committee C Gates H McSherry J Toal

Finance Committee L Hoy T Killen P Mulholland J Toal

Management Side JNCC C Gates H McSherry J Toal

Global Solidarity Committee

W Brooks L Collins D Crilly L Hoy

H McKinstry K McMullan R O’Sandair M Robinson

J Scott L Skelcher

Conference Arrangements Committee

B Booth M McKeown P Mulholland C Murchan

R O’Sandair

Standing Orders Committee K Loughran J McCloskey J Veighey B White

NIPSA News Editorial Committee

J Davidson M Dummigan M Loughran D Maguire

T Millar


viii

Civil Service Group

January to November 2017


Boresma, I 9 8Collins, L 9 9Creaney, T 9 9Crilly, D 9 4Dale, P 9 8Dobbin, M 9 9Dornan, B 9 5Freedman, M 9 7Gates, C 9 8Higgins, G 9 7Hoy, L 9 9Lowry, D 9 8Lynn, B 9 9McCleary, G 9 8McKeown, M 9 8McKillop, T 9 9McNulty, J 9 8Morgan, M 9 9Mulholland, B 9 7O’Sandair, R 9 6Robinson, M 9 8Russell, V 9 7Toner, D 9 9Wilson, R 9 2Veighey, J 9 8

December 2017


Boresma, I 1 0Brooks, W 1 1Burch, K 1 1Cobain, P 1 1Collins, L 1 1Creaney, T 1 1Dale, P 1 1Dobbin, M 1 1Doherty, E 1 1Gates, C 1 1Harvey, S 1 1Higgins, G 1 1Hoy, L 1 1Loughran, M 1 1Lowry, D 1 1Lynn, B 1 1Malone, G 1 1McKeown, M 1 1McNulty, J 1 1Millar, T 1 1Morgan, M 1 1Robinson, M 1 1Russell, V 1 1Toner, D 1 1Veighey, J 1 1

Officers

Chairperson: M Morgan

Vice Chairpersons: T Creaney D Crilly

Officers

Chairperson: M Morgan

Vice Chairpersons: T Creaney S Harvey

Standing Orders Committee

M McKee, B White


M McKee, B White

Attendance of Members and Officers at Executive Committee Meetings

Annual Report 2017

ix

Public Officers Group

January to November 2017

Name Possible ActualAustin, D 8 4Baker, P 8 3Black, T 3 1Booth, B 8 7Conlon, S 8 1Crawford, B 8 5Dawson, E 4 1Farrell, J 8 0Killen, T 8 8Largey, G 8 5Lawlor, G 8 7Lawlor, P 8 7Loughran, K 8 4Maguire, D 8 7McKeegan, J 4 1McKinstry, H 8 7McMullen, N 6 1McSherry, H 8 8McVeigh, P 8 1Morton, S 4 2Mulholland, P 8 5Murdock, J 8 8O'Kane, M 8 6Rea, A 8 7Rutherford, B 8 5Scott, J 8 8Smyth, B 8 5

December 2017

Name Possible ActualAustin, D 1 0Booth, B 1 0Crawford, B 1 1Dowds, E 1 0Duffy, L 1 0Killen, T 1 1Largey, G 1 0Lawlor, G 1 1Lawlor, P 1 0Loughran, K 1 1Maguire, D 1 1McConville, S 1 1McKeegan, J 1 0McQuillan 1 1McSherry, H 1 1Mulholland, P 1 0Mullan, G 1 1Murdock, J 1 1O’Doherty, K 1 0O’Hagan, L 1 1Rea, A 1 1Richards, S 1 1Scott, J 1 0Smyth, B 1 1Walsh, J 1 1

Officers

Chairperson: A Rea

Vice Chairpersons: K Loughran M O'Kane

Officers

Chairperson: A Rea

Vice Chairpersons: K Loughran D Maguire


E Fleming, E McLaughlin


E McLaughlin

Attendance of Members and Officers at Executive Committee Meetings


x

All other Representations & Committees

Health and Social Services:Representation on Health and Social Services Trade Union Forum 31st December 2017

K McCabe B Smyth

Education Authority:Representation on the Education and Library Boards Joint Council, 31st December 2017

K Bannon B Booth H McSherry

P Mulholland J Murdock J Scott

Northern Ireland Housing Executive:Joint consultative and Negotiation Committee, 31st December 2017

B Graham (Chairperson) K Loughran S Morton (Vice Chairperson)

P Mackel (HQ Official) J McCaffery (Trade Union Side Secretary) C McConaghy

S McConville S McDaid (Assistant Trade Union Side Secretary) L O'Hanlon

W Mulholland

Resolutions and Motions

Annual Report 2017

xi

Composite Resolution No.1

Called on the incoming General Council to re-launch the Public Service Defence Campaign and to create a dedicated website and social media accounts to communicate to members and to the general public.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Work commenced on review of NIPSA website including host provider. Report to be brought to November/December meeting of General Council on further proposals. Pursue objectives as part of the Public Service Defence Campaign.

Motion No.2

Called for the General Council to promote a strategy to oppose the deliberate re-configuring of the workplace via the casualisation of public services arising from the long-term use of agency workers and to promote genuine long-term manpower planning.

Referred to Executive Committees.

Composite Motion No.3

Instructs the General Council to take all necessary steps to oppose the introduction of Shared Services in the public sector as proposed in PSSSP. The General Council should also ensure it leads the negotiations on all aspects of this programme including the protection of jobs and the delivery of these services within the public sector.

Pursue as policy. Set up an internal PSSSP group involving key people across various areas/employing authorities.

Motion No.4

Instructs the incoming General Council to immediately launch a campaign in defence of the voluntary and community sector.

Referred to Public Officers’ Group Executive Committee and Branch 725.

Motion No.5

Calls on the General Council to resist any attempts to implement the Review of Arms Length bodies which falls within the remit of the Department of Communities without any reference to the Executive Office. In doing so the General Council should be mindful that NIPSA is not seeking to widen the review to all Arms Length Bodies across the civil and public sector.

Write to DfC Minister. Continue to engage with DfC Team.

Motion No.6

Calls on the General Council to support other unions involved in the campaign against the many austerity measures imposed on education provision within Northern Ireland including promoting a petition to the Minister responsible. The General Council is further called to fight back through NIPSA’s public service defence campaign and to demand that all political parties and the Northern Ireland Executive intervene to stop the imposition of yet another stealth tax i.e. all children should receive their education at no direct cost.

Referred to Education Panel.

Motion No.7 (Previously Motion No.88)

Instructs the incoming General Council to continue with the fight against the closures of any Social Security Offices and Jobcentres and to pursue the campaign of having Universal Credit in 35 offices throughout Northern Ireland. Also for the General Council to continue to defend our members’ terms and conditions, both as workers and claimants.

Referred to Civil Service Group Executive Committee.

Motion No.9

Calls on the General Council to take all practical measures to support the campaign to retain the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) as the single overarching housing authority, responsible for landlord functions and strategic housing issues, with

Resolutions adopted and Motions remitted

General Conference


xii

the capacity to address the growing housing crisis including; recognising its invaluable contribution over the last 40 years; to critically address the need for the NIHE to have ‘the right to borrow’ to spend on new and upgrade existing social housing stock; to become a catalyst for change to help tackle social segregation and division in the community; to immediately cease the practice of voluntary stock transfer with the focus redirected to tackling homelessness and to work with tenants’ associations, local community housing activists, Trade Councils and others to build a broad alliance from the community to reject any attempts to dismantle the NIHE.

Referred to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive Central Panel.


Calls on the incoming General Council to ensure that at the heart of NIPSA’s campaign in dealing with future health policy will be the protection of our members’ interests and defending a health service, publicly funded and resourced, that will truly address the public’s real health needs, free at the point of entry and serviced by highly trained public sector workers with decent terms and conditions.

Referred to Health Central Panel.

Motion No.11

Calls on the incoming General Council to campaign through the NIC-ICTU, for a comprehensive education system which offers a world-class education to all children in Northern Ireland, regardless of the means available to their parents. Furthermore, for the General Council to lobby the Department of Education to take whatever steps necessary to prevent the use of post-primary transfer tests as entrance criteria in any school funded directly or indirectly by the Department.

Referred to NIC-ICTU and NIPSA Education Panel.

Motion No.12

Instructs the incoming General Council to raise health concerns associated with the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme directly with the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly and to lobby the Assembly parties to ensure that the alleged obligation to honour contracts made with those who joined the scheme does not trump the health of the general public.

Referred to General Purposes Committee and NIPSA Health and Safety Committee. Lobby Assembly parties and write to Assembly Minister when appointed.

Motion No.13

Calls on the General Council to publicise as widely as possible any protests in Northern Ireland to support those arrested at Jobstown Dublin for peacefully protesting against the introduction of water charges.

Continue to Support Jobstown Not Guilty Campaign.

Motion No.14

Asks the incoming General Council to examine how the interests of NIPSA members and public services in Northern Ireland could be better defended by supporting and highlighting both local and UK wide campaigns.

Progress as part of NIPSA’s overarching Public Service Defence Campaign.

Motion No.15

Calls on the incoming General Council to encourage members not to buy ‘The Sun’ newspaper and to consider banning it from NIPSA Conferences, training courses and other events.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Issue Branch Secretary circular encouraging members not to buy the Sun. Wrote to Justice 4 the 96 Campaign. Include in Conference documentation/training courses discouraging members from buying The Sun. Education of NIPSA membership best way to progress.

Annual Report 2017

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Motion No.19

Constitutional Amendment: Delete existing rule 5.9 and replace with “The quorum at Conference shall be by a simple majority of those delegates registered to attend Conference”.

Rule Book amended.

Motion No.24

Calls on the incoming General Council to campaign for public support from all working class communities for the scrapping of anti-trade union legislation and for positive pro-trade union legislation that will allow workers full democratic rights within all workplaces.

Referred to NIC-ICTU and pursue as policy.

Motion No.25

Instructs the incoming General Council to vigorously defend the rights of members to express a political opinion in their private lives and to challenge employers who would seek to silence members.

Pursue as policy.


Calls on the incoming General Council to challenge the increased use of agency staff, zero hours contracts and the many other variations of contracts that undermine public services and members terms and conditions. For the General Council to further challenge these unacceptable strategies by employers and to educate, support and empower members to resist the pressure to accept these practices and demand better terms and conditions.

Referred to Executive Committees and the Education Panel.

Motion No.27

Calls on the incoming General Council to work to resist the liberalisation of employment practices in areas represented by NIPSA and to continue to support

members in the public sector on casual and zero-hour contracts to improve their terms and conditions.


Motion No.30

Calls on the General Council to seek to engage with the trade union sides of all sectors to co-ordinate a reinvigorated and comprehensive NIPSA response to the most recent cuts in public funding, under its Public Service Defence Campaign.


Motion No.31

Calls on NIPSA to recommit itself to a campaign to making a reality of the separation of Church and State in the delivery of public as opposed to charitable services.

Referred to General Purposes Committee and NIC-ICTU. Agreed to note and deal with issues when they arise. Agreed that there needs to be the separation of the State and the Church.

Emergency Motion No.1

Calls on the General Council to take all necessary action to put pressure on the government to ensure that the discriminatory law in the form of (The Social Security) (Restrictions on Amounts for Children and Qualifying Young Persons) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) which came into force on 6 April 2017 is repealed. Further that restricting support to only two children is completely unacceptable and will certainly add to the high level of child poverty that already exists in working class households across Northern Ireland.

Supported the Belfast and Derry/Londonderry protests on 21 September 2017. Issued a circular on 19 October 2017 to branches asking them to write to their MPs and also included information about the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission wanting to hear from claimants either already or likely to be affected by the policy.


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Motion No.32

Instructs the incoming General Council to campaign for a government diesel car scrappage scheme that will help the environment and ensure members are not unfairly impacted by increased fuel costs and lower resale values.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Wrote to MLAs/political parties, Secretary of State and relevant Minister in due course pressing for a diesel car scrappage scheme.

Motion No.33

Calls upon the incoming General Council to lobby our politicians to deliver on the promise of creating an enterprise zone in Coleraine (and any other promised area) and to reaffirm its policy to fight for local jobs.

Refer to General Purposes Committee. Raise with political parties and engage with Causeway Coast and Glens Council. A response from Causeway Coast and Glens Council was received indicating that the Council are now marketing the remaining site and prioritising that work with input from NIPSA being sought.

Motion No.34

Calls on the incoming General Council to develop a strategy to combat sectarianism in the workplace, to educate our members and challenge their attitudes to sectarianism and along with the wider trade union movement to formulate a strategy and campaign for a proper shared future for all the citizens of Northern Ireland.

Referred to General Purposes Committee and NIC-ICTU. Update Charter and re-issue to branches. Education of members through training and publications. Raise with NIC ICTU.

Motion No.37

Insists that NIPSA follow up on the recent Supreme Court judgement ruling that the surviving member of a cohabiting couple should be entitled to the benefits

from their late partners’ pension and ensure that this ruling is now applied to all our members pension schemes.

Pursue as policy.

Motion No.38

Calls upon the incoming General Council to engage with the civil service and other public sector employers with a view to developing policies for carers to enable them to both continue their employment and enable them to fulfil their caring responsibilities.


Motion No.39

Calls upon the incoming General Council to campaign, in conjunction with other unions and equal rights groups, to have civil partnership rights extended to all those who wish to have their relationship recognised in this way.

Agreed to consult with the Love Equality Campaign.


Calls upon the incoming General Council to intensify the campaign for equal marriage rights for our LGB&T comrades, to continue to lobby politicians and engage with like-minded individuals and organisations to get this legislation passed as a matter of urgency.

Agreed to await developments around the political debate on the use of the petition of concern and the future establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Motion No.41

Instructs the incoming General Council to develop educational material for NIPSA branches to raise awareness and support for civil marriage equality amongst our members.

Agreed to reissue the information sent to branches in June 2017. A session to be incorporated into the NIPSA Branch Reps training course.

Annual Report 2017

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Motion No.42

Calls on the incoming General Council to campaign for a modern “kindertransport” scheme which would provide safety for refugee children not just from Syria but from any current or future conflict.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Write to UK Government.

Motion No.43

Calls on the incoming General Council to develop member packs with advice for members on practical things they can do to support the BDS Campaign for boycotting companies/products which have been identified as being complicit in human rights abuses in Israel/Palestine; to call upon the UK government to stop arming Israel and oppose any royal visit and to organise an event for members to mark the 40th anniversary of UN Palestine Solidarity Day on 29 November 2017 and consider inviting Palestinian Trade Unionists to speak.

Referred to General Purposes Committee and NIC-ICTU. Write to UK Government. Engage with TUFP re member packs – BDS. NIPSA signed the campaign against HP. Liaise with TUFP re event on 29 November 2017. Agreed to establish an International Committee.

Motion No.44

Calls on the incoming General Council to lead a campaign to seek additional support and assistance for newcomers from war torn regions and to link this demand to an end to the austerity programme of the Assembly and Westminster so that we can have a better life for all.

A Sub-Group of the Equality Committee was established to consider how best to take forward the terms of this motion.


Calls on the General Council to take all necessary steps to defend paid time off for NIPSA representatives for all representative roles.

Develop and implement campaign to defend facility time. Referred to Executive Committees.

Motion No.48

Calls on the incoming General Council to lobby the Departments who will be involved following the recently published Bengoa report and associated Minister’s vision ‘delivering together’ outlining the need for changes to the HSC system in Northern Ireland and to secure protected time out for representatives in order that members’ views are meaningfully represented at each fora where discussions are held.

Referred to Public Officers’ Group Executive Committee.

Motion No.49

Calls on the incoming General Council to be proactive across all public sector organisations in demanding that voluntary/elective transfer schemes or similar facilities are made available to all staff.



Instructs the General Council to use whatever means necessary to defend the right of NIPSA representatives to paid time off work for trade union duties, to protect the Seconded Officers and to challenge misconceptions concerning the financial impact of paying for facilities time. Furthermore to reaffirm its commitment to the principle of “nothing about us without us” noting that there should be no agreements made with Management without the consent of the groups of members affected by that agreement.

Referred to Civil Service Executive Committee and pursue as policy.

Motion No.52

Calls upon the incoming General Council to make proposals to ICTU and other unions to work together and establish local Trade Union Centres run collectively by the unions in the area.

Referred to ICTU.


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Motion No.53

Calls upon the incoming General Council to further pressure NIC-ICTU to either roll out the Youth Connect project (the union in schools programme engaging the youth) on an island wide basis or create a Northern Ireland equivalent project.

Referred to ICTU.

Motion No.56

Constitutional Amendment: Replacing Rule 9.2 and amending Rule 9.6 concerning the appointment and removal of the NIPSA Trustees and the powers of the General Council and interactions with the NIPSA Trustees.

Rule Book amended.


Calls on the incoming General Council to urgently consider the viability of online voting, which would be more user friendly than the current postal ballot.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Recommend members amend for preferred correspondence address to home address. Circular issued directly to those members for whom we have ‘office’ as their preferred correspondence address. Lobby NI political parties for a change in the NI legislation to allow for on-line voting.

Motion No.18

Calls on the General Council to endorse the content of Conference Paper No 1 in respect of an increase in NIPSA subscriptions.

Referred to NIPSA Finance Committee.

Motion No.61

Instructs the incoming General Council to urgently inform and consult with members on the issues of reducing membership, a looming financial crisis, attacks on facility time, a reduced media profile and the erosion

of members terms and conditions and how these issues are being addressed.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Increase communications with branches. Seek to engage more proactively with media at local and regional levels. Reinstate an annual event around key issues for reps.

Motion No.63

Instructs the incoming General Council to implement the terms of Resolution 53 from Conference 2016 and to include in future Conference Guides a reminder that racist language is not acceptable in NIPSA fora.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Refer to Conference Arrangements Committee for inclusion in review of NIPSA Conference Guide. Seek the views of the Equality Committee.

Motion No.64

Asks the incoming General Council to instruct NIPSA to carry out an appraisal of the lack of modern technology in the NIPSA Regional Office to include a cost analysis that will lead to NIPSA having all the relevant information to move forward with a solution to this as soon as possible.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. NIPSA Headquarters to carry out assessment and report back to General Council.

Motion No.65

Calls on the General Council to bring forward plans to introduce a Data Protection Policy for NIPSA in accordance with the obligations of the Data Protection Act 1995 and reflective of best practice guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Currently being actioned by NIPSA Headquarters. Policy in development stage as part of preparation for GDPR.

Annual Report 2017

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Motion No.66

Asks the incoming General Council to examine that the constitutional elements that govern NIPSA membership are fit for purpose by reviewing the criteria for membership to join NIPSA; that any proposed review should examine interfaces with the range of employers who currently make up the NIPSA membership and make recommendations if any gaps in the constitution are identified and that the General Council produce a paper to the 2018 Annual Delegate Conference on same.

Referred to General Purposes Committee. Paper to be drafted in due course for 2018 Conference.

Motion No.67

Asks the incoming General Council to examine NIPSA’s responses to pubic consultations and how these can be better co-ordinated.

Protocol implemented to ensure better co-ordination of responses to the plethora of public consultations.

Motion No.68

Calls on the incoming General Council to liaise with branches and the Executive Committees to produce a relevant handbook for representatives.



Calls on this incoming General Council to immediately release to NIPSA branches uncensored copies of the report dealing with the reinstatement of two NIPSA members who were expelled by a previous General Council and the setting up of a Committee to examine the handling of the cases that ensued.

Noted.


Instructs the incoming General Council to ensure that NIPSA strongly lobbies and works with NIC-ICTU and others to ensure that workers in Northern Ireland, both public and private, do not pay the price of leaving the EU.

Referred to ICTU.

Comprehensive Motion No.72

Directs the incoming General Council to:

(a) research and publish findings of the positive contributions made to our society by EU nationals living and working in Northern Ireland many of whom are our members;

(b) examine and publish findings of any negative impact that the uncertainty, fear and stress concerning Brexit is having on its many NIPSA members and their extended families;

(c) commission research into the impact of Brexit on the employment rights of public sector workers within the UK, and more specifically to Northern Ireland, so that NIPSA representatives are ready to take action and offer advice as issues arise;

(d) set up a working party to include NIPSA members from other EU states currently living and working in Northern Ireland to investigate the impact of Brexit on its members and their families and to develop a strategy to support those members who maybe adversely affected; and

(e) initiate a publicity campaign in all media forms to mobilise public interests in protecting the rights of EU nationals to live and work in Northern Ireland.

Further, that discussions with all public sector employers take place at the earliest possible stage to assess what work place adjustments if any can be put in place to help mitigate anticipated difficulties of border controls for NIPSA members travelling to and from work.


General Conference


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Referred to General Purposes Committee. Work with NIC ICTU as appropriate. Internal data collection ongoing within NIPSA. In due course set up working party of members directly impacted.


Calls on the incoming General Council to take a root and branch approach to the impact poor mental health has on individuals, their families and friends in our society and to assist with removing the associated stigma. Conference asks the incoming Council to:

(a) provide training to reps so they are supported in their role as sign posts – reps should not have the responsibility of dealing with this but should be supported to impart relevant information to members when they present with mental health difficulties;

(b) roll out a proper campaign across all NIPSA branches to increase awareness with the use of posters, leaflets and cards;

(c) recognise that NIPSA has a societal responsibility to raise the profile of increasing levels of poor mental health and how this is linked to austerity and has resulted in there being a disconnect from society with increasing social exclusion and isolation.

The terms of this motion are fully embedded within the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee programme of work for 2017/18.


Calls on the incoming General Council to fully support zero tolerance of any physical attacks on staff and to hold the employers to account.


Motion No.77

Asks the incoming General Council to put pressure on employers to look at their workplaces and to realise the duty of care to their employees under the Health and Safety legislation and hold employers to account given stress in our workplaces is getting to an all-time high.


Motion No.80

Instructs the General Council to work with other public sector unions and NIC-ICTU to ensure that public sector pension schemes are not only defended but that there is no further dilution of the schemes. Also for the General Council to oppose any further increases in the state pension age.

Pursue as policy and refer to ICTU.

Motion No.83

Calls on the General Council to build a campaign of opposition to the government’s pay restraint by building a coalition with other unions and to also mount a campaign of opposition to the government’s continued austerity measures. Further that the General Council should also educate and inform NIPSA members of a detailed strategy to reject the government’s imposition of a 1% pay cap until at least 2020/21.

Referred to Executive Committees and ICTU.

Motion No.84

Calls on the incoming General Council to campaign for a real living wage for all employees – one that allows citizens to have a decent standard of living, without having to choose between heating and eating or borrowing money to make ends meet.

Pursue as policy.

Annual Report 2017

xix


Public Officers' Conference

Resolution No.1

Noted the Health and Social Care Trusts’ decision to undertake a six week consultation on cuts to services as directed by the Department of Health. Called on the Executive Committee to: educate, organise and galvanise support from members, communities and other trade unions in opposition of the cuts; campaign for properly and adequately funded Health and Social Care services; use all means available to continue to oppose cuts to jobs and services; call on the Trusts to admit publicly that they cannot safely discharge their statutory responsibilities and duty to provide safe, quality services if these cuts are implemented; make strategic plans to oppose cuts across the Public Officers’ Group sector, including education, NIHE, Local Government and Community and Voluntary sector; demand the Trusts prioritise staff and services over balancing the books and call for the withdrawal of said proposals and an end to the funding freeze which will only serve to reduce performance on key services, impact on staff and undermine public confidence in the NHS.

Referred to Panels and liaise with NIC-ICTU Health Committee.

Resolution No.2

Noted the opposition to the use of Reinvestment and Reform Fund to advance the Public Sector Voluntary Severance Scheme. Called on the Executive Committee to: work with branches to identify and highlight the impact on members across the public sector through increased workloads; consider the issue of grade drift and the potential for job evaluations to be conducted where there is evidence of roles and responsibilities having increased in terms of job weight and highlight Management’s duty of care under health, safety and welfare obligations and call for formal risk assessments where appropriate.

Referred to Panels, issue a circular to branches and write to all employing authorities.

Resolution No.3

Noted the continued onslaught of cuts to the budgets of public sector authorities. Called on the Executive Committee to highlight its opposition to the cuts and to co-ordinate a more joined up campaign in the defence of public services within its areas of responsibility. Called on the Executive Committee to work more closely with representative bodies/organisations and community based groups in defence of public services and in opposition to the cuts.

Referred to officers of Panels to consider the action required.

Resolution No.4

Noted the Tory Government and DUP decision to retain the public sector pay cap. Called on the Executive Committee to: mount a campaign in opposition to the public sector pay cap including a lobby of political representatives; liaise with the Civil Service Group Executive Committee to coordinate campaign activity on the 5% pay claims for those covered by NJC terms and members in the NICS; build a campaign to secure the removal of the pay cap and deliver a fair pay percentage increase for all NIPSA members across the public sector, including if necessary through industrial action; immediately step up the campaign through our Public Service Defence Campaign through the production of a designated Pay Bulletin and as an affiliate of ICTU put forward the demand for a regional demonstration in support of the Break the Pay Gap Campaign and convene rallies and other public events in major towns and cities across the country. Called on the Executive Committee to undertake a branch consultation exercise to heighten awareness of the campaign and to build support through active participation in it.

Liaise with Civil Service Group Executive Committee and with ICTU on Better Work – Better Lives. A pay bulletin was to issue and branches asked to organise meetings on the subject.


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Resolution No.5

Noted the update of information contained in the NIPSA Research booklet “Insecurity as Policy: The Casualisation of Public Services”. Called on the Executive Committee to make opposition to this casualisation a key part of the wider public service defence campaign and to encourage across all branches the necessary activity that would offer a challenge to this widespread failure of investment and strategic planning.

Referred to Panels and raised with Employing Authorities. A branch seminar was to be arranged and political lobbying undertaken.

Resolution No.6

Noted that despite the growth of the gig economy that in the private sector agency staffing is broadly used to provide cover for vacant posts on a short term basis. Called on the Executive Committee to lobby for a comprehensive review into the how and why agency staff are recruited, trained and deployed across public sector organisations, using standard metrics that should be routinely published so that the public and NIPSA and its members can be better informed on this issue.

Referred to Panels and raised with Employing Authorities. A branch seminar was to be arranged and political lobbying undertaken.

Resolution No.7

Noted the ongoing attacks on members across the public services who are subject to physical attacks while carrying out their jobs. Called on the Executive Committee to ensure that policies across the public sector are in place and fully operational at all levels to ensure members are supported in the unfortunate event that they suffer any form of abuse.

Referred to Panels and also to branches for their Health and Safety Representatives to deal with. Liaised further with the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee.

Resolution No.8

Noted that “Resilience” is a dangerous word in the context it is frequently used by Management. Called on the Executive Committee to put pressure on employers through legislation and the health and safety protections to enable members to carry out their role in a way that will improve their working life and productivity for the employer.

Referred to Panels and also to branches for their Health and Safety Representatives to deal with. Liaised further with the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee.

Annual Report 2017

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Civil Service Conference

Resolution No.1

Called for continued opposition to pay restraint, a fair pay rise for civil servants and revalorisation of pay scales.

Cleared – no further action.

Composite resolution No.2

Called for resistance to any further adverse changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Noted. Action to be considered if changes proposed.

Resolution No.3

Called for review of Alpha pension scheme to be monitored and for any proposals on changes to the cost control mechanisms, increases to employee contributions and/or dilution of scheme benefits to be examined and resisted as necessary.

Referred to CWC TUS.

Resolution No.4

Called for increases to day subsistence rates.

Referred to CWC TUS. Under discussion with other travel and subsistence issues.

Resolution No.7

Called for no further Voluntary Exit Schemes in the NICS and support for members asked to undertake additional work as a result of the previous one.

Referred to CWC TUS. Action as required and circular issued to branches.

Composite Resolution No. 8

Called for restrictions on elective transfers to cease.


Resolution No. 9

Called for opposition to any compulsory imposition of changes to hours of attendance.

Referred to CWC TUS and action as required.

Resolution No.12

Called for measures to be taken to safeguard the interests of staff and ensure no detriment with the advent of NICS HR.

Referred to CWC TUS. Meetings on NICS HR continuing via Sub Committee of CWC Public Service Management Committee.

Motion No.13 (Remitted)

Called for current HR functions to be maintained.

Covered by 12 above.

Resolution No.14

Called for improved public service defence campaign and better communication with members.

Executive Committee to consider.

Resolution No.15 (previously Motion no 67)

Called for Agency staff to be used only exceptionally and fixed term contract to become permanent in certain circumstances.


Composite Resolution No.17

Called for existing promotion lists to be utilised and internal promotion boards to be held as necessary.

Referred to CWC TUS. Reserve lists for SO and DP and new EO2 list published in July 2017. New competitions pending in 2018 for AO, Personal Secretary, Grade 7 and Permanent Secretary.


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Resolution No.18

Called for movement on the 2014 EOI promotion competition.

Referred to CWC TUS. EOI list published in April 2017.

Resolution No.19

Called for vacancies to be filled substantively where possible.

Referred to CWC TUS and Departmental Committees.

Resolution No.22

Called for a report to be produced on allowances with a view to informing the 2017 NICS pay claim.

Report under consideration by Executive Committee in context of pay claim.

Resolution No.24

Called for the abolition of the AA grade and the creation of a single Administrative grade.


Resolution No.27

Called for facilities arrangements to be protected and industrial relations machinery to be safeguarded following Departmental restructuring.


Resolution No.28 (formerly Motion no 51)

Called for appropriate resourcing for seconded offices.

Executive Committee to action as appropriate.

Resolution No.30

Called for improved awareness and support for staff with disabilities.


Resolution No.31

Called for improved support for staff with caring responsibilities.


Resolution No.34

Called for review of rule 29 (a-g) of the Civil Service Group Constitution.

Options paper produced and branches consulted. Rule change proposed by Executive Committee and endorsed by General Council in June 2017.

Resolution No.38

Called for provision of defibrillators in NICS buildings.


Resolution No.39

Called for a stress policy in the NICS.


Resolution No.40

Called for improved consultation on office accommodation standards and the Lanyon Plaza project.

Referred to CWC TUS and DTUS. Discussions ongoing at CWC Accommodation Committee.

Motion No.41 (Remitted)

Called for publication of resource pressure tolerance standards.

Executive Committee to consider.

.

Headquarters Organisation Chart

at 31st December 2017

xxiii

Deputy General Secretary: Civil Service Group

Bumper Graham: Civil Service wide issues on pay, hours, leave, running costs, privatisation, personnel management etc, Civil Service groups: Professional and Technology Officers, Scientific Staff, Legal Grades and the Audit Office. Central Whitley issues.

Deputy General Secretary: Public Officers’ Group

Kieran Bannon: Public Officers’ Group including Health, Housing, Local Government, Libraries NI, Education Authority and the Further Education Sector, Voluntary and Community Sector. NIPSA Regional Office, Derry.

Assistant Secretary

Geraldine Alexander: Equal Opportunities, Human Rights, Global Solidarity, HQ Office Services, Health and Safety, Youth, LGB&T.

Assistant Secretary

Kevin McCabe: Health Service and the Voluntary and Community Sector. Joint Secretary HSC bodies.

Assistant Secretary

Vacant: Department of Communities, Department of Economy, Department of Education, NI Water.

Assistant Secretary

Tony McMullan: Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Department of Health, Department of Finance, The Executive Office, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Northern Ireland Assembly, NIPSA IT Consultative Committee (ITCC).

Assistant Secretary

Antoinette McMillen: Department of Justice, Department of Infrastructure, Invest NI, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Public Prosecution Service.

Assistant Secretary

Vacant: Finance and NIPSA Pensions Scheme, Membership, Branch Organisation and Recruitment, Conferences, Buildings and Insurance.

Policy and Research Officer

John McVey: Development of research on political and public discussion impacting on the public sector.

Assistant Secretary

Paddy Mackel: Housing, Local Government and Libraries NI.

General Secretary

Alison Millar

Executive Officer

Mairead DonnellyLegal and Membership Services, Servicing of Public Officer Group Executive Committee.

Executive Officer

Aidan McDonnellAdvice and Information Unit, Servicing of General Council.

Executive Officer

Martina Ó’Coisneacháin(temp)

Organisation and Recruitment.

Executive Officer

Natalie Aspin(temp)

Organisation and Recruitment.

Executive Officer

Wendy McCallumMembership Records and Systems.

Executive Officer

Claire McDonnell (temp)

Finance.

Executive Officer

Lesley Anne Scott(acting)

Office Services and servicing of the Civil Service Group Executive Committee.

Higher Executive Officer

Kevin Kelly: Education Authority: (South Eastern and North Eastern Regions), CCEA, CCMS, Queen’s University, Stranmills College, South Eastern and Southern Regional Colleges.


Alan Law: Western Health & Social Care Trust, North West College, Causeway Coast & Glenns, Derry & Strabane and Mid & East Antrim Councils.


Terry Thomas: South Eastern Trust, Belfast Trust, Statutory and Voluntary Bodies.


Naomi Connor(temp)

: Antrim and Newtownabbey; Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Belfast Councils and Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), NIPSA Training.


Dooley Harte: Aramark, Construction Industry Training Board, Cross Border Bodies, Probation Board, Northern Ireland Authority Utility Regulator, Northern Ireland Commission for Children and Young People, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, NSL, Tourism Northern Ireland, Commissioner for Complaints, Electoral Office and Equality Commission.


Ryan Wilson(temp)

: SERCO, National Museums Northern Ireland, Sports NI, Health and Safety Executive, Noonan (NICS contract), NI Audit Office, United Dairy Farmers, Labour Relations Agency, Police Federation, Police Ombudsman, Armagh Planetarium, Arts Council, Northern Ireland Screen and the General Consumer Council.


Róisín Graham: Education Authority: (Belfast Region), Northern Regional College, Belfast Metropolitan College, Linehall Library, Libraries NI, NICIE, NIPSA Union Learning Project Coordinator.


Joan Munton: Education Authority (Western Region), South West FE College, Fermanagh & Omagh and Mid Ulster Councils.


Tommy Brownlee: Southern Health Trust, HSCB, BSO, RQIA, PCC, Statutory and Voluntary Bodies.


Catherine Arkinson: Northern Health Trust, Housing Associations, Statutory and Voluntary Bodies.


Kim Graham: Newry, Mourne and Down, North Down and Ards and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Councils, NI Fire and Rescue Service, SERCO, NILGOSC and Local Government Staff Commission.

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Executive Officer

Terence McAteerGraphics, Publications and Web.

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Section ANIPSA Headquarters

Annual Report 2017

2

General Issues

A1 Amnesty InternationalNIPSA renewed its affiliation to Amnesty International UK maintaining strong solidarity links with individual and trade unionists fighting for basic human rights worldwide�

NIPSA donated £100 towards Amnesty International Ireland’s appeal to free Iran’s human rights defender Narges Mohammadi who was serving a 16 year prison sentence in connection with her human rights work� NIPSA continued to respond to a other urgent action requests and appeals in support of trade unionists and individuals under threat of death, abduction or imprisonment because of their trade union activities and other human rights issues�

Finally, articles highlighting Amnesty’s work on human rights issues continued to be featured in NIPSA News and NIPSA Global Solidarity Newsletters�

A2Bill of RightsNIPSA, through its membership of the Human Rights Consortium, continued to engage with local parties as well as representatives of the UK and Irish Governments to expedite the enactment of a strong and inclusive Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which was based on international human rights standards and provided for in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement�

Leading up to the Assembly elections in March 2017, the Human Rights Consortium and Equality Coalition held a series of sectoral hustings which focused specifically on human rights and equality issues� The Human Rights Consortium also presented a series of challenges to parties and candidates running in the 2017 Westminster elections in Northern Ireland� ‘A Rights Based Northern Ireland’ manifesto was produced which set out a range of current threats to human rights in Northern Ireland and suggested responses� The manifesto covered

issues from Brexit, the threatened repeal of the Human Rights Act, proposals to withdraw the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights, the duties of the UK to comply and adopt international human rights standards and the unfulfilled obligation to introduce a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland�

The EU Withdrawal Bill and its threats to weaken human rights protections and undermine elements of the Northern Ireland peace process became a major campaign focus� Some of the major criticisms presented by the Consortium included:

● A failure to protect the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the manner in which EU law currently underpins many elements of the process�

● No continuation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights in UK law, an important current source of human rights protection�

● Restricted reference to the European Court of Justice and use of its jurisprudence which removes an important oversight mechanism for rights protections and risks differentiating between rights standards with the rest of Europe�

● Placed broad unrestricted powers in the hands of UK Ministers to amend or repeal any retained EU legislation which jeopardised existing rights without proper parliamentary scrutiny�

● Placed possible restrictions on the Northern Ireland Assembly to act in accordance with Westminster legislation for retained legislation when traditionally the Assembly has been able to develop different local approaches as the need has arisen�

● At the year’s end with the political stalemate at Stormont and ongoing Brexit negotiations, progress on a strong and inclusive Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland and the protection of fundamental human rights within Brexit remained uncertain�

General Issues A

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A3 Equality CommitteeRegular meetings of the Committee were held throughout the year� The key action areas were as follows:

2 Child Tax Credit Cap and Rape Clause: New government regulations, The Social Security Restrictions on Amounts for Children and Qualifying Young Persons (Amendment) Regulations Northern Ireland, came into force on 6 April 2017 which meant that families in Northern Ireland were only entitled to claim child tax credits for their first two children born after 6 April 2017 unless they fitted into four exceptions� One such exception was to prove a third or subsequent child was born as a result of rape� For the rape exception to apply women had to disclose to third parties that they had been raped� This presented serious and particular consequences for women in Northern Ireland as women in Northern Ireland who apply for the benefit would be subject to laws requiring citizens to disclose serious crimes� Consequently if a woman who had not previously alerted the police to an assault could be a risk of a criminal investigation if she subsequently informed officers of it through her tax credit application� This had the potential to force a woman to choose between poverty and the stigmatisation of their child as a rape child� Appalled by the equality and human rights implications of this new law, which was not subjected to any scrutiny or equality impact assessment, an Emergency Motion calling for all necessary action to be taken to put pressure on the government to ensure this discriminatory law was scrapped was unanimously endorsed by delegates at the 2017 NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference� In furtherance of the aims of this resolution the following action was taken:

(a) NIPSA supported a rally on 21 September 2017 in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry�

(b) Asked members to write to their MPs asking them to support scrapping this discriminatory law reform�

(c) Called on members to sign a petition in support of the campaign to scrap the 2 child tax credit cap and rape clause�

OFM/DFM Gender Equality Strategy: As reported in Section A3 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report NIPSA wrote to the Minister for Communities in October 2016 which sought a commitment on the publication of an updated Gender Equality Strategy and a timescale for the publication of the strategy� A response from the Minister was that he was considering how best to take forward this work in the context of the Executive’s draft social strategy� There has been no progress on the strategy since the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 26 January 2017�

Abortion Law Reform: NIPSA continued to support the Alliance for Choice Trust Women Campaign calling for free, safe and legal access to abortion in Northern Ireland� On 7 April 2017 Alliance for Choice delivered a workshop on the Trust Women Campaign to branch representatives� The campaign was also promoted at the 2017 NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference� NIPSA also supported a number of pro-choice rallies and demonstrations throughout the year�

Childcare for All Campaign: NIPSA formed part of a new coalition, representing the community and voluntary sector, trade unions, children’s services and others, calling for an end to the political stalemate and priority given to the delivery of universally accessible, affordable, high quality childcare provision in Northern Ireland� NIPSA signed up to a ‘Childcare for All Charter’ to be used as a lobbying tool to seek the support of political representatives� The new campaign was expected to be launched in early 2018�

Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse: NIPSA continued to promote and campaign on behalf of all victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse through the following actions:

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(d) Supported the Women’s Aid campaign to call on MPs to vote to ratify the Istanbul Convention�

(e) A training event for branch representatives was held on 13 March 2017 in NIPSA Headquarters and on 24 November 2017 in Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry/Londonderry�

(f) A Branch Reps pack was developed and issued to attendees at the training events�

(g) The NIPSA Guide on Domestic Violence was revised to take account of changes which emerged from the DHSSPS and DoJ Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy and launched at the training event on 13 March 2017, issued to branches and posted on the NIPSA website�

(h) Continued to be an active member of the Belfast, Western, Southern and Northern Area Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Partnerships�

(i) Issued information to branches in support of Women’s Aid Christmas Appeal�

Racism/Migrant Workers: To coincide with International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March 2017) a series of myth busting slides were developed and posted on the NIPSA website rotating banner and information was issued to branches� At the year’s end work had commenced to develop a poster and leaflet campaign�

Disability: A major focus of the Committee was raising awareness of issues faced by members with a disability, engaging with NIPSA Disability Champions and equipping NIPSA branch representatives and Disability Champions to deal with the many and varied and sometimes very complex issues they encountered� The Disability Champions Forum that was set up continued to provide support, training and an exchange of knowledge and experience for the Disability Champions� A representative from Carers NI delivered a session on support available for working carers and the impact of Welfare Reform at a Champions event on 6 January 2017� Tony

O’Reilly from the North West Forum of People with Disabilities spoke at a Champions event on 14 December 2017 on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Concluding Observations� Marcel Dummigan and Tina Creaney of the Equality Committee continued to represent NIPSA on the NIC/ICTU Disability Committee�

Working Carers: To coincide with Carer’s Week (12-18 June 2017) NIPSA joined up with Carers Northern Ireland to deliver a workshop on 13 June 2017 in NIPSA Headquarters which focused on workplaces being more supportive of carers� In July 2017 NIPSA also issued an ezine to branches which outlined the statutory rights for working carers� At the year’s end work had commenced on producing a sample carers policy statement/guidance�

NIPSA Equality Event: In furtherance of the aims of Motion No 26 which was guillotined at the 2016 NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference this year’s equality event, which was held on 19 May 2017 in NIPSA Headquarters, examined through the lens of equality the impact of the cuts to jobs and services, including welfare and social reforms� Kellie Turtle from the Women’s Resource and Development Agency gave a presentation on the impact of spending cuts on Women’s Community and Voluntary Organisations in Northern Ireland� Louise Kennedy from Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland delivered a presentation on the 2 Child Tax Credit Cap and Rape Clause� Other speakers included Les Allamby from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission who spoke about in work poverty and Tony O’Reilly from the North West Forum of People with Disabilities who highlighted the impact of Welfare Reform on people with disabilities�

NIC/ICTU Women’s Committee: Geraldine Alexander (Headquarters Official) and Alanagh Rea (Chairperson of the Equality Committee) continued to represent NIPSA on the NIC/ICTU Women’s Committee� NIPSA was also represented at the 2017 ICTU Women’s Seminar held on 7 and

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8 September in Portlaoise� Geraldine Alexander and Alanagh Rea also attended the Women’s Council of the Isles in Cardiff on 5 and 6 October 2017�

A4 Global Solidarity CommitteeThe NIPSA Global Solidarity Committee met on a regular basis throughout 2017 and dealt with a range of issues as follows:

Projects: Table A1 (page 6) sets out the projects being supported by the NIPSA Global Solidarity and Developing World Fund and the total amount contributed to date�

Donors: As at 31 December 2017 the number of donors contributing to the Fund was as follows:

(a) 203 donors contributed through GAYE generating a monthly income of approximately £1334�00;

(b) 4 donors contributed monthly through Cheques for Charity (Gift Aid) creating an additional £35; and

(c) one donor donated £60 annually (£5 monthly);

The overall total number of donors (including new donors) is 208 generating a monthly income of approximately £1,374�00�

Charity Annual Monitoring Return, Accounts and Reports: Notification was received from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland to submit the charity’s annual monitoring return, accounts and reports by 31 October 2017� Bridge Chartered Accountants were appointed to produce the reports which were approved by the Committee at its Annual General Meeting on 22 July 2017 and submitted to the Charity Commission by the deadline of 31 October 2017�

Concern Worldwide – DFID UK Aid Match: As reported in Section A5 of the 2015 NIPSA Annual Report, NIPSA agreed to become a communication partner in Concern Worldwide ‘Come back from Crisis Appeal’� The appeal raised a total of £1�6m� As a result of the money

raised, Concern Worldwide was able to fund a new project aimed at tackling hunger among those affected by Ebola in Sierra Leone�

Fundraising Activities: The following series of fundraising activities took place during the year in order to raise awareness of the NIPSA charity and generate new donors:

(a) during Fairtrade Fortnight branches were asked to organise a Fairtrade tea/coffee morning or some other event in aid of the NIPSA Global Solidarity and Developing World Fund;

(b) a special edition of the Global Solidarity Newsletter which included messages of thanks and endorsement from some of our project partners and an A3 size poster map of the projects the charity has supported since its establishment in 1993 was circulated at the 2017 NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference and issued to branches;

(c) a representative from Disability Aid Abroad spoke at the 2017 NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference about the project the charity was supporting in Ethiopia;

(d) an article and donor form was featured in the February/March edition of NIPSA News; and

(e) a NIPSA Global Solidarity week ran from 11 to 15 December 2017� Information about the work of the Committee and the NIPSA charity, including ideas on possible activities/events to hold, was issued to branches�

Trade Deals: A major focus of the work of the Committee was campaigning to stop a Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada being implemented� At various voting stages throughout the year, NIPSA wrote to the Northern Ireland Members of the European Parliament asking them not to support CETA which threatened to weaken human rights, workers rights and the privatisation of public services�

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Justice for Colombia (JFC): The peace process and the implementation of the peace agreement continued to be a major campaign focus� After its initial rejection in a referendum a revised peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC was formally ratified by Colombia’s Congress on 1 December 2016 and the implementation stage began in early January 2017� After the ratification of the peace deal a series of laws connected to the peace process was passed through Congress� The first was the Amnesty law which allowed for trade unionists, human rights defenders and other activists who were falsely accused of belonging to the guerrillas to have their charges wiped� It was in relation to this new law that on 13 January 2017 Huber Ballesteros, a prominent trade union worker, was released from prison� Despite the implementation of the peace agreement, there continued to be violent attacks and murders against social leaders and political activists in Colombia� The estimated number of people murdered in 2017 for engaging in political forms of collective organisation or activism was 100� At the year’s end Colombia’s peace process was in crisis after the National Congress made major changes to the transitional justice mechanism, known as the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, which was agreed as a core element

of the bilateral peace agreement between the government and the FARC�

Campaigns and Urgent Action Requests: In addition to the above campaigns, NIPSA supported other campaigns and responded to a number of urgent action requests from various organisations including: Amnesty International; Labour Start; Concern Worldwide; Fairtrade Foundation; Medical Aid for Palestine; and Trade Union Friends of Palestine� NIPSA also wrote to the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan expressing outrage at the unjust sentencing and treatment of three trade unionists – Larisa Kharkova, Nurbek Kushakbayev and Amin Yeleusinov – that were simply standing up for fundamental workers’ rights guaranteed under international law� NIPSA called for:

(a) all charges against Larisa Kharkova, Nurbek Kushakbayev and Amin Yeleusinov to be dropped;

(b) the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Kazakhstan to be registered as a legal trade union; and

(c) workers to be guaranteed the freedom to establish and join unions of their own choice�

Table A1 Projects Support by the NIPSA Developing World Fund

(a) Disability Aid Abroad Employment Support Programme for Trade Union Workers with Disabilities in Ethiopia (Three year project January 2016 – December 2018) Totalling £30,000To ensure that the full range of Ethiopian trade unions – currently the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) which has 204,000 members – has access to accredited training of an internationally recognised standard in disability rights in the workplace, and that each of the trade unions affiliated to CETU will have its own Disability Committee, its own Disability Champion(s), and a commitment to people with a disability written into both its constitution and in each Collective Bargaining Agreement to be negotiated with employers�

£20,000

(b) Centre for Global Education Psycho-Social Support to Children in the Gaza Strip through Education (Two Year project January 2016 – August 2017) Totalling £24,000To provide therapeutic learning to 400 young people and 400 family members through education services in four marginalised communities in the Gaza Strip, Palestine�

£24,000

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A5 Health and Safety CommitteeThe Committee met on a regular basis throughout the year� A work programme was developed and a report on the key action areas was as follows:

(a) Legislation and Consultation Develop-ments: In Section A5 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report it was reported NIPSA submitted a detailed response to a consultation on the withdrawal of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999 Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and replaced with online guidance� As a result of robust representations the former Minister for the Department for the Economy took a decision that the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) move to develop and consult on a Northern Ireland ACOP to the MHSWR� Consultation on the new Northern Ireland ACOP was awaited�

(b) Newsletter and E-zine: Two e-zines and an edition of ‘Spotlight’ were produced which covered a range of health and safety issues�

(c) Gender and Health and Safety Guide: A new “Gender and Health and Safety” Guide for NIPSA Representatives was produced and formally launched at the 2017 NIPSA Annual Health and Safety Conference and issued to branches in November 2017� The guide highlighted the different health and safety risks that female, male and transgender members were exposed to at work� It provided advice on how branch Health and Safety Representatives can take a gender-sensitive approach when negotiating adjustments and health and safety policies and procedures with employers�

(d) NIPSA Health and Safety Representatives Essential Toolkit: New sections on resilience, stress and reasonable adjustments were produced and issued to branches�

(e) Hidden Disabilities: A series of posters to raise awareness of hidden disabilities in the workplace was produced and issued to branches in June 2017 to coincide with Learning Disability Week (19 to 25 June 2017) and Disability Awareness Day (17 July 2017)�

(f) Defibrillators in Workplaces: NIPSA continued to put pressure on employers within the public sector to install defibrillators in the workplace and provide suitable training to workplace first aiders� The campaign was successful in a number of areas and was ongoing�

(g) Annual Health and Safety Conference: The eighth Annual Health and Safety Conference took place on 24 October 2017 in the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast to coincide with European Health and Safety Week� The theme of the conference was “The Impact of an EU Exit on Health and Safety”� The conference programme was built around the theme� Keynote speakers were Owen Reidy, NIC/ICTU Assistant General Secretary and Keith Morrison, Chief Executive of HSENI who addressed delegates on the implications of Brexit on health and safety legislation and the important role unions and health and safety reps must play in ensuring that our health and safety protections and standards were not eroded as a result of Brexit� Four workshops were held in the morning and repeated in the afternoon� Janet Newsham from Greater Manchester Hazards Centre delivered the workshop session on ‘Mapping to reduce Stress and the Management Standards’� Margaret Loughran, Chairperson of NIPSA Health and Safety Committee, delivered the workshop on ‘What can we do in practice to stop our protection being torn up after an EU Exit?’� The workshop ‘Are safety reps our best protection against an EU Exit – what can we do to ensure strong union organisation and active safety reps?’ was presented by Barbara Morton, ICTU Tutor and the

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workshop session on ‘Stress at work and harassment – challenging the Employer’s agenda’ was delivered by John McShane from MTB solicitors� The conference was a major success with over 100 NIPSA Health and Safety Representatives across its membership base in attendance� A full report on the conference was posted on the website and issued to branches� An evaluation report was produced and was under consideration by the newly elected Committee�

A6 Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)The Biennial Conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) was held in Belfast on 4 to 6 July 2017� The NIPSA General Secretary Alison Millar and Maria Morgan were elected to the Executive Council with Alison Millar being elected as Vice-President�

Throughout 2017 NIPSA supported and participated extensively in the work of ICTU� A key strategic policy matter taken forward during 2017 was a campaign entitled – ‘Better Work Better Lives – Policy Options for a Fair Share for All’�

The three key themes of the campaign were:

● An end to the scourge of low pay and to promote decent work;

● Better and improved investments in our public services; and

● An end to the 1% public sector pay cap;

The campaign was formally launched on 21 November 2017 in Girdwood Hub, Belfast, a number of other media outlets were contacted to ensure that this was not seen as a Belfast centric campaign�

At the year end over 160 activists from across the Trade Union Movement including approximately 40 NIPSA activists had signed up to become involved in the campaign at constituency level� Meetings were organised for representatives on

a constituency basis for early in the New Year� NIPSA is determined to play a key role in this campaign�

A publication was published by NIC ICTU as background information for the campaign and at NIPSA’s suggestion a meeting of public sector trade unions was organised for early in 2018 to co-ordinate and understand each affiliates proposals and negotiating tactics in relation to public sector pay and a strategy to break the public sector pay cap�

Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI): The work of NERI continued throughout the year with Paul McFlynn and Dr Lisa Wilson contributing and publishing a range of economic pieces to support the work of NIC ICTU and affiliates�

International Solidarity: The NI Committee continued to play a significant role in continuing the work of the Committee in relation to Justice for Colombia in relation to the continuing peace process�

NIC ICTU also continued to work with Trade Union Friends of Palestine and the NIPSA President, Carmel Gates visited the West Bank in November 2017 as part of a trade union delegation� Further delegations are planned for 2018�

The NI Committee continued to be involved in the Labour Relations Roundtable which also comprised representatives of the Confederation of British Industry (NI), Small Business Federation and Chambers of Commerce� The revised Joint Declaration of Protection was launched at an event in the Spires Conference Centre on 26 October 2017� Work was ongoing to determine how best to ensure it is appropriately implemented jointly with employers and trade unions�

A7 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGB&T) GroupSince the establishment of the Group membership grew and regular meetings

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were held� The following key activities were undertaken:

Communication: The Group continued to make significant gains in relation to their communication strategy� The website was regularly updated with news articles, campaigns and publications and a series of e-zines were issued to branches�

Education and Awareness: One of the key strategic aims of the Group was raising awareness and understanding of the issues faced by LGB&T members� The following action was taken:

(a) NIPSA supported the Northern Ireland LGB&T Awareness Week (15-22 May 2017) and the International Day of Action against Homophobia (IDAHO) on 17 May� NIPSA also donated £50 towards supporting LGB&T youth services fundraising event organised by Cara-Friend;

(b) NIPSA placed an advertisement in the 2017 Belfast Pride Festival Guide, took part in the Belfast Pride Fair and Parade (28 July – 6 August) and donated £100 towards the organising costs;

(c) NIPSA took part in the Foyle Pride Festival (19-26 August) and the Pride in Newry Festival and Community Fair (28 August to 2 September)� NIPSA also donated £100 towards the organising costs for both events; and

(d) NIPSA supported the eleventh Annual Outburst Queer Arts Festival (10-19 November), International Transgender Day of Remembrance (20 November) and World Aids Day on 1 December�

Marriage Equality Campaign: NIPSA continued, under the umbrella of the Love Equality campaign, to put pressure on the Executive to introduce marriage equality in Northern Ireland� However despite continued pressure and overwhelming public support, Stormont failed to legislate for equal marriage� In furtherance of the campaign the following action was taken:

(a) A Marriage Equality Workshop was held on 19 May 2017 in NIPSA HQ to coincide with NI LGBT Awareness Week;

(b) Representatives from the Love Equality Coalition attended the NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference;

(c) NIPSA posters supporting the Love Equality Campaign were produced for Conference and issued to branches;

(d) NIPSA supported the march and rally organised by the Love Equality Coalition on Saturday 1 July 2017;

(e) NIPSA in its Assembly Election material called for reform of the petition of concern; and

(f) Regular Love Equality bulletins were issued to branches providing updates on the campaign, how to get involved and useful resources�

At the year’s end, as a result of the failure to restore a devolved government, the campaign’s focus turned to Westminster�

Blood Ban: During the year the Westminster government announced the one-year deferral on gay men giving blood be reduced to three months� As this was a devolved matter pressure to ensure a similar change in Northern Ireland will commence when a new Assembly has been established�

NICS LGBT Staff Survey: As reported in Section A7 of the 2016 Annual Report, the HQ Official and Group Chairperson engaged with the NICS LGBT Diversity Champion on the development of a staff survey which was issued in December 2016� At a meeting in May 2017, to consider the survey results, NIPSA expressed concern that the analysis presented did not provide a true reflection of the results especially in terms of experiences in the workplace� Management Side accepted there were clear gaps that needed further detailed analysis� The results of the detailed analysis were awaited� The survey also showed an interest among many LGB&T staff in a

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staff network� As a result an NICS LGB&T network was launched on 7 June 2017� NIPSA, along with the Head of the NICS Diversity Champions Group, and a representative from the Rainbow Project spoke at the event�

NIPSA Branch Reps LGB&T Toolkit: At the year’s end work had commenced on updating the toolkit to take account of legislative and other changes�

Sexual Orientation Strategy: The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (now the NI Executive Office) issued a public consultation in March 2014 on the development of a Sexual Orientation Strategy� NIPSA responded to the consultation� Responsibility for the strategy transferred to the Department for Communities in 2016� In year the Group wrote to the Department for Communities who informed NIPSA that the sexual orientation strategy was being considered within the context of the NI Executive’s draft Social Strategy� There has been no progress as a result of the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 26 January 2017�

A8 PensionsThroughout the year there continued to be a range of developments in respect of the provision of public service pensions� These were considered by the joint Department of Finance (DoF) and other sponsoring Government Departments with the NIC-ICTU Public Service Pensions Group under the auspicious of the Central Consultative Working Group (CCWG)�

A number of meetings of the CCWG were held jointly chaired by a Senior DoF Official and NIPSA’s Deputy General Secretary (CS), Bumper Graham, on behalf of NIC ICTU� The key issues are reported here�

Other pension issues such as the review of State Pension Age also emerged and are also reported on here�

(a) Public Service Exit Payments: Section A8(e) of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report

detailed the Government’s proposals to review and amend public service exit/compensation payments, most of which have a link to public service pension schemes� It was also reported that the Home Civil Service was adopting a slightly different approach, based on a Cabinet Office consultation�

The Cabinet Office introduced it’s proposed changes via a Statutory Instrument with effect from 9 November 2016, having reached agreement with some Home Civil Service Trade Unions� The legislation was challenged by PCS via a Judicial Review, which was heard in early July� The case was won by PCS�

The Government decided not to proceed with an appeal against the decision of the High Court (England/Wales) to uphold the case by PCS in respect of the failure to properly consult on the Home Civil Service Compensation Scheme changes� The Cabinet Office issued in October a consultation on similar changes to the Home Civil Service Compensation Scheme, in line with it’s 2016 failed consultation�

Other public service employers were to have put in place amendments by April 2017 to their schemes� Nothing materialised due to the surprise General Election and the legal challenge to the Civil Service Scheme�

Agreement was secured with DoF Officials that for Northern Ireland they would await the final outcome of the position in GB before considering the possible implications for NI Schemes� A commitment was given that before taking any action there would be full engagement with the trade unions via the CCWG and in bi-lateral negotiations as need be�

(b) Public Sector Exit Payment Recovery Cap: The necessary regulations to introduce recovery arrangements for exit payments in the event of a public servant being re-employed in the public service on a salary

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in excess of £80,000 were not brought forward during 2017 by the Westminster Government� The NI Assembly had agreed in 2016 to a legislative consent motion to apply such regulations across the public service in Northern Ireland�

(c) Pension Contributions and Pension Increase: With effect from 1 April Public Service pensions in payment were increased by 1%, the rate of CPI inflation as at September 2016�

For members of the post 2015 pension schemes i�e� those who are in the CARE Schemes (Career Average Revalued Earnings) the value of the 2016/17 pension pot was increased also by 1% or greater if the scheme provided for revaluation at CPI + fixed % e�g� HSC Scheme provides for CPI (1%) + 1�5%�

The employee contribution rates for 2017/18 for the three main schemes in which NIPSA has members were as follows, effective from 1 April 2017�

NICS SchemesScheme Year 1 April to 31 March 2018

Annualised Rate of Pensionable Earnings (Salary Bands)

Classic Members or Classic Members who moved into Alpha All Other Members

From To From 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018

From 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018

£0 £15,000�99 4�6% 4�6%

£15,001�00 £21,422�99 4�6% 4�6%

£21,423�00 £51,005�99 5�45% 5�45%

£51,006�00 £150,000�99 7�35% 7�35%

£150,001�00 and above 8�05% 8�05%

HSC

Tier Full-Time Pensionable Pay used to determine contribution rate

Contribution Rate (before Tax Relief) (gross) 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2019

1 Up to £15,431�99 5�0%

2 £15,432�00 to £21,477�99 5�6%

3 £21,478�00 to £26,823�99 7�1%

4 £26,824�00 to £47,845�99 9�3%

5 £47,846�00 to £70,630�99 12�5%

6 £70,631�00 to £111,376�00 13�5%

7 £111,377�00 and over 14�5%

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NILGOSC

Band Pensionable Pay RangeContribution Rate Main Section

Contribution Rate 50/50 Section

1 Up to £14,100 5�5% 2�75%

2 £14,101 to £21,500 5�8% 2�90%

3 £21,501 to £35,900 6�5% 3�25%

4 £35,901 to £43,400 6�8% 3�40%

5 £43,401 to £85,800 8�5% 4�25%

6 More than £85,800 10�5% 5�25%

Note: The above rates do not take account of pensions tax relief.

(d) Public Service Pension Act 2014 Review: As reported in Section A8 (d) of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report the first Review report of the 2014 Public Service Pensions Act was completed with a number of recommendations�

A number of meetings of the CCWG Review Sub-Group were held throughout the year� It was agreed to move from a biennial review to a quinquennial review linked to the Actuarial Reviews for most of the Northern Ireland Public Service Pension Schemes�

The Sub-Group continued to examine the data needed for the reviews and how it could be provided in view of the fact that some of the data was held by employer payroll systems rather than by the various Pension Scheme administrators� The Sub-Group aims to produce final proposals in 2018 to ensure a consistent approach for data collection in respect of review dates and the various schemes and the employing authorities within the schemes�

(e) 2018 Actuarial Reviews for Application of the Cap/Collar Directions: The 2015 legislation for Public Service Pension Schemes set a baseline figure for employer pension costs, within each scheme�

The baseline figure is not permitted to move beyond +/- 2% of those costs�

During 2017 there was a recalculation of the baseline costs due to action taken by the Government to change the cost basis via manipulation of the Discount Rate (a projection of future costs taking into account inflation, pay increases and notional returns)�

All of the schemes are due to produce by the end of March 2018 the first actuarial reports, to be completed by the Government Actuary Department (GAD) on cost movements, based on the revised baseline� NIPSA representatives as members of Public Service Scheme Advisory Boards and Pension Boards have engaged with GAD, sponsoring Departments and Scheme Administrators to discuss the format, data usage and timeline for production of the 2018 Reports�

(f) Legal Cases: During the year the Supreme Court made two significant Judgements that impacted on Public Service Pension Schemes:

(i) Brewster Case: The Supreme Court determined that the NILGOSC regulations were flawed in requiring

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a scheme member to make a written declaration in the event of their death in service to ensure that a partner, other than a married spouse, could receive payment of a dependant’s pension�

All Public Service Pension Schemes are applying the terms of the Judgement and amended regulations will be brought forward to the NI Assembly when it is reconstituted�

(ii) Walker Case: The Supreme Court determined that a civil partner and same-sex married couples are entitled to full dependants pension upon death in retirement of a scheme member, even if the civil partnership/same-sex marriage occurred post retirement�

(g) Training: The first 5 day NIC-ICTU Pensions Course for those involved in Pension Boards/Scheme Advisory Boards was completed in early November� A further course has been arranged for Spring 2018� A more general 3 day NIC-ICTU Pensions Course is being designed to be available from September 2018�

(h) Review of State Pensions: Two reports were published on 23 March making recommendations to further increase the age at which the state pension can be drawn� In addition recommendations were also made to bring forward previously announced changes to the State Pension Age�

The first report: Independent Review of the State Pension Age Smoothing the Transition was commissioned by Parliament and taken forward by John Cridland� NIPSA responded to the interim report and raised matters with him directly when he and his review team visited Northern Ireland�

The second report: DWP Periodic Review of the Rules about State Pension Age was produced by the Government Actuary Department (GAD)�

Both reports recommendations were unacceptable as they both sought to further increase the State Pension Age to 68 and beyond, as well as seeking to bring forward the previously announced increase to age 68� NIPSA responded to the two reports, rejecting both reports recommendations to further increase the state pension age�

The NIPSA response pointed out that:

(i) The Government appointed John Cridland to carry out a review and to report back by March 2017� It was clear from the outset and the interim report that he was bound to recommend increasing the State Pension Age� However, this was not enough for the hawks in the Treasury and DWP commissioned the Government’s own Actuary (GAD) to produce a more draconian report� This demonstrated that the Government could not be trusted and that GAD was not independent of its political masters;

(ii) the proposals at best resulted in the State Pension Age increasing to 68 by 2037, under Cridland and to 70 under the GAD report with the 68 age bar being introduced by 2028 if GAD has its way� This would attack workers who are in their late 50’s;

(iii) any increase in the State Pension Age was unwelcome as it will see people paying more National Insurance over a longer period of time to get a pension that will be paid for shorter periods of time due to mortality and this has a greater adverse impact on Northern Ireland;

(iv) NIPSA had put forward alternative proposals, including a flexible decade of retirement based on payment of 35 years National Insurance, these proposals and responses of other consultees were totally ignored; and

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(v) with the link post the Hutton reforms between State Pension Age and Normal Retirement Age for the bulk of Public Sector Pension Schemes this would see corresponding increases to retirement age, with the protections negotiated for those closest to retirement expiring at 31 March 2022�

The Cridland report also recommended that the triple lock for state pension increases be scrapped and replaced with increases linked to an earnings increase, the existing provision is for the increase to be the greater of CPI, earnings or 2�5%�

In response to the reports the Westminster Government announced on 19 July that it is to increase the pension age to 68, between 2037 to 2039, affecting 6 million people who will now have to work a further year�

The announcement brought forward by 7 years the date of introducing a state pension age of 68, impacting on those born between 6 April 1970 and 5 April 1978� It will have no impact on those born before 5 April 1970; however for those born after 6 April 1978 further increases to their pension age are inevitable based on the Government report�

The Government intends legislating for this change in 2023, when the next review of State Pension Age will be completed� A move to 68 will save the Government £74 billion by 2045/46 and see the cost of State Pension provision reduced by 2039/40 from 6�5% to 6�1% of GDP� These savings will be added to as they do not include the cost savings from public service pension schemes that have a link between normal retirement age and state pension age, which is the majority of public service schemes in which NIPSA members are enrolled�

The Government claimed that the change is necessary due to a continued improvements in life expectancy, however that is not accurate as the Marmot Report (July 2017) concluded a significant decrease in life expectancy improvements�

The Government Report clearly signals that age 68 is just a stepping stone to 70+ becoming the pension age� It states the next rise (68) will not bring the preferred percentage (32%) in receipt of state pension to the target and therefore will need to carefully consider when it can be achieved� For those born after 6 April 1978 this could see either a more rapid increase in increasing the age for pension or rather than has been the practice for a 1 year stepped increased using two or more years� The report considers the one year at a time increase to be too restrictive�

A9 Policy and Research UnitThe formal launch of the 2016 research “Insecurity as Policy: The Casualization of Public Services” (that looked at the scale and cost of agency staff in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Health/Social Care and the Civil Service) was followed by a decision to both update this information and also expand analysis into other sectors: the 11 ’new’ councils of Local Government, NI Libraries and Education Authority� The challenge and difficulty of this task (given the inconsistency and opacity of its retention within the public sector) dominated the work of the Unit throughout 2017 and informed debate at the group conferences in November 20017� An essay on the ideology underlying this new, precarious labour market was also written as one of NIPSA’s contributions to an edition of Trademark’s social policy journal that was produced as a tribute to Joe Law�

The wider political instability both at Stormont and Westminster were reflected in the policy materials produced for the March 2017 Assembly elections (“our money, our services, our right to accountability”)� The issues raised directly within the electoral process were also pursued within the Public Service Defence Campaign with research undertaken to underscore the long-term damage inflicted by austerity and the need to end the public sector pay cap (“scrap the

General Issues A

15

cap”)� This also fed into policy responses on the socio-economic effects of budgetary decisions at a local and UK level�

The last few years has seen ‘a decade of centenaries’ in relation to public discussion of hugely significant historical events that have shaped our world at a local, national and international level� One such that fell during 2017 was the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution and its significance to the labour and trade union was marked by a research display in Harkin House�

A10 Public Service Defence Campaign Throughout the year NIPSA continued to highlight a range of issues as part of the ongoing defence of public services� A lot of the activity took place in the Education and Health Sectors with the campaigns to protect Youth Services and Outdoor Residential Centres� (See Sections C2�2, C2�3, C2�4, C2�5, C2�7)

On a wider issues NIPSA highlighted the fight against the Public Sector Pay Cap� Since 2010 NIPSA members across the civil and public services have seen their pay capped at a maximum of 1%� NIPSA highlighted this issue and asked members to raise with their MPs, MLAs and other political representatives to put pressure on the Government in advance of the Autumn Budget to remove the cap� While the government indicated that the cap was lifted for pay negotiations from 2018 onwards to date there has been little or no evidence of this with two Pay Review Bodies for police and prisons recommending a 1�7% and 1�9% respectively� NIPSA made it clear that pay increases of this level would not be acceptable particularly as the increases referred to the increase above 1% had to be found from existing resources�

In the autumn the Health Trusts announced a sham of a consultation indicating that they were required to make savings of £70m� The cuts were mainly aimed at the elderly with cuts to

residential care and domiciliary care� Following an 8 week consultation the Department of Health announced that the cuts to the funding would not be £70m but £42m� Given money normally comes available in the October monitoring round NIPSA and the wider trade union movement criticised the Health Trusts and the Department for worrying vulnerable elderly citizens who believed they may have their services cuts� NIPSA pressed the wider trade union movement to organise a protest at Stormont and deliver a letter to the Department of Health Permanent Secretary� Members walked from Stormont to Castle Buildings to deliver a strongly worded letter to the Permanent Secretary�

Just prior to Christmas the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance published a document entitled ‘Budgetary Outlook’� NIPSA responded to this on the basis that the cuts outlined in the document of 4, 8 and 12% were totally unacceptable and public services would be severely impacted if they were imposed� Another option in the document was to increase the regional rate to pay for services� NIPSA’s response highlighted that this would not deliver or pay for public services and that the only way to deal with the NI Budget was to have a significant and real terms increase�

A11 Youth CommitteeThroughout 2017 membership of the Committee continued to grow and regular meetings were held� The key areas of work were as follows:

Campaigning: The Youth Committee attended numerous events, rallies and demonstrations throughout the year in protest against the Government’s austerity agenda and in solidarity with striking workers� The Committee worked in partnership with ICTU Youth, Student’s Unions, community groups and youth organisations to upfront broader social issues around housing, education and health� As part of the Assembly Elections in March 2017 the Committee produced and posted on Facebook and Twitter a list of

General Issues

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questions, based around their Youth Charter, to ask members to raise with candidates standing in their local constituency� The Committee was also well represented at the NIPSA Annual Delegate Conference, ICTU Biennial Delegate Conference, May Day Parade, Marriage Equality Rally and Pride Parades�

NIPSA Living Wage Campaign: An eBlast setting out the case for a living wage and provided an economic analysis of the minimum wage versus the living wage was produced� The publication was circulated to delegates at the 2017 Annual Delegate Conference and issued to branches in June 2017� For the next stage in the campaign the Committee were planning to organise a panel debate in early 2018 with representatives from the Federation of Small Business, NERI (Nevin Economic Research Institute), Queen’s Students Union and NIPSA Youth�

Communication: The Committee continued to make significant gains in relation to their communication strategy� As reported in Section A12 of the 2016 Annual Report, the Committee considered an alternative platform to host the NIPSA Youth website as a result of Moonfruit no longer providing the facility free� It was decided not to continue with a stand alone NIPSA Youth website but to incorporate the functions into the official NIPSA website under the existing NIPSA Youth section� Work on the development of the NIPSA Youth section and migration of material from one site to another was completed in August 2017� The Committee also continued to successfully use social media by regularly posting on Facebook� A series of EBlasts were also produced�

Building Union Capacity: In furtherance of the aim to build union capacity and youth activism the following action was taken:

(a) A NIPSA Youth postcard was circulated at Conference and issued to branches�

(b) An article entitled ‘The Next Generation’ was published in NIPSA News and issued to branches as an EBlast�

(c) A circular was issued to branches on 9 August 2017, to coincide with International Youth Day (12 August), highlighting the achievements of the NIPSA Youth Committee and calling on branches to take a series of actions to raise awareness of the NIPSA Youth Committee, encourage young NIPSA members to get involved in NIPSA Youth and the importance of non-members being in the union and what NIPSA can do for them�

(d) Held a ‘meet and greet’ event on 26 October 2017 in the Financial Services Union/Bankers Club open to NIPSA members and non-members�

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Organisation and Administration

Organisation and Administration A

A12 Appointment of AuditorsNIPSA appointed new Auditors, John McVeigh and Co�

A13 Donations 2017

Organisation Amount Purpose Of Donation

Reclaim the Agenda £500* Towards the cost of International Women’s Events and publication

Cork Mother Jones £100* Towards the cost of the 2017 Mother Jones Festival

Jobstown Not Guilty £2,000 Towards the cost of the legal fees for Jobstown Not Guilty Campaign

Concern £1,000 Concern Worldwide East Africa Crisis Appeal

Medical Aid for Palestine £500* Towards Burns Unit at Aliya Hospital

The Rainbow Project £200* Strictly Come Dancing Event (Towards Sponsorship of couple)

Amnesty International £100* Towards Free Narges Mohammandi

War on Want £200* Towards the Campaign against toxic trade deals connected to Brexit

Cara Friend £50* Towards LGBT Allies Table Quiz

Belfast Pride 2017 £100* Towards 2017 Belfast Pride Festival

Foyle Pride 2017 £100* Towards 2017 Foyle Pride Festival

Newry Pride 2017 £100* Towards 2017 Newry Pride 2017

International Brigade Commemorative Committees £50 Towards Feile 2017

Belfast Trades Council £100* Towards Aleida Guevara Visit to Belfast

Labour Research Department £100* Towards LRD Strong Foundations Appeal

NIPSA Global Solidarity Fund £7500* Annual General Council donation to Fund

* Donation paid from the Fee fund which is financed by the fees paid in respect of the membership of Public Bodies by NIPSA Lay and Permanent Officials


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A14 Headquarters StaffDuring the year Karen Wright, Senior Personal Secretary, retired� Following an internal competition Elizabeth Buchanan was appointed to this position�

Two other staff resigned during the year, Ryan McKinney, Assistant Secretary and Martin Murphy, Finance and Administration Officer� The filling of these posts was linked to the NIPSA Financial Review (See A16)� It was necessary to appoint Ross Boyd Ltd� to carry out the 9 month and 12 month accounts due to the vacancy created as a result of the resignation of the Finance and Administration Officer�

Joint Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JNCC): Regular meetings of the JNCC took place in the second half of the year and engaged in a range of collective bargaining issues including the filling of posts and procedure for the filling of acting vacancies�

NIPSA Pension Scheme: The Trustees of the NIPSA Staff Pension Scheme met regularly throughout the year� The main work progressed was a review of the Scheme Rules which it was anticipated would be completed early in 2018�

Composition of NIPSA’s Workforce: The monitoring return for February 2017 to the Equality Commission showed the composition of NIPSA’s workforce as summarised below:

Below EO

EO and Above Totals

Male 7 16 23

Female 17 14 31

Protestant 12 8 20

Catholic 12 16 28

Unclassified 0 6 6

Disabled 3 4 7

A15 MembershipThe year end figures for 2017 and comparison 2017 are listed below:

Civil Service

Public Officers NIPSA

2017 17113 24873 41986

2016 17311 24805 42016

Increase/Decrease

-1�15% -0�27% -0�07%

Male 7781 5445 13266

Female 9332 19428 28760

Membership records continued to be updated throughout the year with information given by employers and members�

Membership figures fluctuated during 2017 with the end of year total decreasing on the 2016 total� There was a marked increase on the number of applications processed during the year� 2462 were processed in 2017, an increase of 521 on 2016�

The online application facility increased also in 2017� From 1 January 2017, 1433 were submitted and 817 processed, an increase of 106 on the 2016 figure� However work is ongoing to encourage members to return relevant authorisation forms and improve the number of applications processed�

Career Breaks: The practice of inviting members to retain their NIPSA membership whilst on a career break continued with the annual fee remaining at £10�00� A total of 28 NIPSA members registered their career breaks with NIPSA throughout 2017 and retained their membership� This included 12 civil service members and 16 public officers members�

Student Membership: Student membership for social workers and other relevant categories


19

of students at university continued with the annual fee of £10�00� A total of 5 new student members were recruited in 2017�

Organisation: Following a review of Branch 725 and direct consultation with all members of the Branch it was agreed to reorganise the branch to better reflect the diverse range of organisations� To that end the following branches were created: Branch 725 Voluntary Sector; Branch 726 Extern; Branch 727 Disability Action; Branch 728 Credit Unions and Branch 735 Charities� The back of the Annual Report under Branch Organisation shows the reorganised branch details as at 31 December 2017�

A16 NIPSA Annual ConferencesThe 2017 NIPSA Annual Conference was held in Newcastle, Co Down between 31st May and 2nd June� 274 delegates attended representing some 107 Branches�

For the second year the two Group Conferences were held on successive days in November (8th Public Officers Group and on the 9th the Civil Service Group) in Belfast� 21 Branches and 68 delegates attended the Public Officers' Group Conference, with 73 Branches and 153 delegates attending the Civil Service Group Conference�

The 2018 NIPSA Conference will be held in Londonderry between the 30th May and the 1st June�

A17NIPSA Financial ReviewFollowing a number of issues arising out of the 2016 NIPSA Accounts the General Council agreed to tender for the provision of a review of NIPSA’s financial processes and procedures� The purpose of the review was to ensure that NIPSA’s financial processes and procedures were robust, followed best practice within financial accounting practices and standards and included recognised processes to aid more accurate end of year forecasting�

Ross Boyd Ltd was appointed following a tender process and commenced their work on 7 November 2017� During the review Ross Boyd Ltd met with 7 staff who assisted them in the review� While the report was initially due before the end of 2017 there was a slight delay, because of other work NIPSA requested regarding the 9-month accounts� The report was expected in early January 2018�

NIPSA Accounts: As a result of the unexpected resignation of the Finance and Administration Officer in October 2017 (See Section A13) Ross Boyd Ltd were invited to assist with the provision of the 9-month and 12-month accounts�

A18 NIPSA ITTowards the end of the year preliminary discussion commenced with NIPSA’s IT supplier over the replacement of NIPSA’s main IT servers, which were coming to the end of functionality and support� The servers have been in place since the year 2000�

A19NIPSA PremisesThe three premises:

(a) Harkin House, 54 Wellington Park, Belfast;

(b) No 40 Wellington Park, Belfast; and

(c) The Regional Office� 30 Great James Street, Derry/Londonderry

continued to provide the base for NIPSA Headquarters, the Regional Office and with regards to No 40 Wellington Park a facility for holding meetings�

Some minor necessary works were undertaken in Harkin House to maintain the fabric of the building� A triennial review of the Regional Office was also undertaken on the same basis and a report was received from NIPSA’s property advisors� Essential planned maintenance for the Regional Office is scheduled for early 2018�


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The General Council commissioned a full M&E report into the electrics and heating for Harkin House, as the building is circa 40 years old� The report identified major works for both the electrics and the heating system� Further consideration of the way forward was deferred pending the outcome of the Financial Review (see A16, page 18)�

A20 Organisation and Recruitment Report: Civil Service GroupFollowing on from the restructuring within the NICS that reduced the number of Departments from 12 to 9, effective from April 2016, there was a need to totally reorganise the NIPSA Branches within the new 9 NICS Departments�

In addition to reorganising the core NICS Branches to align with the new Departmental structures the opportunity was also taken to restructure some of the remaining Branches within the CS Group� There are now 120 Branches within the Civil Service Group�

Throughout 2016 the NICS ran VES mainly within the NICS core Departments, with circa 3,000 being released� NIPSA’s membership saw the loss of 2,354 members in 2016 between VES and the natural attrition rate (especially with little or nil recruitment into the NICS) was to be expected� During 2017 the VES programme continued within Arms Length Bodies/NDPBs, but at a much slower rate�

Whilst 2017 saw some signs that the core NICS Departments had begun to move to some limited recruitment, they have over recent years and continued to do so utilise Agencies and to a degree Fixed Term Appointees� These two groups of workers have been more difficult to recruit, however there are signs that some headway is being made�

Following the launch of the Recruitment and Organising Strategy in late March, work commenced between the Organisation and

Recruitment Unit and Civil Service Group Officials in liaison with the relevant Seconded Officers/Departmental Committees�

NIPSA Organisers were tasked with assisting Branches to build and structure committees where assistance is required and also to have focus on Branch recruitment throughout the NICS� As part of the strategy and through an agreed work plan, Organisers concentrated on assisting Branches within the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and Department for the Economy (DfE), between May and November�

This work commenced in May, it was recognised that May to August is a difficult time as in May/early June Branches are preoccupied with NIPSA Conference� Following which July and August represent the main annual leave period� The Unit worked in conjunction with the relevant NIPSA HQ Assistant Secretary, Seconded Officers and Departmental Committees�

In the initial three Departments:

(a) Department for Infrastructure (DfI): Meetings were held with the Seconded Officers and with the Branch Secretaries� Meetings were held with the Transport NI (Roads) Group and Rivers Agency Group� A combined Branch event for Clarence Court Branches had to be cancelled and no new date has been agreed� Letters issued to non members and also members regarding the value of NIPSA membership�

(b) Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA): Meetings were held with the Seconded Officers and the Departmental Committee� A number of bilateral meetings took place with Branches�

(c) Department for Economy (DfE): A meet-ing was held with the Departmental Committee� A number of meetings were held with Branches individually or in some cases on a combined basis�


21

Most of the emphasis with Branches had been in respect of mapping exercises followed up with various interventions�

In September an initial review was held and in view of the comments above it was agreed to provide a further period to work with Branches in the three Departments�

A meeting at the end of November with the Recruitment/Organisation Unit, Membership Section, CS Group Officials and Seconded Officers was held� The meeting confirmed much of the matters discussed at the September meeting� It was agreed to recommend that:

(a) From January 2018 to April 2018 the Unit works with 2 NICS Departments i�e� Communities and Finance (this is to reflect a reduced staffing situation within the Unit);

(b) that consideration be given in the springtime of 2018 to having a further Branch Organisers Seminar but that it be held for NICS Branches rather than a joint Seminar with PO Group Branches;

(c) that the NIPSA Recruitment/Organisation strategy be revisited and in light of the initial evidence that further consideration be given to a range of initiatives to encourage both non-members to sign-up and members to pro-actively recruit non-members with some form of recognition; and

(d) a bi-monthly/quarterly check list be issued to Branches to ascertain what actions they have taken to ensure that the Branch is active and making attempts to recruit new members�

Over the last few months of 2017 there had been a marginal improvement in CS Group membership�

A21 Organisation and Recruitment Report: Public Officers' GroupThroughout the year a number of priorities were set within the Public Officers’ Group under the NIPSA Branch Organisation and Recruitment Strategy� This sought to look beyond merely recruitment of members to explore ways of providing advice and support to members to ensure branches were operating effectively�

The medium to longer term objective was to realise the active participation of members not only in local branch issues but also in broader NIPSA campaign activity and the role that NIPSA plays in the wider trade union movement in Northern Ireland� The immediate, short term priority was to ensure each branch had an effective, fully functioning Branch Committee and Officers in place, reflective of its membership in terms of geographical spread and functional areas, where appropriate�

A key priority set for the Branch Organisation and Recruitment Unit in NIPSA Headquarters was to concentrate initially on dysfunctional branches – those with no Officers and/or Committees� A measurement applied to all branches within the Public Officers’ Group, including those that appeared on paper to be functional, was that they fulfilled at least what is required of them under the NIPSA Rule Book i�e� holding an Annual General Meeting (AGM), electing Officers and a Committee, attending NIPSA Conferences, holding meetings to mandate delegates to Conferences, holding meetings to consider matters under the direction of the Executive Committee/General Council etc� It was intended to undertake a further analysis in due course relating to communications with members, consultation/negotiation structures with employers and participation in postal ballots/elections�

In health, education, further education, local government, housing, libraries and the voluntary and community sector work commenced to


Annual Report 2017

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undertake recruitment activity and provide support to branches in recruitment drives� Following a review of Branch 725 undertaken by the General Council members of that branch (voluntary and community sector) were consulted, at individual member level, on proposals to restructure the branch and establish a number of new branches covering Extern, Disability Action, Charities and Credit Unions� Outside of these employing authorities/areas the membership of Branch 725 remained as was� The new branches formed were as follows:

(a) Branch 726 – Extern

(b) Branch 727 – Disability Action

(c) Branch 728 – Credit Union

(d) Branch 735 – Charities

Over the period from April – October 2017, 800 new members were recruited� The Public Sector Voluntary Exit Scheme continued to operate across a number of areas which continued to impact on membership numbers resulting in the year on year membership figure at December 2017, compared to December 2016, increasing by 348�

A22 Services for MembersLegal Services: The NIPSA Legal Advice (Personal Matters) Scheme was used by 42 members in 2017�

Legal Services (Personal Injury): In 2017 101 new cases were submitted to the NIPSA Solicitor� In the same period 90 closed of these 70 were won or settled with awards totalling £907,295 and the remainder closed at a cost of £26,531 to NIPSA�

Welfare Fund: 54 applications were received for the Welfare Fund, of these 46 were approved by the Welfare Committee resulting in grants totalling £15,140�

Financial Services: Platinum Financial provided independent financial advice on all aspects of financial planning�

This included participating in Pre-Retirement Seminars�

Discount Cards: The two year (2017/18) discount card was distributed to NIPSA members in December 2017� Further offers were added throughout the year at www.membershipplus.co.uk

Specsavers: Premium Club discount vouchers continued to be available through NIPSA Headquarters�

Abbey Insurance: Abbey continue to offer NIPSA members exclusive discounts on Car, Home and Travel Insurance�

A23 Trades CouncilsNIPSA continued to actively encourage Branches to affiliate to local Councils of Trade Unions�

The Trades Councils to which NIPSA Branches were affiliated were:

● Belfast

● Causeway

● Craigavon

● Derry

● Fermanagh

● Mid Ulster

● Newry

● North Down and Ards

● Omagh


23

A24 Union LearningDuring 2017 the second Union Learning Committee (ULC) was elected in March at the Annual Union Learning Conference which

was held in the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast� The Committee members are listed below:

Name Employer Branch

William Brooks Department for Communities (DfC) 115

Kieran Farmer Department of Justice (DoJ) 47

Dwyer Henderson Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon Borough Council 527

Gerald McLernon Child Maintenance Service 119

Geradette McVeigh Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT) 733

Mitch Morgan Department of Finance (DoF) 3

John Rooney Department for Infrastructure (DfI) 70

Brian Smyth Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT) 733

Daire Toner Northern Ireland Assembly (NIAS) 180

Janice Walsh Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) 734

The NIPSA ULR of the Year was Denise Crilly and other ULRs received their certificates for their ULR training that was completed during 2016 - 2017�

The NIPSA Union Learning Project submitted in March 2017 a new application to the Department for the Economy (DfE) for a new round of a 3 year bid that was agreed in April 2017�

The NIPSA Union Learning Project is now into the Third Quarter of the first year of this new funding stream�

Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) continue to promote Essential Skills and the Union Learning initiative�

To date there are 162 ULRS in NIPSA with 95 in the Civil Service and 67 in the Public Officers Group�

80 ULRs trained in NIPSA with 47 in the Civil Service and 33 in the Public Officers Group�

.

B SectionCivil Service

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26

B1 General Issues

B1.1 Accommodation(a) Property Management Reform: Work

continued during the year on projects emanating from the Asset Management Strategy including estate rationalisation, business transformation and asset information� The existing estate was being utilised as far as possible in accordance with directions from the NI Assembly Finance Committee� Centralisation of a number of services was not expected to impact significantly on developments as better accommodation was often available in areas where work was currently located and leases continued to be considered for non-renewal where possible to minimise costs�

(b) Major Projects: Trade Union Side continued to monitor progress on various major projects� Areas covered during the year included Clarence Court, Castle Court, Adelaide House, Stormont Estate, Downpatrick JBO, Corporation Street office replacement, Queen’s Court, Stormont HV works, Ballymena and Omagh County Halls, Clare House, Causeway Exchange, Design Centre, Klondyke Buildings, Newtownards SSO, Boaz House, Coleraine JBO, Hydebank relocation, Rivers Agency to Loughry, Forest Service relocation to Inishkeen House, Fisheries relocation to Downpatrick, Ballykelly, Lanyon Plaza and the Housing Centre�

(c) Key Workplace NI Accommodation Principles: A draft set of principles, re-named the Northern Ireland Central Government Office Accommodation Principles, were drawn up together with another guideline document on Central Government Office Accommodation Standards� A third more detailed technical standards document was also produced for technical design teams which it was intended would be subject to continual review in order to meet standards of

best practice� It was agreed to set up a CWC Accommodation Sub Committee to consider these and this Sub Committee met in March and October 2017� Trade Union Side submitted detailed comments on all proposals received and some progress was made on agreeing some elements of documentation at the Sub Committee meetings� However, Trade Union Side made it clear that agreement could not be secured on a number of points including ‘hot desking’ proposals with registered disagreement to be taken forward at a full meeting of the CWC Accommodation Committee scheduled for January 2018�

B1.2 Equal Opportunities(a) Tax Free Childcare: A Government

statement was issued in March 2017 announcing that a new scheme to help parents with childcare would begin to roll out in April 2017� It was envisaged that staff could continue in the existing salary sacrifice childcare voucher scheme until April 2018 but would have to leave it in order to avail of the new scheme� Advice would be made available from Employers for Childcare, the company administering the existing scheme, who issued a childcare cost survey in June 2017 which NIPSA encouraged members to participate in� The new scheme was set up to operate via online accounts and parents could open separate accounts for each qualifying child� For every £8 paid into an account by parents, the Government contributed another £2 up to a total of £2,000 per child per year� Conditions included both parents (or the lone parent) being in work, earning at least £115 per week and not more than £100,000 per year and applied for children up to the age of 12 (or age 17 for a child with a disability)�

General Issues B1

27

(b) Article 55 and Gender Reviews: Documentation pertaining to the reviews was requested by Trade Union Side during the year, commencing in January 2017� Trade Union Side noted that it had been established that the Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES) in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) had little effect on the community background and gender profile of the NICS� In respect of the Gender Review� A new test was now required which involved comparing the NICS workforce to the entire economically active population on foot of advice from the Equality Commission� Trade Union Side asked for details of changes to the overall assessments of professional and specialist groups, electronic versions of assessment sheets and early sight of draft reports� At a meeting of the Central Whitley Equal Opportunities Committee in September 2017, Trade Union Side discussed the detail of the most recent drafts of both reviews and expressed concerns about the format of the recently published NICS Equality Report, which Management Side agreed to report to NISRA (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) prior to publication of the next report due� Management Side additionally agreed to try to obtain historical data requested by Trade Union Side�

(c) LGBT Survey: Trade Union Side agreed to the issue of a LGBT survey within the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) and the survey findings were subsequently examined by NISRA and the Rainbow Alliance group� Trade Union Side subsequently met Management Side initially in May 2017 to discuss both the findings of the review and future network proposals� The Diversity Champions’ Group also undertook to work through the issues identified� Further work was carried out on the data engendered by the survey and the new network launch was scheduled for November 2017� Trade Union Side representatives from the NIPSA LGBT

Committee identified some gaps in the data exercise and advocated the appointment of a contact officer for the network group and wider NICS, as well as the setting up of a Steering Group, whilst acknowledging the continuing need for Trade Union Side to progress related issues within the Central Whitley context� It was also agreed that further policy work would need to be done to support LGBT staff and in particular those transitioning in the workplace�

(d) Dignity At Work: As reported at section B1�3 (b) of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report, a review of the Dignity At Work policy had identified a number of changes and updates to improve the policy, however there were financial impediments to implementation linked to HR Connect expenses, work being done on the NICS HR project, Departmental restructuring and the Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES)� Trade Union Side nonetheless advised that there were continuing problems with the current policy and procedures being experienced by representatives and set these out in detail in May 2017 for consideration in taking the revised policy forward�

(e) Unconscious Bias Training: Training on this became mandatory during the year for staff at E02 and above� The SCS (Senior Civil Service) received classroom training as well as e-learning� It was envisaged that staff without access to a computer would receive the classroom version and that unconscious bias would also be built into other courses, such as selection panel training� Trade Union Side registered concern at over-reliance on e-learning at challenging fixed views and unacceptable behaviours�

(f) Diversity Champions: Trade Union Side worked with Management Side during the year to improve communication and consultation with Trade Union Side with the Diversity Champions Network� It was noted that with the creation of NICS HR, the role

B1 General Issues

Annual Report 2017

28

of Equality and Diversity Branch in relation to the Network could change� Trade Union Side commended the work done with the various diversity strands and requested that the Trade Union Side Disability Champions should be consulted on a draft report that had been drawn up by a working group comprised of staff with disabilities and representatives from disability groups�

(g) Women’s Leadership Initiative: A group set up to examine ways of enhancing the position of women in leadership roles at SCS levels highlighted attitudes to alternative working patterns and homeworking as problems� The NICS Board was due to consider the findings of the paper�

B1.3 Equal PayAfter a meeting in late 2106 with Seconded Officers in DOJ, PPSNI and PSNI it was agreed to take forward a time framed strategy beginning in 2017� The strategy included a letter from the General Secretary to all MLA’s seeking meetings to pursue the equal pay issue, a letter from NIPSA members to MLA’s in order to put pressure on them, Drafted questions for MLA’s, pursuing an Opposition Day Motion, requesting meetings with OFMDFM, Finance Minister, Secretary of State , Special advisors, a petition, meeting the Justice committee and protests�

The General Secretary wrote to the Finance Minister who advised the issue was an NIO issue which seemed contradictory to the DOJ ministers view that the Finance Minister was considering the issue� The General Secretary also issued a letter to MLA’s however the response was limited� NIPSA members were issued template letters to send to MLA’s�

Unfortunately the Assembly collapsed and NIPSA was unable to proceed with the strategy� However members were still advised in departmental committees to continue to write to MLA’s, Councillors etc� in order to keep the issue on the agenda of all political parties�

B1.4 Grading ReviewsLegal Grades: As reported in the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report (Section B1�10) the main report on the review of legal grades was published in late November 2016�

In January agreement was eventually reached on the release of information and the appeals process� Problems arose with individuals seeking on the one hand to block the release of information claiming DPA and from others seeking to apply FOI to obtain information not related to their post� These matters frustrated the process and pushed back the final date for the lodgement of appeals until late February�

Due to the number of appeals and the need for Panels not previously involved with the process, along with panel members having to be trained in JEGS further delays resulted�

Appeals on grading outcomes were due to have been heard in June� A number of posts within the Departmental Solicitors Office were to be subject to a full JEGS analysis, which had not been subject to assessment as part of the original exercise�

Yet more delays hit the review of legal grades, due to the problem of convening panels over the summer to consider a number of appeals� By November the posts within the Departmental Solicitors Office, not previously included in the review, were evaluated�

Negotiations continued in November with NICS HR on a range of outstanding issues, including the effective date for payment of temporary promotion in respect of upgraded posts, draft generic grading guidance for legal posts and future arrangements to oversee implementation arrangements�

TG Review: Further negotiations were held with CHR on the TG Review� Final proposals followed a positive outcome to the negotiations and necessary assurances as to the future structure for TG grading vis-à-vis other P&T grades�

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29

Management Side confirmed that the outworkings of their proposals would not result in the re-establishment of the former PTO structure� With regard to staff temporary promoted CHR informed Departments of the Trade Union Side view that paper sifts should be used to fill the Higher TG posts (EOII equivalent) and it would be for Departments to consult with Departmental Trade Union Side on filling of posts in the respective Departments� However later in the year it emerged that NICS HR had in fact advised against the agreed arrangements to use paper sifts for substantive promotions� The matter was raised by Trade Union Side with NICS HR and on a bi-lateral basis between respective Departmental Trade Union Sides and their Departments�

B1.5 National Trade Union Committee (NTUC)The National Committee met on a number of occasions during the year and NIPSA attended a number of the meetings�

The main issues dealt with by the NTUC, mainly via engagement with the Cabinet Office included:

(a) Civil Service Pay and the Public Sector Pay Cap;

(b) Brexit and the short term staffing requirements in preparation for the UK exit from the European Union;

(c) Home Civil Service Pension scheme governance arrangements; and

(d) Appointment and recruitment arrangements with the Government declaring its intention to move to fully open competitions�

B1.6 NICS Internal AuditMeetings were held in January 2017 and April 2017 with Management Side on centralisation of

Internal Audit� As detailed at section B1�5 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report, a review had been taken forward that year to consider:

(a) elimination of unnecessary duplication;

(b) ensuring consistency in levels of audit coverage;

(c) implementing co-ordinated approaches to the delivery of internal audit assignments;

(d) developing specialist skills;

(e) enhancing flexibility in staff movement; and

(f) achieving cost savings�

A recommendation on foot of the review’s findings to the NICS Board advocated centralisation of the Group Service following detailed comments from Trade Union Side� Prior to the implementation of the centralisation proposals, Trade Union Side raised a number of issues with Management Side, who confirmed:

(a) No savings target (other than standard) was identified from the centralisation project� The NICS Board had asked for an emphasis to be put on delivering improved quality�

(b) Inconsistencies of working practices in some areas (e�g� flexi-time arrangements, homeworking, teleworking) were under consideration, however it was accepted that there should be no detriment to staff�

(c) Keeping the Internal Audit function in-house remained an ongoing objective�

(d) Rotation of staff with a view to maximising experience and skills remained an objective�

(e) Concerns expressed by Trade Union Side regarding location issues would be addressed� Most staff would remain in Belfast City Centre and Stormont and some others would not need to change location as work could be allocated across different offices in the same geographical area�

(f) Departmental restructuring problems, such as the skewing of responsibilities at HIA (Grade 7) level, would be addressed�

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(g) Fillings vacancies internally would be assisted by the deployment of centrally managed trainees�

(h) Retention of qualified staff remained an objective� In response to a Trade Union Side request, Management Side in addition produced proposals on flexible working, car parking and eWorking arrangements� On completion of the centralisation project, the Internal Audit function in 2017 became part of DoF (Department of Finance)�

B1.7 2017/18 NICS PayFollowing consultation with branches, the Civil Service Group Executive Committee in July 2017 agreed that the pay claim for 2017/18 should contain five elements:

(a) A 5% increase on all points of all pay scales including the maximum points;

(b) A 5% increase on all allowances;

(c) Further scale shortening on all pay scales;

(d) Addressing the issue of an AA/AO single grade;

(e) Exploring the issue of a single EO2/EO1 grade which would be the subject of a separate consultation with members in both grades�

In advance of lodging the pay claim, NIPSA commenced a campaign of opposition to the public sector pay cap and asked members to write to their MPs and MLAs to seek their support� The claim, which was limited to a one year proposal in view of the evolving position around the public sector pay cap and other political considerations, was submitted to Management Side in July 2017�

In September 2017, members were advised via NIPSA Bulletin B/05/17 that the ongoing absence of a devolved administration and a Finance Minister to authorise a pay remit continued to frustrate progress� Trade Union Side

nonetheless commenced informal discussions with Management Side on the five elements of the pay claim on a ‘without prejudice’ basis to ensure that preparatory work was done as a basis for entering formal negotiations when the opportunity to do so allowed� It was agreed that the effective date for implementation of a future agreement and increments would be backdated to 1 August 2017 and members and branches were in the interim encouraged to continue to lobby for a 5% increase on all pay and allowances including progression�

B1.8 NICS GradingTrade Union Side held ad hoc meetings initially in June and October 2017 with Management Side after expressing concerns about inadequate resourcing of the Grading Unit, use of the private sector and JEGS (Job Evaluation and Grading System)�

It was confirmed that the Unit would operate in two areas, one dealing with grades AA-Grade 6 and the other dealing with the SCS (Senior Civil Service) and policy, with work programmes under development� The NICS Handbook would be updated in due course to reflect new grading arrangements arising out of the HR centralisation and efforts would be made to put in place appropriate resources, prioritisation criteria and effective use of Business Partners in working with Departments� It was anticipated that it could take 2-3 years for the Unit to be fully functional under the new arrangements� Early indications were that a number of SCS posts, which were subject to review on a three year rolling programme, would be prioritised for immediate review via the non-computerised JESP (Job Evaluation for Senior Posts) system, while requests had been received for JEGS evaluations of around 240 posts, most of which were new posts�

It was agreed at the request of Trade Union Side that quarterly meetings going forward would be held to monitor progress whilst specific grading/

Pay and Grading B1

31

posts issues would continue to be discussed at local level�

B1.9 Occupational Health Service (OHS)/Welfare Support Service(a) The OHS Annual Report 2016/17

acknowledged the challenges presented by volume of work and reduction of medical resources� Due to competing needs and priorities, the OHS Board agreed to the suspension of the Lifestyle and Physical Assessment Programme and an extension of the targets and timescales for completing cases�

Among the key findings of the 2016/17 report were:

(i) A total of 17,675 cases of all types were received during the year� This included: 3,026 sickness absence and general fitness cases; 12,457 driving licence referrals from DVA; 1,457 health surveillance cases and 615 pension scheme cases�

(ii) More females (57%) than males (43%) were assessed for sickness absence/general fitness� For both genders, mental ill-health predominated, followed by musculoskeletal problems for females and heart, cardiac and circulatory problems for males� Due to an IT problem, 65% of cases were recorded as ‘unknown causes/not specified’ and this was due to be addressed with the introduction of a new IT system in 2017�

(iii) 21% of sickness absence appointments were cancelled by the client body prior to the appointment date� In a further 10% of cases, the individual did not attend and no prior notification was received by OHS�

(iv) For early retirement on medical grounds, mental ill-health (39%) was the main reason� This was followed by musculoskeletal problems (18%)� Of the 107 cases, 52 were female and 55 were male�

(v) The NICS WELL programme continued to operate and had conducted 225 roadshows since its inception in 2012, meeting with 16,689 staff on a face to face basis�

(vi) OHS received three written complaints during the year� All were investigated and responses were provided within the agreed 20 working day timeframe�

(b) Service Delivery: Management Side indicated in July 2017 that a number of changes were under consideration regarding guiding and operating principles on sickness absence and welfare, as part of the centralisation of HR services across the NICS� Recruitment and retention difficulties in OHS, combined with initial problems with a new IT system, had exacerbated difficulties with OHS referrals� It was hoped to standardise the referral system going forward so that all Departments operated in the same way and to involve Welfare Officers in mandatory meetings with long term sickness absentees at around a dozen satellite offices where the absentees could attend (travel expenses paid)� The focus was envisaged to be on helping staff back to work through planned interventions as necessary with OHS referrals being kept for later stages if needed� It was also anticipated that work would be done on a mental health strategy, to deal with the major cause of long terms sickness absence in the NICS� Management Side also advised that a possible merger of OHS with the Belfast Trust was under consideration as part of phase two of the Shared Services plan, with resources such as psychiatry and physiotherapy being explored and

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32

Musgrave Hospital facilities being used as well as those of OHS� Trade Union Side advised that these initiatives would need to be subject to detailed consultation and terms of reference drawn up initially as necessary�

B1.10 Review of Central Whitley Council ConstitutionFollowing on from the re-organisation of the civil service and the move from 12 to 9 Departments, along with the establishment of NICS HR (see B2�3) Management Side sought to review the Constitution of the Central Whitley Council (CWC)� The extant constitution has been in place since January 1990�

Following negotiations a revised Constitution, with annexes setting out model Departmental Whitley and Local Whitley Council Committee Constitutions, was agreed subject to two outstanding points of principle:

(a) rotation of the Chairing of meetings; and

(b) in the event of a failure to agree at the CWC onward referral to the Labour Relations Agency�

During December informal negotiations continued in order to seek to resolve the two outstanding points, with the aim of having the new Constitution for the CWC in place by early 2018�

B1.11 Review of Trade Union ArrangementsAs reported in B1�7 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report a revised draft terms of reference were agreed on a ‘without prejudice’ basis� However the first meeting was not positive and it became clear that Management Side were taking a hostile approach to the industrial relations machinery and paid time off for NIPSA representatives�

The attack was two pronged – a wider attack on trade union arrangements – which during 2017

we were able to stave off primarily through lack of engagement on the issues�

The key issues which Management Side wished to address in 2017 was a limit on working hours permitted on Trade Union Side duties by accredited representatives and a maximum ratio of accredited representatives per members of the union in a Department� Given the inaccuracy of the data held by Management Side they indicated their intention to defer by 6 months�

Prior to the first meeting being held Management Side indicated it was their intention to reduce the number of paid days off to attend NIPSA Conference by 1 day in 2017/18 and by a further day in 2018/19� While Trade Union Side managed to stave off this attack in 2017 it firmly remains on the Management Side agenda�

In order to keep representatives informed a number of briefing sessions were held in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Ballymena, Omagh, Craigavon and Newry�

It was noteworthy that these attacks on NIPSA were at a time when there was no political administration in place�

The second element of the attacks was in the Department of Communities (DfC) when they took the unprecedented position against a Central Whitley Transitional Agreement to recall two DfC Secondees namely Carmel Gates and Maria Morgan�

Despite seeking to resolve this breach of the agreement through informal and formal approaches to the Department of Communities including the Permanent Secretary NIPSA was stone-walled on this issue� This culminated in NIPSA having to register a formal disagreement under the Central Whitley arrangements� A formal request was made in writing to the Department of Finance Permanent Secretary on 15 June� It was shocking that for the first time in the history of Whileyism the Management Side refused a request for the meeting� It was only after intense political lobbying and the threat of a protest at Causeway Exchange that the Head

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33

of the Civil Service agreed to the Central Whitley Council meeting being organised� This was on the clear understanding that both sides were committed to a positive outcome�

The Central Whitley Executive Committee was organised for 16 October but due to Storm Ophelia this meeting had to be postponed and was reorganised for 4 December 2017�

Neither the meeting or the outcome were positive and on 18 December Management Side wrote to Trade Union Side advising that they did not accept that a transitional agreement existed despite the Chair of Central Whitley writing to elected representatives quoting the transitional agreement�

NIPSA wrote requesting a further meeting of the Central Whitley Council and at the year end a response was awaited�

In addition meetings were sought with the Head of the Civil Service and political parties�

B1 Superannuation

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34

B1.12 Annual Benefits Statements 2017Civil Service Pensions (CSP) issued indicative timetables in June and August 2017 for the dissemination of Annual Benefits Statements� Alpha scheme members were scheduled to be first to receive statements, with a target issue date of August 2017 for most� Members of the other Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) schemes, covered by Principal Civil Service Pension Schemes (PCSPS (NI)) legislation, were expected to be sent their statements from autumn of 2017�

B1.13Employee Contribution RatesAn Employee Pension Notice was issued in March 2017 to remind scheme members of employee contribution rates and applicable salary bands from 1 April 2017� Contributions were based on actual pensionable earnings rather than full-time equivalent pensionable earnings� Revised rates for all scheme members were as follows:

Scheme Year 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018

Salary Bands

From To %

£0 £15,000�99 4�6%

£15,001�00 £21,422�99 4�6%

£21,423�00 £51�005�99 5�45%

£51,006�00 £150,000�99 7�35%

£150,001 and above – 8�05%

B1.14In-Service Revaluation of Alpha Scheme at 1 April 2016A scheme amendment was drafted to correct a technical error in the scheme regulations with a view to ensuring that in-service revaluation of active members accounts at 1 April 2016 could

proceed� This involved applying retrospective application of negative CPI (Consumer Prices Index) to the 2016/17 scheme year opening balances, in line with all other Northern Ireland public sector pension schemes� The amendment was not assessed as having a significantly adverse effect on members� Trade Union Side noted that the ongoing political impasse was likely to affect the timing of the amendment regulation but agreed on a ‘without prejudice’ basis to it proceeding with the caveat that the ‘significant adverse impact’ aspect (provision 33 of the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014) would be subject to further discussion at the Collective Consultation Working Group�

B1.15Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) Pension BoardThe NICS Pension Board met ten times since its inception in 2015, with Bumper Graham and Michael McKeown of NIPSA continuing to serve as employee representatives on the Board� Amongst the main issues dealt with during the year were the implementation of the new IT system, the issuing of Annual Benefit Statements to members of the Alpha scheme, retrospective in-service revaluation for Alpha members at 1 April 2016 and the actuarial valuation of the scheme as at 31 March 2016� Information on the Pensions Board was now available via its website, which included minutes of Board meetings�

B1.16Pensions Earnings Cap for 2017/18The new pensionable earnings cap (the permitted maximum amount of salary that could be used in calculating the pensionable pay of a civil servant who joined the NICS pension arrangements on or after 1 June 1989) for 2017/18 was set at £154,200� The cap did not apply to members of the Alpha and Nuvos schemes but continued to apply to members of the Classic, Classic Plus and Premium schemes, with a limited number of exceptions�

35

Superannuation B1

B1.17Pensions Increases for 2017Public service pensions which began before 11 April 2016 were increased by 1% with effect from 1 April 2017 in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)�

B1.18Pensions Savings StatementsPensions Savings Statements were issued in October 2017 to pension scheme members identified as likely to breach the 2016/17 Annual Allowance of £40,000 (HMRC limit on the maximum account of previous savings earned in a year that benefits from tax relief )� Members were then required to ascertain whether they had a tax charge to pay and if so, to determine how to pay it (i�e� directly to HMRC via self-assessment or by deduction from pension)�

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36

B2 Personnel Management

B2.1 Civil Service Appeal Board (CSAB)Following the decision of the CSAB Chairperson to step down from his position with effect from 31 December 2017, the end of his two year term of office, the Vice Chairperson and former NIPSA seconded officer Eileen McFarline agreed to accept the position of Chairperson from January 2018 subject to Trade Union Side approval� Amongst the Trade Union Side representatives who agreed to serve a further two year term as panel members from January 2018 were former NIPSA seconded officers Jim Welsh, Bryan Milford and Bernie McNally, however two other NIPSA nominees (Mary Leacock and Wilma Stewart) advised that they were stepping down from panel duties�

B2.2 Cross-Cutting Reform ProgrammeAs reported at section B2�3 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report, a number of projects involved in the cross-cutting reform programme incorporated elements within the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) as well as the wider public sector� The NICS Board retained governance responsibility for the NICS elements which encompassed a number of areas including consolidation of services across the NICS; NICS interactions with citizens; better utilisation of resources; more effective use of technology; proportionate governance; and management and generation of revenue streams� Trade Union Side stressed the need for appropriate consultation and the need to pursue issues via the Central Whitley mechanisms as necessary� Trade Union Side also asked for further information in respect of the NICS elements including details on what programmes were being taken forward, methodology and resources implications�

B2.3 NICS HRA sub committee of the Central Whitley Council (CWC) Public Service Management Committee set up to deal with the NICS HR project continued to meet on a monthly basis in the lead-up to the proposed April 2017 implementation date� Trade Union Side participated in a final Gateway review in February 2017 and also sent two observers to the NICS HR Staff Induction Day at the Titanic Building, Belfast�

A number of issues on which Trade Union Side had registered formal disagreement (location of NICS HR, Outline Business Case and Grade 7 trawl) were progressed to a meeting of the CWC Executive Committee in March 2017 and work continued during the year on the various strands of the project on which Trade Union Side commented as it progressed� Amongst matters subjected to scrutiny were grading/job evaluation team structure; career development; equality screening; resourcing; rural issues statement; displacement costs; and staff vacancies� As not all the workstreams had been completed during the transition to NICS HR, it was agreed that meetings of the CWC Public Service Management sub committee would continue as necessary and Trade Union Side would continue to monitor future developments including roll-out of the implementation programme and any modifications to existing HR policies�

B2.4 NICS Mediation ServiceProposals for a new NICS Mediation Service aimed at resolving workplace disputes informally were received by Trade Union Side in August 2017� The proposals were based on a highly successful implementation previously in the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) and a paper setting out the rationale and proposed operation of the service was considered by Trade Union Side prior to an ad hoc meeting with Management Side in October 2017 to further explore the detail of

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37

the proposals� Subsequently a meeting with all of the unions within Trade Union Side was held in November 2017 and a further information event was planned for January 2018� In the interim an advertisement was circulated to staff in December 2018 seeking volunteers from all grades and disciplines who were willing to be trained to become accredited workplace mediators and commit to undertaking up to five mediations per year� The advertisement stressed the qualities required for the role and in particular the point that mediators were facilitators rather than ‘problem solvers’� Trade Union Side agreed to the initiative on a ‘without prejudice’ basis and indicated to Management Side that further discussions would be required as the exercise proceeded�

B2.5 Personal Secretary/Executive Assistants (EOII)Trade Union Side raised the issue of some Departments using EOIIs known as Executive Assistants to fill Personal Secretary posts, via application of the elective transfer process� The matter was discussed at a meeting of the Central Whitley Council (CWC) Selection and Development Committee in late April� As no agreement could be reached Trade Union Side registered disagreement and the matter was to be referred to a meeting of the Central Whitley Council Executive Committee� Trade Union Side continued to press the matter and it was agreed to further discuss the issue at the CWC Selection and Development Committee in late September at which it was agreed that as Departments had indicated that there would be a demand for around 16-18 Personal Secretaries over the next couple of years Management Side agreed to run a recruitment competition in 2018 and agreed to remind Departments of the proper process for filling vacant Personal Secretary posts� Trade Union Side agreed to put on hold the registered disagreement pertaining to the filling of Personal Secretary posts by ‘Executive Assistants’�

B2.6 Selection and Appointments(a) EO2 Boards: Following negotiations with

Management Side, it was agreed on a pilot basis that Line Managers’ Assessments (LMAs) would not be used in the EO2 competition Management insisted that testing of candidates would remain as a stage that had to be successfully undertaken to qualify for interview� The competition was launched in February 2017 and lists published subsequently in July 2017� 404 candidates were listed originally, however due to increased demand from Departments a further tranche of staff who had passed the test were due to be taken forward for validation and interview in early 2018 and it was anticipated that a further 478 vacancies would need to be filled�

(b) 2014 EO1 Promotion Lists: Trade Union Side pressed for lists from the 2014 EO1 competition, which had been adversely affected by the embargo on promotion and recruitment which had run from November 2014 until April 2016, to be published and for the carry forward mechanism to be utilised to deal with a small number of successful candidates not posted from a previous internal list in 2008� The lists were published in April 2017 with carry-over arrangements included�

(c) SO and DP Supplementary Lists: Supplementary lists from the previous SO and DP competitions (in 2013 and 2012 respectively) were published in July 2017� Extensions of time were agreed for both competitions, until December 2018 and July 2018 respectively�

(d) Grade 5 and Grade 7 Competitions: Competitions for both grades were to have launched, in November 2017 and December 2017 respectively� For the Grade 5 competition, the key components for assessment of candidates were in three

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38

B2 Personnel Managementstages: assessment tests, followed by an e-tray exercise then a presentation and interview� For Grade 7, the stages were the same but without the presentation requirement� Around 25 vacancies were expected at Grade 5 and around 67 vacancies for Grade 7� Due to the need to prioritise the second tranche of the EOII competition (see (a) above) it was announced in December the Grade 7 competition had been suspended until the first half of 2018�

(e) AO Competition: An internal AO competition was launched in November 2017 with interviews scheduled for January and February 2018� Following Trade Union Side representations, Management Side agreed to remove both tests and LMAs as requirements for the competition and to run with an assessment of four competencies� It was estimated that there would be around 900 vacancies to fill over the next two years� In the interim, a limited number of successful candidates were scheduled to be brought through from the existing pool from the external 2013 competition, which was valid until May 2018, in order to avoid having to recruit additional Agency staff�

(f) Permanent Secretary Competition: A Permanent Secretary competition was launched in October 2017 and it was planned to use the merit list from the competition, due in January 2018, to fill vacancies over the next eighteen month period�

(g) Supreme Court Ruling: Trade Union Side raised the issue of a Supreme Court judgement in April 2017 (Essop and others v Home Office UK Border Agency) against the UK Civil Service (UKCS) Home Office which had called into question the use of online tests, also a Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) analysis of previous tests which had concluded that older staff were disadvantaged by certain tests and the problems for some members with having to travel to Belfast to attend

verification tests and interviews for the EO2 competition� Management Side undertook to consider the Court ruling and to provide a data analysis of application locations in respect of the EO2 competition�

(h) Standardisation of Resourcing Process and Procedures: A project was commenced during the year aimed at assessing the key differences in resourcing processes and procedures across Department and meeting recommendations on any actions required to standardise working practices in the new NICS HR resourcing function, following Trade Union Side’s responses to initial correspondence in June and July 2017� It was agreed that further work on the project would be progressed as necessary via the sub committee of the Central Whitley Council (CWC) Public Service Management Committee dealing with NICS HR matters�

(i) Assistance to Study – Adult Further Education: This scheme was suspended throughout the NICS for 2017/18, except for staff who were already on a course and being funded� No new applications for the year were approved� The other Assistance to Study scheme (for Essential Qualifications) remained unaffected and continued to operate� Trade Union Side pressed for the suspended scheme to be reinstated and in November 2017, Management Side confirmed that a new policy would be drafted with a view to the scheme becoming open again in time for the 2018/19 academic year� Trade Union Side undertook to scrutinise the draft policy as soon as it was available in order to maintain progress on this objective�

(j) Workforce Planning: Management Side confirmed in September 2017, on foot of issues raised by Trade Union Side, that the focus of the centralised workforce planning team would continue to be on standardising reporting of staff in post� The intention was to reintroduce quarterly workforce

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39

monitoring, which would feed into supply figures and forecasting, and work had commenced with some Departments on this� Trade Union Side stressed the need for proper reporting and forward workforce planning, as well as ongoing consultation on developments�

(k) AO Regional Vacancies: Following concerns expressed by Trade Union Side at proposals to fill regional AO vacancies from the external 2013 competition in advance of lists becoming available from the internal 2018 competition, Management Side identified 68 candidates who were carried forward from a 2006 promotion list who would be eligible to carry forward onto the 2018 lists� Some of these candidates could in the interim be available to fill a number of regional vacancies which would otherwise have gone to candidates from the external 2013 competition (the staff carried forward from 2006 had received one offer of a posting which it was accepted they had justifiable reasons for rejecting but had remained unable to avail of a promotion since)� As the carry forward staff had to be made offers of post before the new 2018 lists could start to move, there were demonstrable advantages such as experienced civil servants being allocated to posts and numbers at the AA grade being reduced� Trade Union Side indicated approval for this approach�

B2.7 Sickness AbsenceThe annual report on Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) was initially published in September 2017, however in October 2017 it was accepted that a group of staff had been mistakenly included in the published figures� It was noted that the validation process had been particularly complex during the year as a result of the restructuring of NICS Departments during the reporting period, however there were minor changes effected as a consequence� The

revised report was issued in October 2017�

Among the key findings were:

(a) just under half of staff had no recorded sickness absence whatsoever;

(b) average days lost for 2016/17 was 12�5 days, an increase from 11�7 days in the previous year;

(c) long term absence accounted for over 75% of all working days lost;

(d) the main reasons for absence, as in previous years, were anxiety/stress/depression/other psychiatric illness which accounted for over a third of days lost� A third of these were recorded as work-related stress;

(e) variations in Departmental figures ranged from 7�9 days for the Executive Officer to 15�3 days for the Department of Justice;

(f) the absence levels of females (14�7 days) remained higher than that for males (10�4 days), with almost half of this difference being due to gender-specific conditions;

(g) staff who had been in post for under two years, around three quarters of whom would have been on probationary terms and conditions, had a much lower level of sickness absence (3�0 days) than staff who had been employed for two years or more (12�6 days)�

NIPSA issued a press statement criticising the annual release of data with no context supplied regarding the underlying reasons for the statistics, including cuts, attacks on terms and conditions, large scale voluntary exits and additional workloads with less resources� In addition, NIPSA highlighted the issues behind the figures in various media interviews and in a prominent article in the Belfast Telegraph by the Deputy General Secretary (CS), as well as calling for Management Side to agree a joint approach to addressing the underlying problems�

B2 Personnel Management

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40

B2.8 Travel and SubsistenceAs reported at section B2�11 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report, a new draft policy was drawn up to encompass four different existing sections of the NICS Handbook� Whilst agreement was reached on most aspects of the revised policy, Trade Union Side took issue with a proposal to introduce a paragraph stating that ‘mileage allowance is payable only for official travel in excess of your normal home to permanent station commute’, arguing that this was a departure from current practice for various groups of staff which, if implemented, would result in inefficiencies, poorer service provision and general detriment� Management Side sought to argue that current practice reflected incorrect application of existing policy, with some staff wrongly claiming mileage from home, but agreed to consult with Departments with a view to identifying the various user groups and establishing a possible definition of ‘necessary for business reasons’ in the context of Departmental business requirements for staff travel and whether this might be a way forward� It was also agreed that the contentious paragraph which was the source of dispute would be held in abeyance pending further work being done� Despite this, a number of disagreements arising from the application of the policy arose during the year in which Trade Union Side was involved in resolving� Further negotiations were anticipated on the interpretation of the issue in question�

B2.9 Uniform Appeals PolicyAs reported at section B2�12 of the 2016 NIPSA Annual Report, a new draft policy was produced that year following a questionnaire being issued to staff and a review being held� The main changes proposed included a clarification of the roles of individuals involved in an appeals process and extensions to the timescales at various stages of an internal appeal� Trade Union Side proposed

a series of changes to the initial and subsequent drafts and most, though not all, of these were taken on board� Trade Union Side welcomed the positive changes that were enacted in the new policy but did not formally agree the document as a whole, which subsequently replaced the previous policy�

Group Reports B3

41

B3 Group ReportsB3.1 Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)(a) Budget: On 24 April 2017 the Secretary

of State for Northern Ireland submitted a written Ministerial Statement on NI finances to Parliament in the absence of an agreed Executive Budget for 2017/18� This included the opening indicative Budget position for each Department in three main categories� For DAERA the opening position was £190�8m Resource, £18�0m Depreciation and £44�0m Capital� A summary of the budget positions across DAERA is set out below:

Group

Reso

urce

£m

Ring

fenc

ed D

/I £m

Tota

l Res

ourc

e £m

Capi

tal £

m

Food & Farming 67�3 7�8 75�1 17�6

Veterinary Service Animal Health Group

48�5 0�6 49�1 4�9

Central Services & Rural Affairs

36�5 5�3 41�8 20�0

Environment, Marine & Fisheries

36�8 4�0 40�8 1�5

Forest Service 3�0 1�4 4�4 0�6

DoF Approved Position

192�1 19�1 211�2 36�9

(b) Staffing: DAERA had 2,917 staff in post which was 2,745�24 full time equivalents� There are 526 staff across the department working Part-Time reduced hours and a further 38 staff on career break� Trade Union Side continued to raise with the Department its concerns about the high levels of staff who were in temporarily promoted positions� The Management argued that this was as a result of vacant posts, and felt that many of these would be addressed through current promotion lists�

(c) HQ Relocation to Ballykelly: A DAERA HQ Relocation Ad-hoc Sub-Committee of the Departmental Committee was set up� This had responsibility to look at the relocation of the former DARD now DAERA HQ from Dundonald House to Ballykelly�

TUS along with the HQ Official and the Seconded Officers attended a site visit at Ballykelly, while construction is ongoing those in attendance were able to get a real feel for the building and see the potential layout� It is envisaged that the build will be completed early February 2018 with staff moving into the building February/March 2018� Management still have the target of having 240 posts at Ballykelly by early 2018 with a further 80 posts being relocated to Ballykelly by 2021� There will be a review of the project in 2019 which Management say will inform how the project will go forward� Management have confirmed that the previous Minister had spoken informally to some of her Executive colleagues on the potential for an NICS hub, but that nothing had formally issued�

(d) Guide to Conducting Industrial Relations: In the former DARD a detailed document had been agreed between Management and Trade Union Side on how to deal with industrial relations in the Department� With the creation of the new DAERA Department, it was agreed to review the Guide to bring it into line with new procedures�

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42

The document has since been agreed and signed off by the Permanent Secretary, the Chair of the Trade Union Side and a representative from the FDA�

(e) Organisation of the Department: Within the Department there are 5 Groups� These are Central Services and Rural Affairs, Environment, Marine and Fisheries, Food and Farming, Veterinary Service and Animal Health, and Forest Service�

Central Services Rural Affairs Group (CSRAG)(f) Finance: CSRAG were allocated £36�5

million resource £5�3 million ring fenced and £20 million for capital for the 2017/18 financial year� The Group had a staff in post figure of 538�

(g) Customer Contact Model: Management advised that the 1st year of the Customer Contact Model had progressed well� To date, 3 Project Board Meetings had been held, the Risk Register, Terms of Reference, Project Initiation Document and Year 1 Action Plan had all been agreed� An Operational Working Group had also been established to look after day-to-day activities� Four information sessions for staff had been held for Customer Services Branch (CSB) and additional briefings were planned for later in the year�

(h) LEADER: Management advised that letters of offer worth £7�8m had been issued by the Local Action Groups, targeting the creation of 488 rural full time equivalent jobs� An example of this was the creation of 8 full-time jobs in Garvagh�

(i) BREXIT: As DAERA is likely to be highly impacted by exiting the European Union, the Department set up a team to consider and plan for various “day one” scenarios, and look at all policies and legislation that will need to be transferred across�

Environment, Marine and Fisheries Group (EMFG)(j) Finance: EMFG were allocated £36�8 million

resource £4 million ring fenced and £1�5 million for capital for the 2017/18 financial year� The Group had a staff in post figure of 732�

Trade Union Side met with Management Side in a series of local Whitley meetings throughout the year chaired by Directors (G5) on rotation and annually by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency CEO� Trade Union Side noted that significant progress had been made on integration of staff and functions from former Departments but highlighted to Management Side that further work was required on this front� A significant number of business critical vacant posts were identified by Management Side following the NICS Voluntary Exit Scheme and Trade Union Side provided key input into progressing the filling of these posts substantively, primarily by internal trawl competitions� A major refurbishment of the Klondyke Building and subsequent Health & Safety audit were successfully completed in year with Management Side recognising the vital role of Trade Union Side in delivery� Trade Union Side noted that significant progress had been made with Management Side in addressing industrial relations difficulties, as reported in 2016, including agreement on the DAERA Guide to Conducting Industrial Relations� Trade Union Side continued to raise concerns about custom and practice in some business areas in relation to travel and subsistence, overtime and allowances�

Food and Farming Group(k) Finance: Food and Farming Group were

allocated £67�3 million resource £7�8 million ring fenced and £17�6 million for capital for the 2017/18 financial year� The Group had a staff in post figure of 810�

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(l) College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE): The Group Whitley Committee continued to meet throughout the year and discuss matters such as budgetary pressures, staffing updates and work updates within the Greenmount, Loughry and Enniskillen campuses�

(m) EU Area Based Schemes: Trade Union Side met with Management side in a series of Whitley meetings throughout the year� A significant number of concerns were raised in relation to temporary promotion opportunities, overtime, scheme payment targets, staff pressures and a proposed car park policy review in Orchard House� Productive discussions continued with Management side to address the concerns raised and a registered disagreement was raised with a view to address the car park policy review�

(n) Advisory/Inspection/Grading Review: TUS agreed that as these three projects are inter-reliant they should be brought forward under one consultation process for the time being�

(o) Inspection: Discussion took place around the scope of the Project which led TUS to raise the issue of skills sets and training required for different inspections� Management side assured TUS that an analysis would be undertaken of the skills required for each inspection� TUS also raised concerns on the accuracy of the costs within the Deloitte Report�

(p) Advisory: Management side advised that they were working through the recommendations in the review, but indicated that they intended to move away from one to one advice� TUS raised concerns on equality impact, management side advised that they were mindful of this and there would be mitigations�

(q) Grading: Management provided TUS with the PID and the Grading Principles for this project� TUS raised concerns on the use

of JEGS for technical posts and reminded Management of their previous commitment to include other factors when grading posts�

Forest Service(r) Finance: Forest Service were allocated £3

million resource £1�4 million ring fenced and £0�6 million for capital for the 2017/18 financial year� The Group had a staff in post figure of 214�

(s) Plant Health: Trade Union Side met with Management Side throughout the year to discuss the proposed relocation of the Plant Health Branch to a sub office in Craigavon� Consultation on issues surrounding staff, accommodation and timescales for completion were ongoing with Management Side with the aim of finding a resolution to outstanding concerns�

Veterinary Service and Animal Health Group (VSAHG):(t) Finance: The Veterinary Service and Animal

Health Group were allocated £48�5 million resource and £4�9 million capital budget for 2017/18� The Group had a staff in post figure of 622

(u) Northern Ireland Food Animal Information System (NIFAIS): Since the awarding of the contract to ANT Sybex a project Build Team and a Test Team continued to development and test the functionality of the system, which is still anticipated to “go live” in 2019�

(v) Target Operating Model: TUS continued to hold regular meetings with management on this, notable successes include, Management moving away from their proposal to downgrade the post of Veterinary Officer, they now intend to enhance the role with higher end Veterinary Work� They also shelved their proposal, to “buy out” a lead which Portal staff had in relation to night payments, which members had received for many years, at least until the implications of Brexit are known�

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B3 Group Reports

B3.2 Department for Communities (DfC)(a) Universal Credit: Throughout the year,

Trade Union Side consulted on various aspects of Universal Credit, building up to the first office and Service Centre going live in October 2017� Among the main issues discussed were the recruitment and selection principles, where Trade Union Side insisted on the principle of least disruption and the need for DDA and welfare considerations to be taken into account and negotiations on this and other aspects of Universal Credit will continue throughout the roll-out�

Difficulties were encountered around training for the Universal Credit programme, with locations for training, recruitment of trainers and access for part-time staff all being discussed�

Under the Universal Credit Forum, Trade Union Side negotiated on staffing and resourcing to ensure appropriate numbers of staff were recruited, opening hours, the consideration of part-time members and provision of Alternative Working Patterns within the Universal Credit sites, the issue of a 2 year tie-in for applicants and the roll-out plan and location of the Universal Credit sites� Trade Union Side successfully negotiated that there would be no “8 to 8” or Saturday opening and there would be no compulsion for members to work outside normal NICS hours�

Consultation was ongoing with management about the 2 child policy and the Rape Clause and the implications this could have for members delivering the policy�

Trade Union Side also continued to engage with Management and the wider trade union movement on the issue of sanctions, to seek to change the policy direction in Northern Ireland to move away from the punitive regime in Britain�

The overriding principle for Trade Union Side remained that while NIPSA opposed Welfare Reform and Universal Credit, they would work to ensure that the programme delivery was better in Northern Ireland than the rest of Britain and would learn from the experience of DWP PCS colleagues�

(b) DWP Work: During the year, the DWP work for Universal Credit rolled out in Ballymena and the delivery of PIP in Armagh, as well as changes to the existing work in CMS, the Plaza and Lisahally� Trade Union Side and Management Side continued to meet to discuss issues relating to the operating hours, the use of Work Force Manager, leave allowances, the use of agency staff and the conflict between DWP staffing terms and the existing NICS terms and conditions, with no resolution yet in place�

While local engagement remained a priority, Trade Union Side met collectively to ensure uniformity across all the delivery sites and talks were ongoing to address the specific concerns�

Following local consultation in the Plaza around proposed changes to the working environment, disagreement was registered due to failure to address Trade Union Side concerns�

(c) Estate Management: The year saw the consolidation of the Departmental estate, with the closure of Oxford House, Gloucester House and the lease ending in James House and staff being integrated into existing buildings� Work continued to build the new Rathkeltair House in Downpatrick and to re-develop the existing estate for the delivery of Universal Credit�

(d) Error Reduction Division/Fraud: Consult-ation continued with Trade Union Side on the delivery of the new error reduction and fraud strategy and the implications this would have for members in the Department�

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(e) Mail Opening, Scanning And Imaging Centre (MOSAIC): There continued to be ongoing issues in the MOSAIC centre in Limavady surrounding volumes of work, the IT system and staffing levels� During the year Management announced that the site in Limavady had no further capacity to take on any further work from the continued roll-out of the MOSAIC Project and it was decided that a second site would be opened in Coleraine which would create further capacity� Staffing continued to be an issue and further meetings have been planned going forward�

(f) Personal Independence Payment (PIP): The PIP project moved into Business as Usual and Trade Union Side continued to work with members in the area around local issues� Trade Union Side continued to monitor the situation to ensure there were no detrimental changes to members Terms and Conditions of Service�The Trade Union Side Office raised wider concerns around the impact of PIP on claimants and had sought figures on the rate of disallowances for both new and previous DLA claims� Concerns have been raised around the role of Capita within the process and the diminishing role played by the decision makers in determining entitlement� Trade Union Side continued to seek statistics to highlight these concerns�

(g) Social Fund/Discretionary Support Services (DSS): Trade Union Side met with DSS Management throughout the year and issues were raised about the operating conditions, the suitability of the accommodation in Dungannon and the restrictive nature of the work� Consultation with Management continued with Local Trade Union Side involvement�

(h) Service First: Trade Union Side continued to meet with Service First but experienced difficulties with Management cancelling meetings and failing to provide updates at points throughout the year�

The Scope of Service First was restricted to dealing with legacy benefits and the proposed office closures� Difficulties continued with the resourcing plans for legacy benefits and changes to the schedules for the relocation of work and Trade Union Side continued to meet with Local Trade Union Sides and Management to address these issues�

Following NIPSA’s campaign to fight office closures, the Department announced that all 3 offices which had been marked for closure would be staying open for the delivery of Universal Credit and Trade Union Side continue to consult with Management on how this will be taken forward�

(i) Telephony Strategy: Problems continued to be raised by local members in the telephony units around working hours, access to leave and staffing levels, as well as the future location and workload of the telephony sites� Trade Union Side continued to meet with Management to discuss these issues�

(j) Workforce Planning: Trade Union Side expressed concerns about the pressures on members as a result of the Voluntary Exit Scheme and the absence of a workforce plan for the Department�

Issues were raised around the lack of supply of staff at almost every grade, the widespread use of agency staff and temporary promotions to cover work and the impact this has on members with regards to redeployment and restrictions on their work life balance� Management have acknowledged the difficulties and talks continued about how this can be best progressed�

(k) Project for the Participation of Rights (PPR): During the year NIPSA continued to meet with the PPR group and shared some of the same concerns as the group but expressed difficulties at the way in

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which the group were targeting NIPSA members in decision making and some of the tactics used� Trade Union Side and the Headquarters Official met with representatives from the group but little progress was made� Trade Union Side continued to engage however in the hope that a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached�

(l) Branch Restructuring: New branches were established to mirror the new structures in the Department but it was acknowledged that due to ongoing restructuring within the Department, that further reorganisation would be necessary to get a best fit for the branches� Work was ongoing as to how this could be best taken forward�

(m) Social Sector Size Criteria (SSSC aka Bedroom Tax): The project went live early in the year concerns ongoing about the lack of suitable housing stock and the impact of the bedroom tax in Northern Ireland when the mitigations end� The first figures of people negatively impacted by bedroom tax have emerged and Trade Union Side continued to raise their concerns both within the Department and as part of the wider welfare reform campaign�

(n) Mitigations: The work of the Mitigations Team continued and the first evaluation of the work of mitigations is due next year� Trade Union Side continued to engage with the project on this work and the possible impact on members and the wider public�

(o) Steps 2 Success (S2S): Trade Union Side met with Management about the current working of Steps 2 Success and how it would integrate with Universal Credit and expressed concerns about aspects of the lead contractors performance and treatment of clients and how the new sanctions regime would operate�

Following local consultation in the Plaza around proposed changes to the working

environment, disagreement was registered due to failure to address Trade Union Side concerns�

(p) Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) Project: Trade Union Side met with Management throughout the year, with the project stalling for a while due to the political situation� However, the project is back on track and the first communications have gone out to the public and staff in Pensions and ESA, with IS and JSA due in January and the first changes from a benefit to a loan due next April� Trade Union Side continued to engage with the project over staffing levels and to consult with colleagues in Land Property Services over the impact on their workloads�

(q) Employability, Health & Benefits Policy (EHBP): The Branch changed name during the year to Work and Wellbeing and took forward a number of programmes and projects within Work and Inclusion Group to look at wellbeing of staff, including looking at the managing attendance process�

The Branch was also taking forward work on reviewing sanctions, financial capability, the Health and Work Conversation, assistance for vulnerable customers and reviewing mitigations� Trade Union Side arranged a number of meetings with the Directors and the various Grade 7 managers responsible for each strand, with consultation ongoing throughout the year�

(r) Managing Attendance: Following the piloting of a new managing attendance process in part of the Department, Trade Union Side met Management to discuss the further roll-out�

Disagreement was registered over the process and following extensive negotiations, the aspects of the process that Trade Union Side objected to have been changed and positive communication has taken place with Management over the

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whole process of addressing the causes of absence and the support which needs to be offered to members�

Trade Union Side continued to engage with Management on the need to take a completely new approach to looking after the wellbeing of members and the engagement was positive to date�

(s) Departmental Committee Constitutions and Structures: Following some initial difficulties with the setting up of structures due to restructuring within the Department and NIPSA, elected bodies are now in place to represent most areas of the Department, on an interim basis, until the Departmental Constitution is in place�

B3.3 Department for the Economy (DfE)(a) Departmental Restructuring: The Depart-

ment for the Economy was created in May 2016 resulting from the amalgamation of the former Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI) and the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL)� Following the merger it was agreed that the Transformational Change Team would organise a series of “Getting to Know You Seminars”, which were delivered by a wide range of business areas and branches designed to provide information to staff on the varied responsibilities of the new Department and processes within it� Trade Union Side raised some presentational issues particularly in relation to the Department’s regulatory role, which TUS believed was under stated�

The Senior Management Team held a series of “One Year On” briefs in May 2017 highlighting the achievements of the new Department and setting out future objectives including the “Programme for Government” and the “Industrial Strategy” for Northern Ireland and Trade Union Side were specifically invited�

(b) Employee Relations: With the creation of NICSHR, TUS met with the departmental industrial lead and NICSHR Business partner on a number of occasions to get an understanding of how the new arrangements would work in practice� To reflect the absence of a Departmental HR a revised DWC constitution, Guide to Managing Industrial Relations and Guide to Workforce Planning were drawn up and agreed� TUS secured a commitment that Management Side would brief Grade 3s and 5s on the need to consult TUS and publish the Guides on the Departmental website� TUS was keen to ensure there would be no dilution of information supplied as part of the Whitley process and later in the year the Strategic HR Business Partner agreed to provide monthly copies of the documentation presented to the Departmental Board including; Staff in Post, Vacancies, Temporary Promotions, and information relating to Absence management�

Since the creation of the department TUS recorded a drop off in consultation in some areas of the department and it was acknowledged by both sides that it would be helpful to provide industrial relations training for management� Unfortunately as the responsibility for developing such training transferred to NICSHR it had proven difficult to progress this� However TUS continued to explore ways to improve consultation along with the management side and full use has been made of the departmental intranet to promote the available resources and Whitley documentation�

TUS also met the Permanent Secretary in order to raise concerns around the impact which Brexit and RHI were having on the available staff� TUS took the opportunity to press for action to reduce the reliance on temporary promotions and the need for the DfE Resourcing Group to meet on a more

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regular basis in order to approve business cases for additional staff�

(c) Branch Structures: The realignment and relocation of staff required a review of Trade Union structures within DfE resulting in the creation of 5 NIPSA Branches; Adelaide House, Netherleigh, Careers Service, Trading Standards/ Consumer Affairs and Insolvency Service/OITFET�

Work is ongoing with management to agree the constitution for Local Whitely Committees as part of the revised Industrial Relations arrangements� The Departmental Committee was in the process of drawing up a revised constitution to reflect the Branch structures within the Department�

(d) Insolvency Service: Local consultation has continued throughout the year with TUS mainly raising issues on an ad-hoc basis� In the Autumn management advised that they intended carrying out an internal review of Insolvency Service to ensure that the structure remains “Fit for Purpose”� Given the future importance and potential impact of such a review TUS requested a Local Whitley Committee meeting at which to raise concerns regarding the present grading of Insolvency Trainee Examiners and the limited promotion opportunities� As the year ended both sides were working to find a solution�

(e) Careers Service: The year began with the long running Registered Disagreement relating to the roll-out of laptops to Careers Advisors still unresolved� A number of meetings were needed to progress the issue and as a result TUS secured improved guidance on the use of the laptops and postponement of any changes to the role of support staff which was enough to lift the disagreement� Later in the year TUS secured a further postponement of the Business Consultancy Service review of the role and loading of Administrative staff as there had been insufficient time to gauge the impact

of the laptop roll out� TUS also highlighted the need for Stress Risk Assessments and to assess the impact that additional work will have on Careers Advisors�

A lack of consultation forced TUS to register a Formal Disagreement on the location and staffing of the Digital Hub in May� The proposals were expected to have significant implications to work / life balance for members based in Richmond Chambers, Derry and although there had been some briefings during the pilot the decision by management to go ahead with Richmond as a single location was made without consulting TUS and a formal meeting was arranged to allow TUS to outline concerns regarding the lack of consultation and the impact on staff� It was agreed that management would facilitate a meeting for staff based in the hub to discuss any issues with TUS and following this a local review to establish appropriate staffing levels commenced�

Following a recruitment exercise manage-ment appointed six Careers Advisors to fill vacant posts� TUS consistently expressed concerns during the year that the number of vacancies could not be maintained as caseloads were unmanageable� Although there has been some progress on the issue TUS continued to push management to revisit how caseloads were allocated�

(f) Health and Safety: Throughout 2017 TUS worked closely with Departmental management to develop and deliver the Departmental Health and Safety policy� Both sides expressed the intention to ensure the Department is a model of best practice as far as Health and Safety is concerned� A strategy document outlining a three year plan, a training document and a responsibilities document have been jointly agreed and at the Departmental Whitley Council the contribution of TUS was acknowledged by senior departmental officials�

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TUS supported and contributed to Health & Safety audits of Netherleigh, Fermanagh House and Adelaide House and the implementation of the recommendations of the audits were ongoing as the year drew to a close�

Late 2017 saw the Department roll out the DfE compulsory “Health & Safety Awareness” e-training programme for staff� TUS continued to make steady progress in heightening awareness of employer responsibilities in relation to Health & Safety matters such as work related stress, etc� It is envisaged that the Departmental approach will result in a greater emphasis on practical measures to prevent work related stress rather than having to be reactive in dealing with it�

(g) Diversity Group: Following the intro-duction of NICSHR the group was re-constituted with the Departmental Equality and Diversity Unit taking the lead and meets on a quarterly basis� The DfE Diversity Action Plan was updated and a revised Terms of Reference and Guidelines drawn up and issued to staff via the Departmental website�

The Diversity Group draws upon volunteers from across the department and is committed to promoting the principles of tolerance amongst staff and colleagues� A calendar of events was drawn up and talks, presentations and seminars took place throughout the year including; World Mental Health Day, International Day for People with Disabilities and International Women’s Day�

B3.4 Department of Education (DE)Staffing Issues(a) Permanent Secretary Post: Although Paul

Sweeney had been due to retire in December 2016, he did not leave the Department until February 2017 at which time Derek

Baker took up the post of Permanent Secretary� Trade Union Side (TUS) met with the Permanent Secretary in August and he provided an overview of the challenging environment faced by the Department in the absence of a Minister� TUS took the opportunity to explain the background to the industrial dispute in the ETI and the Permanent Secretary indicated his support for a more formal industrial relations arrangement for the ETI to facilitate good consultation and communication in future�

Transfer of Functions(b) NICS HR: Six staff left DE to go to NICS

HR when Departmental HR functions centralised in April 2017�

(c) Education Authority: On 1 April 2017 work, which had formerly been undertaken by 18 DE staff in School Finance Branch, transferred out of the Department to the Education Authority� Management Side (MS) had hoped to be able to absorb all the affected staff within the Department but, when it was determined this would not be possible, they confirmed any redeployment would be handled in line with the procedures set out in the NICS Handbook� TUS continued to engage with Management Side on the matter�

(d) Temporary Promotion (TP) Process: Management Side continued to work towards normalising the DE staffing structure via a programme of assessing the funding and headcount position, filling vacant priority posts and thereby unravelling temporary promotions and it expected that this process would continue throughout 2017/18�

(e) Engagement and Communications Plan: TUS was advised by Management Side that the 2014-17 DE HR Strategy which had been scheduled to end on 31 March would be rolled forward for a further year through the implementation of an Engagement and Communication Action Plan for 2017/18�

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The draft Action Plan was sent to TUS for comment in April and TUS provided comments which were taken into account in the final version� A written update of actions taken to date was provided to TUS and they agreed to provide comments and suggestions of further actions which could be taken in relation to staff engagement and communication�

(f) Departmental Whitley Council (DWC): The DWC met twice in 2017, in February and September, taking it in turn to hold meetings in Rathgael House and Waterside House in order to facilitate those attending who work across both sites and beyond�

At the February meeting, Management Side advised that NICS HR was consulting with Central TUS on a generic DWC Constitution and when this had been agreed, a DE version would be drafted for consideration at a future DWC meeting�

It was also agreed that the LWC Constitution for Branch 24 (Waterside House) should be updated as it had been in place since 1997 and that consideration should be given to drafting a LWC Constitution for Branch 22 (Education and Training Inspectorate)�

(g) Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI): TUS experienced a series of industrial relations problems with the Chief Inspector (CI) of ETI including:

Correspondence was exchanged with the (previous) Permanent Secretary in regard to the CI’s failure to implement the findings of a Dignity at Work investigation but he chose to ignore TUS concerns�

TUS had to intervene when the CI sought to choose who, from the Branch Committee, could represent members in ETI in the Whitley process� As a result of this, the matter was raised at Departmental Whitley where it was agreed to formalise local Whitley arrangements and this initiated a series of meetings facilitated by CHR to

agree a Local Whitley Constitution which, it was hoped, would be signed off at the first meeting�

In addition, members in ETI experienced additional pressure during the Action Short of Strike Action being undertaken by the teaching unions - which included non-cooperation with Inspectors – due to the instructions issued to the Inspectors by the CI� TUS was concerned that the effects of these instructions could be to damage relationships by putting Inspectors into conflict with teachers involved in legal industrial action� When the CI continued to insist that Inspectors would have to ask individual teachers to confirm they were cooperating with an inspection and, in addition, that names of teachers who were not cooperating should be recorded, members in ETI were balloted in April on action short of strike action to allow them to refuse to carry out these instructions and 78 per cent of those who responded voted in favour of industrial action�

Following notification of the outcome of the ballot, a series of meetings including representatives from NICS HR, the CI and her senior team and TUS were held and these resulted in:

(i) The instruction to enter classrooms being withdrawn

(ii) A commitment in writing to the effect that information collected from teachers who had volunteered to cooperate would not be used to identify those teachers who would not be cooperating in inspection and would not be provided to a third party for the purposes of deducting salaries

(iii) Agreement to issue a joint statement reflecting the outcome of negotiations

(iv) Agreement to hold additional talks

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to improve industrial relations going forward with the Senior HR Business Partner in attendance

(v) The wording of the new guidance and the statement to be agreed with NIPSA and issued as soon as possible

Although the joint statement had been quickly agreed, the new guidance did not issue and a further meeting between the Chief Inspector and TUS was suspended when the CI advised that her interpretation of ‘as soon as possible’ amounted to around 3 months� It was only in late July that a draft version of the new instructions was shared with, and agreed by, TUS�

Finally, a group grievance submitted by a number of members in ETI in response to the CI’s approach to dealing with staff concerns around a number of issues arising out of the action short of strike action by teachers was being progressed�

Two further meetings were held in October to finalise the Local Whitley Committee constitution�

Equal Opportunities(h) Term Time: TUS raised the potential

for discrimination complaints should Management Side repeat the very uncompromising position adopted by them to term time requests from staff in the previous year in Teachers Pensions Branch where all 19 term time applications submitted by staff were refused�

Because of the previous blanket refusal, TUS was aware that some staff had decided not to submit an application this time round� However, those who did had their request acceded to in some form which was to be welcomed�

Health and Safety(i) Policy: The Department’s H&S Policy was

updated to reflect organisational and H&S

responsibility changes in September 2017 and can be viewed on the Intranet and on notice boards throughout DE premises�

(j) PPM: All statutory PPM inspections are arranged by Properties Division (PD) in DoF� PD provides the Department with a PPM schedule for the year ahead� The Departmental Business Support Team holds the documentation of any PPM completed on the Department’s premises during 2017�

(k) H&S Training: It is the responsibility of all line managers to ensure their staff complete the necessary H&S training required for their specific posts, all staff should complete the following mandatory training:

(i) Display Screen Awareness online e-Learning - every three years

(ii) Health and Safety Awareness for all Staff - every two years

(iii) Health and Safety Awareness for Managers (EO2 and above) – every two years

Training Course No. of Staff Trained

Online Fire Safety Awareness Training 411

Fire Safety Induction Training 13

Automated External Defibrillator Training 17

First Aid at Work Training 2

(l) Accidents: Only one accident was reported in the Department in 2017�

B3.5 Department of Finance (DoF)(a) Budget and Staffing: At the end of 2016/17

financial year DoF had an underspend of £0�4m in capital budget and £1�8m on resources� Trade Union Side requested a

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written response to the reasons for the underspend occurring� In relation to the 2017/18 financial year Management Side confirmed that in the absence of the Northern Ireland Executive/Assembly a maximum of up to 95% of the previous years budget would be provided after July 2017� Management Side confirmed that the Department had planned for a budget cut in the current financial year of 5% but had subsequently been advised that they only needed to plan for a 4% cut and therefore they expected no immediate pressures particularly in relation to staffing levels

In the absence of the Northern Ireland Executive being reconvened following extensive talks in November the Department confirmed that work would be undertaken to bring forward the budget through the Westminster Parliament� This subsequently happened� The Department advised Trade Union Side that they expected to live within the 2017/18 allocated budget which had been adjusted during the year to reflect the new NICS HR structures, fund work on collaborative procurement and cover the costs of the RHI Enquiry�

For the 2018/19 budget and beyond the Department confirmed that the key financial challenge for the Department would be the lack of certainty around future budget settlements and the constraints that this would place on the ability of the Department to commit expenditure beyond the end of the current financial year and above existing approved budget baselines�

The Department confirmed that, as of December 2017 it was not in a position to take invest to save decisions on a number of its existing transformational programmes aimed at modernising and improving the services delivered as this would require additional funding from 2018/19�

(b) DoF Departmental Secretary: Noel O’Neill the DoF Departmental Secretary

gave notice that he intended to retire in December 2017� Following a competition the post was offered to and accepted by Paul Dale who had, until then been the Vice Chair of the DoF Departmental Committee� Paul commenced work in the Trade Union Side Office on Monday 27 November 2017�

(c) Lanyon Plaza Optimisation Project: The Lanyon Plaza, the Headquarters of the Land and Property Services, had been earmarked to be the pilot building for an optimisation project which would take on board new ways of working which would be akin to the former Workplace 2010 proposals� However following extensive discussions Management Side agreed that Lanyon Plaza would no longer be earmarked as the pilot� Discussions took place at Central Whitley Accommodation and Services level and for a variety of reasons not least the need for considerable existing remedial work to be completed in Lanyon Plaza it was accepted by Central Whitley Management Side that Lanyon Plaza would not be the pilot office� Departmental Trade Union Side representatives continued to meet with local Management Side representatives to get all remedial outstanding work completed on the building� In November a serious incident took place where a glass pane crashed from the 4th floor� Trade Union Side immediately responded with the completion of an urgent Health and Safety Inspection Report and considerable discussions took place with Management Side representatives to ensure the building was fit for staff to work in and for the public to attend for interviews etc�

(d) Pensions Branch: Management Side advised Trade Union Side that June 2017 was the completion date for the new Pensions admin computer system (Future Service Delivery Project – FSDP) however at a number of local Whitley meetings Management Side confirmed that there had been further disruption of the programme

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and they could not supply a definitive end date for the project� Pensions Branch are supposed to produce Annual Benefits Statement (ABS) for all NICS staff however this year like last year they were unable to do this and this put considerable extra pressure on staff� Trade Union Side continued to raise with Management Side the need to ensure that all legislative requirements could be met�

(e) NICS HR: NICS HR was created and launched in May 2017 following the transfer of all existing Departmental HR functions to NICS HR which was based in DoF� There were many initial teething problems not least accommodation, internal working� In November a meeting took place with local Management representatives to establish a local Whitley structure which would be chaired by the HR Director and which would involve representatives from local Trade Union Side� At the first meeting local Trade Union Side was supplemented with a Seconded Officer and the Headquarters Official� It was agreed that both the Seconded Officer and the Headquarters Official would attend the Annual General Meeting of the Local Whitley but that only local representatives would attend the regular meetings� It was also agreed to draw up a constitution for the Local Whitley to take the issues forward�

(f) Central Procurement Directorate (CPD): CPD, moved, in 2017 to recognise procurement as a professional discipline on a par with other disciplines� It was agreed the minimum working grade would not be equivalent to Staff Officer but it was noted that all members who had joined CPD at EO2 level have all attained posts at Staff Officer level�

(g) Other Centralised Functions: An announcement was made for Internal Audit to centralise its functions in DoF which was likely to affect about 100 staff� However by the end of the year this had not yet taken

place in its entirety� Staff having technically transferred to DoF were still physically working in their existing Departmental functions and locations� In addition other projected increases in staffing were to come about through the centralisation of the ICT services� Discussions took place with ICT representatives and Central Whitley Trade Union Side� It was anticipated that the ICT services would again largely remain physically located in Departments but the staff would transfer to become employees of the Department of Finance� It was also anticipated that the ICT services would be expanded to include the transfer in of the functions from some District Councils and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive� Discussions continued to take place with DoF Management regarding these proposed transfers at the years end�

(h) Mapping Services: Following Trade Union Side raising the issue of converting fixed term Mapping and Charting Officer staff the Department provided legal advice which led to 19 staff being converted from fixed term contract staff onto permanent contracts� Trade Union Side had been considering what legal options remained opened to them but proceeded no further on this given the announcement by the Department� Trade Union Side passed this information on to colleagues in the DfC Trade Union Side office who were experiencing similar scenarios of fixed term contracts�

The long awaited recruitment competition for the Mapping and Charting Officers saw a list published in January 2017 and by the years end 38 candidates have received offers of posts� The list will remain live into January 2018 and Trade Union Side had already raised Workforce Planning for a new competition with LPS Mapping Management Side� Following the competition for the Chief Survey Officer post an internal candidate was appointed to

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the post� By November 2017 the interview process for the Senior and Principle Mapping and Charting Officers had been completed and results were expected to be announced in December 2017�

In addition 3 time bound projects are due to complete in March 2018 and therefore the use of a limited number of agency workers continued after Management Side declined to consider fixed term NICS contract staff for these roles which had been the case argued by Trade Union Side� Trade Union Side continued to monitor the situation with a view to pressing for permanent roles at every opportunity�

(i) Digital Shared Services: Within the Digital Shared Services Directorate (DSD) a local Whitley mechanism was established for the first time with all 4 LPS Branches having the right to be represented at this Whitley Committee�

(j) Land and Property Services (LPS): A number of environmental issues including humidity and heating problems in Lanyon Plaza continued throughout the summer of 2017� As a result Management Side agreed to allow staff to take extra comfort breaks�

(k) NIPSA Recruitment and Organisation: NIPSA held a number of information sessions to use the opportunity to get recruits to NIPSA� These took place in Waterside House, Derry, Lanyon Plaza, Belfast, Craigavon and Omagh� The events were both learning and information days which allowed staff to avail of the opportunities and provide information on local services available to them�

(l) Account NI: There was a reorganisation of work areas in Goodwood House, the headquarters of Account NI due to the consolidation of the Government Estate, and local Trade Union Side raised with Management the lack of statutory risk assessments being carried out which led

to concerns among staff which gave way to both physical and mental health problems particularly in the area of work related stress� These issues were dealt with locally through engagement at the local Whitley and local Health and Safety Committees�

(m) R3P: The R3P Programme which relates to the transfer of housing benefit functions to the Land and Property Services was due to begin in September 2017 and would eventually lead to approximately 200 additional staff primarily at AO level being employed in the Land and Property Service� However there was a delay in bringing forward these proposals� Trade Union Side sought clarification as to whether the staff would be recruited as a direct impact of the project take up or from the Department of Communities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive�

(n) Health and Safety: A regular Health and Safety schedule had been established for all DoF buildings with regular meetings of the Health and Safety Committees taking place� Awareness of basic issues had been highlighted and staff responded well and there was a reduction in the recording of incidents and concerns� Throughout the Department work related stress was the foremost concern among staff with increasing workloads due to staff who left not being replaced� Trade Union Side continued to offer guidance and support to local branches regarding all of these issues�

B3.6 Department of Health (DoH)(a) 2016/17 Budget: Despite additional

funding provided for 2016/17 the Department still faced a significant financial challenge in ensuring the overall financial balance� Hence, as part of the economics and planning process for 2016/17, all aspects of the Department’s budget

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were scrutinised including Departmental administration budgets�

In such a constrained financial context the Department targeted a saving of 6% on its salaries budget for 2016/17, this amounted to £22,58,000� Within the restricted budget the Department funded the 2016/17 pay award and the cost of changes to employers’ National Insurance contributions that came into effect in 2016� In addition the Department approved a limited number of targeted recruitment exercises� It was anticipated that these additional costs would be covered largely by the recurrent effects of the Voluntary Exit Scheme in 2015/16 and that at the end of the financial year they had an underspend on staffing of £719,000 and an underspend on general administration expenditure of £142,000� Trade Union Side reiterated it’s demands that the Department utilise all of the resources to fill the vacancies in the Department and while it was accepted that for a Departmental budget the size of the Department of Health, £861,000 underspend was small given that this related solely to the Departmental underspend, rather than the wider HPSS, this was a matter of concern� Throughout the year Trade Union Side expressed the view that a lot of staff had been put under pressure due to vacancies not being filled as a result of the Voluntary Exit Scheme and that there was no justification for an underspend of this level�

The in-year position was clearly impacted by the absence of an Executive and NI Assembly and in late Spring the Department informed Trade Union Side that moving forward they have been advised by the Permanent Secretary of DoF that in the absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive, he had the authority to allocate them 75% of the previous year’s funding and if they Assembly and Executive

were not up and running by the end of July, he could grant 95% of the previous year’s budget� However the Department was still expected to plan for a cut in their expenditure and DoH advised Trade Union Side that they were proposing a 6% cut� Trade Union Side expressed considerable concern at this given that other Departments were planning for a 4% cut� Discussions on the financial position continued for the remainder of the year� Management Side agreed to provide further information�

(b) Industrial Relations: Throughout the year there was ongoing correspondence between NIPSA Headquarters at General Secretary level and the Permanent Secretary regarding the state of industrial relations in the Department of Health� Trade Union Side contended that the Management Side had failed to adhere to both the spirit and the practice of the Industrial Relations Guide� Trade Union Side had been rarely, if ever, consulted on matters of relevant concern� In an effort to move the issue forward Trade Union Side agreed to meet with the new Grade 5 and Grade 7 in March 2017 and a Departmental Whitley Council meeting took place on 8 March 2017� Whilst the overall position in relation to allegations levelled by the Permanent Secretary against DoH NIPSA Representatives were not resolved, Trade Union Side agreed to engage with the new Management Side to try to move issues forward� Following this there was further correspondence between the General Secretary and the Head of the Civil Service which although his response was in Trade Union Side’s view unsatisfactory it provided an opportunity to move on with industrial relations and another Departmental Whitley Council and informal engagement took place in October and the DWC AGM was to take place before the end of the year�

(c) Staffing: At the beginning of the year the Department confirmed that the number

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of staff remained 455 as a headcount figure and 433 full-time equivalents� The Department also confirmed at the time that they didn’t have any staff formally listed on the NICS surplus pool list� Trade Union Side expressed concern over the lack of information regarding the impact that the Voluntary Exit Scheme had on staff who remained in the Department and Management Side agreed to ask business areas to confirm what vacancies they had and what vacancies they could fill given budgetary pressures�

(d) Temporary Promotions: The number of temporary promotions in the Department hovered around the fifty mark for most of the year, some of which have been in existence for some years� Trade Union Side continued to insist that temporary promotions are, by definition, of a temporary nature and that where possible posts are filled with permanent appointments� Trade Union Side recognised that for a period there was an NICS wide ban on recruitment and promotion and therefore a lot of posts had to be filled by the use of temporary promotion� However once the ban had been lifted Trade Union Side continued to press Management Side to fill as many posts on a permanent basis�

(e) Health and Social Care Restructuring: In October 2016 the Health Minister announced ‘Health and Wellbeing 2026 – Delivering Together’ to take forward restructuring of the Health Service� As part of that the then Minister reaffirmed the decision of the previous Health Minister, Simon Hamilton, to close the Health and Social Care Board and since then the Department has been working with colleagues in the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency to consider the way forward� At the end of January 2017 the Permanent Secretary wrote to DoH staff indicating that as the first step towards this two senior staff from the Health and Social

Care Board had taken up interim part-time roles in the Department as Transitional Directors of Performance Management and of Financial Management� The intention was that they would work across the system to bring forward proposals for the future arrangements for the Department’s performance management and finance functions� By December the Trade Union Side do not have precise details of how many staff may transfer from the Health and Social Care Board to the Department itself however during the year it was confirmed that the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly had prevented further progress regarding the Ministerial decision to close the Regional Health and Social Care Board and to transfer most of its functions to the Department, although some functions will transfer to the Trusts and to the Public Health Agency�

(f) Accommodation: Approximately 70 staff from the Department for Infrastructure, Roads Service staff, moved into Annex 6 and Annex 7, Castle Buildings during 2017 and Trade Union Side was informed of these moves prior their implementation� The Emergency Planning Branch also moved into Annex 3� Management also confirmed that the NICS Library Service would be reviewed given that the disability access to the Library in Castle Buildings is unable to be met� The library was subsequently moved to Dundonald House�

(g) Health and Safety: Following representations from Trade Union Side it was agreed during the year that the Health and Safety Committee would be re-established with regular meetings scheduled, to allow for staff in all Departments in Castle Buildings to be represented which will include DoH, DoJ and the TEO�

(h) Communication Review: Trade Union Side continued to question the status of the Communication Review carried out in April

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2016� The review had recommended the creation and funding of a post at Deputy Principal level in the Information Office� The new Management Side had agreed to provide all of the relevant material to Trade Union Side for consideration however they also advised that the review would not be implemented� Trade Union Side provided examples at the October DWC of some recent appointments connected to the findings of the review and management side agreed to consider these points�

(i) Diversity Survey: Early in the year the Management Side provided Trade Union Side with the outcome of the Diversity Survey� Trade Union Side considered the findings and implications in detail� Trade Union Side also provided comments to the Management Side in advance of the wider Northern Ireland Civil Service staff attitude survey scheduled for the autumn� One concern of Trade Union Side’s was that multiple choice answers were not helpful suitable and that greater clarity needed to be provided in order to get more meaningful responses�

B3.7 Department for Infrastructure (DfI)(a) Departmental Running Costs: Manage-

ment Side had reported that unprecedented funding constraints had required some very difficult decisions to be taken which affected every aspect of the Department’s business, including services delivered by its Arms Length Bodies�

From a staffing perspective, this required the Senior Management Team to put in place a process to approve the filling of every vacancy to ensure budgets were not breached� This practice was likely to continue into the future as the budget position was unlikely to improve in the short term�

(b) Private Finance Initiatives – Recurring Costs: Management Side had indicated that recurring costs to PFI contracts in Roads, consumed 60% of the Department’s annual expenditure� Therefore, even modest cuts imposed on the Department would have a disproportionate and disabling effect on its other functions� Trade Union Side stressed the importance of avoiding PFI’s�

(c) Digital Services Branch: At the request of Trade Union Side, Management conducted a survey of staff working in the branch to examine attitudes to working practices in the Digital Services Branch� The survey highlighted a number of concerns and Trade Union Side worked closely with Management Side on a plan to address these concerns� This included a number of workshops with staff� Trade Union Side was successful in getting all ICT staff moved into one room to address communication issues with the unit� Trade Union Side continued to engage with Management in the Unit on a monthly basis on the ICT shared services project�

(d) NICS HR: Trade Union Side continued to engage with Management Side on the implementation of NICS HR and the implications for staff remaining in the Department� Trade Union Side provided personal representation to a number of members who had concerns about their work allocation and location and were able to resolve most issues successfully�

(e) Whitley Arrangements: Trade Union Side engaged Senior Management to discuss future Whitley arrangements in the Department following the transfer of HR staff to NICS HR� A revised Whitley constitution was drafted to reflect these discussions and is awaiting sign off� The first Whitley meeting under the new arrangements was held on 7 July 2017� This was a productive meeting with both sides affirming their commitment to continuing good industrial relations in the Department

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(f) Review of Communications Unit: Management Side engaged with Trade Union Side on the implementation of the review of The Department for Infrastructure Communications Unit� The review concluded that a reduction in the number of AO and EOII posts in unit was justified which necessitated a selection exercise amongst staff� Trade Union Side consulted with the affected members and ensured that the process of selection was fair and transparent�

(g) Accommodation: Trade Union Side was consulted on a number of accommodation moves within Clarence Court, which included:

(i) Moving all of the Department’s Second-ed Officers to the fourth floor�

(ii) Canteen: Trade Union Side were apprised of the reduced opening hours of the staff restaurant and met with the catering staff who subsequently wrote to their Management with suggestions to increase footfall in the canteen and to tailor the service more to staff needs�

(iii) Hydebank: Preparation work continu-ed during the year to decant Roads and Rivers staff from Hydebank to various locations, in preparation for the Department vacating the site�

(iv) Corporation Street: Uncertainties around the funding for the York Street Interchange project meant that no firm date was set for staff to vacate Corporation Street� Work to identify an alternative location remained ongoing�

Health And Safety: (h) Rationalisation of staffing structures:

As part of the rationalisation of staffing structures within DfI, responsibility for the management of the Rivers Health and Safety Advisor passed to the Health and

Safety and Business Support Unit based in Clarence Court� This arrangement was intended to improve the integration of the management of health and safety across the Department, in particular staff who worked in potentially dangerous environments�

Site specific Health and Safety at work issues continued to be discussed at relevant local Whitley meetings with cross-cutting issues affecting all staff discussed at the Departmental Whitley�

RiversRoads and Rivers Development Programme:(i) Internal Contractor Project: Trade

Union Side was consulted on an Internal Contractor project that examined opportunities for joint working� Amongst the proposals recommended to the Roads and Rivers Development Programme Board for consideration were :

(i) The management of the Health Surveillance Programme for both Roads and Rivers be undertaken by the Admin Support team in O&M in Ballymena�

(ii) Central Claims Unit be approached to seek that they take on responsibility for managing Rivers Employer Liability cases�

(iii) Roads and Rivers Industrials to both avail of the Roads Training Centre in Antrim, rebranding it as DfI training centre, and contracts for any external training be shared where possible and centrally managed�

(iv) Rivers fitters offered the opportunity to apply for the fleet winter service rota�

Trade Union Side was also consulted in respect of the ongoing work with regards to Roads Fleet making use of the Rivers facility in Seagoe, and the operation of a new Roads & Rivers fuel management system�

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(j) District Foreman – NICS Grading Review: Notwithstanding the agreement reached at Central Whitley, confirming the creation of a new Higher TG grade analogous to EO2, a problem remained in the apparent insistence by the Department of Finance that there would need to be a competition to fill the posts affected� Trade Union Side had an understanding that the filling of the posts would be essentially a paper exercise and had warned that a competitive process could lead to staff currently in post not being selected and being vulnerable to redundancy where redeployment was not possible because of the specialist nature of their work� Negotiations were ongoing�

(k) NIPSA Membership and Recruitment Exercise: The Department for Infrastructure Trade Union Side Office embarked on a recruitment exercise in May 2017, addressing a letter to non-members highlighting the benefits enjoyed through various membership services and the personal and collective representation NIPSA provides� A further letter issued from branch secretaries to existing members reminding them of NIPSA services and thanking members for their support and commitment�

(l) Clarence Court Car Parking: The Department issued a revised car parking policy in February� Trade Union Side engaged with the Department to ensure that staff who had parking spaces for medical reasons were unaffected by the review and the policy was implemented in May� A review of the new arrangements was due to commence before Christmas 2017�

(m) Review of Transport and Resources Group: Management Side concluded a review of the Department’s Transport and Resources Group� No posts were lost as a result of the review however some sections were re-brigaded under different Grade 5 commands� Trade Union Side was consulted throughout the process�

(n) Reorganisation of the Safe and Sustainable Transport Division: Management Side consulted on their proposed re-organisation of the Safe and Sustainable Transport Division� This reorganisation sought to better align the work of the Unit and allow for new work to be taken forward� The affected members were consulted and no issues were raised� Management Side gave a commitment that following the reorganisation the vacant posts in the division would be filled� Further consultation was expected on staff moves within Clarence Court to bring the Division together on one floor�

(o) Dignity at Work Complaints: Trade Union Side highlighted a number of concerns that preliminary investigations were not being progressed in a timely manner, which suggested that more resources were required in the relevant teams in NICS HR�

Trade Union Side was also concerned that the preliminary stage was too detailed, increasing the time required to assess if there was a case to answer� Trade Union Side suggested that consideration be given to having a different personnel officer undertake the preliminary investigation from any subsequent formal investigation� Management Side agreed to raise the issues with the Employee Relations Team in NICS HR�

(p) Managing Attendance: Responding to statistical reports circulated in relation to Managing Attendance and Workforce Planning Trade Union Side highlighted a number of issues in relation to Managing Attendance� Of particular concern appeared to be an increase in absence rates� Trade Union Side advised that the increase could be related to the cuts and ramifications of VES and asked for monitoring of stress in the workplace to ascertain the cause�

(q) Workforce Planning: Trade Union Side reiterated concerns with regard to vacancies

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and temporary promotions, given that there was a supply across most grades� Trade Union Side asked that Management Side consider substantially filling posts� Management Side confirmed that the Department for Infrastructure and NICS HR would work together to assess staffing needs, bearing in mind the resource budget position�

Management Side also confirmed that DVA’s surplus staff in Coleraine was likely to be fully utilised until the end of 2017 at least�

Driver Vehicle Agency(r) Transformation Project: Management

Side advised that the Transformation Project was due to be completed by 2020 at a cost of over £100 million� The three key areas of the rolling programme were:

(i) ICT- ‘Digital First’

(ii) Infrastructure-Footprint (including rebuilding MOT testing Centres)

(iii) HR – People Strategy

The new Driver Licensing IT system went live� Because the early stages were plagued by issues and a huge backlog of applications members were under a lot of pressure� However the problems were solved and the new system was working�

This gave rise to some office reorganisation which was ongoing� Trade Union Side advised management that they would need to fully consulted on the staff accommodation plan and on any changes to work patterns or other issues�

As a result of the changes and pressures placed on staff, the number of stress cases had risen considerably� The Trade Union Departmental Office was working closely with Management Side and NICSHR to find solutions to all problems in order to create a stress free environment�

The acquisition of sites and purchase of land for new test centre builds was delayed by the lack of a Northern Ireland Assembly which had only agreed the first site� It was agreed to build the Belfast Centre first given the capacity issues with the likely location at Hydebank�

This was an essential part of the project given the demographic changes in Northern Ireland since the original build 35-40 years ago� With significant continued increase in vehicle usage in and around Belfast it was essential that the capacity for testing also increased�

This aimed to maintain the high standard of service to the Northern Ireland motorists by providing a world leading service� This was done by conventional procurement and capital investment rather than PFI, following a commitment to retain this service in the public sector�

In meetings since the last report Trade Union Side and staff saw walk through videos of the new centre design both from their perspective and from the customers� The specifications should result in a healthier environment for all, with less cramped conditions and a more modern approach to vehicle testing and customer comfort�

Consultation was ongoing with Management in relation to the other aspects of the transformation project�

(s) Holiday Pay: NIPSA submitted a claim to Management with regard to the payment of allowances during leave for those members who do extended day working� The claim arises from the Bear Scotland and Patterson v Castlereagh Borough Council case law� Departmental HR advised they had contacted the Departmental Solicitors Office who advised they were awaiting the outcome of the Lock Appeal� Trade Union Side sought meetings with management side to progress the issues�

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Meetings took place with members across all of the centres to advise on the issues and establish if there were potential claims� NIPSA issued papers to members� Members grievances were lodged with Management Side� Those members who felt they had potential claims submitted tribunal claims�

(t) Staff Engagement: The NIE forum was ongoing however progress was slow� After full consultation with Trade Union Side a British Telecom change Management team was brought in to look at the management process and communication issues� As a result of this a way forward plan was being implemented across the agency�

(u) CCTV: Trade Union Side raised the issue of staff safety arising from alleged assaults on staff from the public� As a result of negotiations a CCTV system was agreed and was implemented as a trial in one centre� Arising from the trial it was agreed by Trade Union Side who had consulted members and Management Side that it would be implemented across the service in new MOT centres� The strictest Data Protection measures have been put in place�

(v) TG1: TheTG1 issues arising from equal pay the JEGS exercise are still ongoing

(w) Enforcement Section: iPads were introduced for staff in an attempt to eliminate staff having to do handwritten paperwork� Enforcement was the lead group to use this technology whilst out on duty across Northern Ireland� It was also expected that the technology would also be introduced for the use by Driving Examiners in the near future� Full consultation took place and members seemed to welcome this advancement in technology�

Roads (x) Impact of Cuts : The impact of reduced

budgets continued to have an effect on the Transport Northern Ireland Branches in 2017 as did the uncertainty around

having no minister � Roads Management accepted that the roads network needed to be maintained to a high standard and leaving it unchecked and unrepaired was likely to have a greater financial impact on any future structural maintenance budgets for 2018 /2019�

(y) Structure: The SPTO and HPTO promotions and moves were almost completed� There were some succession planning issues with some of the HPTO moves and the Management Side were working through those issues�

(z) Succession Planning: Trade Union Side raised concerns about the lack of progress regarding the PTO and TG1 boards� The delays were also impacting on the filing of the HPTO boards as managers were reluctant to release their PTO staff on promotion because of the uncertainty of filling the resultant vacancies�

Trade Union Side was informed that a detailed paper outlining the business concerns for the boards had been prepared and was sent to the Department for Infrastructure board for signing off� This paper was then sent to the NICHR team for scheduling, with interviewing likely to take place in the new year�

(aa) Admin Vacancies: The recent admin promotions boards at the DP, SO, EO1 and EO2 grades eased members tensions as vacancies started to be filled� There was an expectation that other admin promotions would follow�

(ab) TCEA/Apprentices: Trade Union Side raised concerns with Management Side about the age profile of the Engineering staff within the PTO structure� Trade Union Side requested that Roads recruit a small number of TCEA/apprentices annually�

Management Side in Roads and Rivers agreed to this and recruited 12 TCCEs apprentices who started in September

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2017� It was hoped this would continue on an annual basis�

Trade Union Side was also invited to a Roads and Rivers apprentice training day and used that opportunity to do a NIPSA induction� The Department for Infrastructure recruited 12 apprentices, 10 in Roads and 2 in Rivers� Local Branches were asked to follow up with the apprentices�

(ac) TG Review: This issue was ongoing but may be impacted upon by the PTO competition�

(ad) Roads and Rivers Development Programme: Trade Union Side was informed that a working group had been set up under the to look at both organisations to see if they can find synergies and by default make savings � Trade Union Side met the Management team tasked with coordinating all aspects of the programme and the information shared with Roads and Rivers group�

The programme was to lead to closer working relationships and sharing of resources within similar business units in both organisations such as health and safety, transport management group and procurement� It was likely to lead to mergers in the future�

Trade Union side met with the Management Side who confirmed that some of the smaller “quick wins” reviews were completed with little or no impact on the staff in terms of the work they did or the location they were at� The only impact was at senior management level in that, the smaller units had consumed into the larger ones under one senior manager� This was expected by the Trade Union Side as a natural consequence of Roads and Rivers coming under one grade 3�

Arising from this Trade Union Side met with the Management Side coordinator and raised concerns about the lack of information being shared with Trade Union Side� It was explained that the Management

Side were in the process of gathering all the information and when this has been collected and analysed, they would then be in a better position to start discussions with Trade Union Side�

(ae) Hydebank Closure: Hydebank was due to close in 2017 and the staff were to move to other locations across Belfast � The branch was consulted and had visited the new sites on offer� Whilst there had been some developments the move had been delayed and the new target date for closure was November�

It had also been confirmed that the staff would be relocated to the following locations: West Bourne offices in Lisburn, Benson Street in Lisburn and The Stormont Estate� The local branch was working with the local management team to resolve any Health and Safety, design, layout and floor plan issues� The issue was ongoing�

B3.8 Department Of Justice (DoJ)(a) Resourcing: The Department advised

in April the Secretary of State outlined a reduction for DOJ of 4% in the Indicative Budgetary Provision� The next stage was that a Budget Bill would be passed by either the Assembly or Whitehall� It was difficult to predict what would happen in next year’s budget and beyond�

(b) NI Prison Service- Learning and Skills: Arising from CHR advice to management a number of years ago that teaching staff should fall within the Education Sector consultation began� A pilot ran with colleges taking responsibility of learning and skills� Following the pilot a business case was submitted to DFP to TUPE transfer staff to the Further Education Colleges� The outcome of the business case was that teaching staff in Maghaberry and Hydebank TUPE transferred to Belfast Met and teacher

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staff in Magilligan to North West Regional College� Staff also transferred to the Teachers’ Pension scheme�

(c) Prisons 2020: Prisons 2020 was a programme aimed at driving continuous improvement in Northern Ireland Prison Service that was focused on supporting individuals placed in their care� The Prisons 2020 programme was based around reducing reoffending by supporting people to change through rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration into society� A discussion document was launched in July 2017 and feedback was requested from staff, partners and stakeholders� NIPSA responded to the discussion paper and met with the Head of Prisons to discuss the response submitted� Workshops were held in all Establishments to allow staff engagement and it was agreed further meetings with Management would be held as the programme launched�

(d) Legal Services Agency-Transformation LSA: Under the Transformation Programme there were a number of inter-dependent projects such as Compliance Audit and Registration Project, Digitalisation of LSA Project, Counter Fraud Project, Information Management Project and Strategic Improvement Projects� Project Managers were appointed for all projects and a Transformation Director was to be appointed� Management were to hold quarterly Transformation briefings for staff and issue a monthly Digitalisation Newsletter as well as consulting with Trade Union Side on workforce planning�

Youth Justice Agency:(e) Juvenile Justice Centre: NIPSA raised

concerns at the decision, without proper consultation, to extend the Communication Hub contract in the Juvenile Justice Centre� The Hub functions were carried out by an external contractor rather than Woodlands Care Management and staff�

The reason given was to ensure complete independence of the functions associated and a more economic provision of service�

Duties previously carried out by the Hub staff included; communication role from within the Hub on a 24 hour basis, being a central contact point for radio, paging and telephone answering service outside normal office hours� The additional duties which were carried out by Care Workers included, escorting and supervising visitors, managing video links and escorting and supervising children during court appearances and transporting young people from JJC to home and escorting to medical appointments as well as providing hospital bed watches�

NIPSA raised concerns about the impact on the Care Worker role in future as well as the associated risks with Hub staff, who were not NISCC registered, having contact with the young people and the potential data protection issues� NIPSA raised their disappointment at the lack of consultation throughout the process and requested sight of a number of documents, including, the risk assessments, sight of the business case and copy of the EQIA� The issue remains unresolved� However NIPSA offered to meet with JJC Management facilitated by HR�

(f) Youth Justice Officer: Management proposed to create a Youth Justice Officer role which would be an amalgamation of the Youth Conference Co-Ordinator and Youth Justice Practitioner roles� NIPSA received a copy of the draft job description which was to be evaluated�

(g) Transfer to NICS Terms and Conditions: Members were balloted and voted in favour of accepting the proposals on the protection of NJC/JNC terms and conditions whilst adopting the bulk of NICS terms and conditions� Members were widely consulted and agreement was reached in relation to protection of essential car user

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allowance and a number of other favourable conditions of employment� Staff retained their higher NJC rate of pay�

NI Courts and Tribunals Service: (h) Single Control Document: Meetings with

Management had been held on the SCD and the pressures that it had imposed on certain grades� Management proposed that BCS conduct a review of the loading of posts from AO grade to the SO grade� Trade Union Side agreed to this proposal� Subsequently terms of reference for the review were agreed starting in November and was ongoing�

(i) Fine Default litigation: Trade Union Side met with Management in August 2017� A court case had been taken against the Court Service in relation to people who, having defaulted on paying fines, were taken straight to prison to serve time for any fines not having being paid and having not being taken back before the courts� The NICTS lost the case and one aspect of the judgement ruled that any claim for litigation in respect of being imprisoned for defaulting on a fine had to have taken place within 12 months of imprisonment�

Due to the timescale imposed by the judgement the vast majority of claims were ruled out of time – of 800 claims, 41 were accepted as meeting the timeframe imposed by the judgement� Future claims could be deemed valid if solicitors write to other authorities e�g� directly to the prison within the timeframe of the judgement�

Management expected solicitors to challenge the 1 year timeframe� Work in the unit would be expected to increase if the current 12 month timeframe for claiming was extended in relation to a successful challenge in court�

(j) Review of processes and staff resources North Eastern Division NICTS: Management commissioned a review of

staff resources and administrative processes and procedures in 3 court areas– Antrim, Ballymena and Coleraine�

Trade Union Side agreed the terms of reference with Management Side for this review in March 2017� Trade Union Side received a copy of the draft report in October and we responded with comments on the report to management for the area in October�

Meetings were held with Management Side to discuss concerns and a final version of the report� Recommendations from this report were to be ‘parked’ due to the BCS review of court operations which encompassed this area�

(k) NICTS Health and Safety Executive Stress Risk Assessment: Trade Union Side was concerned that the action plan, created in June 2016, from recommendations in the HSE stress risk assessment, had not been fully implemented� Meetings took place with Management on the issue over the course of the year� It was agreed to look at the recommendations from the workshops held with staff that underpinned the action plan�

Management provided a set of recommend-ations some of which had been actioned and some which had not� It also detailed actions which were outside their control� Trade Union Side provided comments on the document and met to discuss same with Management Side� It was agreed that a new action plan was to be drafted, reflecting comments made by Trade Union Side, and that Trade Union Side would have sight of the draft to provide further comment if necessary�

(l) Legacy Inquest Unit: Funding for the unit arising from the Stormont House Agreement had not been agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive before it collapsed� It was unlikely that funding would be available in the near future given the political situation�

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(m) Fine Enforcement Team: Secondary legislation was needed to be passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly to enable this team to perform its functions� Due to the collapse of the Assembly in January 2017 the team was not set up� The implementation date had been revised to 1 April 2018 with staff envisaged to be in post from 1 March 2018 for training�

(n) Review of Business Processes – Enforcement of Judgements Office: Management commenced a review of the businesses processes in this area� Terms of reference for the review had been shared with Trade Union Side for comment which had been incorporated into the Terms of Reference� Trade Union Side agreed the Terms of Reference in February 2017 and the review commenced in March 2017� Trade Union Side received a copy of the report in August 2017 and met with Management Side in September 2017 to discuss� Trade Union Side raised four issues of concern� Management confirmed however that none of the four recommendations causing concern were to be implemented�

B3.9 The Executive Office (TEO)(a) Staffing: The draft Business Plan for

2017/18 was developed by senior staff with the anticipation of it being signed off by Ministers� Unfortunately following the decision of the Northern Ireland Executive to collapse in early 2017 this meant that the draft Business Plan was not signed off by Ministers in time�

(b) Programme for Government and Budget: The Head of the Civil Service who acts as Permanent Secretary to The Executive Office confirmed that the Programme for Government had not been finalised prior to the dissolution of the Assembly although consultation on the document had been very positive with the various political

parties� The Executive Office worked diligently to ensure that the Programme for Government would be ready for incoming Ministers to consider if and when the Northern Ireland Executive commenced work again�

Prior to its dissolution the Assembly had not set a budget for 2017/18� The Department confirmed that in the absence of the Executive the Permanent Secretary of DoF was entitled to release cash of 75% to The Executive Office for a limited time until July to allow public services to continue to function� After July The Executive Office were entitled to spend up to 95% of the previous year’s budget� In November the budget had to be approved at Westminster through decisions taken by the Secretary of State which led to the Department being able to have the anticipated same level of finances as the previous year�

(c) Learning and Development Programme: The Department had confirmed that they continued to pay an annual amount to the CAL to cover the training provided over the course of the previous year� For 2016/17 the contribution was 91,150� The Executive Office confirmed that they did not have a separate training budget and any non-CAL training was funded from local business areas�

(d) Local Consultation: Trade Union Side had to raise with Management Side representatives, on a number of times throughout 2017 the failure of local Management to consult properly with local Trade Union Sides on a range of issues not least staffing and training issues� Management Side had implemented the creation of a number of posts without any local consultation�

(e) Seconded Officer: The Executive Office continues to be the only Department in the NICS which does not have a Seconded Departmental Secretary or a Departmental

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Trade Union Side� The Branch operates within The Executive Office and it is serviced in terms of the provision of industrial relations help, guidance and support from the DoF Trade Union Side Office� The Executive Office has 2 seats on the DoF Departmental Committee but it is far from ideal� It was agreed, following discussion between the Branch, the Trade Union Side Office and NIPSA Headquarters to put a case to Management Side for the creation of a dedicated TEO Departmental Secretary post� A detailed submission was issued to Management Side but despite that Management Side responded indicating that the current arrangement was working well and that they were not prepared to fund a separate secondment� Consideration was being given at the end of the year as to how Trade Union Side should respond�

(f) Meeting with NICS HR Business Partners: Following the creation of NICS HR it was agreed that local representatives along with a Seconded Officer and the NIPSA Headquarters Official should meet with TEO Management Side representatives along with the 3 NICS HR Lead Business Partners to discuss collaborative working�

(g) Departmental Whitley Constitution (DWC): During the year Management Side produced a Departmental Whitley Constitution which they said had been provided as a generic DWC from NICS HR Management� Trade Union Side responded indicating that within NIPSA Headquarters consideration was being given to a generic Departmental Committee Constitution and a Departmental Whitley Constitution and once these were completed they would be shared with Management Side in order to try to move the situation forward�

B3.10 Agri Food and Bio Sciences Institute (AFBI)(a) Industrial Relations: Because of the

difficulties which Trade Union Side experienced in 2016 with the former Chief Executive regarding the radical restructuring of AFBI no meetings of the JNCC had been held for some time� However this was resolved with the arrival of a new management team and a JNCC meeting took place on 22 March 2017� The new senior management sought to provide reassurance for staff in the organisation moving forward and Trade Union Side was invited to a separate meeting with the Chief Executive to discuss the future of the organisation� Trade Union Side pledged their support to ensure that the organisation gets the necessary funding and staffing levels�

(b) Budget Allocation: At the beginning of the year Management Side confirmed that the financial situation looked more positive than they had anticipated and they have received some additional funding through the European Union Intereg Programme� They also advised that they did not anticipate any cuts in budget allocation in-year� However discussions were ongoing with the sponsor department DAERA�

(c) Promotion and Recruitment: The Management Side agreed in March to draw up a programme to identify immediate vacancies and anticipated vacancies with a view to whether a promotion and recruitment exercise needed to be held� Eventually seventy-four vacancies were identified of which at least 50 were deemed to be business critical� By the middle of October seventeen competitions had been progressed and Trade Union Side continued to apply pressure for vacancies to be filled without unnecessary delay� It was agreed at the October JNCC that a separate meeting

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would be arranged to discuss ongoing concerns around recruitment�

(d) Learning and Development: Management Side developed a 3 year training programme and this followed a skills audit to determine the level of training needed in the organisation� The new Learning and Development Strategy received the approval of the senior management and documentation was shared with Trade Union Side for consultation and comment�

(e) Appeals: As a Non-Departmental Public Body AFBI does not have access to the Civil Service Appeal Board� However a panel is in place to deal with issues including conduct, discipline, inefficiency sickness absence and inefficiency performance� Trade Union Side raised concerns during the year regarding the independence of the appeals panel as it initially consisted of two members of the AFBI Board and 1 person nominated by the Chief Executive� Trade Union Side insisted that the appeals mechanism needed to be independent either by constructing a panel akin to the Civil Service Appeal Board or to use the Labour Relations Agency Independent Appeals Panels� Management Side considered these representations and following further discussions a new agreement was reached which comprises a Chairperson from the AFBI Board, another panel member from Trade Union Side who will have had no prior involvement in the decision being appealed and one independent panel member who would be selected and who would be external to AFBI� This person would be selected and agreed with Trade Union Side based on the professional knowledge and skills relevant to the case�

B3.11 Aramark(a) NICS catering contract: Following a review

of the NICS catering contract, Management

indicated that all sites would see a significant reduction in working hours� NIPSA met with Management and members affected and sought to mitigate the impact with some staff leaving under a voluntary redundancy process�

(b) Castle Buildings Cleaning Contract: Management carried out a review of cleaning hours at Castle Buildings and proposed to reduce total hours by up to 140 hours per week� NIPSA challenged this decision with the employer and also engaged NICS Management at Castle Buildings and Central Procurement Directorate� Following interventions, proposals were withdrawn and no hours were lost�

B3.12 Arts Council Northern Ireland(a) Redundancy Policy: NIPSA continued

to campaign for the introduction of the NICS terms and conditions relating to redundancy payments� Several meeting where held throughout the year between NIPSA and Management Side in an effort to resolve this issue� In August management side advised that they had received the following response from their parent department:

“You are aware that the current review of Arm’s Length Bodies is underway� Following the conclusion of this review, and developing options, consideration will be given to the potential impact on terms and conditions of employment and final decisions will be for a future Minister� It would not be appropriate for me to agree to any change in redundancy terms at this time�”

Given this response NIPSA has lobbied the Department for Communities directly via the Arm’s Length Body review meetings� Progress has been hampered by the current political situation�

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(b) Pension Allowance: In the 2016 pay remit the Department of Finance advised that they were aware that a number of public bodies have arrangements in place to ensure that their staff are not disadvantaged as a result of paying what were historically higher employee contributions to the NILGOSC pension scheme than other public sector employees who are members of the PCSPS(NI)� They argued that this adjustment can no longer be assumed to be a fixed amount and that the Arts Council must ensure that they review the position for each individual member of staff on an annual basis to ensure that any adjustment to their salary maintains the principle that staff who are on terms analogous to those of the NICS are no better off, and no worse off, as a result of the pension scheme to which they contribute� NIPSA robustly challenged management side’s attempts to remove this allowance in the belief that any changes would amount to a breach of contract and or an unlawful deduction of wages� At a meeting in October it was confirmed that the Departmental Solicitors’ Office had referred the issue back to the Department of Finance to get clarification on point 44 of the pay remit guidance�

B3.13 Charity Commission for NI(a) Accommodation Review: In 2016, the

Department for Communities carried out an accommodation review, rejecting the employer’s preferred option to relocate to Belfast� In 2017, a staff member received a threat from paramilitaries as a result of their employment and NIPSA has worked with Management and supported the member with regards to this matter� However, Management have again made proposals to relocate to Belfast using a risk to security as an explanation for this� NIPSA has challenged this decision and is awaiting a response from Management to these concerns�

(b) Strategic Review: The Minister for the Department for Communities called for a strategic review of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, primarily looking at strategic management and governance� A report was produced but was not agreed by the Minister before the collapse of the NI Assembly� No action has been taken on any recommendations that may be contained in the report�

(c) Policies: NIPSA has been consulted and agreed upon a wide range of policies including Travel and Subsistence, Maternity Leave, Probation, Whistleblowing and Working Hours and Leave� NIPSA has not agreed to proposed changes to the Ordinary Paternal Leave policy as we consider the proposed changes could constitute a breach of contract� This matter has still not been resolved�

B3.14 Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)(a) Apprenticeship Levy: Following a govern-

ment announcement the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in April 2017 where employers with a salary bill in excess of £3 million would have a percentage of salary deducted to support apprenticeships� However, the collapse of the NI Assembly meant there was no agreed strategy to how this levy would be used� CITB Management were concerned that their funding levy charged to the construction industry could be affected, impacting on their budget� However the introduction of the apprenticeship levy has, as yet, not adversely impacted upon funding�

(b) Budget/VES: Management expressed an interest in a possible voluntary exit scheme as the impact of the apprenticeship levy on budgets was unknown� They subsequently confirmed that budgets had not been adversely impacted and they would not be offering VES this year�

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(c) Mobile Training Unit Strategy: Management conducted a review of the mobile training unit to assess the cost/benefits of the service� Following the review, Management confirmed they would retain the Unit and that significant funds would be made available to upgrade the current facilities�

(d) Staff Survey: Following a staff survey, satisfaction rates had reduced significantly on previous years in a number of areas including communication, morale and leadership� NIPSA proposed the establishment of a working group with no senior management involvement that would make recommendations to improve staff satisfaction and this was agreed�

(e) First Aid Premium: NIPSA had proposed the introduction of a reward for those staff who were recognised as First Aid Officers� Management agreed to introduce a £100 premium paid in December to those staff who had been First Aid Officers for that calendar year�

B3.15 Consumer Council Northern Ireland (a) Restructuring: On the back of staff

restructuring in 2016 NIPSA continued to engage with management side in the early part of the year to facilitate a smooth transition for members� Internal recruitment was agreed which resulted in number of NIPSA members successfully availing of recruitment opportunities throughout the year�

(b) Training: NIPSA’s continued pressing of the Management Side to provide funding for members’ training needs and development resulted in £83,000 being made available and spent on level 3 qualifications (City & Guilds) for a number of members� Further negotiations resulted in an additional allocation of £20,000 to the training budget which ensured every member of staff had

access to training and or a recognised qualification in 2017�

(c) Policy: The Consumer Council’s Staff Code of Practice is was consulted on� NIPSA has submitted a detailed response regarding this document and has held several meetings with Management Side in an attempt to resolve a number of issues� Negotiations are expected to continue into the early part of 2018�

B3.16 Cross Border Bodies(a) Pensions: NIPSA continued to lead unions

with regards the North/South Pension Scheme� Concerns were raised in relation to the in-service re-evaluation rate for Northern Ireland members, changes to the Compensation Scheme and review of the State Pension Age in the UK� Concerns were raised on the impact of Brexit on a Cross Border Pension Scheme and confirmation was given that issues would be dealt with when more information was available on Brexit�

(b) Loughs Agency: NIPSA raised concerns about plans to remove a boat allowance payable to members when at sea� It was agreed that a new policy would be drafted setting out the criteria for the allowance� NIPSA also raised concerns about a new HR post to review terms and conditions, policies and procedures but Management confirmed any recommendations from such work would be subject to normal consultation� Concern was also raised about the application of the flexible working and TOIL policies�

(c) Tourism Ireland: NIPSA has been pushing Management to fill posts left vacant due to financial constraints� A large percentage of these posts are now filled with permanent staff with the objective of increasing staff numbers back up to 160 baseline figure� NIPSA also raised concerns that

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information requested on the staff survey could identify staff but Management stated this information was not provided by IPSOS Mori in its report if it referred to groups of less than 10 staff�

(d) Waterways Ireland: Management continu-ed to highlight budgetary pressures such as Sterling/Euro exchange rate and pension liabilities as significant pressures despite some additional funding being received� Additional money had been received for capital projects and staff were reallocated this work, assisting with accounting for salaries� Management had been working on a new workforce planning strategy that should address union concerns on recruitment of permanent staff and the use of seasonal workers� Management have sought to withdraw from generic job descriptions in admin grades to develop specific personnel specifications for admin posts in Finance and HR� This has been opposed by NIPSA and meetings with Management and members have taken place� NIPSA has also agreed policies on Social Media, Mobile Phones, IT Acceptable Use and is reviewing the Capability and Whistleblowing policies�

B3.17 Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI)(a) Future Delivery of Electoral Services: A

public consultation by the Northern Ireland Office closed on 9 January 2017 to which NIPSA provided a comprehensive response� NIPSA also met with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Kris Hopkins MP, to present a petition of almost 5,000 signatures to retain regional electoral offices� However, due to the collapse of the NI Assembly, the Minister indicated that no decision would be made on the public consultation�

(b) Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES): The Chief Electoral Officer approved a VES with almost

25% of the EONI workforce leaving on 31 March 2017, this despite strong objections from NIPSA� Management indicated that a further VES may be used to alleviate financial pressures within 2017/18 financial year�

(c) Closure of Omagh Electoral Office: As a result of short-term lease extensions awaiting the Minister’s decision on the public consultation, the landlord of the Omagh Office decided to get alternative tenants, meaning that another location was needed� Despite meeting with the local district council, Management have indicated that it is likely staff will be relocated to Derry/Londonderry Office with a surgery part-week in Omagh� NIPSA has opposed this, writing to the press, local politicians and councils affected� An emergency meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was convened which NIPSA gave evidence to�

(d) IDOX and Online Registration: Management proposals to introduce online registration and new administrative systems has been dogged with problems and delays� Despite commitments to have systems in place by December 2016, new IT systems are still being tested and adapted� NIPSA continued to engage Management on this�

B3.18 Equality Commission(a) Budgets and Voluntary Exit Scheme

(VES): Management confirmed significant cuts to the budget and the need for a Voluntary Exit Scheme� It was confirmed that rent for the building had increased by 13% and a surcharge had been applied for an overspend at end of 2016/17 financial year� Management had offered 3 staff voluntary exit terms and further offers were likely in the next financial year�

(b) Organisational Review: Management had proposed sweeping changes to the

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organisational structure with sectional mergers, revised job descriptions and some posts being lost� NIPSA opposed the proposed changes, engaging with members and Management� Following a lengthy consultative process, Management agreed to withdraw almost all the proposal with the rest being postponed until after the VES process had concluded�

(c) Policies: NIPSA engaged with Management through the Policy Sub-Group on a number of policies including Disciplinary, Redundancy, Career Break and Flexible Working� NIPSA opposed the introduction of a new Travel and Subsistence policy that is still under consideration� NIPSA also opposed Management attempts to remove stage 4 appeal rights to the Labour Relations Agency and this is also under consideration�

B3.19 Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI)(a) Review of Service Division: Since

restructuring of HSENI’s service division in 2016 NIPSA has continued to work through the following issues with Management Side as part of a review process:

(i) staffing allocation,

(ii) grade mix,

(iii) knowledge, skills and experience

At the end of 2017 the majority of issues had been resolved�

(b) Recruitment: NIPSA continued to campaign for the filling of vacancies given the significant impact on members’ workload as a result of the Voluntary Exit Scheme� Management Side remained cautious as a result of budgetary uncertainties, but through NIPSA representation it was agreed to recruit 7 key positions where the workload had been identified as becoming an issue�

(c) Omagh Office: In June NIPSA was advised that HSENI Omagh office had to move to Boaz House as a result of the Department of Finance relocation order in respect of a private lease� As part of the consultation process NIPSA brought forward 27 issues that Management Side in conjunction with DoF properties responded too� Staff moved to their new office in September with most issues having been addressed and those outstanding continuing to be worked through by both sides�

(d) Out of Hours Service: In October Management Side issued a questionnaire to staff involved in the OOH rota to ascertain reasons for non-participation� A number of common themes were evident from the results of the questionnaire, namely confidence in carrying out the OOH rota, training needs and the opportunity to practice in-hours� Negotiations and consultation will continue into 2018 regarding issues of involving more staff in the out of hours service, including payments and TOIL�

B3.20 Invest NI(a) Agile Working: Management had raised

Agile Working with the proposition that staff would be given opportunities to develop arising from doing work on small projects� Trade Union Side raised a number of concerns including time, workloads and grading issues� Given that many staff had requested such opportunities it was agreed to pilot the project and it was agreed that the period of time for carrying out such work would not exceed three months� This matter was ongoing and to be continually monitored�

(b) VES and General Workloads: Trade Union Side raised concerns with Management throughout the year arising from excessive workloads on staff� A survey was carried out

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with staff replying anonymously� Results were due to be assessed and concerns raised with Management Side in early 2018�

(c) Transfers: Transfers had not taken place due to the Voluntary Exit Scheme� Concerns had been raised regarding the reintroduction of the Transfer policy however the Transfer Policy needed to be reviewed� Trade Union Side raised concerns regarding this issue which would be addressed in early 2018�

(d) Policy Sub Group Committee: After Representations from Trade Union Side the Policy Sub Group Committee was reconvened� Policies being reviewed were - Recruitment & Selection, Managing Attendance and Transfer Policy�

(e) Managing Attendance: There were a number of long term absences due to work related stress issues� Management worked alongside Trade Union Side in order to facilitate a return to work� However were a number of cases where relationships between Management had broken down and it was been difficult to obtain transfer opportunities� The issue was ongoing in relation to the transfer policy�

(f) Job Evaluation Process: A JEG’s review was initiated in late 2016 specifically to take into account the development of the Claims Inspector role� The JEGs concluded that the role of Claims Inspectors within Invest NI was an EO1 grade� Invest NI regraded all Claims Inspectors currently at EO2 grade, who had been in post on or after 1 February 2016, to the grade of EO1 with immediate effect� However concerns were raised by other members and these were being discussed with management� The issue was ongoing�

(g) Distinction of EO1 and EO2 Grades: Members were frustrated and had concerns regarding the lack of development and career progression� Many EO2s felt that their careers had effectively stalled and

that EO2’s had little scope to build line management skills which would aid them for either promotion opportunities inside or outside Invest NI� Many felt there was little distinction between the E01 and E02 Grade� Trade Union Side agreed to raise the issues with Management�

(h) Regional Office Move: One of Invest NI’s regional offices moved premises� A number of concerns were raised by members which Trade Union Side had taken forward� Discussions were ongoing with Management Side�

(i) Redeployments: Concerns were raised with Management Side in relation to recent redeployments taking place i�e� groups being dismantled and redeployed� Members felt this was creating problems� Trade Union Side entered into discussions with management and the matter was ongoing�

(j) Temporary Promotions: Concerns had been raised regarding members on Temporary Promotions who were not financially rewarded for doing so� Trade Union Side were in discussions with Management Side regarding the matter� Members were advised against taking on extra duties until a business case was approved and the staff member could then receive confirmation in writing� The matter was ongoing�

B3.21 Labour Relations Agency (LRA)(a) Recruitment: The Agency had initiated a

recruitment freeze since November 2016 as a result of political and financial uncertainty�

After consultation with members NIPSA made direct representations to release the freeze arguing that it was becoming impossible for members to carry the additional burdens of extra work� As a result of further engagement with the

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LRA management the freeze was lifted in March 2017 and 4 vacant posts were filled immediately with others remaining under discussion

(b) Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES): NIPSA engaged extensively with Management Side regarding transformation arising from the departure of 9 staff under the Voluntary Exit Scheme�

The proposals included the contraction from three Directorates to two� NIPSA secured the filling (after transformation) of 5 of the 9 posts and negotiated methods to fill voluntary exit related vacancies through internal transfer and competition only�

The full transitional arrangements are yet to be agreed and joint working with LRA management is expected to continue well into 2018�

B3.22 Mount Charles(a) Failure to Consult: Following the

completion of a retendering process, members transferred from Aramark to Mount Charles on 1 September 2016� Despite repeated requests, it was January 2017 before Management provided NIPSA with information setting out drastic cuts to working hours across the contract� NIPSA lodged tribunal applications for 51 members for failure to consult and these cases will be heard in May 2018�

(b) Cuts to Working Hours: Management engaged on a serious and aggressive campaign to force members to reduce their contracted hours� NIPSA campaigned against this and met with Management on numerous occasions to protect working hours� The employer declared a compulsory redundancy process and gave notice of a 30 day consultation� NIPSA resisted any compulsory process with some staff leaving under voluntary agreements�

B3.23 National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI)(a) Staff Structure: Following on from the

2016 Annual Report, the restructuring of the senior staffing tiers of National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) continued through until October 2017� 6 senior managers were displaced as a result, with 5 new posts entering the new structure� The usual rules of staff protocol were followed, although only two of the ‘new’ posts were filled through this method� Two of those displaced availed of a limited Voluntary Exit process, whilst another was seconded to the Northern Ireland Museums Council� Limited competition was held for the other posts and all were filled over the course of the first 7 months of 2017�

Three new Senior Directors were appointed in February 2017� One, the Director of Collections, was filled by an internal candidate, who took up post on 1st March� The other two posts were filled by external candidates who commenced their employment on 1st May 2017� The senior Staff Structure was completed with the appointment of a Head of Creative Engagement in October 2017, due to take up post in early 2018� The Chief Executive stated that the remaining unfilled Grade 7 post (the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development) was no longer considered viable, citing the Arm’s Length Body review as a main reason for this�

(b) Budget 2017: Due to the instability of the NI Assembly, the budget for 2017 was uncertain for a protracted period� This made it difficult to plan for the year ahead outside of unavoidable commitments, although provisions were made to ensure delivery of necessary business�

(c) Section Secretary: NMNI agreed to a further extension of the post, to be reviewed

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in March 2018� The incumbent agreed to remain in post�

(d) Recruitment: One temporary FT Visitor Guide post was filled at the Ulster Museum in March 2017� An Assistant Visitor Services Manager was recruited to fill a vacant post at UIster Folk and Transport Museum (UFTM) in March 2017� An Electrician was recruited at the Ulster Museum in March 2017� In April 2017, several fixed term Visitor Guide and Front of House employees were recruited across the three NMNI sites; these included both full-time and part-time contracts� Additional recruitment of a similar nature followed in November 2017, all contracted to March 2018� A Visitor Services Supervisor was recruited at Ulster Folk & Transport Museum site, filling a post vacated due to a late 2016 promotion� The Picture Library Manager post was trawled in mid-May, as were several part-time Discover Centre Facilitators based at the Ulster Museum�

A PA for the newly appointed directors was trawled and filled in early May, with the successful candidate vacating the Picture Library role previously mentioned� A Business Development Manager, two Curators of Art and two Curators of History were appointed on a full-time basis in June 2017� A few fixed term appointments were made within the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR) and the Discovery Centres at the Ulster Museum (UM)� An Assistant Visitor Services Manager was appointed on a fixed term contract, also at the UM, as well as a temporary Shop Supervisor� Consultation on several new posts begun in November 2017� An Audience Development Manager and Visitor Experience Manager were proposed, but NIPSA consultation on these posts raised widespread concern at the creation of such posts, especially at a time when the front of house areas were in such dire need of recruitment� Despite this, NMNI ran an internal trawl without agreement on the Job

Descriptions� Failure to shortlist internally meant that these posts were put out for external recruitment in November 2017� An Academic Research role was another post that caused some consternation, and the overwhelming view of the NIPSA membership was that this was another unnecessary highly paid post at a time of financial hardship� A training programme for future Science Curators was organised, with the guarantee of two permanent posts for the successful candidates, providing they attained the required level of skill� This was put out to staff in December 2017�

(e) Overpayments: This has been an ongoing matter within NMNI for some time, but to date several issues remain unresolved� NIPSA continued to press the relevant points home to ensure a fair and meaningful resolution� The February Joint Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JNCC) meeting brought a commitment to inspect the issues in detail and determine a satisfactory outcome� At the October 2017 JNCC it was agreed that the matter would be dealt with by December 2017� Aligned to this was a matter of leave allocation and working hours issue which was agreed to be examined at the same meeting�

(f) Grading: The recent senior level structural review has put a few potential grading anomalies and role definitions into the spotlight� Various meeting between the Head of HR and the NIPSA Section Secretary were held to delve further into these matters, although proper resolution has yet to be attained�

(g) Business Plan 2017: NMNI submitted their 2017 Business Plan, alongside a 5 year Corporate Plan� NIPSA examined the documents and agreed that the plans both were prudent in the current climate of financial instability�

(h) Policy Development: NMNI embarked on a long term health and wellbeing process,

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including regular updates on things such as walking groups, stress relief and forming partnerships with external groups� A committee was set up to deal specifically with issues that relate to general Health and Wellbeing�

(i) Organisational Development Committ-ees: Three new working Committees were proposed to help advance the mission, vision and values of NMNI� These were:

(i) Leadership

(ii) Communications and Engagement

(iii) Performance and Learning

The Chief Operating Officer approached the Section Secretary directly about sitting on one of the committees, stating a recognition of the importance of the Trade Union in our ‘journey’� The Section Secretary will sit on the Communications and Engagement committee� It is envisioned that these committees will complete their programme by the end of March 2018�

(j) Staff Conference: An inaugural Staff Conference was held at the Transport Museum in Cultra, hosting around 150 staff members from across the NMNI sites� Guest speakers were on hand to reinforce some of the concerns impacting upon NMNI, and each site gave a presentation designed to highlight the particular skills and collections of the sites� The overall impression was one of a successful endeavour, although several members enquired as to the true need of such an event, citing costs and tight purse strings�

(k) Pay Award: The pay award was finally distributed to NMNI staff in October 2017�

B3.24 Northern Ireland Assembly(a) Pay: Negotiations commenced in

September 2017 following the submission

of a pay claim for a 5% pay increase for all staff, reintroduction of Assembly Allowance, the payment of all increments due, a reduction in spinal column points and increases in annual and contractual rate of paid paternity leave� To date no final offer or agreement had been reached, although the Assembly Commission had given Management Side a remit and an offer was expected in January 2018�

(b) Assembly Elections/Political Situation/Redeployment: Within the space of 10 months, Assembly staff were faced with two Assembly elections – first election planned for May 2016 and the second unplanned in March 2017 following the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive�

The ongoing political stalemate and the moveable deadlines set by the Secretary of State continued to overshadow the job security of Assembly staff� As an interim measure, 150 Assembly staff, on a voluntary basis were temporarily redeployed to other public sector organisations� Trade Union Side, through its negotiation framework with Management Side, ensured there was minimal negative impact on Assembly staff placements and any potential detriment� Trade Union Side ensured that the process was fair and equitable on any voluntary or mandatory redeployment�

Management Side continually reviewed the situation and where activities were no longer required in the short-term, those individuals were redeployed� Trade Union Side continued to focus on protecting Assembly staff employment and pressed Management Side to formulate contingency arrangements for the possibility of further deterioration in the political process or the successful establishment of a Northern Ireland Executive�

(c) Joint Agreement: Trade Union Side and Management Side completed negotiations on the Joint Agreement on Industrial

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Relations and Facilities Time arrangements� Trade Union Side negotiations resulted in an enhanced Joint Agreement, a greater understanding by Management Side of the role of Trade Union Side in the effective operation of good industrial relations, and the benefits of facility time arrangements�

(d) Recruitment: NI Assembly commenced external recruitment competitions for Clerical Officers (analogous AO) and Parliamentary Reporters (analogous EO1) as part of its recruitment schedule at the early part of 2017� Merit lists were created for both competitions, however, appointments were put on hold until such time as the NI Assembly Executive formed and there was resumption of full Assembly business� Trade Union Side continued to press Management Side to change its external recruitment only policy�

(e) Trade Union Side Seconded Position: The Trade Union Side Seconded Position is reviewed annually for funding� Management Side continued to acknowledge the value of this post and the position continues to be filled especially during this period of political uncertainty�

(f) Employee Relations Board (ERB): The Employee Relations Board (ERB), which consists of the Chief Executive, Directors and Trade Union Side, met in May 2017� Two areas of concern from Trade Union Side were the Independent Appeals Panel of the Discipline Policy and the consultation on recruitment documentation�

Management Side removed the Independent Appeals Panel from the Discipline Policy as they would not accept any decision made by the LRA facilitated Independent Appeals Panel as binding� Trade Union Side pressed upon the importance of this part of the policy and it was accepted by ERB that further discussions would be held on the matter at the Employees Relations Group�

Trade Union Side lodged a formal disagreement regarding the nature of and period of time given for consultation on Candidate Information Booklets for recruitment� Trade Union Side were provided a 2-hour window to review Candidate Information Booklets and to provide any comments, however, the Assembly Human Resources passed the information to Trade Union Side as part of this consultation process for information purposes only� ERB agreed that all recruitment Candidate Information Booklets would go through a full consultation process with a minimum of a 4-day consultation period� Trade Union Side seen this as an improvement and will press Management side to extend this minimum period further�

(g) Employee Relations Group (ERG): The Employee Relations Group, which consists of Director of Corporate Services, Head of HR, Deputy Head of HR, Senior HR Managers and Trade Union Side, met bi-monthly throughout 2017�

The main focus of these meetings was the impact of the current political situation on Assembly staff including staff morale, health and wellbeing, meaningful work, job security and redeployments�

Trade Union Side negotiated enhancements on the Employer Supported Volunteering Policy for those Assembly staff wishing to complete fundraising activities for the Assembly-nominated Charity of the Year� Further, Trade Union Side negotiated enhancements to the Social Media Policy to remove any grey area and draconian measures� Since the enhanced policy has been in place, there have been no further disciplinaries, including dismissals�

Negotiations are continuing on the following policies: Non-Financial Reward and Recognition; Transgender Policy; Domestic Violence Policy; and Standards of Conduct Policy�

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B3.25 Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO)(a) Graduate Trainee Accountants: During

the early part of 2017 NIPSA engaged with Management Side over the issue of TOIL for formal class based study – on Friday evenings and Saturdays� NIPSA made a range of representations in relation to this issue e�g� financial and reputational implications should these GTAs fail; greater risk of GTA drop out; potential equality issues; foreseeable health and wellbeing implications; the poor fit between ICAI work experience requirements and the work that NIAO GTAs etc� NIPSA put forward the point that at all other UK national audit institutions, chartered accountant (ICAS, ICAEW) formal study takes place in normal working hours� Through NIPSA’s continued representation on this issue management introduced a number of flexible working arrangements to off-set a number of the negative effects on work-life balance�

(b) Pay: In early 2017 NIPSA continued to engage with members around the dispute over the imposed 16/17 pay offer� It was agreed that as a result of April being so close and 2017-18 pay negotiations to start very soon, to commence industrial action short of strike action solely in relation to the imposed 2016-17 pay settlement, could delay 2017-18 negotiations� Therefore NIPSA submitted a pay claim on the 1st March 2017 requesting the reinstatement of the arbitrary 5% cut imposed by NIAO from 1/4/16 in the maximum of the pay scales for all staff at auditor and above�

The second element of the pay claim was a 5% pay increase to the maximum of the pay scales - in light of:

(i) current inflation (CPI (H) of 2�0% in January and RPI of 2�6%);

(ii) forecast inflation exceeding 3%; and

(iii) the need for some catch up in relation to the significant cuts in real pay since 2009�

In response to the pay claim Management Side advised that they wished to conduct a benchmarking exercise� NIPSA was advised in July that the benchmarking exercise had been completed by Capita� This benchmarks NIAO pay against the other UK audit institutions and the NICS� NIPSA made a number of requests for Management Side to formally respond to the pay claim and enter into negotiations which didn’t commence till late December� Negotiations are expected to continue into the early part of 2018�

(c) Grievance Policy: Consultation and negotiations took place in early 2017 regarding a revised grievance procedure� During negotiations Management Side agreed to a number of significant changes, including the inclusion of an independent investigator, which resulted in agreement being reached in April�

(d) NIPSA Members Survey and Staff Survey: NIPSA met with Management Side (including the C&AG) in June 2017� At this meeting NIPSA asked for a formal response from Management Side to the Survey, with an action plan, timetable and clarity over who would be responsible for delivering action and who would be accountable overall�

NIPSA then met with the Chair of the Advisory Group in July 2017� At this meeting the Chair listened carefully to the matters raised by NIPSA and acknowledged the deep cultural problems within NIAO, but noting that Advisory Group has limited powers other than to provide advice�

Throughout the year NIPSA lobbied Management Side to undertake a survey similar to those at National Audit Office and Audit Scotland� Management Side agreed to consider running a staff survey in 2018�

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(e) Workforce Strategy: Throughout 2017 NIPSA continued to push Management Side for extensive consultation on the various strands of this strategy including issues such as cover skills, retention, development, succession, talent management and professional development�

(f) Accommodation Review: The 17/18 business plan set a target date for completion of the accommodation review for October 2017� In response NIPSA raised concerns with Management Side regarding the short timeframe, as following an initial burst of consultation with NIPSA, this review had gone quiet – as a result of summer recess priorities and leave� NIPSA made it clear that consultation is necessary throughout this process� In June NIPSA passed the Accommodation Review Team a detailed list of matters that NIPSA believe need careful consideration� As part of this document NIPSA again reiterated opposition to hot-desking and raised again the fundamental importance of sufficient car parking at NIAO for staff� The review was put on hold until early 2018�

B3.26 Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY)(a) Budgets: Management confirmed that

NICCY continued to see reductions in its budget that were adversely impacting upon its capacity to action its statutory responsibilities� While the Voluntary Exit Scheme had been previously used to manage a reducing budget, it was expected savings could be made elsewhere for the financial year�

(b) Restructuring: As a result of voluntary exists and staff leaving and not being replaced, Management indicated it was necessary to restructure the organisation� While some posts were merged, NIPSA also negotiated some promotion opportunities

as duties of higher posts were reallocated�

(c) Policies: NIPSA negotiated and agreed on a number of policies including Fraud, Data Protection, Safeguarding, Complaints and Whistleblowing policies�

B3.27 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission(a) Restructuring: As a result of resignations,

the Deputy Chief Executive was recruited to the Chief Executive post� Management then proposed a staff restructuring that saw the Deputy post dissolved and the duties shared amongst the three Deputy Principals who were upgraded to Grade 7� Three temporary contracts were made permanent as well as a temporary promotion to DP grade� NIPSA met with members who agreed the proposals�

(b) Code of Governance: Following a review of the Code of Governance by the Commission, NIPSA was asked to comment on those areas affecting members� NIPSA proposed a number of changes including to the working relationship between the Chief Executive and Chief Commissioner�

B3.28 Northern Ireland Water (NIW)(a) 2016/17 Pay Negotiations: After a

significant delay as NI Water management awaited a pay remit from the Department for Infrastructure negotiations for the 2016/17 pay settlement commenced in January� There had been some informal discussion in July and August 2016 which mainly centred on costing of NIPSA’s pay claim however a formal offer wasn’t received until 9 January 2017� The offer was as follows:

(i) All Level 4 to 7 employees whose performance rating was Exceptional Achiever will receive a 3-step increase

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up to a maximum of 110%; employees at the 110% point will not receive a performance uplift�

(ii) All Level 4 to 7 employees whose performance rating as Consistent Achiever will receive a 2-step increase up to a maximum of 105%; the performance increase ceiling of 105% will be applied� Employees on the 105% or above and whose performance is rated as Consistent Achiever will not receive a performance uplift�

(iii) All Level 4 to 7 employees whose performance rating is Partial Achiever will receive a 1-step increase up to a maximum of 95%; employees currently on the 94% point will progress up to 95% whilst employees at the 95% point or above will not receive a performance uplift�

(iv) Employees whose performance rating is Unsatisfactory will receive not progress to the next pay point of their respective scale�

(v) In addition, each pay point on the current Level 4 to 7 pay scales (effective from 1 August 2016) will be revalorised by 1%�

Upon receipt of the offer the Branch Committee met to consider whether it should be recommended to members� It was subsequently decided that as the offer fell well short of the claim the Committee would have no choice but to recommend that members reject the offer� In particular the Committee felt that management had failed to properly consider the rationale for the 2�5% revalorisation claimed by NIPSA, had ignored the request for a review of Scientific Grades and refused to consider any movement on the overtime or annual leave which would bring staff into line with the NICS�

Members were then asked to vote on the Committee’s recommendation and 87% of members voted to endorse the Committee’s recommendation to reject the offer� Further negotiations with Management Side failed to resolve the impasse with Management ruling out any movement on annual leave or overtime� Any potential for an above 1% revalorisation is based on NI Water securing savings or contractual changes which NIPSA have refused to consider�

Throughout February and March the Branch Chairperson and HQ Official met with members in locations across NI in order to explain that negotiations were unlikely to yield any additional pay increases and to seek agreement that should the Committee believe that a ballot for industrial action was required that members would support a vote for action� Members very clearly backed the union’s position� Meetings were also held with the other representatives of the Water Group of Trade Unions as those unions representing industrial grades were at that time also in difficult pay negotiations�

Subsequent meetings with Management Side produced nothing further in the way of substantial improvements to the original offer however industrial unions secured an increase in annual leave of one additional day� Although those staff still lag behind non-industrial grades in terms of annual leave the increase meant that UNITE and GMB members voted to accept the offer� Following this NIPSA carried out a further consultative ballot and just over 50% of members voted to reject the offer�

NIPSA wrote to management to formally reject the offer however the branch committee considered the outcome of the consultative ballot and concluded that the narrow rejection of the offer was not an endorsement of industrial action� The Committee felt it would be unfair to our own members to run a campaign of

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industrial action which would focused solely around NIPSA members� However it has been agreed that we would seek to work with UNITE and GMB to discuss a single campaign to secure pay increases in excess of 1% in the next pay negotiations�

(b) 2017/18 Pay Negotiations: Following the conclusion of the 16/17 pay settlement and in line with the views expressed by NIPSA members around the unexpected industrial union agreement the Water Group of Trade Unions (WGTU) met in July� On the proposal of the Secretary it was agreed that a joint claim be submitted and that all negotiations would be under the auspices of the WGTU in order to counter any attempt by Management Side to employ a divide a rule strategy�

The WGTU have taken into account the claim submitted by NIPSA for staff employed within the NICS and although there are some elements of this claim which are unique to frontline or Level 4-7 staff the 3 unions insisting on a joint meeting with Management� The claim was as follows:

(i) Revalorisation: The WGTU sought a 5% cost of living increase on all points of all pay scales for frontline and Level 4-7 staff� This was in line with the claim submitted in the NI Civil Service and recognised the expectation that inflation was predicted to rise above 3% by the end of 2017 and the reality that in real terms pay for members has reduced by up to 20% in the last decade�

(ii) Allowances: A 5% increase on all allowances and discussion on substantial increase to frontline standby rate following a benchmarking exercise with other utilities�

(iii) Annual Leave: An equalisation of annual leave arrangements across the organisation bringing frontline staff up

to the same entitlement as Level 4-7 staff�

(iv) The introduction of an average earnings agreement so that staff who regularly agree to work overtime have this recognised in their salary when on annual leave�

(v) Consolidation of Bonus: The bonus payments for frontline staff should be consolidated into normal pay�

(vi) Pay Progression: For Level 4-7 staff pay progression is contractual and should therefore be applied as a matter of course however the WGTU are seeking the removal of the 105% cap therefore allowing all consistent achievers to progress� This would recognise the ongoing concern that the performance appraisal process has not been applied consistently across NIW�

(vii) All Level 4-7 pay scales should be shortened to increase the starting salary of staff� There is a particular need to review the Level 7 scale�

(viii) Scientific Grades: Completion of the review of Scientific Grades�

The WGTU sought an early meeting to begin discussions on the claim and subsequently took place in October� It was clear that in the absence of a Minister and Assembly that seeking a remit to negotiate would be problematic however both sides agreed to set further dates up to the end of the year�

(c) Telephone Allowance: Management Side decided to cease payment of the Telephone Allowance, worth approximately £100pa, which has been in payment in some areas of the business for many years� Trade Union Side had previously raised concerns around the application of the rules around the allowance with many members reporting

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that they were not paid the allowance in circumstances where other parts of the business would have paid� The rationale for the allowance had also changed significantly since its introduction as industrial staff now have mobile tablets which did not, normally, require the use of a landline to receive instructions and NI Water also supply mobile phones to relevant staff� However Trade Union Side had continuously defended the allowance as contractual and insisted on compensation should the allowance end�

Management set out proposals on the future treatment of Telephone Allowance (TA) as follows:

A review of TA raised highlighted that employees fell into one of the following categories:

(i) Receiving TA and claiming On-call, Standby payments or Call Out payments�

(ii) Not receiving TA but claiming On-call, Standby payments or Call Out payments�

(iii) Receiving TA but not claiming On-call, Standby or Call Out payments�

The vast majority of employees who are On-Call are contacted on their company mobile phones�

(i) Employees who have not been claiming On-call, Standby or Call Out payments and receiving payment of TA will see payment of TA stopped with effect from a date to be agreed with no compensation payment�

(ii) Employees who have been claiming On-Call, Standby or Call Out payments and receiving payment of TA will see payment of TA stopped with effect from a date to be agreed – as the loss of contractual earnings is less than 5%

of salary compensation payment equal to the value of 6 months’ worth of loss of contractual earnings will be made, i�e� £50�

(iii) Employees who have been claiming On-Call, Standby or Call Out payments and not receiving payment of TA will receive a lump sum payment valued at 2 years of allowance, £200 plus the £50 compensation payment resulting from withdrawal of payment to existing employees�

Trade Union Side sought some clarity in advance of beginning the necessary consultation with members particularly around the limited number of cases where there is poor mobile phone signal or broadband, the practice by some managers of phoning experienced workers even when not on-call, the numbers and details of all employees in each category and this information informed the consultation process�

Subsequently WGTU made counter proposals that staff claiming On-Call, Standby or Call-Out payments and receiving payment of Telephone Allowance should receive a compensation payment equal to the value of 24 months loss of contractual earnings = £200� The basis for this was that the payment was contractual and that 24 months was a fairer reflection of a permanent change to the employee’s contract than the 6 months proposed� WGTU also proposed that staff claiming On-Call, Standby or Call-Out payments and not receiving payment of TA – WGTU should receive a compensation payment equal to the value of 24 months loss of contractual earnings = £200 + £200� The rationale for this proposal is that it was a fairer reflection of the fact that these employees were not treated equally and Trade Union Side are seeking to incentivise the settling of this issue by avoiding the need to lodge claims with the small claims

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court to recoup this money� Management side agreed to consider these proposals and respond to WGTU as soon as practicable�

B3.29 NSL - Traffic Enforcement(a) Pay 2016-18: It was agreed that separate

negotiations for Team Leader and Operations Manager grades would take place to deal with specific concerns regarding pay and grading� These members are covered by NJC pay agreements but NIPSA lodged a pay claim to deal with changes to roles and responsibilities as well as pay anomalies� Despite two pay offers from the employer, NIPSA was unable to secure an acceptable increase� Following a consultation exercise, members affected agreed to a ballot for industrial action� Following the successful ballot, Management made a third offer that was significantly higher than previous ones� Members were again balloted on the new offer of around 7�5% over two years from April 2016 and agreed by a majority to accept the offer�

(b) Group Grievance on Calculation of Holiday Pay: As a result of recent successful tribunal applications, both UNITE and NIPSA lodged group grievances with the employer regarding how holiday pay was calculated� Members only received basic salary when they took leave despite working overtime and receiving weekend premiums on a regular basis� Following a series of meetings, Management made a proposal to resolve the grievances whereby they agreed to average holiday pay over the previous 12-week reference period to ensure legislative requirements were met� This would be backdated to April 2016� NIPSA balloted members on the Management offer and it was agreed to accept the offer by over 90% of those that voted�

(c) TUPE and National Minimum Wage: Staff who had retained TUPE terms and conditions have had their salary calculated differently to other staff which has resulted in their basic hourly rate being less than the National Minimum Wage rate� NIPSA has met with Management on a number of occasions but has been unable to get a resolution� Legal advice has been provided and NIPSA has reserved the right to lodge tribunal applications to protect members’ rights�

(d) Overpayments: Management confirmed that as a result of an error with their electronic attendance system, a significant number of staff had been overpaid a small amount of salary with a small number being overpaid a significant amount, some up to £1,600� Management proposed to recover all salary overpayments but following input from NIPSA, it was agreed all overpayments would be reduced by 25%, saving some members up to £400�

B3.30 Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI)(a) Finance: The Department of Justice issued

Indicative budget allocations for 2017/18 on the basis of a net reduction of 3% on the 2016/17 opening budget� This equated to a £20m cut� There had been no further budget cuts in year thus far and PSNI were not expecting any, although final budget confirmation was yet to be received� PSNI was reporting spending all of its available budget by the year end� PSNI was waiting to hear details of its budget settlement for 2018/19�

(b) Revised Environmental Allowance: Trade Union Side raised a claim for an increased Revised Environmental Allowance to bring it into line with the NI Transitional Allowance paid to Police Officers� The issue had first been raised in November 2013� Following the Trade Union Side notice of Failure to

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Agree the Deputy Chief Constable and the Head of Human Resources agreed to review the issue� Management have advised Human Resources were compiling a report� Further information was sought from HR which they have supplied� A paper is currently being prepared for submission to PSNI, which contains additional arguments for a raise in REA�

(c) Scientific Support On Call: A resolution was found and the new allowance had been agreed and was being paid to staff as well as the back pay element�

(d) Industrial Relations Framework: A new Industrial Relations Framework was agreed through consultation with Trade Union Side� The issue had caused many problems over the last few years with no acceptable framework in place� A better working relationship with management was established and it was hoped that the framework would solidify the consultation and negotiation practices for the future�

(e) Holiday Pay Cases: NIPSA held a number of meetings with members across the PSNI to establish if potential Tribunal cases existed� Grievances were submitted on behalf of members and several lead cases identified� NIPSA agreed to legal representation for these cases given the ramifications for all member areas� The cases were listed for hearing in October 2018�

(f) 2016 Pay Award: The business case for the 2016 pay award was signed off in September 2017 by a Senior Civil Servant� Staff were to be paid over the period November 2017 to January 2018, starting with the lowest grades�

(g) Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES): The impact of VES continued� PSNI had undertaken a Priority Based Resource Review (PBR) to identity the core roles and functions that the Support Staff should deliver in Keeping People Safe� The results of the review were due in the new year�

(h) Policies: The PSNI started to carry out a review of all policies and procedures� Trade Union Side representatives attended meetings and working groups to ensure that Support Staff issues were addressed� It was agreed proposed policies emanating from the meetings would go to the JNC for approval prior to being signed off�

(i) Information Communication Service On-Call: Arising from the C6 on call issue members in the Information Communication Service raised a similar issue� Management submitted a business case to Department of Justice prior to any consultation with NIPSA� Trade Union Side strenuously objected to this and had an urgent meeting with Management who agreed to advise the Department of Justice that it was a draft business case and still required negotiation� Trade Union Side raised a number of concerns in particular the impact of the business case in relation to changing members terms and conditions of employment� The business case as written would have required members to be available 24/7� Trade Union Side advised this was not acceptable�Negotiations commenced an up to date rate agreed and now being used, the contractual element removed and an agreement to raise the allowance each year in line with the NICS Pay Award�

(j) ASO’s: Management had requested that a number of ASO’s carryout typing duties� Trade Union Side argued that the typing and skills allowance should be paid which management resisted� The issue was ongoing�

(k) Stress: Trade Union Side raised an issue related to the provision of counselling services for those staff who dealt with traumatic situations� Management agreed to look at the issue as a priority and the various services from Occupational Health and Care Call are now widely signposted to staff in such situations�

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(l) Compensatory Rest: Trade Union Side raised an issue with Management Side interpretation that compensatory rest was only in proportion to the time on call out� Trade Union Side had advised that the interpretation in their view was flawed and provided evidence of other constabularies that advised the full 11 hours was required uninterrupted� Management have agreed to relook at the issue� Trade union side advised this was also a Health and Safety issue� This issue was ongoing�

B3.31 Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI)(a) Security Assessment: Management

informed NIPSA of information received from PSNI indicating that the security assessment for PBNI had increased from low/moderate to substantial as a result of threats from paramilitaries� NIPSA immediately engaged with Management to understand the actions being taken to protect staff and organised joint member meetings with the NAPO trade union� NIPSA agreed the withdrawal of specific targeted work to protect members and met with the Department of Justice Permanent Secretary to discuss changes to the legislation to remove specific work from PBNI�

NIPSA organised a public rally outside PBNI HQ to allow union colleagues and political representatives the opportunity to show solidarity and support for PBNI members� This rally was well supported and received significant publicity in local media� NIPSA continued to work with Management to ensure the health, safety and welfare of staff is protected�

(b) Budgets: Management confirmed there was a 6�4% cut to the 2016/17 budget with a further 4% cut to the 2017/18 budget� It was confirmed that savings could be achieved through not replacing

posts where staff resigned or retired but this was unsustainable in the longer term� Management confirmed that PBNI was likely to seek a voluntary exit scheme in 2018/19 year to cope with reductions�

(c) Pensions: NIPSA continued to challenge a Management decision regarding a contractual entitlement of members to be compensated for the difference between the NILGOSC and PSCPS(NI) pension contribution rates� PBNI have sought advice from Departmental Solicitors Office and authority from the Department of Finance to resolve this issue�

(d) NNC Terms and Conditions (NCC): NIPSA members in professional probationary posts are employed on NNC terms and conditions� However the privatisation of community service in England and Wales has led to the collapse of the NNC negotiating framework� NIPSA has engaged Management to agree a new negotiating framework for pay, terms and conditions for members affected� No agreement has been reached�

(e) Business Operating Model: Management had sought to make efficiency savings through a new business operating model with a series of working groups and reviews tasked to look at various areas of work� NIPSA was involved in all working groups, including the Magistrates Court Reports Review, Case Management Review and the Review of Office Managers�

(f) Review of IT: NIPSA has been engaged on two IT proposals regarding a new Electronic Case Management System (ECMS) and an ICT Service Delivery Review� The ECMS has been postponed while additional project staff are recruited to lead on it while NIPSA is resisting plans to move ICT Service Delivery to IT Assist�

(g) Sick Absence: Management have highlighted concerns regarding high absence rates, usually around 15% of the

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workforce at any one time� NIPSA has objected to proposals to significantly reduce the trigger points and has urged Management to look at the underlying reasons for absence and support staff in the workplace before they go off�

(h) Estates: NIPSA has been involved in a significant review of PBNI Estate� NIPSA pushed for new accommodation in a number of areas as the current offices are not fit for purpose nor disability compliant� New accommodation has been sought for Coleraine, Omagh and Antrim Road, Belfast, while both Derry offices will merge into new accommodation at Shipquay Street�

B3.32 Public Prosecution Service (PPS)(a) Secondment: NIPSA completed the

recruitment process for a seconded officer and an appointment was made late in 2016 with the previous agreement of a 3 day secondment carried through�

(b) Review of Casework Function: Trade Union Side previously met with the Business Improvement Team and raised a number of concerns including the timing of the review, given that major changes in processes were due to take place� Trade Union Side called for the review to be halted until full consultation had taken place including disclosure of the Terms of Reference� Management agreed and consultation took place prior to the commencement of the review and an agreed way forward found� Consultation continued throughout the duration of the review and the final report and recommendations were awaited by Trade Union Side�

(c) Review of Victim & Witness Care Unit (VWCU): The Business Improvement Team (BIT) carried out a review of VWCU and a report was submitted to Trade Union Side in September 2017� The contents

and recommendations of the report were disputed by Trade Union Side and further consultation was on-going�

(d) Legal Grading Review (LGR): Lengthy and often complex consultation took place during and after the Legal Grading Review� The legal nature of the PPS and the possibility of a negative report impacted on staff morale and concern about job security� Trade Union Side presented those concerns to Management Side along with other issues regarding the similarity of roles at Public Prosecutor (DP’s) and Senior Public Prosecutor (G6 & G7) level� Trade Union Side argued that was not represented in the body of the review� A number of appeals have been lodged by solicitors in the PPS regarding the outcome of the JESP and JEGS� The issue was ongoing�

(e) Temporary Promotions: Since VES, staffing gaps had appeared in the service and the PPS had adopted widespread use of temporary promotions and agency workers� A number of issues developed, the lack of rotation, the eligibility pool, criteria and selection processes which were challenged at length by Trade Union Side� After considerable consultation, suitable arrangements were put in place to ensure compliance with Equality legislation and NICS policy, thereby eliminating the possibility of discrimination against certain pools of staff� Those roles were slowly being filled with substantive staff coming off promotion lists effectively diminishing the number of temporary promotions�

(f) Electronic Case File (ECF): The Depart-ment issued plans to adopt a more technologically advanced system that was to result in the diminution of paper files� Constructive consultation took place with PPS Management and the IT branch which outlined efficiencies proposed and the methods of implementation� Significant issues were raised by Trade Union Side which

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involved consultation with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and the Health & Safety Executive (HSENI)�

A pilot scheme was put in place to identify the systems inefficiencies� Further negotiations were planned once a revised process of the operation and performance of the system was pencilled in�

(g) Holiday Pay Cases : Following on from the Bear Scotland and Patterson v Castlereagh Borough Council cases NIPSA lodged a collective grievance on behalf of all of its members in PPS� Members have been sent packs with detailed advice on lodging tribunal claims where members believe they have a potential claim� A number of cases have been lodged by members in PPS�

(h) Travel & Subsistence: Issues arose when some members in PPS were refused travel and subsistence allowances whilst travelling to temporary work stations (court buildings)� After approx� 4 weeks of dialogue; NIPSA, through negotiation with PPS Senior Management and Central Whitley discussion, were able to ensure that the status quo prevailed� All allowances were re-instated and back-dated for the period in dispute�

(i) Accommodation Issues (H&S): Issues regarding DSE, ventilation, humidity and temperature were reported� These issues had been prevalent in Belfast Chambers since the department restructured and closed offices in Lisburn and Ballymena in April 2016 and with the Omagh office operating on a partial basis only�

The majority of staff had been relocated to Belfast Chambers which was refurbished into an open plan site� The compliment of staff at that site doubled to over 300 and Trade Union Side concerns grew as working conditions deteriorated� Reports were compiled by Trade Union Side and forwarded via the Departmental Health &

Safety Committee mechanism to address the issues�

Trade Union Side successfully negotiated the creation of additional kitchen facilities for staff� Trade Union Side has been in constant dialogue with PPS Management outlining their legislative obligations under the MHSWR (NI) 2000 for a dining area to be provided for staff in Belfast Chambers�

Trade Union Side were informed that PPS Property Management Branch were close to finalising plans to create same in the Atrium area of the building with plans due to be forwarded for consultation with a view to work commencing early in 2018�

(j) Trade Union Office: Trade Union Side successfully negotiated an agreement for accommodation to be provided for trade union duties and an office has been secured in Belfast Chambers through consultation at local Whitley level�

(k) Work-related Stress: Work related Stress was an on-going issue in PPS� The poor performance of PPS reflected in the report carried out by the HSE in 2014, “Implementation of Management Standards for Work Related Stress in PPS” was highlighted� Whilst the PPS action plan to eliminate previous short comings was welcome at the time, it has not had the desired effect as members continued to suffer an unacceptable rate of work-related stress� This increased after VES and constant BIT reviews of administrative grades had only added to the negative impact this issue had on members� The PPS Branch planned to highlight this issue with their presence on the Health &Safety Committee, the Investors in People Committee and the Local Whitley Council; with a view to encouraging PPS Management to tackle and significantly reduce work-related stress to an acceptable level�

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B3.33 Sport Northern Ireland(a) Luncheon Vouchers: At the beginning of

March Management Side sought a meeting with NIPSA to begin discussions over the potential buy out of this allowance which had been introduced in 1990 as result of the closure of the subsidised canteen� NIPSA engaged in collective conciliation which was facilitated via the Labour Relations Agency at Management Side’s request� At this meeting Management Side made a final offer of £1000 gross as an unconsolidated lump sum payment to buy out the contractual entitlement to luncheon vouchers� NIPSA raised significant concerns as to whether the consultation was meaningful given that the business case to buyout this allowance had been sent and approved by the Department for Communities prior to consultation� NIPSA consulted affected members by holding a series of meetings which resulted in a significant majority of them voting to reject management side’s offer�

(b) Pension Allowance: In the 2016 pay remit the Department of Finance advised that they were aware that a number of public bodies have arrangements in place to ensure that their staff are not disadvantaged as a result of paying what were historically higher employee contributions to the NILGOSC pension scheme than other public sector employees who are members of the PCSPS(NI)� They argued that this adjustment can no longer be assumed to be a fixed amount and that Sport NI must ensure that they review the position for each individual member of staff on an annual basis to ensure that any adjustment to their salary maintains the principle that staff who are on terms analogous to those of the NICS are no better off, and no worse off, as a result of the pension scheme to which they contribute� NIPSA robustly challenged

management side’s attempts to remove this allowance in the belief that any changes would amount to a breach of contract and or an unlawful deduction of wages� At a meeting in October it was confirmed that the Departmental Solicitors’ Office had referred the issue back to the Department of Finance to get clarification on point 44 of the pay remit guidance�

(c) Sport Institute Northern Ireland Staff Regrading: Throughout the year NIPSA held a series of meetings with management side regarding the re-grading exercise for those staff based at the Sports Institute� Staff based there were on pay scales which didn’t correspond to the NICS, something management side had been seeking to address for a number of years� At a meeting in May agreement was reached to allow staff the option of either remaining on their existing grade or to move on to the NICS grade, which ever was more beneficial� A number of grading outcomes continued to be challenged by NIPSA on the basis of the misapplication of JEGS guidance, with appeals hearings expected early in 2018�

(d) HR Connect: In the early part of 2017 management side were exploring the option of moving to HR Connect� NIPSA’s main arguments against such a proposal were on the following grounds:

(i) Cost; and

(ii) history of poor service delivery�

Management Side took on board NIPSA’s concerns which resulted in them deciding against moving to HR Connect�

(e) Performance Management Policy: NIPSA took receipt of a revised Performance Management Policy for consultation in September� NIPSA met with Management Side in Mid-October to discuss a number of concerns regarding implementation given the negative impact the previous policy had on a number of our members�

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It was agreed that any issues raised by individuals would be considered and form part of the 12 month review agreed with Management Side�

B3.34 Tourism Northern Ireland (TNI)(a) Relocation: As a result of the Hunter

Review, Tourism NI moved to new offices at Linum Chambers in Belfast� NIPSA was involved at all stages as part of this move�

(b) Pay: The Department of Finance has not approved a pay award for TNI staff from 2014 as a result of their problems with a salary uplift to compensate members for the difference between NILGOSC and PSCPS(NI) pension contribution rates� NIPSA has engaged the employer and a business case to potentially resolve this case was referred to the Department of Finance for approval� However approval has still not been given and the matter remains unresolved�

(c) Travel and Subsistence: Management sought to introduce the new NICS travel and subsistence policy but included a new mechanism to calculate official mileage despite this not being agreed at NICS level� NIPSA has had a series of meetings and awaits Management’s response to proposals to resolve the issue�

B3.35 Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland (UREGNI)(a) Budgets: UREGNI is funded through a levy

on the energy industry and this has meant that they have been able to increase WTE staffing figures to deal with the workload pressures, especially from the All-Island Connector� NIPSA has continued to argue for more resources to deal with the increasing workloads�

(b) Equal Pay: NIPSA members agreed a new pay framework in 2016 to deal with equal pay concerns� NISRA was employed to carry out a further review on gender and community background concerns that showed an improving picture� NIPSA also asked for age to be considered with initial research showing potential concerns� It was agreed further analysis would be needed in 2018�

(c) Pay: UREGNI has delegated authority on pay subject to what is permitted by the Department of Finance pay remit� A formal offer was made by Management that was put on hold as no NICS agreement had been reached�

Section C Public Officers

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C1 National Joint Council

C1.1National Joint Council (NJC) PayAs part of the 2016 and 2017 National Joint Council (NJC) pay settlement it had been agreed to conduct a review of the NJC pay spine� Preliminary modelling to inform pay arrangements for 2018-2020 was to be concluded in June 2017� The intention was to devise a reformed pay spine that:

(a) Was legally compliant with the National Living Wage (NLW);

(b) Had equal differentials between each spinal column pay point;

(c) Did not cause equal pay or Single Status MKII problems for employers; and

(d) Required the minimum time and effort to implement and assimilate staff onto a new spine�

It was suggested that the cost of meeting the NLW together with the above objectives would require a 4�5%-6% increase to the pay bill quantum�

In June 2017 Trade Union Side submitted its 2018-2019 pay claim, the main elements of which included:

(a) Deletion of NJC Spinal Column Points (SCPs) 6-9, in order to reach the Foundation Living Wage of £8�45 (£9�74 in London);

(b) A 5% increase on all other NJC pay points; and

(c) The removal of the pay cap of up to 1%�

In submitting the claim Trade Union Side mounted arguments around the declining value of NJC pay over a number of years� This resulted from the pay freezes in 2010 and 2011 and the subsequent maxima 1% pay cap� Member's pay had fallen significantly in comparison to the Retail Price Index (RPI) increase of 22�6% over the corresponding period�

Notice issued in NIPSA Bulletin PO/04/17 of the National Employers pay offer in December 2017,

which was referred to as the final pay offer� The main features of the offer were as follows:

Year One – 1 April 2018

Bottom Loading on SCPs 6-19 (inclusive) equating to:

SCP 6 £1,380 (equivalent to 9�191%)







SCP 13 £900 (equivalent to 5�458%)







SCPs 20 and above

2�0%

Year 2 – 1 April 2019

The introduction of a new pay spine based on:

● A bottom rate of £9�00 per hour (£17,364) on a new SCP 1 (equivalent to old SCP 6)

● ‘Pairing off’ old SCPs 6-17 (inclusive) to create new SCPs 1-6 (inclusive)

● Equal steps of 2% between each new SCP 1 to 21 (inclusive) equivalent to old SCPs 6-28 (inclusive)

● By creating equal steps, new SCPs 10, 13, 16, 18 and 21 are generated to which no old SCPs would assimilate� For some organisations the current number of pay points in a grade would change� It was proposed joint work between the employers and trade unions

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would be required to consider appropriate advice in relation to this matter�

● New SCPs 23 and above (equivalent to old SCPs 29 and above), 2�0%�

While the percentage increases from SCP 6-19 appeared significant compared to the pay cap of 1%, this was only because these pay scale points needed to become compliant with the National Living Wage by 2020�

The full detail of the proposed 2018 and 2019 Spines are contained in Appendix 1 of Section C of the Annual Report�

C1.2Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)/Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC)NILGOSC Committee: With no NI Executive nor Departmental Ministers the NILGOSC Committee members who were due to come off the Committee at the expiration of their terms of membership (June 2017), had their appointments extended� The initial extension was to December 2017, however this was further extended to June 2018� One of these members was NIPSA’s Deputy General Secretary, Bumper Graham, who continued as the Deputy Chairperson of NILGOSC�

The other NIPSA nominee, Sharon McQuillan, was re-appointed for a second four year term in 2016�

LGPS Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) (NI): The SAB met on a number of occasions and considered what draft regulations would be needed to update and correct the NILGOSC regulations� The absence of a NI Executive and Assembly prevented any progressing of draft regulations�

The main work of the SAB related to the 2018 Government Actuaries (GAD) cap/collar valuation of the Scheme (see Section A8)� The SAB had 2 meetings with GAD to consider the

data to be used and the methodology for the actuarial evaluations� As with other schemes it was confirmed that the reports would issue at the end of March 2018�

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C1 National Joint Council: Appendix 1

1 April 2018 1 April 2019SCP £ per annum £ per Hour* New SCP £ per annum £ per Hour* Old SCP(s)

6 £16,394 £8�501 £17,364 £9�00 6/7

7 £16,495 £8�55

8 £16,626 £8�622 £17,711 £9�18 8/9

9 £16,755 £8�68

10 £16,863 £8�743 £18,065 £9�36 10/11

11 £17,007 £8�82

12 £17,173 £8�904 £18,426 £9�55 12/13

13 £17,391 £9�01

14 £17,681 £9�165 £18,795 £9�74 14/15

15 £17,972 £9�32

16 £18,319 £9�506 £19,171 £9�94 16/17

17 £18,672 £9�68

18 £18,870 £9�78 7 £19,554 £10�14 18

19 £19,446 £10�08 8 £19,945 £10�34 19

20 £19,819 £10�27 9 £20,344 £10�54 20

10 £20,751 £10�75

21 £20,541 £10�65 11 £21,166 £10�97 21

22 £21,074 £10�92 12 £21,589 £11�19 22

13 £22,021 £11�41

23 £21,693 £11�24 14 £22,462 £11�64 23

24 £22,401 £11�61 15 £22,911 £11�88 24

16 £23,369 £12�11

25 £23,111 £11�98 17 £23,836 £12�35 25

18 £24,313 £12�60

26 £23,866 £12�37 19 £24,799 £12�85 26

27 £24,657 £12�78 20 £25,295 £13�11 27

Appendix 1

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1 April 2018 1 April 2019SCP £ per annum £ per Hour* New SCP £ per annum £ per Hour* Old SCP(s)

21 £25,801 £13�37

28 £25,463 £13�20 22 £26,317 £13�64 28

29 £26,470 £13�72 23 £26,999 £13�99 29

30 £27,358 £14�18 24 £27,905 £14�46 30

31 £28,221 £14�63 25 £28,785 £14�92 31

32 £29,055 £15�06 26 £29,636 £15�36 32

33 £29,909 £15�50 27 £30,507 £15�81 33

34 £30,756 £15�95 28 £31,371 £16�26 34

35 £31,401 £16�28 29 £32,029 £16�60 35

36 £32,233 £16�71 30 £32,878 £17�04 36

37 £33,136 £17�18 31 £33,799 £17�52 37

38 £34,106 £17�68 32 £34,788 £18�03 38

39 £35,229 £18�26 33 £35,934 £18�63 39

40 £36,153 £18�74 34 £36,876 £19�11 40

41 £37,107 £19�23 35 £37,849 £19�62 41

42 £38,052 £19�72 36 £38,813 £20�12 42

43 £39,002 £20�22 37 £39,782 £20�62 43

44 £39,961 £20�71 38 £40,760 £21�13 44

45 £40,858 £21�18 39 £41,675 £21�60 45

46 £41,846 £21�69 40 £42,683 £22�12 46

47 £42,806 £22�19 41 £43,662 £22�63 47

48 £43,757 £22�68 42 £44,632 £23�13 48

49 £44,697 £23�17 43 £45,591 £23�63 49

*hourly rate calculated by dividing annual salary by 52�143 weeks (which is 365 days divided by 7) and then divided by 37 hours (the standard working week in the National Agreement ‘Green Book’�

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C2 Education & Further/Higher Education2017� NIPSA conducted a very active campaign in opposition to the proposed closure of the Centres at Ardnabannon, Bushmills, Delamont and Killowen and the threat hanging over the Centre at Killyleagh� At the closing date of the public consultation 1,850 responses had been submitted, 300 of which were based on a draft document produced by NIPSA� In addition a number of petitions had been raised, one of which was organised by NIPSA that received over 35,000 signatures� The campaign also included an extensive lobby of political representatives resulting in two adjournment debates in the NI Assembly gaining unprecedented attendance in the public gallery� NIPSA, along with other trade unions and representative bodies, made a presentation calling for the proposals to be opposed to the Education Committee of the NI Assembly�

The support for NIPSA’s campaign was overwhelming with parents, guardians, children, young people, teachers, principals, uniformed organisations, educationalists, the public and political representatives all calling for the Centres to remain open and for the services to be retained� Of the 1,850 responses, 88�43% were opposed to the closure of the Centres� In September 2017 a presentation was given to Trade Union Side outlining the detail of the responses to the public consultation� Trade unions were advised that 7 of the 8 catered Centres were to remain� This appeared positive, however, when the Authority published its proposed way forward it revealed the closure of Ardnabannon and the repurposing of three other Centres� Bushmills, Killowen and Killyleagh to undertake Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) provision�

This meant the Authority would effectively proceed with its original proposals by removing all existing outdoor education facilities from the Centres� The NIPSA campaign was initiated again with an urgent lobby of political representatives as Ardnabannon was due to close on 31 December 2017 and the removal of existing services from the other Centres by 31 March 2018�

C2.12017/18 BudgetThe budget for the Education Authority (EA) remained under significant pressure with the out turn for 2016/17 having a £15m overspend in school budgets� The lack of a Northern Ireland Executive compounded the budgetary problems with only a cash allocation up to 31 July 2017 approved by NI Civil Servants which was subsequently extended to December 2017� In November 2017 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland published a budget that purported to increase the Education allocation by 1�5%� However the EA continued to face financial pressures of £105m� These included a cash reduction of £25m; £36m in pay and price increases; £7m Apprenticeship Levy; £10m in school maintenance and the £15m opening overspend� While £10m was allocated from the October 2017 monitoring round this was directed to offsetting some of the increasing school budget deficit�

The EA was asked to undertake scenario planning for reduced budgets in the order of 2%, 4% and 6% respectively� The Chief Executive announced in December 2017 that since 2010/11 the budget allocation had reduced by £200m with school budgets dropping by 10%� The Chief Executive warned that if the budget remained flat at £1�82bn, there would be a gap of more than £350m by 2019/20�

NIPSA along with a number of teaching unions called for an immediate cash injection in order to maintain services� It also criticised the attack on the lowest paid members with Classroom Assistants being made redundant and hours of work being unilaterally reduced�

C2.2Review of Residential and Outdoor Education CentresThe public consultation on the Education Authority proposals on Residential and Outdoor Education Centres that was initiated in November 2016 concluded in February

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C2 Education & Further/Higher EducationTrade unions made a presentation to the Board of the Education Authority on 23 November 2017 calling on it to rescind its decision� The trade unions also called on the Board to authorise the Centres at Ardnabannon, Bushmills, Delamont and Killowen to confirm bookings they had planned between January and June 2018 amounting to 4,670 children and 127 schools/organisations� This would also sustain revenue in the region of £320k� The total number of children on the EOTAS register was 645� Trade unions claimed the moving forward proposals were not subjected to public consultation and were flawed as:

(a) The proposals were not in the best interest of the majority of children and young people outside of the minority EOTAS category�

(b) They ignored the obligation to the broader cohort of children and young people and those in the Targeting Social Need category�

(c) The Authority ignored the overwhelming views of the consultees and citizens which made a farce of the public consultation process�

(d) The removal of the services resulted in the loss of an important revenue stream�

In addition trade unions raised serious concerns about the failure to conduct a full equality impact assessment following a screening exercise that highlighted negative equality impacts in a number of Section 75 categories� Trade Union Side indicated that it would raise a formal complaint on this failure with the Equality Commission�

C2.3Children and Young People’s Strategy 2017-2027A public consultation document was issued on the Children and Young People’s Strategy 2017-2027 with a closing date of March 2017� The draft strategy mainly impacted on issues around education, health and social care, housing and

local services� NIPSA submitted a response highlighting the need for a multi-sectoral approach as legislated for in the Children’s Services Co-operation Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child� NIPSA welcomed the fact that the document recognised that delivering the objective of giving children and young people the best start in life would require consistent and sustained action�

Concerns were expressed that in order to realise the objectives contained in the document a proper allocation of funding across the key sectors, primarily health, housing and education would be required� It was feared that the outcomes based accountability approach outlined in the draft Programme for Government may not achieve this� NIPSA also believed the document had data gaps in a number of important areas such as educational attainment and education inequality and also in the area of entrants to the criminal justice system�

With the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly the strategy was not advanced beyond receipt of responses to the public consultation document�

C2.4Voluntary Youth Work FundingA crisis arose during the year with a lack of funding for youth centres and youth workers delivering services in local communities� The services provided contributed to the educational, physical and mental well-being of young people, particularly those from areas of social deprivation and disadvantage� A limited cash allocation was released by the Education Authority that was not sufficient to keep a number of youth centres operational� Youth workers were put under notice of redundancy� NIPSA initiated a public campaign to seek support for the centres and to lobby for additional funds� A number of consultation meetings were held with affected members and several public protests organised that were well supported� Some additional

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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationfunding was secured but not all applications for funding were successful�

In addition to the funding difficulties, members raised concerns about poor terms and conditions of employment and a refusal to admit staff working in the youth centres to the same pension scheme operated for statutory youth workers� When raised at the Education Authority, Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) the Authority indicated it was not the employer and these were matters for the Management Committees of the respective youth centres� In response to Trade Union Side representations, the Department of Education confirmed it would consider business cases seeking admission to the Teachers Pension Scheme�

C2.5Strategic Review of Youth Service Local and Regional Funding Scheme for Voluntary OrganisationsThe Education Authority conducted a public consultation on a new funding scheme (NFS) during October and November 2017� This was with a view to implementing new funding arrangements from October 2018� The proposals contained 3 funding strands, Strategic covering a 3 year period; Projects covering 1 to 3 years and Development also covering 1 to 3 years�

The proposal would mean a fundamental change with the Project strand targeted at essential services based on assessed needs� The proposed 3 year funding arrangement would ease annual pressures on voluntary services such as Youth Centres� The new arrangements were also likely to result in a number of organisations receiving funding for the first time while others were likely to loose funding� As part of the consultation process workshops were organised – 10 Local Voluntary Unit workshops, 5 Area workshops for part-time and full-time units, 2 Regional workshops and also Regional and Local Young People consultation sessions� It was agreed that existing schemes providing assistance would be extended from April to October 2018 to afford

3 months to unsuccessful applicants in order for them to respond to the change and seek alternative revenue streams�

C2.6Assistant Director – Tier 3 PostsIn January 2017 the Education Authority met with Trade Union Side to address ongoing concerns about the selection process for Assistant Director positions and the notice of redundancy for six members of staff� Trade Union Side insisted that the Assistant Director posts be considered as suitable alternative employment for staff under notice of redundancy in particular circumstances; that pay protection beyond two years be extended to displaced staff and that a competency based approach not be applied as the Authority did not have an agreed competency framework in operation�

While the Authority refused to lift the notices of redundancy, it did concede that Assistant Director posts be deemed as suitable alternative employment for former substantive Tier 2 officers� Following further representations the six members of staff under threat of redundancy were all offered suitable alternative employment and redundancies were avoided� The Authority also entered into further discussions and revised its original proposed competency approach to a selection process directly related to the advertised criterion�

The Authority conceded that it did not have a two year pay protection agreement with Trade Union Side� In the alternative Trade Union Side produced a letter from the Chief Executive dating back to May 2015 in which he stated a pay protection policy was to be drafted and subject to consultation with Trade Union Side�

The Authority had failed to produce the draft policy and therefore agreed to enter negotiations on the issue� It was further agreed that any policy developed which provided a pay protection beyond two years would be applied retrospectively to internal staff displaced by the filling of Assistant Director positions�


97

C2 Education & Further/Higher EducationAt the conclusion of the consultation the Assistant Director positions were advertised internally in the first instance� Those not filled by the internal competition were subsequently publicly advertised� By December 2017 all but 2 Assistant Director positions had been filled�

C2.7Review of Youth ServiceIn October 2017 the Education Authority wrote to Trade Union Side about its review of the Youth Service� The documentation included a proposed structure for the management of the Youth Service and a number of proposed job descriptions� It was stated that the structure needed to be revised to reflect a regional delivery model as opposed to the former 5 Board structures� Key elements of the proposed model were to include:

(a) an analysis of the needs of children and young people at regional and local level;

(b) support for the community and voluntary sector to provide quality youth services at a regional and local level including governance support;

(c) direct delivery of local youth services where required;

(d) effective partnership working with a range of key stakeholders;

(e) support for the delivery of an effective youth service curriculum; and

(f) effective reporting on the key outcomes of the youth service both at regional and local level�

Trade Union Side raised several concerns particularly regarding the lack of detail on the rationale for the proposed structure; the lack of job descriptions for a number of posts; the failure to provide detail on the entire structure for the Youth Service; the concern of members about being displaced; and potential for work to be taken out of the statutory sector and placed in the voluntary sector�

Following meetings in November and December 2017, the Authority indicated that there was an opportunity for promotion to the proposed newly created Senior Youth Officer positions� It was also confirmed that the number of posts at lower levels would not be altered� Detail on the rationale was still lacking and Trade Union Side proposed a meeting with all affected staff be arranged at which Trade Union Side would be present� This would create the opportunity for members, in the presence of trade union representatives, to raise questions and receive clarity around the proposals� The Authority agreed to facilitate such a meeting early in January 2018�

C2.8Duke of Edinburgh – Joint Award InitiativeA review of the Duke of Edinburgh – Joint Award Initiative had been initiated in April 2016 and a report completed in January 2017� This report together with proposals for operating the Award was provided to Trade Union Side in August 2017� The Authority claimed there was no significant impact on staff although there was a proposed reduction in the number of posts� Assurances were given that staff would be redeployed within local office areas�

In September 2017, Trade Union Side submitted a response to the proposals raising a number of concerns� This included issues around unacceptable workloads, the lack of administrative support, a lack of detail on how the proposals were arrived at and issues relating to draft job descriptions� Further representations were made in December 2017 following an unacceptable response to Trade Union Side’s earlier representations�

In November 2017, Trade Union Side received a request from the Authority to clear a competition to recruit a Specialist Youth Officer to manage the proposed regional Duke of Edinburgh Award� The letter containing the request contained a number of general comments and claims that

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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationwere unsubstantiated, in particular about a risk to the operation of the Award� Trade Union Side sought greater detail and indicated that the draft job description for the position had a significant number of responsibilities beyond the Duke of Edinburgh Award� Following further engagement, Trade Union Side agreed to the position being advertised on a without prejudice basis to the ongoing consultation and negotiations on the Duke of Edinburgh proposals and the broader review of the Youth Service�

C2.9Joint Negotiating CouncilThe Authority responded positively to Trade Union Side’s proposal to revise the structure of the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) to better facilitate consultation and negotiation arrangements� It was agreed to introduce a more proactive arrangement through the establishment of Directorate Forums that would meet more regularly throughout the year� The JNC was to meet at least twice a year and when required to consider registered disagreements lodged at Directorate Forum level�

Six Directorate Forums were created as follows covering each respective Directorate i�e� Children and Young People’s Services, Education, Finance and IT, Human Resources, Operations and Estates and Pay, Terms and Conditions of Service� In December 2017 Trade Union Side raised the need to consider how the Internal Audit area would be captured given a number of concerns in that functional area�

The new structure was operative prior to a revised constitution for the JNC being agreed� A draft revised constitution had been considered however Trade Union Side could not agree it as a number of changes had been incorporated beyond reflecting the structural changes� Trade Union Side provided a further draft revised constitution reverting to existing provision in a number of areas� These were mostly accepted with only a few areas to be agreed by the year end�

C2.10Classroom AssistantsA number of issues affecting Classroom Assistants were raised during the year, the two main issues being job evaluation and unilateral valuation of member’s contracts� In relation to the former an impasse was reached on the agreement that a number of Classroom Assistants job descriptions be re-evaluated� While a review had formerly been undertaken a number of members contested the outcome around whether their posts were Classroom Assistant Additional Special Needs� The issues of contention related to the provision of documentation being available to Trade Union Side and each member, the involvement of Special Educational Needs management and having duties and responsibilities signed off by school Principals� Trade Union Side insisted that “statementing” information could not be used by management if not made available to the member of staff or their trade union representative under a confidential classification� The concern about input from Special Educational Needs managers was based on budgetary constraints influencing the outcome of the job evaluation process� In the latter part of the year, management agreed to revert to a point in the negotiations where only a few issues needed to be addressed in order to proceed with the review of job descriptions� It was hoped an agreed way forward would be arrived at in early 2018�

During the year several members reported being advised by their school Principal that their hours of work were being reduced and/or their rate of pay for several hours a day would be paid on the General Assistant pay scale� This was raised with the Director of Children and Young People’s Services as schools reported they were taking direction from the Authority� The Director indicated no directive had been issued at her level� As the problems continued Trade Union Side pressed for a special meeting to consider the matter� It was eventually established that schools, over the years, had been given some


99

C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationflexibilities but their actions went beyond what was considered reasonable� The Director accepted Trade Union Sides claim that the action amounted to a unilateral valuation of contract� In December 2017 it was agreed to establish a Joint Working Group to consider these and other related matters� Draft terms of reference for the Joint Working Group were to be provided to Trade Union Side� These were to incorporate a defined timeframe for the Joint Working Group to report back with recommendations to the Children and Young People’s Services Directorate Forum�

C2.11Car AllowancesThe controversy around the non-application of the essential car user status in a number of functional and/or geographical areas remained� The Authority stated the inconsistencies arose from the approach taken by respective former Education and Library Boards� In January 2017 the Authority put forward a proposal which it claimed had the objective of being fair and also in accordance with the Green Book – NJC terms and conditions� The proposals were for staff to have access to a car when required on the following basis:

(a) Travel an average of 3,500 business miles per year; or

(b) Travel an average of at least 1,250 miles per year and necessarily use their car an average of three days per week�

(c) Casual user status would be for staff for whom it was desirable to have access to a car, when required, for business purposes and who did not meet the criteria set out above�

Trade Union Side contested the proposal indicating there was nothing in the Green Book that could be used to apply the terms set out� Trade Union Side sought to argue that a member of staff required to use their car to discharge their duties and responsibilities was de facto an

essential car user� Trade Union Side also argued that in determining authorisation of essential car user status factors such as the nature of the duty, security/transportation of files and equipment, off-route destinations and time management/efficiency should be taken into consideration�

As an alternative Trade Union Side proposed that by the very nature of their job, staff in particular functional areas should be considered essential car users� Trade Union Side provided a list of a number of such functional areas, after which some progress was made� A few areas remained under consideration�

C2.12 Job EvaluationFollowing a critical Northern Ireland Audit Office Report on the application of job evaluation it was agreed to consider a number of improvements in the operation of the process� In the meantime the Department of Education placed a moratorium until revised arrangements were agreed� A particular disagreement related to the process of appeal particularly where a split decision was arrived at� The appeal panel consisted of two management and two trade union representatives� As an alternative Trade Union Side proposed a three person panel consisting of a management representative, a trade union representative and an independent Chairperson� The Authority did not agree to this proposed alternative arguing that there had been very few split decisions and the 2:2 arrangement had operated well�

During the year the Authority provided trade unions with documentation received from London Councils, the owners of the Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) Job Evaluation Scheme� The documents were produced as a result of a review of the job evaluation scheme undertaken by London Councils in consultation with both management and trade union representatives of the GLPC in 2016� The Procedural Framework Agreement set out a model procedure for dealing with appeals

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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationwhere agreement could not be reached� Both the Authority and Trade Union Side agreed to meet further following consideration of the documentation� It was important for progress to be made given the mounting number of outstanding evaluations for which a number of staff would have since left service under the voluntary exit scheme�

C2.13 TransportTransport Reform: Transport formed a significant percentage of work taken forward in the Operations and Estates Directorate� It was agreed to establish a Transport Reform Group having management and trade union representation� It was also agreed to appoint a Recognised Expert to provide an advisory role in transport matters� There were a number of key component parts of work identified including links to special education, the need for increased provision, how transport is awarded, appeal procedures, collaborative work and the role of escorts in special education� The infrastructure was to be examined with a view to identifying efficiencies and continuous improvement� This also involved development of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) in relation to efficiencies, quality and responsiveness�

Bus Escorts: In August 2017, Trade Union Side was advised the number of escorts allocated in the Belfast/Dundonald area was greater than required� In order to maximise capacity on school bus runs the number of privately operated services in the region were reduced� The 31 casual staff contracts for those with less than 12 months service were terminated� There were 14 staff employed for 4 years or more and a further 19 staff with between 1-3 years service (appointed on an annual basis)� Risk assessments were conducted to ensure those students with special needs and the requirements of schools were catered for� The Authority indicated it intended to avoid compulsory redundancies and sought expression of interest for the Voluntary

Exit Scheme (VES)� These were assessed in early September 2017 after which further consultation with Trade Union Side was conducted� Staff were required to undertake escort duties in alternative school routes taking account of their personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities etc�

C2.14 Facilities ManagementOrganisational Performance Management: The Director of Operations and Estates reported that work had been undertaken to commence a more structured assessment of the Education Authority performance relating to a number of functions� The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) was appointed to undertake this work and it produced a report on Building Maintenance, Cleaning and Catering� The Authority rated in the upper quartile in these performance areas in a number of indicators� However, issues of poor consultation with service users, parents etc were highlighted and needed to be addressed� Trade Union Side requested a separate meeting to discuss the reports at which lay representatives from the functional areas could be present�

Interim Structures: Following the appointment of an Assistant Director, Facilities Management, Trade Union Side was advised of an interim structure being proposed in his area of responsibility� Trade Union Side raised a number of concerns as the interim structure appeared to be laying the foundation for a more enduring structure� The following issues were raised�

(a) Trade Union Side proposed an alternative interim structure in which grounds maintenance and cleaning formed a new strand separate from building maintenance and the helpdesk�

(b) It was not acceptable for lead roles to be offered on a development opportunity basis� Those filling such roles should be properly remunerated to reflect the additional responsibilities


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C2 Education & Further/Higher Education(c) The need to have an understanding of

proposed structures at Tier 5 level� Tier 4 lead positions should be seen as complimenting the structure below and not a position that displaces staff at Tier 5 level�

(d) An analysis of workloads was required in addition to an assessment of job weight� The methodology for this to be agreed with Trade Union Side�

Catering: In March 2017 a meeting to discuss a number of issues was held� Management entered the meeting with a view to discussions about a £7m cut in the catering budget� Trade Union Side refused to engage on this basis and instead sought information on job descriptions, the business case that resulted in a reduction of 3 senior catering staff, the basis of proposals on changes to school meals and the removal of Additional Responsibility Allowances� The provision of the information took several months after which further representations were made�

A case was presented on behalf of Area Managers who were working to a higher level of responsibility beyond their job descriptions� This became an issue when the Additional Responsibility Allowances were withdrawn in April 2017� The Authority claimed that the 2 Catering Managers had assumed the responsibilities for which additional remuneration had been provided� This was contested when Trade Union Side produced a list of duties above Area Manager level that were still being undertaken� The Area Managers in the Belfast/Dundonald area had additional remuneration re-instated in September 2017� Trade Union Side raised a concern that despite an agreement in August 2017 to examine each respective Area Manager post across the Authority, that had not taken place� HR argued the delay was related to the intention to conduct a review across the Facilities Management structures� Trade Union Side had not agreed this and insisted the examination of Area Manager posts proceed� The Director committed to progress the matter as agreed in August 2017�

C2.15Pay ProtectionDuring negotiations on the process for appointment of Assistant Directors a disagreement arose on pay protection� The Authority sought to argue it had an agreement with Trade Union Side on a pay protection for a period of 2 years� It transpired that a 2 year protection was referenced in a 2012 Redundancy Policy� However, while Trade Union Side was consulted about that policy it was never agreed by Trade Union Side�

A letter from the Chief Executive dated may 2015 (post the 2012 Redundancy Policy) advised Trade Union Side that a bespoke pay protection policy was being drafted in the context of the establishment of the Education Authority� A commitment was given then to consult Trade Union Side but the draft policy was never produced� Trade Union Side insisted that urgent negotiations take place on a pay protection policy beyond a period of 2 years� Trade Union Side was able to point to agreements for particular groups of staff in the Authority who already had life time protections�

Negotiations commenced in June 2017 and it was indicated management wished to undertake a benchmarking exercise across other parts of the public sector� This was to inform any business case that would have to be presented to the Department of Education for approval�

C2.16Public and Privilege HolidaysA case was submitted to the Education Authority to claim time in lieu for public and privilege holidays falling within periods of maternity, paternity and adoptive leave� Retrospection was also sought for six years to 2011� While there was initially some resistance to the claim when provision of details on the arrangements put in place by Health Trusts and the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), some progress was made� The Authority agreed to submit a business case

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C2.18Education Welfare ServiceEducation Welfare Officers: A number of representations were made on behalf of Education Welfare Officers (EWO) in relation to allocation of resources, case loads, lone working and essential car user status� As the live EWO competition list was due to expire in February 2017 Trade Union Side proposed placing an advertisement a number of months prior to that in order to be in a supply position then� Trade Union Side also proposed advertising substantive positions and temporary positions separately in order to streamline the appointment process� Unfortunately despite agreeing this approach advertisements were not placed as proposed and a number of vacancies existed throughout the year� Trade Union Side did agree to the appointment of Agency staff as a temporary measure in order to ease pressure on members until substantive appointments were made�

A number of members objected to the increase in caseloads beyond those agreed with Trade Union Side� This remained a problem in the earlier part of 2017� Eventually the case load of 30 (non-court cases) and 25 (involving court action) was introduced which was well received by members� In addition management agreed to put some additional resources in the Belfast region in the latter part of the year after several representations were made� Concerns were also made about the increasing number of schools not receiving the necessary Education Welfare Service which left a number of children in vulnerable positions� Management did agree to consider a rebalancing of resources across the network but indicated this would not be possible until the Education Welfare Service Review was completed�

Trade Union Side was also successful in having the blanket veto on awarding essential car user status lifted� The Education Welfare Service was one of the functional areas that Trade Union Side argued should attract essential car user status� Progress was also made with the allocation of

to the Department of Education� The business case did not meet the claim in full and was limited to periods of maternity leave only and retrospective to April 2015� This mirrored the arrangements in Health Trusts and the NICS�

In November 2017 Trade Union Side was advised that the business case had received Departmental clearance� In the meantime it was established that the Business Services Organisation (BSO) had introduced similar arrangements however had applied retrospection based on the 6 year statute bar limitation� Consideration was being given to lodging legal cases on behalf of members in other parts of the public sector on which legal advices were being sought�

C2.17Extended Day ProgrammesA number of grievance cases were pursued in respect of non payment of statutory sick pay, holiday pay, maternity pay etc for those members working in breakfast clubs, after school clubs and extended day programmes� When the grievances were concluded they were not upheld following which NIPSA wrote to all school based staff advising of the potential failure on the part of the employer and inviting members to lodge industrial tribunal claims�

A number of claims were subsequently lodged and during 2017 further work was undertaken to gather data to inform consultations with the legal team� A Case Management Discussion was held in December 2017 at which a timeframe for issue and receipt of Better and Further Particulars; identification of legal and factual matters and how to group multiple cases was determined� A further Case Management Discussion was scheduled for February 2018� The parties also agreed to have discussions on a possible resolution of the cases�


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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationdocument outlined views on how the Education Authority Internal Audit Team would restructure and reorganise� It included information on structure, job titles, grades, organisation of audits, professional fees, base location and internal quality assessment� A number of statements proved controversial and no content had been the subject of consultation with Trade Union Side� The concerns of members was raised at the December 2017 Joint Negotiating Council meeting� Assurances were given that no proposals had been formulated and when these were drawn up they would be subject to consultation� Trade Union Side stated the document went beyond what was appropriate at a review stage and that a number of revised practices impacting on staff conditions of service were already advanced� The Chief Executive was asked to ensure no changes were implemented in advance of consultations being concluded� An initial meeting was being arranged for January 2018�

C2.20 School Development ServiceNotification was given to Trade Union Side of a Review of the School Development Service to determine a future operating structure� This function had experienced a substantial reduction in budget allocation over recent years� In May 2017 a presentation was given to Trade Union Side outlining the proposed structure which the Director indicated had been costed within the 2017/18 budget allocation�

During consultations Trade Union Side requested additional information including data relating to the Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES)� There were some posts paid on the Soulbury pay scale that were proposed to be upgraded� Trade Union Side pressed for as many people as possible to be slotted into the new structure in order to avoid any threat of redundancy� The Director indicated that he wanted to avoid the threat to jobs and that the number of posts in the proposed structure exceeded the number of staff that existed� Trade Union Side requested

mobile phones as a safety measure for a number of EWO’s who were lone workers�

Education Welfare Service Review: The much anticipated report on the review of the Education Welfare Service was not produced during 2017� In order that NIPSA members views were taken on board it was proposed management arrange a series of consultative meetings� The Authority indicated it was conducting staff meetings and sought to use these to ascertain member views� While this was agreed in principle, Trade Union Side had to ask for additional meetings to be held as member’s views had not been properly captured� NIPSA had also sought feedback from the review process in September 2017 prior to the publication of the report� However, due to a difficulty in arranging engagement consultations with parents and students the review experienced slippage� Trade Union Side was advised a report would not be published until February/March 2018 at the earliest�

Senior Education Welfare Officers: A number of Senior Education Welfare Officers raised concerns about additional duties in relation to suspension and expulsions� It was established that SEWO’s in the Western region had been involved in this area of work for some time� NIPSA indicated that suspension and expulsions were matters for the School Development Service (SDS)� The Authority agreed that SEWO’s were involved in consultative meetings in an advocacy role on behalf of the child� They are not involved in the decision making process on suspension and expulsions� It was also clarified that SDS staff provide advice about procedure and protocol to Boards of Governors who are responsible for taking decisions in relation to suspensions and expulsions�

C2.19Internal Audit TransformationIn November 2017 the newly appointed Assistant Director, heading up Internal Audit issued documentation on the Education Authority Audit Team Transformation Project� The

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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationclarification as to the posts where slotting in may be possible and those that could be considered as a promotional opportunity�

In addition Trade Union Side requested the provision of draft job descriptions particularly where there was a change in roles and responsibilities and for posts considered to involve any upgrading�

There was some discussion around a number of issues that had not been bottomed out� For example the Director referred to his concerns about different practices existing which was a legacy from the former Board structures, some of which impacted on terms and conditions� The Director accepted that TUPE protections were in place and that any harmonisation in a move to a common set of terms and conditions across the Education Authority must be channelled through the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC)�

The location of posts was also touched upon, including Trade Union Side’s concern about the loss of senior posts within a number of regions� The Director appeared to accept the points raised and highlighted the proposed geographical spread of posts in three localities reflecting a cluster of District Council areas� The need for senior posts within regions was acknowledged� The Director also stated that within the proposals he sought to address travel to work/work life balance issues in the interests of staff�

C2.21Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES)The Northern Ireland budget published by the Secretary of State in the Autumn included figures on the Public Sector Transformation Fund allocations� This was the fund used to finance the public sector voluntary exit scheme� The figures published included £23�5m for non-teaching staff and £15�9m for teaching staff amounting to £39�4m� The day following publication the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Education advised trade unions that the figure allocated in 2017/18 for VES in the education

sector was £23�5m of which £16�5m was for non-teaching staff and £7m for teaching staff�

At the December 2017 meeting of the Joint Negotiating Council, Trade Union Side called for no further staff to be shed under the scheme� While posts were lost when individuals left service the work remained putting undue and unreasonable pressure on staff in the Authority� The Chief Executive indicated that while the scheme remained live the Authority had not released the number of staff in the 2017/18 financial year as had originally been anticipated�

C2.22Strategic Plan 2017-2027In June 2017 the Education Authority published a summary of the consultation on its first Strategic Plan covering 2017-2027� It sought to detail the vision, mission, values and future strategic priorities over a ten year period� The Strategic Plan was described as a high level document which identified the areas of work that needed to be taken forward to progress towards achieving the priorities set� It was to be supported by a 3 year Corporate Plan and annual Business Plans to incorporate new priorities and challenges that could arise and work that the Department of Education might seek in line with objectives within a Programme for Government�

There were a number of concerns raised during the consultation stage mainly around limited detail on how the Strategic Priorities would be achieved� Further concerns were raised about inaccuracies and omissions on data and informative diagrams� Clarification was also sought about references to new duties for the Authority in respect of Shared Education and the community use of schools�


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C2.23 Use of Agency Staff – Education AuthorityNIPSA produced a publication, Insecurity as Policy – The Casualization of Public Services in 2017� It sought to highlight the growing numbers of Agency staff across the public sector in Northern Ireland� NIPSA has argued that the funds directed to this casualization of

employment would be better spent by providing much needed substantive posts and job security within the public sector�

The following information on Agency staff was obtained from the Education Authority covering the financial years from 2012/13 through to 2016/17 (30 March 2017)�

Total Number of Agency Staff Employed from April 2012

Agency Workers Employed in Each Financial YearOffice 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 up to 30/3/2017

Total 153 174 151 111 158

Since 2012 the majority of Agency Workers have been employed by the Education Authority in Administrative posts (Clerical and Senior Clerical)� Agency Workers have however also

been engaged in other specialist posts such as Maintenance Officers, Architectural Technician, Quantity Surveyors and Education Welfare Officers as well as posts in Finance and IT�

Agency Staff Employed for More Than 2 YearsType of Work Number Type of Work Number

Architects 1 Contract Monitoring Officer 1

Architectural Technician 1 Library Assistant/Mobile Driver 1

Building Maintenance Officers 3 Quantity Surveyors 2

Clerical Officers 9 Senior Clerical Officers 4

Agency Staff Employed for Less Than 2 YearsType of Work Number Type of Work Number

Accounting Manager 2 Executive Officer 5

Architect 5 IT 1

Catering Assistant 1 Library Assistant/Mobile Driver 3

Classroom Assistant 3 Maintenance Officer 8

Clerical Officer 170 Porter/Security 1

Clerk of Works 1 Quantity Surveyor 4

Clerk Typist 9 Senior Architect Technician 4

Condition Supervisor 1 Senior Clerical Officer 19

Education Welfare Officer 22 Technical Support Officer (Level 3) 1

Environmental Hazards Officer 1 Transport Officer 1

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Posts that Require Cover for more than 4 Months

Accounting Manager Education Welfare Officers

Architects Executive Officer

Architectural Technicians IT Officer

Building Maintenance Officers Library Assistant/Mobile Drivers/Security

Clerk of Works Quantity Surveyors

Deputy Transport Officer

Total Agency Worker Costs in Financial Years for all EA Offices2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017

£1,344,189 £1,210,197 £1,434,842 £1,152,691 £483,971

Since 2012 the majority of Agency Workers have been engaged by the Education Authority through Grafton Recruitment; Diamond Recruitment or Kennedy Recruitment� A small number of specialist posts have also been engaged through Hays Recruitment�

The Education Authority was unable to disclose details of Recruitment Agency management fees as it was argued to do so would prejudice the commercial interests of the employment agencies involved�

While the number of Agency staff in 2012/13 was 153 at a cost of £1�34m and 158 staff at a cost of £484k in 2016/17, there is no explanation as to the significant variation in financial outturn in these years respectively� One possible reason could be the grade/profession of Agency staff recruited at each point in time� NIPSA was also advised that the information provided in the tables may have some Agency staff accounted for in more than one financial year if their employment straddled over two calendar years or more�


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C2.24Education Authority: North Eastern Region (EA NER) Redundancies: An issue arose in a number of schools regarding the payment of redundancy pay to Classroom Assistants� It was reported by these schools that the Education Authority (EA) was not in a position to pay redundancy and therefore could not offer it� The NIPSA branch and Official raised concerns over this and gave notice to the schools and the EA that if this payment was not afforded legal action would be taken� No such action was required as only a small amount of redundancies were implemented with redeployment being the most common option taken forward� Those redundancies that were actioned resulted in redundancy payments�

Job Evaluation:

(a) School Based Employees: Multiple cases were registered and prepared, however even for school based staff it proved difficult to get evaluations conducted due to lack of trained evaluators on Management Side�

(b) Board Employees: NIPSA continued to make representations for a number of other non- school employees to have their jobs evaluated following the removal of the moratorium�

Terms and Conditions: An issue arose during the year regarding Senior Drivers arrangements for overnight parking of school buses� Management informed NIPSA that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) considered the taking home and parking of school buses outside staff’s residences as a taxable benefit� NIPSA sought clarification and evidence that HMRC were actually raising the matter� NIPSA subsequently produced evidence that to do so was not a benefit�

Music Tutors: Music tutors in this area raised a number of grievances regarding their terms and conditions� These included the retrospective

payment of accrued holiday pay, non-payment of sick pay, parity of terms and conditions with other EA regions and requests for permanent contracts� There was partial success on these points most notably securing the offer of permanent contracts� However work continued on the remainder of the issues as management’s proposals fell short of what was required�

C2.25 Education Authority: South Eastern Region (EA SER) Redundancies: A number of schools refused the payment of redundancy pay to Classroom Assistants� It was reported by these schools that the Education Authority (EA) was not in a position to pay redundancy� The NIPSA branch and Official insisted that members entitled to this payment should receive it otherwise legal action would be taken�

Job Evaluation:

(a) School Based Employees: A number of new cases were lodged�

(b) Board Employees: The moratorium on job evaluation remained in place due to a disagreement over the appeal mechanism� Work was undertaken to prepare cases to be processed when the moratorium was lifted�

Collective Issues:

(a) Part-time Music Tutors: Members raised concerns that holiday pay was not paid over the summer months and no communication had been received from management� A collective grievance was raised by the local NIPSA branch in September 2017 and all monies were paid by the end of that month�

(b) Recruitment Processes: Members raised concerns that posts were being trawled externally without having first exhausted the internal process� This was referred to NIPSA Headquarters to be raised with Human Resources centrally�

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C2.26 Education Authority: Western Region (EA WR)Enniskillen Royal Grammar School: NIPSA met with members in Enniskillen Royal Grammar School in early 2017, following which clarification was sought from the Principal regarding Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) related issues, in particular the interpretation of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Circulars�

NIPSA requested information regarding the new staffing structure and was provided with proposals which outlined a number of changes to roles and grades� NIPSA held a consultation meeting with members, following which clarification was sought regarding the Executive Officer and Senior Clerical Officer roles� The response received was shared with members for further comment�

Amalgamation of St Comhghall’s and St Eugene’s Colleges to form St Kevin’s College: NIPSA attended a meeting in St Comhghall’s College which was due to amalgamate with St Eugene’s College to form St Kevin’s College, in September 2017� NIPSA raised a number of general queries on behalf of its members and requested consultation in relation to the proposed restructuring�

Proposals for restructuring the school were provided to NIPSA in March 2017, following which NIPSA met with members, who were extremely concerned at the proposal to cut hours and grades of posts� Expressions of interest in Voluntary Redundancy were also requested by the School� NIPSA wrote to the Chairperson of the Interim Board of Governors relaying all the members’ concerns, and requested the budgetary and enrolment information which informed the proposals�

NIPSA subsequently met the Principal and Interim Board of Governors (IBOG) and outlined the many concerns which members had in relation to the proposed non-teaching staff

structure� These included proposed changes to grades in relation to the Technician posts, changes to hours and the proposed redundancy of the Library Assistant and Supervisory Assistant posts� NIPSA also stated that consultation exercises needed to be carried out separately with Classroom Assistants, if there were any proposals to change their hours or grades� The IBOG agreed to extend the period of consultation to discuss these concerns, however, there were very few changes to the final structure�

NIPSA represented members at a series of one to one meetings in June 2017 to discuss the implications for individual members relating to the non-teaching staff restructuring� All proposals for changes to contractual hours were dealt with in accordance with the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Circular 224, collective agreement that related to School Reorganisations�

Devenish College, Enniskillen: NIPSA attended a meeting of Classroom Assistant members, who were advised by the Principal that the posts of Classroom Assistants whose students was due to leave the school, would have their hours and grades reduced because of the way in which Children and Young Peoples’ Services (CYPS) allocated hours to schools� NIPSA contacted CYPS regarding the allocation of hours to schools, and were advised that CYPS could not alter the contracted hours of any Classroom Assistant�

NIPSA also issued a press release to local papers in the Fermanagh area, as there were proposed reductions in hours and grades to other Classroom Assistant posts in some Fermanagh schools� The press release highlighted that this unacceptable situation had developed as a direct result to cuts to the CYPS budget�

Erne Integrated College, Enniskillen: NIPSA met with members in Erne Integrated College, Enniskillen as some had been advised they would be placed on new contracts from September 2017, comprising fewer Special Educational Needs hours and including some General Assistant hours� NIPSA advised members to


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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationlodge grievances and of the potential for tribunal cases and legal challenges� The matter was also referred to the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) of the Education Authority�

Lisneal College, Derry: NIPSA represented members in Lisneal College where a potential compulsory redundancy had been identified amongst members in the Administration Department of the school� The Principal and Board of Governors Staffing Committee explained that the redundancy situation had occurred as a direct result of a reduction in budget to the school and consequently savings were required� NIPSA requested a full explanation of the measures undertaken prior to arriving at this decision and queried the rationale for identifying administrative members�

A transferred redundancy was identified as a possible measure whereby a compulsory redundancy could potentially be avoided, and it was agreed that this would be explored within EAWR�

St Cecilia’s College, Derry: A potential compulsory redundancy was identified amongst members in Study Support within St Cecilia’s College� NIPSA represented all the members concerned and raised queries regarding the rationale for the proposal� The Principal and Staffing Sub-Committee of the Board of Governors (BOG) explained that the situation had arisen as a direct result of cuts to the school’s budget� Following consultation, other measures were implemented which negated the need for a redundancy�

St Joseph’s Boys’ School, Derry: NIPSA met with members regarding proposals to introduce a new system of recording start and finish times for non-teaching staff in the school� Concerns raised by members included the rationale for the system and the retention of data� These concerns were subsequently raised with the Principal and addressed� The majority of members were content with the introduction of the new system�

St Joseph’s College, Enniskillen: NIPSA met with members in St Joseph’s College regarding concerns about potential reductions in contracted hours and grades� NIPSA provided advice about the need for formal consultation and lodged formal grievances�

C2K/Contract with NORTHGATE/CAPITA: NIPSA members who transferred under TUPE to Northgate and then Capita raised a number of issues regarding their TUPE transferred rights� NIPSA advised members to raise formal grievances where applicable in relation to non-payment of agreed allowances�

Internal Audit: NIPSA received a response from the relevant Director in Education Authority (EA), in relation to a number of queries which were raised previously on members’ behalf with the Head of Internal Audit (HIA)� These included the absence of any consultation in relation to how Audit Plans would have been previously devised and delivered in each area� Changes to the reporting structure, evaluation criteria for the audits and changes to members’ job descriptions had also been highlighted� Those matters were not resolved at local level and subsequently referred to the JNC�

Education Welfare Officers – Relocation: NIPSA met with a group of Education Welfare Officers (EWOs) in Limavady in relation to proposals to relocate the members to the North West Teachers’ Centre, Strathfoyle (NWTC)� NIPSA subsequently requested a formal consultation meeting with relevant Officers in EAWR, which took place in November 2017 and clarified issues around payment of mileage, and the rationale for the relocation�

Further/Higher Education

C2.27Southern Regional College (SRC)Job Evaluations for Technician Staff: Following the breakdown of negotiations to resolve the misapplication of the Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) job evaluation scheme, NIPSA

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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationballoted its members for action short of strike action and strike action� The ballot to support such action was unanimous on both counts� The members commenced action short of strike action which included refusal to carry out any additional roles� Management responded with threats to reduce their salaries by a percentage�

After much heated debate and condemnation of this action from management, NIPSA agreed to suspend the industrial action and enter into conciliation through the Labour Relations Agency (LRA)� During the conciliation NIPSA gained a number of concessions, however, the issue mainly remained unresolved�

The issue remained a priority for NIPSA and legal opinion was sought to determine if the processes being used to evaluate posts within SRC were equality proofed and if not did it form a basis of pursuing an equal pay claim�

Policies: NIPSA raised concerns about inequalities in the application of the grievance policy between teaching and non-teaching staff� Teaching staff had access to an appeal stage that involved access to an Independent Panel at Labour Relations Agency where non-teaching staff did not� As a result of the poor industrial relations in SRC no progress was made on this issue� Members were to be consulted further to obtain a consensus on how to move matters forward in the college�

C2.28 South Eastern Regional College (SERC)Collective issues continued to be discussed a the Joint Consultation Committee (JCC) the most recent being a review of the absence management procedure�

A further area of work that dominated the year was a challenge in relation to the grading of a number of posts� This led to several job evaluations being taken forward which resulted in a number of posts being upgraded�

C2.29South West College (SWC)Funded Posts: NIPSA met with senior management in the SWC on a quarterly basis throughout the year� There was discussion regarding the potential impact of Brexit on the College, given that SWC is a rural College and relied on a significant percentage of European Funding� It was agreed that this would remain a standing item on the agenda� The implications for future posts within the College remained unclear�

It was reported that funding would remain in place for a period of time and that the College was trying to source other funding to protect jobs� NIPSA requested more detail regarding the number of posts likely to be affected by a potential reduction in European funding�

Job Evaluation of Posts: The concerns of Technician members were raised regarding job evaluation (JE) of their posts� It was reported that following a training needs analysis, the College was looking at developing job descriptions that were to be subject to evaluation� NIPSA requested more detail regarding the training needs analysis and emphasised the need for full consultation between NIPSA and SWC throughout the process�

Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES): An update regarding VES was given at meetings in SWC� It was reported that a small number of support staff left under the Voluntary Exit Scheme during 2017� The posts were to be backfilled� NIPSA reiterated that members should not be expected to undertake the work of those who had left the College under the Scheme�

C2.30Queens University Belfast (QUB)Working Time Directive (WTD): Following an unsuccessful internal grievance NIPSA lodged industrial tribunal papers for members working as residential officers in Elms Village QUB� This group of staff received no remuneration, or


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C2 Education & Further/Higher Educationaccrued any annual leave for sleep in duty� NIPSA saw this as a clear breach of the working Time Directive� Following several engagements regarding a settlement of the claim a resolution was found� Both parties agreed the following statement as part of the settlement terms�

“Queen’s University and the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) are pleased to announce that a negotiated settlement has been concluded in response to industrial tribunal cases lodged by three members of staff� The agreed settlement ensures compliance with all relevant regulations� NIPSA, supporting the staff, and Queen’s University acknowledge the respective commitment of the other party in bringing this matter to a satisfactory resolution�”

Job Evaluation (JE): NIPSA raised concerns over the job evaluation practices adopted in QUB, which was a version of the Hays scheme� While this was meant to be an equality proofed scheme, QUB operated it in a manner that was entirely management led, with no access to independence� NIPSA raised formal objections and management was made aware that their job evaluation policy did not comply with statutory requirements including the right to a fair hearing, the right to an appeal and the right to be represented� NIPSA was in a process of challenging the legality of the scheme�

Discretionary Awards: Members asked NIPSA to address their concerns regarding the QUB discretionary awards pay system� The issue involved QUB claim the application of a pay system including of a normal pay scale that include the application of incremental progression when advertising posts�

In reality the final 2 points of all pay-scales within QUB, could only be achieved through a discretionary awards system applied by a line manager� The application of this discretion raised concerns from an equality perspective� In addition the award scheme was not applied on a regular basis and was continually suspended for various reasons� NIPSA raised this issue at the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and was in

the process of consulting members to determine what action they were prepared to take if QUB continued the practice�

C2.31Stranmillis University College (SUC)Paternity Leave Policies in place for teaching and non-teaching staff were applied inconsistently to the detriment of non-teaching staff� Teaching staff were given 3 weeks paid paternity leave while non-teaching staff were awarded two� Following lengthy negotiations NIPSA successfully addressed this problem and secured equality for its members�

Inequalities were also identified in the application of the Leads and Allowances Policies in relation to security and gate-keeper staff� NIPSA insisted that the Green Book Allowances that inform the SUC terms and conditions be applied equitably to all staff to avoid any further detriment� Following a consultative review of the service proposals that included the merging of the two roles and application of the Green Book, the proposals were recommended to the members�

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C3 Health and Social Care

C3.1Health and Social Care (HSC) Budget Cuts – Trust Saving PlansTrust Savings Plans were issued on 24 August 2017 setting out approximately £70m cuts in health services budget� There was a restrictive 6 week consultation period and NIPSA’s response was to initiate a proactive campaign which sought to highlight the devastating effect such cuts would have on service delivery and in particular the impact on domiciliary care, closure of hospital beds and cancellation of operations across Northern Ireland� HSC Management argued that these were temporary cost saving measures, however it was NIPSA’s view that these would become permanent unless there was a campaign of opposition� This policy position was expressed at various fora�

In an attempt both to raise public awareness and to position itself at the forefront of a proactive campaign, NIPSA took the following steps:

(a) A cross-union rally and demonstration was arranged on 26 September 2017 that culminated in a letter of protest being delivered to the Department of Health (DoH) Permanent Secretary;

(b) Correspondence was sent to MLAs and other political representatives requesting their attendance and support at the public consultation meetings;

(c) NIPSA activists and representatives attended all public consultation meetings;

(d) Leaflets were produced for the general public that were circulated in each of the communities affected;

(e) Template letters were made available on the NIPSA website allowing NIPSA activists, their families and members of the public to write to both the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and to Trust Chief Executives demanding that they abandon proposals to introduce cuts in their respective areas;

(f) Letters were also sent to non-executive members of the Trust Boards requesting that they oppose the cuts or resign;

(g) NIPSA engaged with many other organisations and stakeholders seeking to galvanise support for the opposition to the cuts and meetings were held with the Equality Commission, the Older Persons Commissioner and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council�

(h) Meetings with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), DoH, Head of Social Services, the Age Sector Platform and the British Medical Association were also scheduled�

(i) Consultation responses were submitted by NIPSA on each Trust saving plan�

(j) NIPSA secured speaking rights and addressed Trust Board meetings held on 5 October 2017�

(k) There was substantial media coverage to all of this activity�

A day before the consultation was due to close (4 October 2017) an announcement was made regarding the reallocation of £54m of additional funds to some areas of the public sector with £40m going to the Health Service�

While this sum of money removed the high impact savings, it still left the HSC in Northern Ireland short of £30m before the inevitable winter pressures were due to set in�

NIPSA had emphasised that if money was likely to become available in October 2017, then the previous consultation was a sham that needlessly left many vulnerable people worried about their futures and the impact such cuts would have on them and their families�

NIPSA recognized that the October monitoring round allocation was not enough and that HSC Management would inevitably return to the savings proposals� NIPSA remained totally opposed to these cuts and vowed to take all necessary steps to defend vital public services and public service jobs�

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C3.2Health and Social Care (HSC) Expansion of ICT Shared ServicesWithin the Health and Social Care (HSC) sector, NIPSA had successfully negotiated the implementation of Shared Services in areas such as Finance, HR, Payroll and Recruitment without the loss of any jobs� However, new challenges emerged with the decision by the Department of Health to expand Shared Services within ICT� There was 4 feasibility studies awaiting Ministerial approval when and/if a new Minister was appointed� Allied to this was an ongoing Infrastructure and Applications Review which was to look at further developing infrastructure capacity following the Business Service Organisation (BSO) Shared Service Scoping Exercise of 2015� NIPSA was successful in securing a Trade Union Side seat, on a without prejudice basis, on the Infrastructure Programme Board� This particular exercise was important for the HSC in order for it to better understand and inform any future investment decisions which would undoubtedly arise out of the wider Public Sector Shared Services Project (PSSSP)� Terms of reference for the PSSSP was a matter for the Department of Finance� NIPSA and other trade unions were co-ordinating their participation and approach to this project through the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC ICTU)� This development was being closely monitored by NIPSA, who had concerns that as a consequence of the Fresh Start Agreement there was an emphasis on developing a pubic sector wide Shared Services programme� It was NIPSA’s view that such a programme, if enacted, would result in a range of Corporate Services including HR, Finance, ICT, Pensions and other functions being delivered for all areas of the public sector by one organisation – most likely outside of the public sector� Such a proposal would have the potential to both reduce further the number of public sector jobs through centralisation of services and possibly lead to the privatisation

and outsourcing of thousands of public sector jobs� NIPSA was opposed to the introduction of Shared Services on such a basis and massive scale� NIPSA was further committed to ensuring that it would take a lead role on all aspects of this programme to include the protection of jobs and to ensure the delivery of services were retained within the public sector�

C3.3Health and Social Care Joint Negotiating Forum (JNF)The regional Joint Negotiating Forum (JNF) continued to meet quarterly to deal with a wide range of terms and conditions of service issues including the following specific matters:

Department of Health (DoH) Partnership Forum: NIPSA and all the other Health and Social Care (HSC) trade unions and Staff Side organisations continued to campaign against a decision taken by the Permanent Secretary for DoH to scrap the partnership arrangements for Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland� Such arrangements had been in place for a considerable period of time and replicated similar arrangements elsewhere in the UK� Following representations to the then Health Minister, Michelle O’Neill, this decision was overturned and she re-established the Partnership Forum� A number of meetings were held and this presented the trade unions with a meaningful opportunity to contribute to policy development and deal with the much wider strategic issues within the Department including Health Reform, Health Restructuring and Health Inequalities�

Joint Negotiating Forum (JNF) Policies: Throughout 2017 a number of policies were developed through the Joint Management/Trade Union Side Policy Sub Group and a number of these were taken forward for ratification by the Joint Negotiating Forum� The policies that were under consideration included:


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(a) Overpayments Policy

(b) Partial Retirement Policy

(c) Shared Parental Leave

The Overpayments Policy was agreed but further work was required on the other two policies�

Agenda for Change (AfC) Stocktake: One of the outstanding requirements of the Agenda for Change Job Evaluation Scheme was to conduct a benefits realisation exercise by way of an AfC audit/stocktake of job evaluation outcomes and potential equality implications� The HSC trade unions introduced draft terms of reference for an AfC stocktake and confirmed that this exercise would be an important contribution to any future work around addressing any gender pay gap and wider pay audits� It was agreed that the Job Evaluation Leads Group were best placed to take forward this work� HSC management stated that they had no objections to the proposals and agreed to confirm such an approach with the Job Evaluation Leads Group in partnership with the HSC Trade Union Joint Secretaries�

C3.4Health and Social Care (HSC) Pay 2017/18The Department of Health (DoH) advised that it would be uplifting Pay Point 1 for over 25’s on Agenda for Change Bands 1 and 2 to £7�50 per hour for 2017/18, in line with the increase in the National Living Wage announced by the UK Government� HSC trade unions advised that it was their understanding that the NHS Staff Council Group would be working on a potential restructure of Bands 1-4 on a 4 country basis� The HSC trade unions advised the DoH to reconsider its position on only uplifting Pay Point 1 on Bands 1 and 2 for over 25’s, as the Agenda for Change scales had never introduced an age factor, and this may lead to an equal pay claim challenge� The DoH confirmed that any further decisions on pay would need to be made by an incoming Minister, including a full response to the forthcoming Pay Review Body recommendations� By uplifting

the rate of pay for over 25’s on Bands 1 and 2 pay points, the Department was simply fulfilling its legal obligation� The NHS Pay Review Body subsequently made a recommendation for a 1% (consolidated pay increase) due to all staff with effect from 1 April 2017� In the absence of a Minister there was a delay in implementation and the HSC trade unions continued to apply pressure for someone either in the Department or Central Government to take responsibility for the issue� In a statement dated 13 December 2017 the DoH welcomed the setting of public sector pay guidance for 2017/18 by the Department of Finance (DoF)� This cleared the way for the implementation of a 2017/18 pay award for over 55,000 HSC workers in Northern Ireland� A 1% uplift was recommended earlier in the year by the Independent NHS Pay Review Body and the Review Body on Doctors and Dentists, Remuneration� Implementation was delayed in the absence of a Northern Ireland Public Sector Pay Policy for 2017/18 by the DoF� The Pay Policy, determined by the DoF, along with the allocation of £26 million on 29 November 2017, allowed the DoH to implement the 1% pay award for HSC workers� The necessary arrangements to make the backdated pay award would be put in place as soon as possible, with full implementation expected before the end of the 2017/18 financial year�

C3.5Health and Social Care (HSC) Pay 2018/19In September 2017 all Health Service trade unions in the UK took the unprecedented step of submitting a pay claim outside of the Pay Review Body mechanism by directly writing to the employers� NIPSA joined other Northern Ireland health trade unions by submitting a similar pay claim� The pay claim was for 3�9% on all pay points and an additional £800, roughly equating to the 5% being claimed in other parts of the public sector� From a trade union perspective this would only seek to address


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the imbalance in pay for those in the HSC who argued that inflation was sitting at over 3% but that staff in Northern Ireland were already in real terms, 3% behind their Scottish counterparts for doing exactly the same jobs evaluated under the Agenda for Change Scheme� Evidence gathering to the NHS Pay Review Body was to be concluded by the middle of January 2018�

C3.6Health ReformNIPSA submitted a detailed response to the consultation exercise on the HSC and reconfiguration criteria which arose out of the Bengoa Report, and the Health Minister’s 10 year vision document, Health and Wellbeing 2016 Delivering Together� Inter alia, NIPSA was critical of the fact that the Bengoa Report in itself was not the subject of public consultation yet was adopted as the future health policy by the Department of Health (DoH), the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly� Equally, as a priority based report being taken forward under the Programme for Government, concern was expressed as to how this would inevitably have a cross cutting impact on all other departmental and public sector budgets as the NI Executive would seek to find money to address major health inequalities� The framework to take forward this reform was the establishment of a Transformation Implementation Group (TIG) whose remit, as a regional group, was to align services� The other body was a Transformation Advisory Board (TAB) and its role was to scrutinise the TIG� Staff Side representatives were successful in securing a Trade Union Side seat on the TAB on a without prejudice basis� In taking forward this reform, the DoH was committed to a concept of co-production, co-design and the upscaling of services� While 100 new nursing posts had been secured in the previous 12 months there were serious dangers highlighted in terms of taking forward co-production and co-design in other disciplines particularly if there was no agreement between particular stakeholders�

The DoH accepted that this was a point that needed to be teased out and considered in more detail� In its deliberations with HSC Management, NIPSA identified key issues which were the transitional changes; staffing; organisation and restructuring; workforce planning; co-production and co-design; and critically the finance to take forward the Minister’s vision and the Expert Panel’s recommendations� NIPSA further argued that the only template for change that would work was one which was properly planned, where processes were evidenced based, where proposals were fully funded by the Northern Ireland Executive which were co-designed with communities, front line workers and service users� Only in this way would the HSC in Northern Ireland deliver the services people expect, to the quality service users deserve, in the places where people require them�

C3.7Health and Social Care (HSC) Residential Staff - Working RotasA separate and distinct Working Time Directive (WTD) issue that NIPSA continued to raise with Trusts, the Department of Health (DoH) and the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) was the use of sleep-in rotas by employers which were non-compliant� Such concerns continued to be raised because of alleged unhealthy working practices� A proposed staffing structure for residential children’s homes emerged in one Trust but was rejected by NIPSA on the grounds that it was inadequate as it failed to have sufficient qualified staff at the appropriate level of responsibility� Furthermore, NIPSA continued to have reservations as to whether the proposed structure would meet previously agreed standards of cover and whether employers would continue to meet their statutory functions� A joint NIPSA/UNISON Trade Union Side Working Group was established and attempts to engage with Social Work Directors and Human Resource Directors on the HSC Management Side on this issue were unsuccessful, for a variety of reasons�


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However, NIPSA continued to raise awareness of the stress and strain their members were enduring from not having WTD compliant rotas in the workplace in all residential settings and the resulting impact it was having on their health� NIPSA took action on a number of fronts including:

(a) Issuing advice and guidance to all members working in regional children’s residential care homes;

(b) a commitment to have ongoing meetings in all Trusts with residential childcare staff to discuss, inter alia, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), assaults on staff, working outside Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) guidelines, inappropriate admissions to homes and directions from Management to work outside their statement of purpose; and

(c) corresponded with a number of other stakeholders seeking meetings and urgent engagement which included NISCC, Children’s Commissioner, Health and Social Care Board, Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and the Department of Health, Head of Social Services�

C3.8Health and Social Care (HSC) RestructuringAllied to the reform agenda, was the issue of HSC transformation and restructuring� The previous Health Minister reaffirmed the decision to close the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and since then the Department of Health (DoH) had worked with colleagues in the HSCB, the Public Health Agency (PHA) and other system leaders to consider the way forward in the context of future developments of Accountable Care Systems (ACS)� Whilst there was still detailed work to be done, future structures were expected to have the following characteristics:

(a) The strategic leadership role of the Department was to be enhanced, including performance management and financial management�

(b) A single regional body would be established comprising elements of the PHA and the HSCB� This organisation would operate alongside the Department undertaking many of the functions carried out by the HSCB and the PHA� It would also provide advice and support in relation to performance and financial management�

(c) Trusts, working in partnership with other providers, would have more autonomy for planning and delivering local services�

A revised Health and Social Care Restructuring Programme: Human Resources Framework was sent to NIPSA and the other HSC trade unions for their consideration� It was rejected on the grounds that it failed to enshrine a guarantee that there would be no compulsory redundancies or no detriment to staff as a result of any transfers arising out of the restructuring� It was confirmed by HSC Management that this was not a Review of Public Administration (RPA) exercise but merely a HSC restructuring initiative� In response, NIPSA confirmed that it remained its sole objective to ensure that staff transferred under the Transfer of Understanding and Protection of Employment (TUPE) arrangements maintained their pay, pensions and terms and conditions of service and were protected in full� As work developed, the HSC Restructuring Programme Board advised that it had become necessary to transform how it would work and manage systems and its approach would be characterised by a focus on innovation and improvement, collaborative working, trust and inclusivity� This was welcomed by NIPSA� The HSCB produced a paper entitled Proposed Operating Model for future PHA� The document, which was under consideration by NIPSA and the other HSC trade unions, was looking at areas such as proposed primary roles for the PHA, proposed key functions of the future PHA, proposed HSCB


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functions to transfer to PHA, possible non-core activity in future PHA functions and overall organisational development�

C3.9Health and Social Care (HSC) Working Time RegulationsUp to 600 NIPSA applications relating to the Working Time Directive (WTD) and unlawful deductions of wages cases were registered with the Office of Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (OITFET)� On foot of the NIPSA applications another HSC trade union, UNISON, lodged 280 cases on behalf of its members� NIPSA and UNISON had agreed to legally co-fund these cases� In terms of the Health Trusts multiple cases, these were progressing towards hearing� The Trusts would not agree to a lead case from one Trust and additional cases to be progressed against each of the 5 Trusts� A timetable was set by OITFET to address the identification of lead and reserve lead cases and diary the exchange of documentation and replies to questions by either side� The NIPSA Solicitors had identified 8 lead claimants that were representative of the total group of claimants across the 5 Trusts� A similar exercise in relation to the UNISON cases was being undertaken� Further Case Management Discussions (CMD) would be necessary to progress the claims of the lead claimants and to timetable the lead cases to hearing� Given the number of cases and the scale of the issues to be determined, would not be heard by OITFET until 2018�

C3.10Health and Social Care Trusts(a) Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

(BHSCT)

(i) Financial Savings Plan: NIPSA successfully mobilised an active campaign of opposition to the Trust’s Savings Plans as part of the Department of Health’s overall proposal for cuts

of £70m� Whilst welcoming the additional allocation of £40 million pounds to Health at the end of October 2017 NIPSA reiterated its opposition to the remaining cuts following an unacceptable short period of public consultation lasting 6 weeks and which NIPSA exposed as being in breach of the 12 week legal protocol and associated equality legislation�

NIPSA mobilised a campaign including engaging other unions under the banner of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) which involved the lobbying of politicians and public interest groups along with the leafleting of the general public in Belfast City Centre�

NIPSA having raised a number of concerns at the Trust public consultations meeting, reiterated these in respect of the Trust amended Savings Plan at relevant Board meetings� NIPSA, whilst welcoming that some money had been found to offset the controversial major impact cuts previously identified, cautioned that the remaining £13�5m cuts identified as no/low impact, agreed by the Board, was unacceptable�

The proposals to be stood down totalling £10m from the Trust Savings Plan were identified as:

● Proposals 6 & 7: More effective management of the Trust’s agency workforce and downturn of routine elective care (in-patients and day-cases) for the remainder of the financial year�

● Proposals 8 & 9: Temporarily reduce access to domiciliary care and direct payments as well as nursing and residential home placements for new patients and clients for the remainder of the year�


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● Proposal 10: Defer access for new NHS patients for treatments within the Regional Fertility Centre until 1 April 2018�

● Proposal 11a: Defer the initiation of a number of high-cost drug treatments for a period of 5-6 months (Multiple Sclerosis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Dermatology conditions)�

The Trust Board however approved Proposal 11b to substitute very expensive drug treatments for clinically-suitable alternative less expensive treatments, totalling £3m, subject to the caveats noted�

The Trust Board also approved the low/no impact proposals amounting to £13�5 million including:

● Proposal 1: Reduction in Admin-istration and Management costs�

● Proposal 2: Procurement and goods & services savings, including minimising discretionary spend�

● Proposal 3: Estates Utilisation, Energy Efficiency, Car Parking scheme, including deferring backlog maintenance expenditure�

● Proposal 4: Productivity savings to handle demographic pressures for 2017/18�

● Proposal 5: Natural slippage anticipated on the implementation of new service developments, and the release of funds not required�

The NIPSA branch reiterated its concern that the amended proposals continued to be an attack on the elderly and those most vulnerable in society while seeking to also undermine the very ethos of the National Health Service with an underlying drive towards privatisation�

(ii) Residential Child Care: NIPSA represented members in respect of a number of serious issues arising within Children’s Residential Care Services� This included both physical and emotional assaults� Steps were taken to ensure that the Trust upheld its duty of care under health and safety legislation and provided a safe working environment�

NIPSA reinforced that the inappropriate placement of young people to Residential Care without the necessary resources of both staffing and facilities had breached the Trusts duty of care to its employees�

NIPSA also raised a concern that whilst employees on the ground were asked to review and analyse their practice arising from serious incidents, management failed to recognise their breach of duty of care by placing staff and young people in vulnerable situations�

NIPSA provided members with guidance to assist them in this difficult area and made further representations at a local level and with relevant regional bodies to address their concerns and consider a formal review of residential child care services�

NIPSA has also identified the need to take action to address these issues not just with the Belfast Trust but also with associated regional bodies and the Department of Health�

(iii) Residential Care European Working Time Compliant Rotas: NIPSA continued to support and represent members in respect of compliance issues arising from the Working Time Directive (WTD)� A significant number of industrial tribunal applications were lodged on behalf of members�


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(iv) Glenmona Resource Centre: NIPSA successfully negotiated the Transfer of Undertaking and Protection of Employment (TUPE) transfer of members to the Belfast Trust and continued to represent them as management sought to integrate Glenmona terms and conditions into the Belfast Trust�

NIPSA was advised that services undertaken at the Glenmona site would be subject to a review with the potential of further restructuring to follow�

(v) Belfast Trust Joint Negotiating For-um - Modernisation/Restructuring Agenda: NIPSA successfully led a campaign to overturn decisions in respect of proposed closures of Day Centres within Learning Disability and Mental Health� NIPSA also continued to press management about the implications for members and resources arising from the modernisation/restructuring agenda in Belfast Trust�

NIPSA raised concerns that the volume of projects across all disciplines including Mental Health, Learning Disability, Older People, Children’s Disability Services along with Administrative Reviews at both local and regional levels, was causing major upset for both patients and staff while further placing excessive demands on local NIPSA representatives for assistance�

(vi) Agency Staff: NIPSA raised concerns around a newspaper article that highlighted a £40m spend on agency staff and suggested that this was out of control� NIPSA reiterated that the use of agency cover was based on short-term emergency cover situations�

NIPSA expressed concern that some

agency staff were in post for longer than one year and this created an unstable workforce that was particularly unfair to those staff in long term postings with regards to access to pensions and secure employment�

NIPSA requested details of Agency staff across all the Trust directorates and departments for further consideration at the Joint Negotiating Forum�

(vii) Maternity and Bank Holidays: NIPSA provided members with advice and guidance arising from a case won by a woman who was able to claim time off in lieu for Bank Holidays during periods of maternity leave� Members were referred to the circular from the Department Of Health referencing this and advising Trusts to amend their policy from April 2015� NIPSA subsequently learnt that the Business Services Organisation (BSO) altered its policy and applied it retrospectively to 2009 reflecting the six year statute bar limitation period�

NIPSA sought to have the Belfast Trust implement the same arrangement� Consideration was also being given to lodging legal cases to secure this entitlement�

(viii) Muckamore Abbey Hospital: NIPSA held a meeting with management at Muckamore Hospital following a number of outstanding issues being raised by members about decisions being taken that impacted on them without consultation� NIPSA suggested other trade unions should be involved collectively with management and following the positive response of all parties to pursuing local resolution it was agreed further site based meetings would continue on a regular basis to discuss operational issues within the hospital�


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(ix) NIPSA Branch 730 Response to Adoption and Children Bill: NIPSA Branch 730 provided information and advice to members working in Family and Childcare with regards to the Department of Health’s consultation around a proposed Adoption and Children’s’ Bill� In particular members were referred to the NIPSA response which highlighted concerns about adoption proposals were repackaged� If passed as proposed, its effect would now instigate wholesale changes across key aspects of children’s safeguarding services and the underpinning legislation that is in place to protect children�

(b) Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT)

Financial Position: The Northern Health and Social Care Trust broke even in the financial year 2016/2017� The Trust was instructed to make £13m savings in-year in 2017/2018� The Trusts proposals were identified in two categories, these were savings that were considered would have minor/low impact on services and those considered to have major and/or controversial impacts on services� In relation to the minor/low impact savings these included natural slippage of resettlement, non-pay efficiencies, implementing scrutiny panels to review posts recruited etc� The major and/or controversial proposals included:

(i) Ending reliance on non-contract agency nursing and high cost locum doctors (reduction of 16 to 20 acute beds)

(ii) Temporary closure of rehabilitation services at Whiteabbey Hospital (reduction of 44 rehabilitation beds)

(iii) Reduction of non-urgent elective day surgery (2,400 reduced elective procedures)

(iv) Reduction in the number of community based rehabilitation beds (reduction of 25 community rehabilitation beds)

(v) Containing levels of services in community care home placements and domiciliary care packages – there would be some growth in the overall amount of domiciliary care provided by the Trust but it would be less than the expected demand (Contain growth to 2% domiciliary care rather than 3%)

(vi) Increase car park charges at acute hospital sites i�e� Antrim Area Hospital and Causeway Hospital�

The Trust engaged in an unacceptably short public consultation period of only 6 weeks as opposed to the standard 12 week consultation period� NIPSA along with trade union colleagues engaged with management, service users and members of the public during the consultation process� It was clear that many of the temporary proposals especially those categorised as major/controversial, if implemented, would have resulted in services not meeting the health and wellbeing needs of the local community either in the short term or longer term�

On the 13 October 2017 the Northern Health and Social Trust Board held an extraordinary Board meeting to consider the proposals� Following the Department of Health’s announcement on the 11 October 2017 that the £70m savings requirement across the 5 health trusts was being reduced to £30m the Board announced that the minor/non-controversial proposals were deemed by the Trust to be in year savings and did not require to be voted on by the Board� These cuts were therefore being implemented despite the lack of detail or clarification of exactly what they entailed� It was indicated that the Trust was required to make some major/controversial savings to contribute


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to the £3m remaining savings required by the Department of Health from the 5 Trusts� As a result the Board voted to increase car parking charges at both the Antrim Area Hospital and the Causeway Hospital� NIPSA challenged this decision claiming car parking charges were effectively an additional tax on the sick, their families and staff�

Management of Change/Service Chan-ges: The Trust undertook a number of Management of Change programmes including:

(i) Re-structuring of teams within Adult Learning Disability i�e� the movement from 3 teams to 4 teams in line with the Trusts locality model: NIPSA continually supported members in the expression of interest process� Management continued to be engaged with staff in terms of exploring the change in teams/locations�

(ii) Amalgamation of Primary Mental Health and Family Centre staff and the realignment of pathways within the services to Tier 2 (Children’s Early Intervention Service – CEIS) and Tier 3 (Assessment Service): NIPSA supported members in the expression of interest process and all members were able to be accommodated in the teams/locations/service that they had identified a preference for�

(iii) Restructuring of Patient Access and Theatre Administration: Trade Union Side reached agreement on the proposed structure and the recruitment and selection process for a number of vacant posts i�e� 1 x Band 8a and 1 x Band 5� The defined pool of staff affected by the process in terms of which Band 4s remained outstanding� This matter had been stayed pending the completion of the recruitment

process, at which time management agreed to update the trade unions and attempt to resolve the matter�

(iv) Restructuring of Estates: Following the consultation process management reviewed the proposal and a revised consultation document was issued for consultation� NIPSA was engaged in consultation with affected members about the proposals�

(v) Restructuring of the Medical Administration: Many staff were slotted into the speciality they selected during the expression of interest process whilst others were required to undertake a local selection process where preferences for the same speciality exceeded the number of available posts� The proposal did result in some staff being downgraded as a result of the restructuring proposal and NIPSA supported members to secure pay protection and the allocation of any suitable alternative post in the revised structure�

(vi) Approved Social Worker Rota: NIPSA liaised with members affected by the proposal and submitted a number of comments/queries in relation to the base location, working patterns and management support when staff worked outside standard office hours� Unfortunately no management response had been received�

(vii) Restructuring of the Health and Wellbeing Promotion Team: The consultation process was extended to take account of the summer period� NIPSA objected to the proposal which was a move away from a ‘specialist’ model to a locality team based model� Members believed that the depth of


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knowledge, experience and expertise they held would be lost and they would be expected become generalists� Management were to hold a workshop with staff affected to engage in the co-design of the model proposed�

(viii) Pharmacy Weekend Enhanced Work-ing: NIPSA extensively engaged with members in formulating a response to the proposal� NIPSA opposed both the extension to the existing weekend working hours in the Antrim Area Hospital (AAH) from 9am–5am to 9am–9pm and the introduction of weekend working hours in the Causeway Hospital (initially a Saturday and after 12 months being extended to Sundays)� Opposition was based on the lack of any evidence that substantiated a basis for advancing the proposal� NIPSA accepted the existing weekend working model should be reviewed in the context of work practices and procedures e�g� the need to ensure discharges are timely to facilitate scripts being made up and patients discharged at a reasonable time of day as opposed to after 5pm� NIPSA also identified that the staffing levels within both locations did not support the proposed enhanced weekend working patterns�

(ix) Relocation of Social Worker Training Team: NIPSA welcomed the proposed relocation as the existing facility was no longer fit for purpose�

Financial Job Specifications: NIPSA raised concerns in relation to job specifications within Finance which exclude an OR equivalent experience element� Trade unions believed this was contrary to Agenda for Change profiles and job matching/evaluation standards� The Trust undertook a review of the job specifications, taking into consideration existing Trust job specifications, equivalent Bands and

finance roles within other Trusts, Business Services Organisation (BSO) and Health and Social Care Board (HSCB)� They were also benchmarked against a number of health trusts in England� As a result of the review the Trust agreed to amend the job specifications for Bands 5, 6 and 7�

Policies: NIPSA was engaged in seeking the optimum entitlements for members� The following policies were subject to review:

(i) Secondment Policy: NIPSA raised concerns in relation to the backfilling of posts when the secondment was for a year or less� Following extensive discussions a form of words was finally agreed that was expected would address the issue of inappropriate permanent backfilling of substantive posts when the secondment involved limited durations�

(c) Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT):

Daisy Hill Emergency Department: It came as a shock on the 30 March 2017 when the Southern Trust outlined its position on the future of Daisy Hill Emergency Department� Management claimed the service remained vulnerable to the short notice withdrawal of senior medical cover, particularly during the summer months when there was a lower supply of locum consultants� The Trust proposed that if there was any risk to patient safety due to lack of senior medical cover at night, the Emergency Department would temporarily suspend the service until suitable medical cover became available� The Trust said this was a last resort and would make every effort to avoid any reduction in hours in the short term�

NIPSA released a press statement highlighting the failure for longer term planning in the health service and that every effort should be made to keep the Department open� The news galvanised the local community with a rally and public meeting organised at short notice� NIPSA played a key role in this through the Branch and local


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activists� On the night over 800 people attended for the rally and the subsequent meeting in the Canal Court was also very well attended�

The campaign moved to the Southern Trust Board meeting on the 27 May 2017� The Trust quickly released a statement saying there would be no decisions on the future of Daisy Hill Emergency Department made on that day� That did not deter a few hundred protesters assembling at the Trust Headquarters to make their views known�

It was subsequently announced that a Regional meeting was to be held to discuss supporting the Southern Trust keeping Daisy Hill open� NIPSA gave this a cautious welcome and asked for more details on how this was to be achieved� A mass rally was held on the 13 May 2017 where NIPSA along with the other unions, local groups and the public assembled in Newry to vow their support to keeping all services and especially the Emergency department based in Newry�

Cuts to the Budget: It was announced that the Southern Trust had to make savings in the region of 6�4m which included:

(i) £1�29m natural slippage on allocations� This was money allocated but not spent e�g� Dungannon supported living scheme that had met with delays�

(ii) £1�122m staff turnovers and vacancy controls� This deferred timelines on recruitment� The Trust claimed this would be borne in particular by services such as IT, Estates, HR and Finance� NIPSA claimed this practice was conducted across all disciplines and therefore affected front line services�

(iii) £2�803m natural slippage on Demography funding� This money was allocated too late to be spent� Again this was money that should have been invested in services and care packages�

(iv) £960k Discretionary Goods and Services� Saving across printing, non-

patient care goods and services such as furniture, soft furniture etc�

(v) £150k New procurement arrangements� In particular the bulk purchase of water filters�

(vi) £75k Procurement of community equipment� The Business Service Organisation was to provide home delivery of small aids to clients� They were also to collect and decontaminate the aids for reuse� This was to replace the voucher system via the local pharmacists�

NIPSA recognised that the budget cut in the Southern Trust was less than the other Health Trusts but they still had an adverse impact on service provision�

During the consultation process NIPSA claimed it was a sham and referenced the experience of the Shared Service consultation where 99% of responses were against the change but it went ahead regardless�

Subsequently a sum of £40m was found� The Southern Trust did not receive any of this allocation therefore the £6�4m in cuts were to proceed�

Privatisation of Mental Health and Learning Disability (MHLD) Services: NIPSA met with management and some local groups in a campaign against this measure� The Trust continued to seek to explore the privatisation of MHLD services including a coffee shop run with the assistance of persons with learning disabilities� NIPSA gave notice that it would resist this approach and sought to mount a campaign of resistance to include the families of those involved and the wider community�

Assaults on Staff: There was ongoing work being undertaken in relation to the unacceptable level of assaults within residential units across the Trust� NIPSA met with members and encouraged them to adhere to policies and procedures designed to give them some protection� NIPSA


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continued to engage with management across all programmes of care seeking information and details of assaults, training provided, protocols for members/staff to follow and also stressed the need for the zero tolerance policy to be enacted� NIPSA insisted the assaults be placed on the corporate risk register�

NIPSA sought to ensure adequate resourcing and staffing levels, up to date MAPPA training and for risk assessments of service users were to be reviewed regularly�

Domiciliary Care: NIPSA worked with management to seek the introduction of more guaranteed hours contracts to members within domiciliary care departments� NIPSA also secured a move away from private provider care back to the Trust and an agreement for ongoing recruitment into domiciliary care�

NIPSA embarked upon a piece of work with members in domiciliary care regarding their current banding on a Trust wide basis�

A series of Trust wide meetings were held with members to establish what needed to be captured in a revised job description� This was to be presented to management with a view to revisiting the banding and ensuring it had been applied consistently across the Trust in this functional area�

GP Out of Hours: NIPSA engaged in a review of the GP Out of Hours service (GP OOH’S ) which considered better ways of delivering a highly pressurised service to patients across the Trust area� Together with management, NIPSA managed to secure agreements that offered a better choice to members in terms of shifts, introduced guaranteed hours and provided shifts that were working time compliant�

NIPSA was also involved in negotiations that secured employment for members in a local GP practice in Portadown� NIPSA argued successfully that the members who would TUPE across were entitled to the benefits of Agenda For Change terms and conditions, which were introduced with effect from 1 April 2017�

Union Learning: This was given a priority within the branch and members supported to undertake training commensurate with their roles and abilities� NIPSA was in the process of developing a Trust wide awareness programme� NIPSA Union Learning representatives meet with senior management regarding a learning agreement� On the back of this meeting NIPSA prepared a questionnaire seeking members views on union learning� The results of this were to be used to influence the planning and development of union learning courses�

Health and Well Being: The Health and Well Being Group was re-established� NIPSA worked on a Health and Well Being Strategy with the Senior Management Team with a view to an action plan being drafted� NIPSA was part of the group informing what the needs of staff are� The need for additional resources to alleviate stress was highlighted�

(d) South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Trust Financial Position: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust announced plans to make a £10�8m cut in its budget as directed by the Department of Health (DoH) as part of its contribution to a £70m cut across the Trusts� These were subjected to a restricted 6 week public consultation which NIPSA exposed as being in breach of the normal consultation period of 12 weeks�

NIPSA mobilised a campaign that included engagement with other unions under the banner of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)� The campaign included lobbying politicians and public interest groups along with the leafleting of the general public�

NIPSA exercised its right to speak at the public meetings and represented members concerns through local and national media, calling on management to defend the National Health Service (NHS) and the people of the South Eastern Trust area by investing in a service fit for purpose� They were also called upon to refuse to implement such draconian cuts that would adversely affect those most vulnerable in society�


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NIPSA reinforced the sham and stress caused by the flawed consultation process and reiterated that whilst the allocation of an additional £40 million to Health in the October 2017 monitoring round was welcome, the position remained that cuts of £30m would proceed� These would continue to impact significantly on those most vulnerable in society�

NIPSA raised concerns that out of the original £10�8m savings, the South Eastern Trust were to receive only £2�05m to offset the Major/Controversial cuts identified� The major impact proposals, which did not proceed included, £1m reduction in locum doctor spend and a £1�05m reduction in agency staff� Despite the representations of NIPSA, the public and other trade unions the Trust Board approved the implementation of savings arising from identified No/Low Impact Plans amounting to £8�75m which included:

(i) Natural Delays in implementation of Discharge Lounge, sleep services, ward 25, Urology, Maxillo Facial, Plastic surgery, Phase B Ulster Hospital and Enhanced care at Home (Down and Lisburn)�

(ii) Replacement of external or Agency Staff/Overtime with in-house staff in Prison Service, Locum Doctors Child Health, Ards Lisburn Courts, Bangor Supported Living (adults), Dementia locum (Primary Care and elderly), locum staff in Emergency Department, Oncology, and Rheumatology�

(iii) Introduction of car parking charges at Ards Hospital site�

(iv) Natural delays in recruitment across all Directorates�

(v) Pay and price freeze on community care contracts excluding Domiciliary Care, Nursing and Residential Care�

(vi) Community equipment efficiencies�

(vii) Reduction in staff travel children’s services�

(viii) Reduction in specific goods and services - residential care�

(ix) Invest to save Pharmacy (drug waste)�

(x) GP Out of Hours filling shifts reduction�

(xi) Volunteer Driver Co-Ordination Reduction�

(xii) Domiciliary Care Package Cost Reduction through increased use of Self Directed Support�

NIPSA stated the campaign would continue and called on non-executive Board member to consider their positions if the cuts proceed�

Lakewood Dispute: NIPSA took action on behalf of members in Lakewood Residential Childcare Facilities to address the unacceptable levels of risk that resulted from a number of serious incidents, assaults on staff and high levels of both suspensions and sickness absence� NIPSA members highlighted the unacceptable daily risk they and clients faced due to the imposition of restricted policies and procedures by the Regulation Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)� These disempowered staff and in turn resulted in suspensions and increased sickness levels�

NIPSA served formal Notice of Dispute and proceeded to a formal ballot of members� The ballot resulted in a positive outcome for both industrial action consisting of a strike and industrial action short of strike action� Following the ballot NIPSA successfully negotiated a series of measures and a number of initiatives to be put in place that would address members concerns� This included new Gatekeeping guidance and immediate staff recruitment along with enhanced training measures for all staff�

Management also agreed to offer staff therapeutic assistance to review their personal situations and concerns while committing to pursue alternative employment for those whose health had been so adversely affected by their experiences�

NIPSA members agreed to postpone the action to enable the introduction on the new measures�


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Joint Negotiating Forum - Review of the Operational Effectiveness of the SET (JNF): NIPSA continued to press for improved negotiation and consultation at local negotiating forums� This led to a review of the operational effectiveness of the JNF� NIPSA reiterated the need for Senior Management and the Chief Executive to demonstrate a commitment to the principles of the JNF ensuring full participation and promoting a culture that had good Industrial relations at its heart�

Change Management Protocols: Following a number of representations on behalf of NIPSA members arising out of poor change management practices, NIPSA secured a change Management Policy� An important part of the policy required management to ensure an inclusive process with trade unions based on meaningful negotiation and consultation while exercising openness and transparency at all stages�

Workforce Planning: NIPSA raised grave concerns about the extended use of Agency and Temporary staff in the South Eastern Trust� NIPSA insisted that in order to meet service demands, including winter pressures, all vacant posts be filled on a substantive basis�

Agenda For Change: NIPSA sought advices from the Regional Joint Negotiating Forum about processes within the Trust that appeared to deviate from the agreed principles� Issues centred mainly around appropriate roles and responsibilities for appointment to AfC Management Leads�

NIPSA representatives participated in refresher training for Agenda for Change� There was also a need to appoint new representatives and to have them trained given the number of staff who had left the service�

NIPSA raised concerns in respect of the Knowledge Skills Framework (KSF) following reports that the figure for completed Appraisals in-year was 45%� Concerns were raised about the volume of paper work required to be completed and the contribution this had to the delay in appraisals being completed�

NIPSA continued to provide support to members in respect of grading, job evaluation and terms and conditions queries�

Primary Care and Older People Services: NIPSA raised concerns about the proposals to roll-out the “Hub” model of one point of entry that was piloted in Social Care, Down and District Nursing, Lisburn�

Management stated they wanted to bring forward an integrated Hub that included both Social Care and District Nursing across all four localities in Down, Lisburn, Bangor and Ards while relocating administrative staff to a central location�

Attendance/Absence Management: Following the publication of data regarding attendance/absence and disciplinary protocols, NIPSA expressed concern that the data served to demonstrate that lower banded grades were more likely to be the subject of a disciplinary process than others� The HR directorate appeared to focus on absence from a financial savings perspective rather than a health and well being issue�

NIPSA requested that a further detailed breakdown of information be provided and the matter appropriately addressed at the Joint Negotiating Forum�

Children’s’ Directorate Local Negotiating Forum: NIPSA continued to address ongoing concerns around the Crisis in Residential Care and in particular the failure to identify the necessary resources required to ensure all residential units across the Trust were Working Time Directive compliant�

Management advised that based on a multi skilled approach to Residential Care they had made a bid for departmental funding to facilitate the introduction of a Youth Worker in Residential Child Care� It was suggested this would assist Residential units by providing a service which engaged young people in activities outside of the facility�


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NIPSA insisted that any new role be the subject of full and meaningful consultation prior to any implementation� This was to ensure that the role was appropriate and complimented that of Residential Social Work staff and compliant with the recommendations of the Hughes Report� For example the requirement for qualified Social Work staff in Residential working� It was important to ensure the Residential Social Work role was not undermined�

Zero Tolerance Policy: NIPSA raised concerns about challenging behaviours in Residential Child Care which highlighted the failure of the South Eastern Trust to implement the Health Service Zero Tolerance Policy appropriately�

NIPSA members experienced physical and emotional abuse within the workplace and also abuse online via social media� This was often extended to affect their wider family and friends�

NIPSA reinforced the obligation of the Trust to exercise a duty of care under health and safety legislation and take the necessary actions to support staff and their families� NIPSA continued to support members affected through representations internally and taking appropriate legal action externally were appropriate�

(e) Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT)

Medical Secretaries: A lengthy and protracted dispute with the employer concluded through a resolution of appointing 3 full-time Band 4 Medical Secretaries� Members were formally consulted on the final proposals and following adoption ended the industrial action�

Facility Time: NIPSA’s facility time arrangement continued throughout 2017� It was an invaluable resource for the Branch and greatly assisted in Branch Organisation, casework and recruitment�

Hospital Social Work Team: Social Work members in this team rejected management’s plans to implement extended 7 day working for the Accident and Emergency department� The initiative was presented by management as a

natural development of services with a view to preventing unnecessary hospital admissions� Members were concerned about the failure to provide additional staffing resources to deliver this service and the inadequacy of management support for decisions required at weekends� Negotiations on the implementation broke down which resulted in a ballot for industrial action, this was unanimously supported� Industrial action was not commenced in order to facilitate further negotiations with NIPSA� Following commitments by management and consultation with the members affected, it was agreed to end the industrial action�

Leased Cars: An outcome was anticipated in relation to a district nurse employed by WHSCT who sought temporary exemption from the Vehicle Road Tax (VRT) applicable to vehicles registered in the Republic of Ireland� The appeal was declined and in September 2017 the employer was notified that all leased cars were to be removed from the state by March 2018 or they would be impounded� Attempts were made to find suitable alternative arrangements but without success�

Primary Care and Older People: Meetings continued throughout 2017 to address the longstanding concerns of staff in this sector� Management committed to introducing additional resources to the teams and following pressure from NIPSA confirmed an additional 8 Band 7 Social Work posts� Meetings were scheduled for 2018 to continue the work and progress matters�

Learning Disability: The Assistant Director (AD) embarked on a series of one to one meetings with staff who had been absent from work due to illness on 3 or more occasions within the previous 2 years� NIPSA lodged a formal complaint with the Director and HR as staff who had attended the meetings reported that they felt humiliated, bullied and harassed� A meeting with the AD and HR took place in March 2017 which failed to take on board the concerns raised� Management met staff to deliver a warning message about the


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impact that absence had on the service� NIPSA ensured that members were represented at absence management meetings and to defend them regarding their health issues�

Savings/Cuts Plan: In August 2017 the Trust was instructed to develop a savings plan amounting to £12�5m� NIPSA attended an emergency briefing on 24 August 2017 given by Assistant Directors of Human Resources and Primary Care and Older People and the Director of Finance� They outlined the Trust’s Savings Plans as follows:

Low Risk Measures:

(i) Apply significant additional constraints to goods and services budgets across the Trust (£740k)�

(ii) Apply significant additional vacancy controls in administration, corporate and support services across the Trust (£510k)�

(iii) Accelerate projects which would deliver increased efficiency and reduced costs(£950k)�

(iv) Increase income to the Trust where possible (£900k)�

High Risk Measures:

(v) Reduction in high cost and non-NHS locums, nursing agency and agency Social work staff (£1�630m)�

(vi) Temporarily reduce routine elective activity across the Trust and consolidate day case elective surgery (£1�780m)�

(vii) Operate a cap on locum payment rates (£700k)�

(viii) Temporarily reduce the provision of Domiciliary Care and Nursing Home packages (£1�160m)�

(ix) Consolidate services onto fewer sites and rationalise existing services in order to maximise the efficient use of resources (£170k)�

(x) Apply additional vacancy controls on a temporary basis across a range of disciplines/ services and accrue in year savings due to revised annual leave policy (£1m)�

(xi) Temporarily reduce or delay some services/service developments (£2�490m)�

(xii) Remodel services on a temporary basis (£470k)�

In addition to the above the Trust declared its intention to withdraw from the Regional Social Work out-of-hours service� Following the October 2017 monitoring round additional monies were allocated to Trusts negating the need to implement elements of these plans� By the year end it was unclear what the Western Trust share of the remaining £30m cuts was or what services would be affected�

C3.11Business Services Organisation (BSO) BoardAccrual of Public Holidays while on Maternity Leave: NIPSA raised the issue of maternity leave back pay on behalf of affected members� NIPSA was pleased to announce that BSO confirmed that all staff availing of maternity leave back to 1 April 2009 would be entitled to time off in lieu for Public holidays falling within their periods of maternity leave�

Warehouse Boucher Road: At the start of the year issues around the pick rate had resurfaced� Management indicated that the pick rate which had been suspended would be reintroduced at the original level of 35 on the 1 of April 2017� NIPSA responded by informing management that the rate was unobtainable and with modifications introduced in the Warehouse it made the rate impossible to reach� The situation was not helped by the fact that UNISON, who also had members working in the warehouse, agreed the increased rate�


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After meeting members they reinforced their opposition�

Warehouse Management indicated their intention to activate 44 CCTV cameras in January 2017� After an intervention by NIPSA this was halted and secured agreement for an Equality Impact Assessment to be conducted�

NIPSA raised the issue of authorisation of access to the CCTV footage� After being given strict assurances around who could access the CCTV and under what circumstances, the CCTV was activated�

A new Health and Safety representative was appointed in the Warehouse� He successfully held management to account and at his instigation management agreed to immediately replace the damaged racking in the facility�

Closure of the Board: It was a very difficult year for staff in the Board� Since the announcement that the Board would close staff were in a state of flux� The uncertainty was compounded by the political situation in Northern Ireland and lack of a Health Minister�

NIPSA met management throughout the year on a monthly basis to get updates on the position� There was no clear blueprint of where functions and more importantly people, would be based� In October 2017 a paper was shared with NIPSA which indicated where functions would move to� Although this was welcomed it did not cover all the areas members were employed in�

After a meeting with the Chief Executive, NIPSA secured a seat , on a without prejudice basis, on the group delivering change to the organisation� NIPSA planned to hold the organisation and Department to account throughout the process�

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C4 Libraries NI

C4.1Budget 2017/18As in other areas of the public sector, the budget allocation for Libraries NI was cut by 5% in April 2017� However in early autumn the Department notified the organisation that this had been reduced to 4%� In addition an extra £1�4m was allocated for stock and maintenance� Despite these welcome additions, Libraries NI was instructed to plan for cuts of 4%, 8% or 12% in the 2018/19 financial year�

C4.2Summer Opening HoursDue to the cuts imposed, Libraries NI decided to reduce opening hours in a number of libraries over the summer months� This caused some difficulties for individual staff, who were represented by NIPSA at that time� Trade Union Side met with Management as a result of the upheaval and disruption caused in some areas and a commitment was given to engage at a much earlier stage should a similar arrangement be considered in future� This acknowledged that most of the difficulties experienced could have been avoided had there been earlier consultation with NIPSA and affected staff�

C4.3Review of Branch Library Managers (BLMs)NIPSA submitted a request for re-evaluation of the BLM job description as a result of significant changes to the job which had occurred since the establishment of Libraries NI in April 2009� Despite repeated attempts by NIPSA to reach agreement with Management to undertaken a re-evaluation, it became clear that the organisation was unwilling to agree to this request� Consultation meetings were held with affected members and a registered disagreement was formally lodged with Libraries NI� In the absence of movement by the employer, it was clear that a ballot for industrial action was inevitable�

C4.4Review of Libraries NI NIPSA ConstitutionThe constitution for the Libraries NI NIPSA Branch Committee was redrafted and submitted to the Public Officers’ Group (POG) Executive Committee in August 2016 for approval� Following queries raised at the POG meeting was held in the autumn and matters addressed� The Public Officers' Group Executive Committee was subsequently advised of a restructuring in Libraries NI which could have an impact on the Constitution and agreed to await further representation form the Committee� It was anticipated that the redrafted constitution would be agreed in early 2018�

C4.5Capability PolicyNIPSA engaged with Libraries NI over a protracted period on a proposed Capability Policy for the organisation� A number of redrafts and significant changes were secured before a final policy was introduced� NIPSA noted its introduction�

C4.6Open LibrariesNIPSA met with Libraries NI during the year in respect of a proposed pilot in 6 libraries, following the allocation of funding from the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)� Libraries NI assured the union that the pilot was solely about providing greater broadband accessibility in rural communities as well as trying to accommodate library users beyond normal office hours� NIPSA had some initial contact with colleagues in the Republic of Ireland where a similar arrangement was introduced in a number of towns, with a meeting likely to discuss this early in 2018� Libraries NI remained adamant that their pilot was not in any way to undermine existing opening hours or staffing levels�

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C4.7Universal CreditA number of meetings were held during the latter part of 2017 to discuss the role of Libraries NI in facilitating computer access in libraries to Universal Credit claimants� NIPSA made a number of suggestions to amend guidance being issued to staff to ensure that there was no misunderstanding about the role of Libraries NI� Management agreed that clarity was needed so that claimants would fully understand that staff in libraries could not assist in the completion of the benefit claim form�

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C5 Local Authorities

C5.1Review of Public Administration (RPA)Although the new 11 Councils were established on 1 April 2015 a number of matters remained outstanding and unresolved�

(a) RPA Dispute Resolution Procedure: Attempts by members to use this procedure proved ineffective as most fell outside the timescales contained within the procedure� As an alternative grievances were lodged, both individually and collectively on a number of issues and were concluded to the satisfaction of the members concerned�

(b) Industrial Relations: Talks were held during the year with both the Chief Executive of the Local Government Staff Commission and the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) in an attempt to make progress on developing a collective bargaining framework for industrial relations in 8 of the 11 new Councils� Following a number of separate facilitation meetings with the LRA a broad basis for discussion was agreed on a number of issues� These included a joint commitment to a collective regional industrial relations process; job evaluation; TUPE issues linked to government reform and employment and government policies� It was expected that the first joint meeting would be held before the end of January 2018�

(c) Planners: Outstanding matters affecting Planners who had transferred under Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations to Local Councils in 2015 were resolved during the year� A significant issue for Planners was the refusal by some Councils to continue to pay professional fees, even though NIPSA had argued that they were TUPE protected� Grievances were lodged in a number of Councils and potential legal action was threatened� Whilst Councils who were challenged refused to accept that the payment of

professional fees was a TUPE protected term and condition of employment they nonetheless finally accepted to continue to pay the fees into the future as long as members could demonstrate that they were required for the job�

(d) Review of Code of Practice on Recruitment and Selection: Meetings were held with Departmental Officials and the Local Government Staff Commission in respect of the impact of the changes envisaged in the review of the Code of Practice on Recruitment and Selection� The Department held to its view that Councils needed to take responsibility for their actions and decisions on appointments� No issues were highlighted to NIPSA during the year from any Council as a result of the changes made�

C5.2Councils(a) Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough

Council (ANBC)

(i) Review of Services: NIPSA continued to respond to ongoing restructuring in the Council area� In the early part of 2017, the Council advised of its intention to review Leisure Services in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area� At a series of meetings, NIPSA made clear that it would not accept any attempt to privatise leisure services in the area� The Council was provided with the examples of outsourced leisure services in the Belfast area, the experience of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) and the move by some Councils to return leisure services in-house, following less than adequate experiences of service provision with the private companies to which the contracts had been awarded� NIPSA advised they would resist any move to outsource leisure facilities and

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subsequently received communication from the Council advising that the review of Leisure Services would not include outsourcing or privatisation of that particular service�

(ii) Waste Management: Following Antrim and Newtownabbey Council’s decision to move ahead with the proposal to extend the outsourcing of waste management in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area, NIPSA, in conjunction with UNITE and GMB, advised that they would be opposing all attempts to do so� The Council advised that the decision was based on requests from staff for voluntary severance and in order to accommodate these, the move towards outsourcing was necessary� This was further compounded by a successful rate rebate case against the Council� The case, which was taken by Belfast International Airport, meant that the Council in conjunction with Land and Property Services (LPS), would incur a yet to be determined, but significant amount, of reduced rate revenue and back payment� NIPSA rejected the basis for the move and advised the Council on repeated occasions of the benefits of in-house service delivery� The consultation period was extended to 30 September 2017� Following a brief period of re-engagement with the Council and in conjunction with the other recognised trade unions, NIPSA resumed its position to withdraw from all industrial relations on collective matters� NIPSA believed it had no other choice than to escalate to a formal withdrawal on the basis that the employer was afforded the opportunity, on a number of occasions, to provide adequate information to inform the consultation response� The Council maintained a position from

the outset that a public consultation was not required and the provision of certain financial information in respect of the decision would not be granted�

NIPSA communicated a clear position to Antrim and Newtownabbey Council that it was entirely opposed to any further outsourcing or privatisation of waste collection services� A number of press statements issued and several meetings held with members across the area affected to garner support for opposition to the plans and to ensure members’ issues were at the forefront of the issue� In addition to a specially convened meeting with the Chief Executive, NIPSA led a trade union delegation and made a presentation to the Antrim and Newtownabbey Council Party Leaders seeking to dissuade them from this course of action� Trade Union Side also contacted individual Councillors to request meetings in order to exert political pressure� Whilst a Council vote was taken to move ahead with the proposals in October 2017, NIPSA noted that a number of Councillors had moved from their original position and voted against the plans to privatise� It was anticipated that the public and political campaign would continue into 2018�

(iii) Job Evaluation: The majority of job evaluations were completed� NIPSA provided both advice and representation in these matters� Whilst any outstanding appeals were minimal in number, a degree of uncertainty existed around job descriptions and grading for a number of staff� Due to the ongoing withdrawal from industrial relations on collective issues, job matching did not take place in the latter part of 2017�


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(iv) Policy: NIPSA suspended negotiations on policy matters due to the dispute regarding waste services� Antrim and Newtownabbey Council signalled its intent to harmonise a range of policies, such as the discipline policy and the sick absence policy, as there were numerous policies in place following the implementation of the Review of Public Administration�

(v) :NIPSA advised that given previous concerns around consultation, policy matters must be subject to rigorous negotiation and NIPSA would be doing all it could to ensure that in all instances, best practice was applied to ensure that no member was at a detriment in comparison with any existing policy they were governed under�

(vi) Terms and Conditions: NIPSA secured a range of protections and enhancements for members in 2017, including backdated payments for emergency cover� However, NIPSA was also forced to challenge attempted changes to contracts of employment on an individual basis or concerning small groups of staff� The matter was highlighted when ANBC attempted to change the provision of standard and emergency rota cover in the Environmental Health section of the Council� This proposal was eventually withdrawn and NIPSA was successful in negotiating a new rota, which members agreed and which protected their existing working arrangements�

(vii) :NIPSA requested that the Council examine the issue of annual leave, given the inequities that existed between staff across the Council areas – in some cases, up to 10 days difference� The Council committed to examine this issue on the basis of cost�

(viii) :NIPSA objected to the removal of allowances for a number of individual staff following a review of their contracts� NIPSA believed this was done in the absence of consultation and that information in respect of the particulars of their job roles was not considered when the decisions were taken� NIPSA collated information on all those affected and raised a series of grievances on the matter in November 2017�

(b) Ards and North Down Borough Council

(i) Restructuring: The restructuring of the Council was well advanced at the start of 2017� Up to mid-year, the restructuring process continued apace with job matching and assimilation being conducted by department for grades below Tier 4 level� In June 2017, the Joint Trade Union Side (JTUS) raised an issue regarding equity of treatment for those whose posts were regraded upward, below Tier 4 level, as those at Heads of Service had been� HR responded by stating that this would require Council approval as the restructuring for Tier 4 and above had been approved at Phase 1 of the process� It was agreed that each regrading would be considered on its merits�

Whilst restructuring continued throughout 2017, in order to protect Transfer of Understanding Protection of Employment (TUPE) terms and conditions of employment, there was no agreement reached on a single set of terms and conditions of employment for all staff� This was due to NIPSA’s concerns that HR could not provide a guarantee of no less favourable treatment for those who transferred into the Council as a result of Review of Public Administration (RPA)� It was


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anticipated that complex negotiations would be required in 2018 to facilitate any agreement� This particularly affected Planning and Group staff whose TUPE terms were fully protected�

(ii) Use of Agency Workers: At the Local Consultative and Negotiating Forum (LCNF) held in February 2017, NIPSA welcomed the information supplied on the use of Agency workers across the Council� NIPSA pressed for further information with regard to this to include length of contract to date, rationale and estimated duration� At the LCNF held in June 2017, NIPSA again pressed HR for immediate disclosure indicating that correspondence from NIPSA sent in March 2017 had not been responded to� HR clarified that the initial correspondence had not been picked up but that a comprehensive response was being compiled� This was received in late 2017 and included identification of Agency contracts by tenure, reason, cost and department/division� The information was under Trade Union Side consideration at year end�

(iii) Policy Development: NIPSA criticised HR for forwarding draft policies and procedures prior to reaching agreement on those already tabled� These additional policies included revised Additional Hours Policy; Performance Charter; Data Protection Policy and Prohibition of Access and Use of Council Facilities Policy� At the February 2017 LCNF, it was agreed that no further draft policies would be tabled before HR produced a table indicating the status of policy development� A timetable was to be agreed for the revision of other policies, given that JTUS still awaited responses to comments provided over a year ago� In February 2017, NIPSA objected to

Management contacting transferred members from Planning and Harbours directly with regard to transferring from their TUPE protected terms onto Council terms and conditions of employment� Management clarified that they wished to inform staff so that individual decisions could be made at any point in time� A template letter was sent to NIPSA for consideration prior to being circulated to staff which clarified that any terms and conditions transferred would be entirely voluntary� The NIPSA response to the draft template letter to TUPE’d staff prevented the erosion by stealth of TUPE protected terms and conditions of transferred staff� NIPSA did not accept that individual staff could make such a decision without the completion of an agreed Council Staff Handbook in which all policies, procedures and fundamental terms and conditions of employment were finalised, clear and unambiguous and most importantly agreed with the recognised trade unions prior to implementation�

Trade Union Side tabled a response to a draft Additional Hours Policy in June 2017� Throughout August and September 2017, a number of policy working group meetings were held� A key objective was to ensure no detriment to any group of staff and to improve upon the existing rates� This was achieved by October 2017 and a revised Policy was agreed for implementation that month� Additional hours’ payments were introduced for staff in Environmental Health that hitherto had not received such remuneration� However, in early November 2017, issues arose over HR guidance to line managers regarding weekend enhancements which breached National Joint Council (NJC) rates�


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NIPSA immediately objected� As a result, the Director agreed that the policy should be withdrawn pending resolution of the issues� This resulted in further amendments to the Policy including an increase of those attracting the standby allowance up to PO2 level and increases to the standby payment for legacy group staff�

In November 2017, Management withdrew a Driver’s Handbook following concerns being raised by the JTUS over the implementation of a Council based penalty points system� Further discussions were to take place in 2018 at LCNF sub-group level to resolve ongoing concerns�

In October 2017, the agreed Prohibition of Access and Use of Council Facilities Policy was implemented following detailed negotiation and agreement�

At the end of year NIPSA reiterated that HR responses were awaited to a number of JTUS submissions including: Learning and Development Strategy; Performance and Improvement Plan; Data Protection; Pride in Performance Conversation Scheme; Honorarium and Acting up Allowances and Organisation and Development Plan� It was agreed at LCNF in June 2017 that HR would provide a policy table and outstanding responses to JTUS submissions within a few weeks� This was received in August 2017 and it was agreed that this organic document would be utilised to ensure progress on policy development and highlight difficulties as they arose� NIPSA also pressed for progress on the revised LCNF Terms of Reference to improve industrial relations� The role and makeup of the Staff Consultative Committee (SCC), was challenged including its interface with the LCNF� It was agreed that all negotiation must take place at LCNF level and that the

SCC was driven by the employees for purely consultative purposes�

(iv) Leisure Services across Ards: It was confirmed that no recommendation could be made to Council on the future management model for the new Leisure Centre in Newtownards until the outcome of two legal challenges on the issue of tax benefits was known� These cases had arisen due to legislative changes into tax implications of outsourcing which, prior to the change, had been beneficial to the privatisation of leisure services� NIPSA sought clarification on whether this issue would also impact upon the current leisure contract with Serco across North Down� The aim was to strengthen arguments being made by the trade unions to bring all leisure services back in-house� However, the Council signalled it would not enter further discussion on the matter until the legal cases were concluded and the outcomes known� At the June 2017 LCNF, NIPSA welcomed the summary of the two ongoing legal taxation cases but raised concern that there had been no information forthcoming with regard to the Council’s consideration of whether to extend the outsourced Leisure contract with Serco Leisure Ltd across Ards Centres� There was also a concern about the new leisure centre scheduled to be built� NIPSA met with the Directors of Leisure and Corporate Services in June 2017 to discuss the future management and development of Leisure Services across the Ards District� The JTUS also sought to influence the decision making process to ensure that the outsourcing arrangement with Serco Leisure Ltd, through the Northern Communities Leisure Trust, would not be extended across the Council� During the meeting,


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the Directors would not be drawn on their position but reassured Trade Union Side that when the item was brought to full Council, Management Side would be tabling a report based upon factual evidence and not recommending a particular method of service delivery� However, this was not accepted by Councillors who subsequently instructed management to provide a recommendation to the Council meeting� Disappointingly, the recommendation tabled by the Senior Management Team (SMT) was for the extended privatisation which NIPSA was continuing to campaign against� Given the lobbying undertaken by NIPSA which had criticised Serco Leisure’s management of the North Down Leisure Contract, Trade Union Side was delighted to learn that the Councillors voted by a vast majority against the SMT recommendation� They instead ratified that the management, development and staffing of two new Leisure Centres and other leisure facilities across the Ards District would remain in-house� NIPSA welcomed this decision and immediately engaged with the Council at various levels seeking the reversion to an in-house model of all leisure services as soon as possible, including the North Down facilities which remained under external contract� At the LCNF held in September 2017, HR stated categorically that if the Council attempted to withdraw from the contract, Serco Leisure would sue for breach of contract� It was confirmed that further consideration would be given to an in-house model for all leisure services prior to the end of the existing contract, within two years� NIPSA sought disclosure of the management report which was tabled with the Council recommending

extension of the Serco Leisure contract which management agreed to raise with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)� The union also raised queries over the impact of a European Court of Justice VAT exemption ruling that, in essence, removed the VAT rules which had placed Councils at a disadvantage� HR clarified expert tax advice was required and it was likely that, in the event of a successful retrospective tax claim for the previous 4 years, any financial gain would be utilised to lower leisure charges for the benefit of the rate payer� This was a complex taxation issue which management agreed to discuss further with JTUS upon receipt of legal advice� NIPSA also pressed HR to review the use of non-permanent contracts across leisure as a matter of urgency, which was agreed� NIPSA also sought and received assurances at LCNF level that no smaller leisure or community based facilities would be closed or permitted to be run down as a result of the development of the new leisure centre in Newtownards� Confirmation that local community services were to be updated by the Council was welcomed, thereby securing a number of posts�

(v) Potential Privatisation of Harbours: In February 2017, NIPSA became aware from a local Newtownards newspaper article that the Council had issued a tender which invited private sector contractors to bid for the management and development of Council run harbours at Donaghadee, Groomsport; Ballywalter; Ballyhalbert and Portaferry� NIPSA immediately raised objections to this at LCNF level, including the lack of any consultation with NIPSA prior to the tender being issued and the complete failure to consider the NIPSA members affected by it despite their protests� The Head of Service stated that it


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was the Council’s intention to put a recommendation to the Council’s Environment Committee to accept one of the bids received and proceed to outsource the management and development of the Harbours� NIPSA reiterated its objections, pressing for disclosure and redrafting of the in-house model which was clearly had not been adequately considered� NIPSA also committed to write formally to the CEO to lodge objections over this recommendation and question how the matter had been dealt with� NIPSA immediately received confirmation from HR that the Council would not be submitting a recommendation to the members of the Council until further engagement with the staff and their union representatives had taken place� It was also agreed that a written explanation of the potential options available to the staff affected would be provided� NIPSA welcomed confirmation that the Council was prepared to engage further with the Trade Union Side and affected members with a view to submitting a recommendation to Councillors supporting an in-house model� This included bringing one Harbour outsourced back in house� NIPSA worked closely with the Director of Environmental Services, Head of Service and HR to formulate a Strategic Development Plan for all Council Harbours, with the exception of Quays Marina in Bangor� Negotiations were at an advanced stage by late summer with a further meeting held in September 2017 to resolve complex issues emanating from the proposed line management structure and Harbourmaster job description� This was frustrating final agreement� Management obtained the approval of Council to proceed with a transformed

in-house model� However, affected members’ issues remained over the proposed structure of the in-house model including the identification of the “competent authority” in terms of the Port Marine Code, the reporting lines and the duties and grading of two posts� A further meeting took place in November 2017 during which each point was discussed and resolved� This resulted in beneficial changes to salary scales and job descriptions of members, an agreement to re-evaluate the posts in a year’s time; additional maintenance team support; the creation of an Assistant Harbour Master post; protection of TUPE’d terms and conditions and an agreement to develop a working document to underline the levels of autonomy at each tier in the sectional structure� It was agreed that NIPSA would participate in the matching process to ensure that the existing staff would be formally matched into two of the new harbour posts being created� A meeting took place in early December 2017 to discuss assimilation terms at which the members affected accepted the new posts by way of suitable alternative employment� This mitigated compulsory redundancy�

(vi) Planning Staff Accommodation Issues: NIPSA raised a number of concerns pertaining to the accommodation standards for this group of transferred staff� Issues included hot desking difficulties, requirements for reasonable adjustments for those with disabilities and the loss of car parking facilities in Ards to the Health Trust� Management agreed to engagement with NIPSA to resolve the issues of concern, recognising that reasonable adjustments were required and that hot desking was proving problematical�


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(vii) Serco Leisure Limited: Serco wrote to NIPSA in March 2017 stating that the transfer agreement had stipulated that all staff would move to Serco Leisure’s terms and conditions of employment post transfer� NIPSA disputed this assertion and created a dossier of the specific policies and procedures which were protected under TUPE� The issue was also raised with the Council who assured Trade Union Side that TUPE protection applied� A constructive meeting was held in March 2017 with the SERCO Leisure contract manager and the HR national representative� Issues discussed included industrial relations; a review of the Collective Engagement Framework and ongoing review of the draft Drugs and Alcohol Policy� Following the meeting, it was agreed that NIPSA and UNITE would form a Joint Trade Union Side (JTUS)with the NIPSA HQ Official taking the role as JTUS Lead Secretary� Management Side responded to the NIPSA comments on the Drug and Alcohol draft 1 in April 2017, with NIPSA co-ordinating a further response by early May 2017 which remained� NIPSA also co-ordinated a comprehensive written submission on the draft 1 Collective Engagement Framework with the inclusion of a joint commitment to early information sharing and detailed negotiation from the earliest stage; extensions to the role of the local trade union representatives; an increase in the number of elected NIPSA representatives; a role for the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) in dispute situations & Appeals and reasonable timeframes for policy develop-ment and consultation/negotiation� SERCO’s response was outstanding at year end�

(c) Armagh City, Craigavon and Banbridge Council

(i) Restructuring: The review of the matching process continued with monthly meetings taking place throughout the first half of 2017 to redraft the Job Matching Protocol� The Joint Trade Union Side (JTUS), led by NIPSA, secured a number of improvements to the process which would benefit all members� This included the potential to agree an in-house job evaluation model which involved a joint Management/Union panel and also joint moderation� It was further agreed that draft job descriptions for new posts and significantly amended posts in the new structure would be provided to NIPSA with indicative grades attached which could be finalised and agreed prior to conducting a Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) job evaluation� A revised Matching Protocol, which underpinned the entire restructuring process, was agreed and signed off in July 2017� Training was undertaken during the Autumn� As NIPSA had insisted that the process to reduce the number of Agency and temporary contracts across the Council was completed prior to matching below Tier 4 level commenced, this was a joint priority which continued on a case by case basis� This benefitted members who had been acting up into posts above their substantive grade since before the vacancy control measures were introduced in 2012� It also provided security for those on fixed term contracts for a duration which protected their position under the Fixed Term Worker (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) legislation� The JTUS also pressed for fair and equal treatment for casual staff who


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had been working for the Council for sustained periods, on a case by case basis� The Council also responded to a NIPSA request for the details of Agency contracts for over and under two years by category, department, tenure, rationale and cost which fed into restructuring discussions at LCNF level

(ii) Job Matching: NIPSA was elected by the JTUS to represent all unions in the matching process for the majority of posts below Tier 4, Head of Department, level� A NIPSA Branch Officer was released full-time to facilitate the restructuring of the new Council� At NIPSA’s request, HR provided draft structures as a prerequisite to agreeing new job descriptions, which were reviewed by NIPSA� However the matching process stalled very quickly in early Autumn due to issues arising as a result of proposed Departmental and Divisional Structures� These issues were resolved towards the end of 2017 which facilitated the continuation of job matching into 2018�

(iii) Recruitment: A recruitment com-petition was underway at year end to fill a Director level vacancy with Trade Union Side having been consulted on the job documentation� It was anticipated that the Director of People post, which had been filled on a temporary basis, would be trawled at some stage in 2018�

(iv) Revised Joint Consultative and Negotiating Forum (JCNF) Agreement: The joint secretaries of the Joint Consultative and Negotiating Forum, which included the NIPSA HQ official, agreed the final wording for the observer seat and specialist attendees sections of the Industrials Relations (IR) constitution�

The Agreement was finalised and signed off at the February 2017 JCNF meeting�

(v) Potential Privatisation of new Armagh and South Lakes Leisure Centres: NIPSA made clear that any direction towards privatisation of Leisure would be robustly challenged� At the LCNF in February 2017, it was confirmed that both new state of the art Leisure facilities at Craigavon and Armagh would be the key capital projects for the Council over the next 5-7 years� Upon NIPSA reiterating its firm position that Leisure facilities must be kept in-house, it was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that no final decision had been made as to the future management of the leisure centres and that he was willing to work closely with NIPSA to investigate a potential best value in house model� The Branch remained committed to formulating an in-house model to present to the CEO, supported by research and expertise of the local representatives who had worked within leisure services for several decades� Discussions throughout the year were constructive and the Trade Union Side remained hopeful of achieving its objective� The Council invited a number of NIPSA Branch Officers to attend three site visits to Leisure Centres in England, all of which were either operated in-house or with an arms-length body arrangement in place� Trade Union Side reviewed the information gleaned from the visits with a view to strengthening the in-house model proposal� In September 2017, it was confirmed that the Council had narrowed its options to two which were in-house or arms-length body management� NIPSA pressed for the retention of leisure services in house,


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particularly in light of a recent European Court of Justice VAT exemption ruling which was more favourable to in-house service provision� In November, 2017 NIPSA became aware that the CEO was visiting England with the view to selling off Council owned and run properties and land� NIPSA objected to the posting on the Council website of a commercial plan encompassing such sell offs, particularly in the absence of any consultation� The advertisement was immediately withdrawn by HR, however the issue remained very much live and on the agenda for the Joint Consultative and Negotiating meeting scheduled January 2018�

(vi) Gosford Forest Park: NIPSA raised concerns over the potential plans for managing and developing the Park’s facilities given the related ongoing JTUS campaign against privatisation in Newry Mourne and Down Council� Senior Management of ABC Council appeared to be perplexed by the assertion of Newry Mourne &Down District Council’s Senior Management that Gosford Forest Park was included in any discussions for a joint agreement with the Forest Service to outsource facilities� The Acting Director reassured NIPSA that it would be the Council’s intention to review the provision of leisure facilities at Gosford in due course, with a view to deciding whether development of the camping and caravanning facilities on site would be viable at all� It was confirmed that the operation of the Park would remain in-house but added that in the past, a caravanning club had managed some facilities� NIPSA secured the Council’s commitment to fully engage at JCNF level at the commencement of any review process�

(vii) Employee Monitoring: JTUS raised significant data protection concerns over CCTV fitted at Carn Depot in the absence of an agreed Monitoring Protocol� It was agreed that a Protocol would be jointly developed to allay concerns over the gathering and use of the information collected and in particular, its use in disciplinary proceedings� It was agreed that the necessary negotiation on an overarching policy would commence in 2018�

(d) Causeway Coast and Glens

(i) Review of Public Administration (RPA): A number of grievances were submitted at various stages during 2017 in relation to the implementation of the matching process and the pools of employees being selected� A number of issues remained unresolved at the end of 2017 concerning the Finance Department, excess mileage allowances and the calculation of pay protection� Meetings were scheduled for early 2018 with management in an attempt to bring these matters to a close�

(ii) Leisure Review: Management notified Trade Union Side in September 2017 of their decision to conduct a review into Leisure which would explore all options for future delivery� These would include a variety of options for example in house, Council-owned company, outsource to Leisure Trust� Trade Union Side sought seats, on a without prejudice basis, on the project board to ensure effective and timely consultation took place� Management advised that the first stage of the review would be an options appraisal which would report in early 2018�

(iii) Holiday Pay/Overtime: Management tabled a paper on the implementation


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of the decisions arising from the Fulton v Bear Scotland case� further meetings were planned for 2018 with a view to its expeditious implementation�

(e) Derry City and Strabane District Council

(i) Review of Public Administration (RPA): Significant resources were committed to ensure that job matching was concluded� A small number of appeals were lodged but were unsuccessful� The Council agreed to review terms and conditions and grading for staff in Technical Services meetings were planned for 2018 to take this forward�

(ii) Living Wage: The new rate of £8�75 was announced in November 2017 and it was agreed with management that they would implement it with effect from 1 April 2017�

(iii) City of Derry Airport:

Public Service Obligation (PSO) Routes: It was announced in March 2017 that BMI Regional would operate a twice daily service under a PSO contract� It was hoped that a further PSO route between Derry and Manchester would be approved and that the BMI service would add a Derry to Birmingham Route� These additional routes did not progress during 2017� As a result of the introduction of the London PSO, Trade Union Side lodged a claim for an unsocial hours payment for security staff, this was rejected by management�

Pay: Trade Union Side lodged a pay claim� Following a counter offer by management it was agreed to implement the following for 2017/18:

● All staff to receive a 1% pay increase from 1 April 2017�

● A further 1% pay increase to become effective should a second PSO be achieved�

● Minimum wage to rise to £7�50 from 1 April 2017, regardless of age profile� This rate will be increased by 1%�

A request to implement the Real Living Wage was rejected�

(f) Fermanagh & Omagh District Council (FODC)

(i) Accommodation Review: NIPSA’s local representatives were involved in discussions regarding proposed changes to accommodation in Omagh and Enniskillen�

Members in the Planning, Building Control and Licensing Departments moved to Omagh town centre� Proposals were also under consider-ation by Management to move members from the INTEC Centre in Enniskillen, and other members from Townhall in Enniskillen, to County Buildings in Enniskillen�

NIPSA reiterated the need for consultation locally and highlighted again that car parking was an issue for those who had previously been able to avail of free car parking spaces� NIPSA had previously proposed that a concessionary tariff should apply to staff not able to park at either location� It was agreed to have further discussions with local representatives in relation to car parking, as part of the ongoing review of car parks into 2018�

(ii) Enniskillen Museum/Visitor Infor-mation Centre: NIPSA consulted members in relation to Management Side’s proposals for seven day opening at the Enniskillen Museum and Visitor Information Centre� As no collective arrangement was agreeable to all


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members, consultation meetings took place on an individual basis� NIPSA members were subsequently given the opportunity to work during Monday to Friday, with no weekend working�

(iii) Environment & Property Managers and Supervisors – On Call Rota: Following a meeting with the relevant members in the Environment and Property (E&P) Directorate, NIPSA registered a dispute with the Council regarding the Weekend and Public Holiday Cover Rota for E&P Managers and Supervisors regarding the rate of payment for on-call� NIPSA carried out an informal consultation regarding possible industrial action, which members agreed to�

NIPSA participated in a meeting with the Director of E&P at which all the relevant issues were raised� NIPSA also reiterated that it was in dispute with the Council, at the Local Consultative and Joint Negotiating Forum (LCJNF) meeting in October 2017�

The Council provided a revised on call proposal for E&P Managers and Supervisors to provide 24 hour cover� This was also rejected by the members� NIPSA proceeded to an industrial action ballot regarding this issue, and the issue of payment for on-call�

(iv) Holiday Pay Calculations: NIPSA members were consulted about proposals for payment of holiday pay for those who work overtime on a regular basis� The proposals were accepted and Management Side paid a lump sum payment to relevant members at the end of March 2017�

(v) Marble Arch Caves and Geopark: NIPSA met with members in the Marble Arch Caves and Geopark, (MACG) regarding FODC’s refusal to carry out a job evaluation on their posts, despite

one having been requested a number of years ago� Following a comprehensive discussion with members, it was agreed that NIPSA would seek a meeting with HR to discuss the lack of progress on this matter�

FODC agreed to progress a restructuring of the MACG� NIPSA was consulted on the terms of reference for this�

(vi) Policy Working Group: Consultation continued in relation to a number of policies� Policies consulted upon and agreed included the Travel & Subsistence policy� Extensive consultation took place in relation to the designation of a member of staff as an essential car user, and the payment of Subsistence�

Policies on Volunteering with the Council, Career Breaks, Domestic Violence, Health & Wellbeing and use of Mobile Phones were issued for consultation amongst the wider membership, and subsequently agreed�

NIPSA raised the issue of job evaluation again, for those members who were not being given revised job descriptions for new posts as part of the restructuring exercise�

(vii) Restructuring within Council: Restructuring of departments continued throughout 2017� Building Control and Licensing were the final services to undergo restructuring as a result of Local Government Reform� Job descriptions were developed following consultation with the relevant members and were subject to a desktop evaluation in keeping with Circular LGRJF/08�

(viii) Water Quality Inspectorate: NIPSA met with Senior Managers in FODC to discuss a proposal from the Northern


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Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) in relation to Personal Safety Devices for members in Water Quality� The comments received from the consultation exercise with members, were discussed� The main areas of concern were in relation to Tracking Data, and the balance between Health & Safety requirements and imposition of excessive monitoring� A further, regional meeting was arranged with NIEA�

NIPSA had a series of meetings with members in the Water Quality Inspectorate (WQI) regarding payments for ‘on-call’� The grades of the WQI posts were also raised with the Council� HR responded stating that they were under no obligation to look at regrading these posts�

(g) Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC)

(i) Job Evaluations: The job evaluation appeal schedule continued throughout 2017, concluding in December 2017� NIPSA continued to meet with the appellants throughout that period in order to provide advice, guidance and representation at appeal hearings� NIPSA also provided staff-side panel representation, in line with the agreed job evaluation scheme� NIPSA members benefited from a significantly high appeal success rate following the hearings�

(ii) Matching Process: Following a period of dispute and disengagement with the Council regarding industrial relations issues in the early part of 2017, the matching process reconvened and continued throughout 2017� NIPSA provided both member and panel representation as required�

(iii) Lisburn Museum Review: Following the announcement in 2015 of the strategic review of Lisburn Museum, NIPSA continued to seek assurances that the protection of jobs and services would be paramount throughout� Following initial difficulties regarding full and meaningful consultation on the matter, the Council agreed to share the findings of the independent consultancy report, which was due in 2016� The report encountered a series of lengthy delays was not released� NIPSA awaited the outcome of the findings in 2018�

(iv) Casual Staff: In 2016, NIPSA raised concerns regarding LCCC plans to transfer casual staff within the Leisure and Community Directorates from the direct employment of LCCC to the employment of Grafton Recruitment� Objections were raised in relation to the lack of consultation on the matter and the lack of any due process� Following the required consultation and engagement with NIPSA, a significant number of the staff employed on casual contracts were given permanent employment with LCCC during 2017� Whilst a number of staff did transfer to Grafton Recruitment, the majority of these staff were those who did not wish to avail of permanent contracts�

(v) Policy: NIPSA continued the process of consultation and negotiation on a range of policy matters including:

● Social Media

● Uniform Policy

● Managing Attendance Policy

● Payment of Fees and Allowance

(vi) Planning Staff: NIPSA requested confirmation from Lisburn and Castlereagh Council that Planning staff, in line with NICS terms and conditions


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at the point of transfer, would receive incremental pay rises each August consistent with their former NICS conditions of service� NIPSA received a response on the matter in the form of a policy on the payment of fees for all staff� The policy was with Trade Union Side for further consultation�

LCCC moved forward with a further round of voluntary redundancies in line with the Voluntary Exit Scheme for Planning Staff� NIPSA indicated its concern about the reduced staff head count and allocation of the remaining workload� LCCC advised there would be no adverse affect on the remaining staff due to restructuring�

(vii) Holiday Pay: Following the decision arising from the Patterson case, NIPSA, in conjunction with sister unions, received proposals from the Council in November 2017 on the future arrangements with regard to the accrual of holidays for casual staff working overtime� The proposals are to be subject to full scrutiny moving forward to ensure that the best outcome was achieved for members�

(h) Mid and East Antrim Borough Council

(i) Review of Public Administration (RPA): Matching took place during 2016 with limited progress on filling posts in the new Council structures� NIPSA proposed that a modified process would apply for postholders whose posts remained without change� This resulted in direct assimilations without the need for a comprehensive matching process during 2017�

Management notified staff that they would be relocating some Council services� NIPSA raised an objection to the process and demanded assurances that any moves would be subject to full consultation� Management indicated

that relocations would be commencing in 2018�

(ii) Joint Consultation and Negotiating Committee (JCNC): Difficulties remained in the establishment of effective negotiating machinery for collective bargaining� Management continued to refuse to move forward unless a non-NIJC trade union was admitted to the forum� The matter remained unresolved�

(iii) Holiday Pay/Overtime: Management tabled proposals on the imple-mentation of the Fulton v Bear Scotland Ltd case� NIPSA lodged collective grievances in respect of members� Meetings were planned for 2018 to progress matters�

(iv) Senior Management Review: The Council’s Chief Executive wrote to NIPSA on 21 November 2017 advising that she had commenced a review of the Heads of Service and had tabled proposals for Council approval� NIPSA raised concerns about the failure to consult and immediately sought assurances about no redundancies and proper consultation�

(i) Mid-Ulster District Council (MUDC)

(i) Business Support: NIPSA consulted members regarding five Business Support manager posts, which were subsequently appointed through application of the matching process as outlined in Local Government Reform Joint Forum (LGRJF) Circular 08� NIPSA requested clarification regarding the area of Business Support generally and highlighted members’ anxiety and concern regarding the apparent lack of progress in filling posts beyond Tier 5� It was agreed that a list of the next round of posts to be filled would be circulated to Trade Union Side�


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NIPSA met the Director of Human Resources and Operational Development in relation to Business Support reorganisation� NIPSA expressed concern at the lack of any meaningful progress with the restructuring, and highlighted the fact that members had become increasingly anxious about increased workloads and uncertainty generally within the area of Business Support� The Director advised that there were approximately 50 staff involved in Business Support� These included Receptionists, Clerical and Administration and Housekeeping� NIPSA stated its expectation that proposals would be issued for formal consultation�

(ii) Environment and Property Review: NIPSA conducted a workplace ballot amongst relevant NIPSA members in the Environment and Property Directorate, in relation to new job descriptions, matching documentation and management proposals for harmonisation of various working practices�

A majority of members voted to accept the proposals which include a pay rise of between 6 and 12% for some members, with an implementation date of January 2017 for the pay rise� NIPSA was advised that the new rates of pay would be implemented in early March 2017, with arrears to be paid before the end of March 2017� A Collective Agreement was subsequently signed off by NIPSA�

Further to the Collective Agreement members received the uplift in their salary, and arrears of salary were paid by the end of May�

(iii) Greenvale Leisure Centre: Following the announcement by MUDC that Greenvale Leisure Centre would

be returned to the Council and the contract with PULSE Leisure Services terminated, NIPSA issued a press release welcoming the decision� NIPSA had lobbied consistently throughout the five years of the PULSE Contract for Greenvale’s return to the Council�

Despite the hostility shown by Greenvale Leisure Centre Managers to NIPSA, a recruitment day was organised by NIPSA in the Leisure Centre�

(iv) Holiday Pay Calculations: It was agreed that a proposal paper regarding the payment of holiday pay for those who undertook regular overtime, would be brought to the Policy Working Group� NIPSA requested worked examples in relation to the proposals�

(v) Leisure Services Review: The Terms of Reference (TOR) for a review of Leisure Services within MUDC was provided to NIPSA for comment� Trade Union Side met to discuss the TOR and provided initial comments� A working group comprising 3 Branch Representatives and the NIPSA Full-Time Official was set up for the purposes of the review�

(vi) Out of Hours On-Call Arrangements for Dog Control: NIPSA met with the group of members involved in the proposed out of hours on-call arrangements for dog control� NIPSA’s members expressed concern regarding the amount of payment proposed for on-call, and the fact that since they had all been matched to higher graded posts, overtime would no longer be paid� NIPSA requested a meeting with the relevant Senior Managers which took place in November 2017� It was agreed that a new set of proposals would be issued for members’ consideration�


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(vii) Planning/Planning Administration Pay: NIPSA sought clarification regarding the pay increase for mem-bers� Management Side confirmed that the 1% pay increase from August 2016 to April 2017 was on a pro rata basis� It was clarified that all future pay increases would be paid from April in any year, starting with April 2017�

(viii) Policy Working Group: NIPSA participated throughout the year in the Policy Working Group� Consultation took place with the wider NIPSA membership regarding the Grievance, Disciplinary and ICT related Policies, on the basis that once agreed, these applied to ‘new starts’ only� Policies under consideration included the Travel and Subsistence Policy, Overtime and Conflict of Interest Policy�

(j) Newry Mourne and Down District Council

(i) Industrial Relations Dispute: The Joint Trade Union Side (JTUS) had reached a disagreement on the planned privatisation of Council services towards the end of 2016 which resulted in NIPSA withdrawing from the job matching process� In December 2016, a special Local Consultative Negotiating Forum (LCNF) was convened at the request of the JTUS to discuss the issues surrounding potential privatisation together with the Council’s total failure to consult with the trade unions prior to making recommendations t to privatise Council run services� Immediately prior to the meeting, a newspaper article reported that it was the Council’s intention to privatise a number of forest parks and their associated camping and caravanning facilities� When this was raised with Management Side, the Director concerned stated that the issue had been taken out of context

and that the Council was seeking the Council’s Economic, Regeneration and Tourism (ERT) Committee’s approval to conduct a scoping exercise to ascertain how best to manage and develop the forest parks at Kilbroney, Castlewellan, Tollymore, Slieve Gullion and Donard, in conjunction with the Forestry Service� NIPSA sought disclosure of the report submitted to the ERT Committee, it became clear that the Director had been disingenuous� It was recorded that approval had been sought to conduct a tender to invite external consultants to prepare a business case for the outsourcing of the forest parks’ amenities� NIPSA wrote to the Councillors to complain about the lack of consultation with the unions and the disingenuous manner in which the JTUS was being treated by the Senior Management Team� A number of supportive responses were received from Councillors agreeing to critically analyse any further recommendation submitted for approval� NIPSA also issued a press release and engaged with local community groups to build the campaign against privatisation� The full time officers of the JTUS also sought an urgent meeting with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in an effort to resolve the issues in dispute, however a date for the meeting was not secured from the CEO until April 2017� The meeting which was held on 5 April was attended by the full time officers of the recognised trade unions NIPSA, UNITE, GMB and SIPTU and the CEO and Senior Management Team of the Council� During robust exchanges, a number of JTUS concerns were debated and action points agreed on each in a concerted effort to resolve the dispute caused by the potential threat of privatisation� The constructive meeting resulted in the


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issue of a joint statement at the end of April 2017 which referenced an agreement in principle to resolve the dispute with assurances of full and timely negotiation and consultation and full protection for all members going forward� A joint working group was established, led by NIPSA, to review Industrial Relations constitutions and address overarching concerns� Trade Union Side also sought the full time re-release of a NIPSA representative, with back filling of the substantive post, which had been unilaterally withdrawn by HR due to union objections to the inconsistent approaches to the restructuring processes�

Engagement with local community groups also proved constructive and a helpful prerequisite to initiating a major anti-privatisation campaign should that be required in the future� Branch meetings were held in May 2017 in Newry and Downpatrick at which members were updated on developments which were broadly welcomed by members� However, despite the agreed action plan a date for the LCNF could not be secured with Management citing their non-availability� In August 2017, NIPSA wrote to the CEO criticising Management Side’s failure to engage with the trade unions� An urgent meeting on was sought to address a range of areas including: failure by HR to honour agreements; inadequate facilities for the unions; failure by Management to resolve local IR issues; the role of the Joint Secretaries and those representatives on full time release; incomplete provision of structures for Tier 5 level and below; failure of the Council to protect employment; costs of restructuring to date; career progression; inappropriate use of VER/

early severance; changes to terms and conditions of employment without negotiated agreement; lack of upward harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment; inadequate use of EQIAs; lack of assimilation for those not affected by restructuring; inappropriate use of Agency and temporary contracts; detrimental implementation of amended/new policies and procedures prior to agreement at LCNF level; staff stress audit� In his response, the CEO disingenuously blamed the JTUS, and in particular NIPSA, for causing unnecessary and damaging delays to the restructuring process� The JTUS responded questioning the stance adopted by the CEO, articulating disappointment and concern over the apparent criticism of the JTUS attempts to protect union members� Clarification was also sought on what JTUS action the CEO viewed had been deliberately harmful� A response from the CEO remained outstanding at year end� He did not attend the subsequent three special LCNF meetings held in the last quarter of the year, during which strenuous efforts to improve industrial relations were made� A high priority was to secure protection of terms and conditions of employment and a no redundancy clause� In November 2017, a further letter issued to the Director with responsibility over the review seeking detailed responses to the concerns previously raised� At year end, a written response was outstanding� The Director noted the JTUS frustrations and agreed to arrange for the JTUS to meet with the Consultants engaged on the review project early in 2018�

(ii) Restructuring and Job Matching: As a result of the industrial dispute reported above unresolved issues surrounding how groups of staff were being


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excluded unfairly from the matching process, despite Ministerial directives, caused NIPSA to withdraw from all engagement with the Council� This resulted in no further progress being made on restructuring until the second half of 2017�The Council responded by temporarily withdrawing the 100% facility time release of the NIPSA Branch Chairperson originally granted for the purpose of Review of Public Administration (RPA) restructuring� In early February, HR informed NIPSA that due to a significant overspend on staffing budget, there was a necessity to revisit the senior tiers structure� It was clarified that one Director post and one Assistant Director post would be removed from the structure and the associated duties and responsibilities shared across the other Directorates� NIPSA ensured that no member was adversely impacted by this restructuring� No compulsory redundancies were required due to one post being vacant and the other becoming vacant through early retirement� NIPSA continued to raise queries over HR’s lack of adherence to agreed vacancy control processes and amendments being made to job descriptions/specifications without prior consultation� A Branch Circular was issued in June 2017 to ensure that members were kept informed as to the reason for delays in the recommencement of restructuring�

The JTUS finalised its revision of the Job Matching Protocol and tabled a revised draft document in October 2017 which sought further protection for members� It also included a proposal to construct a new in-house job evaluation process which would include joint panels and moderation� At the November 2017 LCNF, it was

agreed to take negotiations forward early 2018 through the establishment of a working group which would be led by the Assistant Director of HR and the NIPSA official� The full time re-release of the elected NIPSA representative to represent JTUS on matching panels was secured and implemented in July 2017� However HR insisted it had the right to unilaterally withdraw the facility at any time, which was robustly challenged by NIPSA� Given the number of issues arising, the JTUS signalled the objection to any further job matching until the difficulties were resolved� A number of circulars were issued to keep members apprised of the difficulties being expressed� At the September 2017 LCNF meeting JTUS criticised HR for continued failure to provide proposed structures for Tier 4 and below� It was agreed that the NIPSA Branch Officer elected to participate in the matching process would not undertake matching of any posts below Tier 4 in the continued absence of structures� The JTUS pursued concerns over the at risk category requiring updating, the honouring of agreed vacancy controls to protect those most at risk of redundancy, inappropriate use of VER, detrimental changes to terms and conditions and the escalating costs of restructuring� It was agreed that a joint priority for the LCNF was to ensure the eradication of non-permanent contractual arrangements� It was also agreed that a second full time facility arrangement be provided due to the extensive volume of work created for JTUS by the matching and restructuring processes� This additional facility time was implemented within a week of agreement being reached� A further key joint priority was to commence a review of the waste disposal and cleansing sections�


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(iii) Policy Development: NIPSA con-tinued to pursue issues relating to the implementation of new policies and procedures across the Council which had not been agreed at LCNF level� It was considered these could erode the protection provided by TUPE� Examples included an amended travel and expenses policy, an attendance management system with fewer trigger points and a Parental Leave Policy� Concerns were also raised by JTUS over inadequate facility time being granted to Policy Working Group JTUS representatives, which was also notified to the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) representative who was facilitating the joint working group meetings� At year end, revised draft Managing Attendance, Grievance, Disciplinary and Dismissal Policies and Procedures were under JTUS consideration�

(iv) Internal Administrative Support Review: In July 2017, NIPSA became aware that a paper had been tabled with the Council by Senior Management about creating generic job descriptions at three grade levels which the majority of administrative staff would be job matched against� It was proposed staff would work in teams and be assigned to whichever area required administrative functions on any given day� The proposed strategy, had Section 75 consequences in terms of, grading, job satisfaction, enforced relocation and potential displacement/redundancy difficulties� NIPSA immediately registered its concerns and sought evidence to support the Management Side’s rationale for such a drastic change in approach� It emerged that the key objectives included salary savings of over £600k inside the first three years post implementation� NIPSA, on

behalf of the JTUS raised a number of serious concerns which included the following: lack of consultation and negotiation with JTUS prior to detailed recommendations being tabled to and approved by Council Committees; lack of disclosure of related documentation; lack of clarification of precise intended changes to structures; lack of clarity on how efficiencies would be measured and by whom; failure to protect employment under the Public Service Commission (PSC) Guiding Principles and associated Local Government Reform Joint Forum (LGRJF) joint circulars; confusion over how specialisms would be treated; over simplification by Management of administrative duties and functions; detrimental impacts on staff of proposed “flexibility” approach; restricted career progression possibilities; erosion of job satisfaction and damage to members’ feeling of value and personal contribution� A meeting was held in November 2017 at which NIPSA aired its concerns� This resulted in a general acceptance by HR that the 2015 report, upon which the review objectives were closely based, was factually and financially misleading and that the review would recommence with full JTUS input� This required agreement on which administrative areas were deemed in and out of scope of the review� It was anticipated that the joint working group would be required to meet at least monthly throughout 2018 to ensure the interests of members would be protected�

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C6.1Social Housing Reform ProgrammeAt the start of the year Officials in the Department for Communities (DfC) presented a detailed options paper to the Minister, which included options for both the landlord and non-landlord functions� Each of the options presented included a presumption that the Minister would agree to rent convergence otherwise the proposals would not be affordable� Strangely the DfC Officials accepted that if agreed this would increase the Housing Benefit bill which was at variance with the UK Government’s stated aim to reduce that bill�

The options for landlord services contained in the paper included splitting the functions into 1 or more not for profit organisations and also subsuming the borrowing costs of the NIHE within the block grant allocations� In respect of the non-landlord services the Departmental Officials referenced the government focus on reducing public spending� NIPSA made clear that any attempt to outsource or privatise any functions would be strongly resisted�

Given that the Assembly collapsed in early Spring 2017 no decision was taken by the Minister on any of the proposals� NIPSA continued its engagement with political parties and others on these issues to ensure that the union’s position was clearly understood� This included a detailed submission and presentation to the DfC Assembly Committee at the end of January 2017�

C6.2NIPSA Publication – Our Homes, Our Future: Protecting Public HousingIn the summer of 2017 NIPSA launched its new publication, Our Homes, Our Future: Protecting Public Housing� This was the second time that NIPSA had commissioned Stewart Smyth from Sheffield University to present a realistic vision for the provision of public housing� This new publication complemented the previous document in 2013, Keeping our Housing Public�

The main thrust of the latest publication included:

(a) Highlighting the need to retain the NIHE as the sole Housing Authority, accountable to the public through the Assembly;

(b) requirement to resolve the “right to borrow” issue to enable the Housing Executive to commence new builds and repairs and maintenance of existing stock;

(c) the publication also argued strongly that the Assembly Executive needed a focused commitment to tackle the growing housing crisis, with more than 20,000 presenting as being in housing stress and over 11,000 accepted as homeless;

(d) by facilitating an ambitious new build programme the publication demonstrated that thousands of construction jobs could be created alongside hundreds of apprenticeships for young people; and

(e) reinforced the historical context of the establishment of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in a divided society, emphasising that even in the absence of conflict these remained a deeply divided community and a single housing authority allocating housing on the basis of objective need was as needed today as it was 40 years ago�

C6.3Stock TransferAlthough there had not been any attempts at a voluntary stock transfer of Housing Executive homes to Housing Associations for the past few years it became clear at the end of 2016 that the Programme of Stock Transfer would be reactivated� In early 2017 The Grange estate in Ballyclare was selected as the preferred location, with almost 200 houses to be transferred to Choice Housing following a vote�

NIPSA made it clear to the Department for Communities (DfC) that in the absence of a Minister to provide political cover for an action

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C6 Northern Ireland Housing Executiveof this nature that this process should not have proceeded� This was ignored by the Department� NIPSA also challenged the voting arrangements to be followed, but this was also ignored�

Despite these minor set backs NIPSA remained confident that it could convince local residents that their interests were best served by remaining as Housing Executive tenants� The Assistant Trade Union Side Secretary in the Trade Union Side Office, in conjunction with NIPSA Headquarters, put together a strong community linked campaign of engagement over several months with local residents, community activists and local politicians� NIPSA produced leaflets, posters, badges and stickers to give a visible presence to its Vote No campaign which included going door to door and speaking directly to residents�

Following the publication by Choice Housing of their “sales pitch” to convince residents to vote yes to the stock transfer NIPSA produced its own paragraph by paragraph challenge to Choice Housing’s publication� This was then provided to each resident� At a public meeting organised by the Housing Executive to facilitate Choice Housing in its attempts to convince residents to transfer, NIPSA significantly dismantled their arguments in the public arena� Following complaints lodged by Choice Housing a meeting was held with their Chief Executive at which NIPSA again stood firm in its opposition to the transfer� Following this meeting the union once again re-engaged with residents throughout the balloting period�

Despite the relentless charm offensive visited on the residents of The Grange estate they voted in the ballot by over 90% to reject the stock transfer� This was a massive rejection by citizens and a major vindication of NIPSA’s hard work over the preceding number of months� Residents voted No and demanded their rights as Housing Executive tenants� Subsequently they were advised that they were slotted into the Executive’s work programme for maintenance and upgrades� This was a fantastic result for people power�

On foot of this wholesale rejection of stock transfer NIPSA again called for a halt to the programme, at least until the Assembly was re-established and political decisions could be made� Again this was rejected by the Department� At the end of the year residents in Ballee, Ballymena were notified that they would be balloted in early 2018 on transferring to Triangle Housing Association� At year end NIPSA had already made contact with 2 Residents Associations in the area and leafleted residents� NIPSA remained confident that residents in Ballee would listen to the arguments against transferring from the Housing Executive�

C6.4Reclassification of Housing AssociationsNIPSA issued a response to the Department for Communities (DfC) public consultation in Spring 2017 on proposals to reverse the reclassification of registered social housing providers by the Office of National Statistics (ONS)� In its response NIPSA highlighted the speed with which the Department had brought forward these proposals, in sharp contrast to the lack of urgency, in NIPSA’s view, in dealing with the growing housing crisis�

NIPSA also highlighted the need to consider the wider structural issues which continued to be ignored and also highlighted that the proposals contained in the public consultation went beyond the issues raised in the reclassification decision by ONS and that by doing so there was a clear emphasis on commercialising the social housing sector�

C6.5Review of Private Rental SectorIn its response to the pubic consultation exercise undertaken by DfC in reviewing the Private Rental Sector, NIPSA reiterated its strong view that all of these issues needed to be viewed in the context of the broader debate in respect of

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dealing with the growing housing emergency� NIPSA’s overall response to the Programme for Government (PfG) was referenced, and also its housing specific response to the PfG and its detailed submission to the DfC Assembly Committee� In addition NIPSA emphasised the following points�

(a) lack of clarity contained in the proposals on how to police compliance with new regulations given that there were approximately 55,000 landlords involved;

(b) with the introduction of Universal Credit citizens in receipt of welfare benefits would become even more vulnerable as they were pushed towards greater reliance on a largely unregulated and unaccountable private rental sector;

(c) the lack of rent certainty and security of tenure would do nothing to assist people who were in need of decent public housing;

(d) increasing the notice to quit from landlords to tenants from 4 weeks to 2 months demonstrated the unwillingness of government to tackle the housing crisis in a serious manner;

(e) for many people already experiencing fuel and/or food poverty the over reliance on the private rental sector with notoriously higher rents was disgraceful; and

(f) these proposed changes, taken alongside the introduction of Universal Credit was likely to be responsible for a greater number of evictions and greater vulnerability of families and children becoming homeless�

C6.6Fundamental Review of Social Housing AllocationsAt the year end NIPSA was in the process of collating the views of Branches and Trade Union Side in the Housing Executive to the Department’s public consultation of social housing allocations� A number of issues were

clear in the consultation carried out:

(a) no political direction by a Minister or Assembly given the current political impasse;

(b) none of the proposals dealt with the issue of supply; not one additional house would be built as a result of this review;

(c) whatever decisions emerged from the consultation these would ignore the fundamental requirement to build more social housing, by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive;

(d) tinkering around the edges of the points system would only serve to do one of two things; firstly, push more and more citizens into the unregulated, unaccountable and insecure private rental sector and secondly mask the statistics, giving the impression of tackling the housing issues but in reality only serving to remove tenants from the waiting lists at an earlier time; and

(e) in reality this review was a charter for the privatisation of social housing�

C6.7Housing BenefitNIPSA made a significant effort during the year to ensure that the interests of staff working in the Housing Benefit department within the Housing Executive were kept to the fore� NIPSA argued strongly that work which had originally been earmarked to transfer to Land and Property Services (LPS) should be retained by the Housing Executive� Similarly in response to an internal review by the Department, NIPSA made a strong case that work should be retained by the Executive� At year end, although no firm decision had been taken by the Department, it was acknowledged that the future for staff working in Housing Executive appeared more secure� The issue of staff potentially having the right to transfer into the Northern Ireland Civil Service remained unresolved, but would be dealt with in the wider review� As a result of these

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positive developments a number of permanent recruitment exercises and promotion trawls were held�

C6.8RestructuringThroughout the year NIPSA continued to engage with management and affected members in respect of a number of restructuring exercises in Assets Management, Regional Services, Finance Division, Housing Services and Corporate Services� This included significant input by Trade Union Side in respect of new job descriptions as well as significant promotion opportunities for hundreds of staff as new structures were developed�

C6.9HR PoliciesTrade Union Side responded to a number of proposed policy reviews throughout the year including Disciplinary, Transfer, Travel and Subsistence, Additional Payments, Recruitment and Grievance Policy� Discussions continued on many of these� NIPSA awaited a redraft of the Harassment Policy (Dignity at Work)�

In addition to the above NIPSA engaged in a number of meetings to discuss the attempted introduction of a new Performance Management Policy� NIPSA raised a number of concerns around the behavioural elements of the new policy� These issues remained unresolved at year end�

C6.10Equality IssuesNIPSA accepted an offer to participate in the Equality Forum established by the Housing Executive to consider the operation of its decisions and policies in the context of the equality scheme�

C6.11Job Evaluation SchemeNIPSA initiated discussions with the Housing Executive on the introduction of a job evaluation scheme for staff, to include an appeal mechanism for members who consider that their posts had been incorrectly graded�

C6.12 Membership and RecruitmentFollowing the structural changes introduced by the Housing Executive, Trade Union Side undertook a major review of its branch structures to reflect the changes� This involved the consideration of merging branches and restructuring others� It was expected that a paper would be presented to the Central Panel early in 2018 for consideration, following which proposals would be forwarded to NIPSA’s General Purposes Committee for approval�

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C7.1Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) – Pay, Terms and Conditions DisputeNIPSA registered a dispute with the Regional Office of the Citizens Advice Bureau and invoked grievances over the failure of management to pay cost of living and incremental increases over the last 2 financial years� Pay increases are directly linked to the National Joint Council (NJC) arrangements� NIPSA had claimed that this was a breach of contract and potentially unlawful� Furthermore, the failure to award NJC cost of living increases to staff who had been TUPE’d over to the organisation was in NIPSA’s view a further breach of contract and potentially unlawful� Changes made to terms and conditions under the Staff Handbook without full consultation and agreement was another matter that was under dispute� It was NIPSA’s view that it was neither desirable nor justified for a rights based organisation such as the CAB to be implementing terms and conditions that would in effect result in a 2 tiered workforce� NIPSA members advised they were prepared to take industrial action, if necessary, to advance their claims�

C7.2Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC)September 2016 saw the creation of a new advocacy body for almost half of all schools in Northern Ireland, the Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC)�

In early 2017 NIPSA was invited to talk to the 16 staff about joining a union and as NIPSA had members in comparable organisations such as the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE), General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) and the Education Authority (EA), NIPSA argued it was the natural choice for staff� NIPSA recruited 14 members

in the organisation equating to 88% union density� The terms and conditions of staff were to be National Joint Council (NJC) in line with the other organisations�

C7.3Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS)NIPSA continued throughout 2017 to meet with CCMS management in relation to the Organisational Review that emanated out of the KPMG Report dated July 2015� That review was commissioned by the Department of Education (DE)�

The review looked at the organisational structure of CCMS and an optimum structure was produced that enabled negotiations to begin in relation to deployment options for staff� There was a Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES) offered to all staff in line with the public sector scheme� This enabled CCMS to see what staff were available to be deployed to the new structure� New job descriptions were drawn up in conjunction with line managers and the Directors of Service� These were shared with NIPSA which subsequently led to the population of post in the new structure� There were a number of individual circumstances that needed to be taken into consideration and discussions to address these were held with individual members having trade union representation where required� Other issues arose in relation to adopting a Flexible Working Hours scheme, relocation to Lisburn, closure of some of the Diocesan offices, essential car users allowance/rate and other funding/budget cuts that were to be imposed by the Department of Education� Issues also arose out of restructuring and relocation of CCMS� The Headquarters at Holywood closed on 29 June 2017 and relocated on 4 July 2017 to their new headquarters in Lisburn� A new Diocesan office was opened in Omagh� All of the issues were successfully resolved during the year and the adoption of a flexi policy was agreed in CCMS�

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C7.4Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)Fixed Term Contracts (FTC): An issue arose regarding clerical staff on fixed term contracts who had gained employment rights but who were not being offered suitable alternative employment at the end of their fixed term, where suitable employment clearly existed�

NIPSA advanced a number of test cases to grievance and were successful due to producing evidence that this practice was unfair and unlawful� As a result of this action, all those in question were given permanency� Of the remaining FTC’s who were not part of the grievance, NIPSA successfully negotiated their permanency� This was a significant result for the branch that led to a major change of policy within CCEA�

Policies: Work was ongoing throughout the year reviewing a number of policies most notably the grievance and disciplinary policies� The aim was to ensure full compliance with the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidelines and the statutory requirements as this was lacking in the previous policy�

Job Evaluation: A number of female NIPSA members sought redress on the evaluation of their posts due to what they considered an equality issue� There was no formal mechanism in place to evaluate their roles other than a process based on HRs opinion� NIPSA subsequently lodged grievances� However management entered negotiations to establish the Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) scheme as a preferred job evaluation process�

C7.5Disability ActionFollowing notification that Disability Action was required to find further savings of around £280,000 NIPSA met management and the Board of the Organisation� Management

proposed cutting some services for the most disadvantaged members of our community� NIPSA sought to dissipate management from making effective these cuts� During 2017 the General Council undertook a review of the employment areas where staff were entitled to be members of Branch 725� Following the review all members of Branch 725 were consulted on recommendations presented by the General Council to establish a number of new NIPSA branches one of which was to facilitate members in Disability Action forming a branch of their own� The General Council recommendations were agreed having received support from the majority of members responding� The new NIPSA Branch 727 was formed in December 2017 covering members employed in Disability Action�

C7.6ExternPolicies: Extern reviewed a range of policies including the Whistleblowing Policy, Data Protection Policy, TOIL, Secondment Policy, Reward and Remuneration Policy� There were only minor issues with the majority of the policies and these were resolved through discussions with management� The only exception was the Reward and Remuneration Policy for which there were significant concerns raised by NIPSA� NIPSA undertook a lengthy consultation process with members in relation to the Reward and Remuneration Policy, which encompassed performance related pay – the members rejected the policy on that premise and this was relayed to management�

Working Practices: NIPSA continually raised issues in relation to discrepancies in working practices across the various projects/teams alongside concerns relating to payments made/not made to staff� There were developments in relation to this in December 2017 relating to payments and there was also some adjustments to the working patterns within a number of projects�

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Belfast Intensive Family Support Service: The staff in the Belfast Intensive Family Support Service were placed on protective notice by Extern on the 23 January 2017� NIPSA undertook a campaign by engaging with members, service users and political parties in terms of securing funding to retain this service� NIPSA also engaged with management in relation to avoiding compulsory redundancies seeking redeployments and subsequently voluntary redundancy packages� Unfortunately funding was not able to be secured and the project closed on the 31 March 2017� NIPSA support-ed members throughout the redundancy/redeployment process�

C7.7General Teaching Council For Northern Ireland (GTCNI)During 2017 NIPSA resubmitted the Recognition and Facilities Agreement to a new Board and Management of GTCNI� A response was awaited and NIPSA pressed management for this to be raised at their Council to progress the issue� The GTCNI also commissioned a review of a number of policies and committed to consultation with NIPSA� These policies include: Family Friendly Including Parental Leave; Dignity At Work; Disciplinary Procedure; Retirement; Grievance Procedure; Career Break; Attendance; Staff Welfare; Flexible Working; Work Life Balance; Anti-Fraud & Bribery; Whistleblowing; and Eye Test�

C7.8Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL)(a) Pay: Following an overwhelming member

endorsement to reject the Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) proposals, NIPSA in conjunction with UNITE and SIPTU sought to remove the remaining strings that were attached to the pay proposals� NIPSA took the view that the 1% pay award paid to National Joint Council (NJC) staff in 2016 should be paid to former Belfast City Council

(BCC) staff, despite GLL taking a contrary view� GLL proceeded with the proposed pay frequency change from fortnightly to monthly pay for those GLL members who remained on the fortnightly pay system� NIPSA was successful in securing a £300 compensation payment for those staff affected� NIPSA also worked towards a further buy-out for staff, in relation to changes in the calculation of annual leave from days to hours� A number of single-issue meetings were scheduled in relation to the remaining issues� NIPSA sought to ensure that pay matters would receive GLL’s urgent attention early in 2018�

(b) Leisure Transformation Programme: NIPSA was informed by GLL in April 2017 that Andersonstown Leisure Centre would close to the public on the 13 June 2017� Staff who did not wish to avail of the voluntary redundancy scheme were relocated to various GLL centres throughout Belfast� NIPSA was involved throughout the process, given the huge concerns for those staff affected and sought to redress the lack of transparency regarding the detail of important issues, such as the declaration of vacancies and the number of centres considered for relocation� On the basis of representation made by NIPSA, GLL revised a number of its original proposals� NIPSA attended all meetings relating to the issue, including one to one meetings between GLL and individual staff� The vast majority of staff were relocated to their centre of preference� However concerns remained, as GLL refused to give a commitment that the former BCC staff would return to the newly built facility in Andersonstown or that they would have TUPE protected terms and conditions� NIPSA raised the issue with BCC and the matter was to be revisited in 2018�

(c) GLL Review: NIPSA engaged in a lobby campaign and met with Councillors across BCC� NIPSA was part of a deputation and

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made a presentation to the Council raising concerns about GLL practices regarding staffing matters and service delivery� Following the deputation, the BCC took the decision to launch a review of GLL and NIPSA representatives provided extensive feedback as part of that process� It was anticipated the outcome of the review would be published in early 2018�

C7.9Housing Associations(a) Radius Housing:

(i) Merger: Fold Housing Association and Helm Housing Association explored the possibility of a merger between the organisations in 2016� Both organisations engaged in due diligence and a final decision was reached in late 2016 which was approved by the relevant Boards in early 2017� The Associations subsequently merged on the 3 April 2017�

(ii) Policies: Radius Housing continued to review policies and NIPSA engaged in the consultation process� A number of policies were reviewed by the Association including: Flexible Working Policy, Maternity Policy, Transfer Policy, Leave Policy, Flexi Time Policy, Performance Improvement Policy�

(iii) Disciplinary Policy: NIPSA opposed the proposal to increase the extant period of final warnings from 12 months to 24 months� NIPSA also requested the introduction of a 3rd stage appeal process� Agreement was not reached in relation to the policy�

(iv) Grievance Policy: NIPSA requested the reintroduction of the 3rd stage appeal process which was withdrawn when the existing policy was implemented without agreement a number of years ago� The request was noted by

the Association� Agreement was not reached on this matter�

(v) Sickness Absence Policy/Bradford Factor: NIPSA raised objections in relation to the use of the Bradford Factor especially in terms of consideration being given to:

● Absences due to infectious conditions e�g� vomiting etc especially in relation to those who provide care for service users

● Medical procedures/operations and subsequent recovery times

● Absences due to accidents and subsequent recovery times

● Disability related absences

● Absences related to bereavement

There was movement by the Association in relation to a number of different types of absences e�g� disability related, bereavement related etc which was welcomed by NIPSA and the members� However significant concerns/issues remained�

(vi) Flexi-Time Policy: NIPSA challenged the revised policy particularly on behalf of legacy Helm staff for whom the proposed policy incorporated significant changes to their existing entitlements e�g� the reduction, from up to 2 days per month down to only 1 day per month� NIPSA was able to secure some amendments to the revised policy in relation to the start and finish times� These were revised to 7�30am – 6�30pm� Staff were only required to have a set amount of credit built up to take time off as opposed to having to have all of the credit built up� The number of flexi days staff were allowed off in any accounting period was not agreed� The Association advised that it was prepared to give legacy Helm staff

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affected by the changes Good Friday as a permanent statutory leave holiday entitlement – legacy Helm staff only received 12 statutory holidays and the inclusion of Good Friday would bring them in line with legacy Fold staff who were entitled to 13 statutory holidays� NIPSA engaged with the affected members to seek their views in relation to the proposal put forward by the Association�

(vii) :A number of other policies were under review including the Maternity, Transfer, Leave and Performance Improvement�

(b) Choice Housing Association:

(i) Policies: The Association reviewed legacy policies/procedures to harm-onise and develop Choice Housing Association policies/procedures for the ‘new’ organisation e�g� maternity, flexi leave� NIPSA engaged with members and the Association in the informal consultation process�

(ii) Tenant and Client Services: A review of the Tenant and Client Services was undertaken� Staff were consulted on the new model which rolled out in October 2017� NIPSA supported members in the ‘patch selection’ process� NIPSA continued to be engaged with members and management in highlighting operational matters that needed to be addressed in the new model particularly in relation to part-time staff� For example how the workload of a ‘patch’ was shared among the part-time staff members identified to a ‘patch-share’, and the application of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)�

C7.10Law Centre Northern IrelandNIPSA continued to engage with Law Centre Management and the Board in relation to

financial difficulties that caused them to enter a Companies Voluntary Agreement (CVA)� NIPSA sought legal advices on behalf of members to ensure appropriate payment of salaries, tax and pensions had been correctly addressed�

NIPSA reinforced the distress and anger of members about managements handling of the situation which had resulted in further restructuring and voluntary redundancies� Included in the CVA was an agreement to vacate the premises� NIPSA assisted members with issues arising from the move to new premises in Belfast City Centre�

In respect of the sale of the Law Centre’s Derry premises, NIPSA supported and represented members affected� This included a negotiated alternative arrangement including relocation and voluntary severance�

Issues relating to the impact of restructuring were raised at the Joint Consultative Committee this resulted in a proposed review of the existing workforce arrangements to identify and address any adverse impact on remaining workloads� While some projects were due to come to an end others resulted in funding being secured to enable some further recruitment�

C7.11Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS)(a) Financial Position: The Northern Ireland

Ambulance Service (NIAS) broke-even in relation to its 2016/2017 budget� NIAS was not required to contribute to the £70m savings (subsequently £30m) that were sought by the Department of Health from the 5 Health Trusts in Northern Ireland� It was expected that NIAS would break even in relation to its 2017/2018 budget�

(b) Meal Break Pilot (Emergency Services): A 6 month pilot was initiated from September 2016 until March 2017 in relation to staff/vehicles being stood down for meal/rest break periods� The pilot was

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implemented to determine if there would be any beneficial impact in relation to staff actually getting their meal/rest breaks and reducing the number of disturbed meal/rest breaks� A report had been complied late in the year by the Trust in relation to the outcome of the pilot� The indications were that the pilot had little impact on either of the issues that the Trust was seeking to address� No determination had been made by the Trust in relation to whether the practice would be rolled out�

(c) Policies: The organisation continued to review/revise various policies and procedures:

(i) Overtime: The overtime policy and operational staff procedure was reviewed by the Operational Joint Consultative Sub-group� Agreement was reached within the Sub-group on a number of issues including how over-time should be offered and the order in which over-time was offered to each staff group� The revised policy/procedure was expected to be submitted to the Operational Joint Consultative Group for consideration and potential agreement late 2017 or early 2018�

(ii) Annual Leave: The annual leave policy was reviewed by the Policy Group and the operational staff procedure was reviewed by the Operational Joint Consultation Sub-group� Any revised procedure would be required to be submitted to the Operational Joint Consultation Group (Ops JCT) for their consideration and potential agreement�

(iii) Absence Management: There were developments throughout the year in relation to the absence management policy which was considered outdated and had not been reviewed/updated

for some years� A number of workshops were held and agreement was finally reached in relation to a policy/procedure� Trade Union Side stated that the policy/procedure should not be applied retrospectively�

(d) Agenda for Change: There continued to be issues in relation to the matching process relating to Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)� A collective grievance was lodged in relation to the misapplication of the Agenda for Change process and Trade Union Side met the investigator appointed by the Trust� A joint statement was agreed by Trade Union Side for submission� The grievance outcome remained outstanding� Job evaluation/matching processes outside of the Paramedic, EMT roles continued to be undertaken but the process remained extremely slow due to the limited number of management representatives trained to undertake the job evaluation/matching process� This was particularly problematic as management identified only staff from within the Human Resources Department� Trade unions continued to press for the pool of managers who participate in the Agenda for Change matching/evaluation process to be extended and to include managers outside of Human Resources�

C7.12 Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS)(a) Departmental Reviews: The NIFRS

continued its service wide restructuring programme by department� NIPSA was engaged with management on a weekly basis throughout the year in the areas of Finance, Procurement, Training and Development and ICT� The reviews resulted in the creation of new posts and a job matching exercise was conducted in each area� NIPSA also supported a significant

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number of members with changes to their existing job descriptions and job evaluations of the new posts being used for job matching� This was however hindered by the initial refusal of HR to disclose the job evaluation paperwork including the scoring sheets� This problem was eventually resolved following the submission of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and subject data access requests by affected members� The Organisational Review Policy was under joint review at the time of writing this report�

(b) Industrial Relations Difficulties: Due to the failure by HR to engage on and advance a number of important industrial relations issues since Autumn of 2016, the Branch Committee authorised NIPSA to complain that the HR Department was in breach of the NIFRS’ revised Equality Scheme on 11 specific grounds and in breach of its associated action plan on 3 separate grounds� Fundamental equality concerns were listed emanating from HR’s approach to the ongoing restructuring� Issues that required urgent progression included: the revised draft Joint Negotiation and Consultative Council (JNCC) constitution, outstanding management responses to public consultation submissions from Trade Union Side, outstanding HR responses to NIPSA’s written submission critiquing the overarching Organisational Change Policy, trade union representation on the reconstituted equality and inclusion steering group, perceived sex discrimination of career development opportunities and acting up arrangements for non- uniformed vis a vis uniformed staff and HR’s superficial approach to the equality screening and Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) process� Two key meetings were held with HR during the second part of 2017 at which Trade Union Side was able to progress a number of its key objectives due to the improved willingness to engage demonstrated by HR�

Monthly meetings were also constituted involving Branch Officers and the Head of HR to advance issues of concern and share information in a timely way� It was agreed that any issues requiring resolution would be escalated to the JNCC�

(c) Revised Recognition and Procedural Agreement: In May 2017, NIPSA received a further draft document which did not take into account all of NIPSA’s suggested improvements� In September 2017, a formal JNCC was held during which the key issues were discussed� The revised draft JNCC constitution was the subject of further negotiation and reached the stage of agreement in principle by the end of September 2017� In October 2017, NIPSA welcomed confirmation that the Board had approved the new constitution, which included reference to the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) for dispute resolution procedures in the event of collective bargaining failure to agree� The tone of engagement was constructive and much improved, with agreement reached on a joint approach to policy development, a priority to jointly develop a temporary promotion/acting up policy for support staff and HR involvement to support the Branch Chairperson to resolve workload issues within the Health and Safety Division of the NIFRS was secured�

(d) Transfer of ICT Infrastructure to Business Services Organisation (BSO): The NIFRS decided in 2016 to partially transfer the ICT function and associated posts to the Business Services Organisation (BSO) in 2017� NIPSA remained engaged throughout the first quarter of the year in transfer negotiations for five members who transferred to BSO at the end of March 2017 whilst continuing to question the cost benefit of the transfer� Additional issues resolved included cost of car parking in Belfast City Centre; contracted hours; updating of transferring job descriptions,

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pension transfer and fair deal compensation, job location and job security� In parallel, negotiations continued on the impact on the ICT applications team members remaining in the NIFRS� This included amended job descriptions and associated regrading, potential requirement for an increase to staffing numbers and reporting line clarification� NIPSA supported one to one consultations with all affected members to ensure resolution on an individual as well as collective basis� In December 2017, NIPSA learnt that the anticipated cost of transfer and ongoing provision of support from BSO had considerably surpassed the NIFRS budget expectations�

(e) Potential Transfer of Procurement to BSO: The original Management Side plan arising from a review of the Procurement Team in 2016 was that up to two Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff would transfer to BSO at the end of March 2017 with the remainder of the Department transferring in the medium term� However NIPSA successfully challenged the direction of travel� This contributed to the decision not to proceed with the first Phase of transfer as planned� Issues raised included the cost of the transfer and associated service level agreement; the impact on the internal Procurement service; the loss of expertise by the potential transfer of specialist posts; the improvements already made by the Procurement Team since the review report was written and lessons learnt from the process of transfer of the ICT infrastructure team� NIPSA also tabled the potential secondment of staff rather than Transfer of Understandings Protection of Employment (TUPE) style transfer for a determined period until NIFRS managed the COPE risk the rationale for transfer to BSO� It was agreed that the COPE with BSO would be extended for up to a year to allow for further consideration of the issues raised� A series of meetings occurred throughout the first

half of the year at which NIPSA maintained its position that the Procurement Function should remain in-house, particularly given the escalated costs associated by the partial ICT transfer to BSO� The resignation of the Director of Finance in July 2017 caused stagnation of this review� This hiatus was cautiously welcomed by Trade Union Side as it was hoped the NIFRS would reconsider its original proposal towards outsourcing some of the procurement functions to BSO� However Trade Union Side raised concerns about the Director post being temporarily filled through an Agency contract due to a delay by the sponsoring Department to approve the Senior Management structure budget� It was accepted by HR that the original report was flawed in part and agreed that inaccuracies highlighted by NIPSA would not be used to inform any review outcomes� It was also suggested that only 1 post may be initially required to transfer should the outsourcing take place�

(f) Structural Review of Boucher Road Training Centre (Learning and Development Section): Significant en-gagement continued regarding the changes to the structure and associated job matching process� NIPSA objected to the manner in which the process had been conducted and the outcome of the job evaluation exercises, which raised potential sex discrimination concerns� NIPSA continued to support members on a collective and individual basis by reviewing job documentation, job matching analysis forms� Concerns were raised over how the approach taken to the restructuring of all female support staff appeared to benefit the largely if not exclusively male uniformed staff� The approach being taken by the Director of HR resulted in the widening of an unacceptable gap of several grades between non-uniformed and uniformed staff� It was also considered that this was detrimental to career development opportunities for

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NIPSA members� A detailed comparative analysis of new job documentation for both groups of staff informed meetings with NIFRS Area and Group Commanders in March 2017 which escalated the concerns being ignored by the Director of HR� In the last quarter of the year, a joint evaluation of this review process was undertaken at JNCC level� This established lessons learnt to build into other review processes based upon member feedback and the Trade Union Side experience� It was agreed that, in future, where a section was to be restructured, HR would meet initially collectively with the staff (with their union representatives present), to explain the job matching process and provide related documentation including job analysis forms� Thereafter, where necessary, 1 to 1 consultations would be offered to staff who had the right to be accompanied at the meeting� NIPSA queried the timeframe for filling the vacant HR Organisational Development post in the Learning and Development division, to which a HR response was anticipated at the JNCC scheduled for December 2017�

(g) Operational Support Review: At the JNCC held in September 2017, the terms of reference for this review were discussed� It was confirmed that the intended move of the Training Centre to Desertcreat in Co Tyrone was scheduled to commence in May 2018� Job matching and assimilation meetings were to take place from January 2018 onwards, although NIPSA members were unlikely to be affected by the initial phase of relocation� It was anticipated that relocation would be completed by 2020� NIPSA requested a seat on the Review User Group on a without prejudice basis, which was under management consideration� Meaningful engagement throughout the relocation project, was sought which was agreed by HR� It was anticipated that the review would be a key Trade Union Side focus throughout 2018�

C7.13 Northern Ireland Local Government Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC)(a) Branch Organisation: Towards the end

of the year, NIPSA was informed of the impending retirement of the only local Trade Union Side representative in NILGOSC� The HQ Official offered to provide guidance on Branch organisation and arrange an all-member meeting to be scheduled early in 2018 to prepare the Branch for an Annual General Meeting (AGM)� This was to facilitate the election of new Branch representatives�

(b) Policy Development: In March 2017, NIPSA received a draft Shared Parental Leave Policy and Procedure for consultation purposes� NIPSA responded by raising the following issues: the Policy should equally apply to Agency workers; carryover of leave into following year; amount of pay for keeping in touch days and refusal of applications should be kept to an absolute minimum and justifiable� Management Side’s response accepting the majority of the suggested amendments was received by October 2017� Amendments integrated into the new Policy included clarification that shared parental leave could be taken by a male partner despite not taking paternity leave and the option to carry over annual leave from a period of shared parental leave into the subsequent leave year�

In September 2017, HR tabled two revised draft policies with a closing date for written submissions of December 2017� The draft revised Disciplinary and Capability Policies and associated Procedures were reviewed in detail and by early December 2017, correspondence was sent to NILGOSC clearly stipulating that the trade union would not agree either of the suggested drafts due to the ease with which the policies would permit NILGOSC to summarily dismiss employees� Despite the HR claim that the policies were based on Labour

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Relations Agency (LRA) codes of practice, NIPSA believed that only legal minimum entitlements were being offered� Tracked changes and comments were forwarded to HR and the issue was to be addressed further early in 2018�

C7.14Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency (NIGALA) NIPSA raised concerns regarding the Supervision Policy for the Guardians in the Agency� It revolved around the use of peer supervision as opposed to a more structured approach� The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) was contacted but they saw no issue with the policy� NIPSA objected to the introduction of the policy and management subsequently agreed to review the practice to gauge its effectiveness�

C7.15 Windsor Women’s Centre NIPSA successfully recruited a number of members within the Windsor Women’s Centre and also secured agreement in principle to recognition rights� NIPSA represented members on grievances relating to a number of pay anomalies arising in their employment and successfully negotiated an agreed settlement on their behalf�

Branch Organisationat 31st December 2017

Annual Report 2017

166

Civil Service Group

BranchEmploying Authority

Branch Location Branch SecretaryMembers & Votes

CS Group Delegates

NIPSA Delegates

1 DOF CPD Brendan Fegan 160 2 2

2 DOF CS Pensions & Recruitment Karen Cartan 69 1 1

3 DOF Enterprise Shared Services Mitch Morgan 95 2 2

4 DOF Legal Admin Vacant 58 1 1

5 DOF Legal Service Joanne Devine 64 1 1

6 DOF LPS Land Registration Colleen Bonner 79 1 1

7 DOF LPS Ordnance Survey Enda McAtamney 176 2 2

8 DOF LPS Rating Kate Mc Keating 320 3 3

9 DOF LPS Valuation Kathryn Johnston 141 2 2

10 DOF NICS HR Amanda Allaway 258 3 3

11 DOF NISRA Vacant 149 2 2

12 DOF Properties Division John Monaghan 108 2 2

13 DOF Province wide Noel Gunn 209 3 3

14 TEO Stormont Joy Hamilton 122 2 2

22 DE Inspectorate Rathgael Jill Garland 39 1 1

23 DE Rathgael House Deirdre McDonnell 148 2 2

24 DE Waterside House, Derry Vacant 86 1 1

26 DOH Policy Tony Starrs 194 2 2

31 DFE Adelaide House Damien McErlean 228 3 3

32 DFE Careers Service Dominic McGranahan 128 2 2

33 DFE Insolvency/OITFET Fiona Carr 106 2 2

34 DFE Netherleigh Elizabeth Cameron 80 1 1

35 DFE Trading Standards Kevin McNamara 33 1 1

45 DOJ Core Sean Brown 211 3 3

46 DOJ Legal Services Agency Alan Henry 94 2 2

47 DOJ NICTS Lorna Glass 404 4 4

48 DOJ NIPS Dawn Gibson 176 2 2

49 DOJ YJA Vacant 125 2 2

50 NIPB Policing Board Vacant 31 1 1

51 PBNI Probation Board Joanne Logan 202 3 3

52 PONI Police Ombudsman Andrew Crowe 69 1 1

Branches

167



CS Group Delegates

NIPSA Delegates

53 PPSNI Public Prosecution Service James Murphy 208 3 3

70 DFI Clarence Court Michael Dobbin 231 3 3

71 DFI Driver Vehicle Agency Brian Truesdale 632 6 6

72 DFI Planning Vacant 55 1 1

73 DFI Rivers Agency Lauren Henry 94 2 2

74 DFI TNI Ballymena Richard Ayton 65 1 1

75 DFI TNI Belfast Vacant 132 2 2

76 DFI TNI Coleraine Vacant 55 1 1

77 DFI TNI Craigavon Val Russell 90 2 2

78 DFI TNI Downpatrick Catherine Gorman 76 1 1

79 DFI TNI HQ Marlene Hazelhurst 71 1 1

80 DFI TNI Omagh Peadar Graham 199 2 2

91 DAERA Central Belfast Michael McAnallen 149 2 2

92 DAERA Dundonald House Jan Davidson 240 3 3

93 DAERA Forest Service Brendan Mulholland 63 1 1

94 DAERA Inspectorate Gerard Higgins 512 5 5

96 DAERA Province wide John Doherty 440 4 4

97 DAERA Veterinary Officers Giovanni Borla 109 2 2

110 DFC Andersonstown Ricardo McGreevy 149 2 2

111 DFC Antrim & Magherafelt Francis Doole 145 2 2

112 DFC Appeals Service Jonathan McNeice 77 1 1

113 DFC Armagh, Banbridge, Lurgan & Portadown Catherine Cleary 186 2 2

114 DFC Ballymena, Carrickfergus & Larne Soibhan Boyd 112 2 2

115 DFC Ballymoney, Coleraine & Limavady William Brooks 150 2 2

116 DFC Ballynahinch, Bangor, Downpatrick, Kilkeel & Newcastle Amanda Burns 83 2 2

117 DFC Belfast Benefit Centre Mark Gibson 401 4 4

118 DFC Castle Court Disability Benefits Martie McKee 662 6 6

119 DFC Child Maintenance Service Denise Crilly 699 6 6

120 DFC Communications Jim Smith 45 1 1

121 DFC Community Cohesion Mairead Rooney 128 2 2

Annual Report 2017

168

Civil Service Group



CS Group Delegates

NIPSA Delegates

122 DFC Cookstown Brendan Carroll 18 1 1

123 DFC CRS Pensions Simon Foley 73 1 1

124 DFC Design Centre Eamon Doherty 212 2 2

125 DFC Dungannon Nicola Beggs 81 2 2

126 DFC Enniskillen & Omagh Helen Allen/James Carey 146 2 2

127 DFC ESA James House Tina Creaney 326 3 3

128 DFC Falls Road, Newtownabbey, North Belfast, Royal Avenue & Shankill Tiarnan Millar 198 2 2

129 DFC Foyle Vacant 170 2 2

130 DFC Holywood Road Clare Skelcher 110 2 2

131 DFC Improving Benefits Uptake Unit Michael Gribben 45 1 1

132 DFC Knockbreda, Newtownards & Shaftesbury Square Tony Rice 98 1 1

133 DFC Legislation Sean Garland 37 1 1

134 DFC Lesley Exchange Jerome Boomer 177 2 2

135 DFC Lisahally Martin Neeson 133 2 2

136 DFC Lisburn Mary Russell 76 1 1

137 DFC Lisnagelvin & Strabane Ryan McNulty 112 2 2

138 DFC Local Ops Direct Chris Weir 32 1 1

139 DFC Newry Dianne Waddel 119 2 2

140 DFC Pension Centre, Carlisle House Ciara Doherty 179 2 2

141 DFC Public Record Office Richard Leckey 55 1 1

142 DFC Regeneration Samuel McGurgan 246 2 2

143 DFC Strategic Policy & Resources Branch Brendan Callan 121 2 2

144 DFC Training Sean Robinson 26 1 1

170 ACNI/NIS/PLTUM Arts Council, NI Screen, Armagh Planetarium Beverley Coomber, Lorraine

Calderwood 53 1 1

171 AFBI AFBI & Departmental CS Scientific Officers Pauline Caves 557 5 5

172

AMK/EUREST/G4S/MCG/NOONAN/SERCO

Cleaning & Catering Contractors Vacant 235 2 2

Branches

169



CS Group Delegates

NIPSA Delegates

173

CC/COPNI/CVSNI/EC/GCCNI/NICCY/VSS

Charity Commission, Commissioner for Older People, Commission for Victims & Survivors, Equality Commission, General Consumer Council, Commission for Children & Young People, Victims & Survivors Service

Helen McGowan/Neil Henry/Graham Smith 152 2 2

174 CITB Construction Industry Training Board Joyce Savage 14 1 1

175EONI/NIAUR/NIHRC/NIPSO

Electoral Office, Utility Regulator, Human Rights Commission, Public Service Ombudsman

John Quinn/Martin Fox/Barbara Smith 89 2 2

176 HSE Health & Safety Executive Kristopher Bailie 68 1 1

177 INI Invest NI Sharon Arkinson 234 2 2

178 IR Inland Revenue Vacant 2 1 1

179ITI/LA/SEUPB/TIL/USA/WI

Cross Border Bodies Andrew King/Heather Humphries/Gillian Simpson 100 2 2

180 LRA Labour Relations Agency Fionnuala Davy 68 1 1

181 NIAS NI Assembly Harry Clarke 200 2 2

182 NIWL NI Water Stacey Mitchell 376 3 3

183 NMNI Ulster Folk & Transport Museum Vacant 97 2 2

184 NMNI Ulster Museum Nicola Christie 107 2 2

185 NSL NSL Gareth Barnard 150 2 2

186 PSNI Belfast City Joyce McCready 421 4 4

187 PSNI Districts B,C,D,E David Patterson 107 2 2

188 PSNI Districts F,G,H Vacant 111 2 2

189 PSNI Districts J,K,L Lorraine Palmer 124 2 2

190 PSNI ICS Vacant 98 2 2

191 PSNI Scientific Support Michael Hannigan 110 2 2

200 SPNI Sport NI Elizabeth McCaffrey 77 1 1

201 TAO The Audit Office Colette Connolly 72 1 1

202 TNI Tourism NI Patrick Townsend 63 1 1

203 UDF United Dairy Farmers Stephen McCrory 27 1 1

Annual Report 2017

170

Public Officers' Group



PO Group Delegates

NIPSA Delegates

501 NIHE Belfast Region Brian Graham 390 3 3

503 NIHE Belfast HQ Richard Begley/Louise Brennan 468 4 4

506 NIHE Carrickfergus, Larne, Newtownabbey Ian Craig 45 1 1

508 NIHE Armagh, Craigavon, Lurgan, Portadown Kathryn Loughran 165 2 2

509 NIHE Derry, Strabane Paul Devine 205 2 2

510 NIHE Antrim, Ballycastle, Ballymena, Ballymoney Alice McAteer 157 2 2

511 NIHE Banbridge, Kilkeel, Newry Paula Keenan 59 1 1

512 NIHE Cookstown, Dungannon, Omagh Gary Hemphill 106 2 2

513 NIHE Bangor, Castlereagh, Downpatrick, Lisburn, Newtownards Sean McMahon 208 2 2

514 NIHE Enniskillen William Loane 29 1 1

515 NIHE Coleraine, Limavady, Magherafelt Eamonn McLaughlin 53 1 1

516 Education Authority Belfast Region Jane Scott 1254 12 12

517 Education Authority South Eastern Region Janette Murdock 1688 16 16

519 Education Authority North Eastern Region Eamonn Lavery 977 9 9

521 Education Authority Southern Region Helena McSherry/ Cindy Murdock 2084 20 20

522 Education Authority Western (Derry Area) Region Michael Cunningham 357 3 3

523 Education Authority Western (Omagh Area) Region Vacant 696 6 6

524 Queen’s University Belfast Angela McMenamy 300 3 3

526 City Council Belfast Alanagh Rea 700 7 7

527 Borough Council Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon David Mayers 558 5 5

528 Borough Council Mid and East Antrim Nigel Devine 236 2 2

529 Borough Council Antrim and Newtownabbey Colin Fleming 208 2 2

530 Borough Council Ards and North DownCharles Andrew/Lorraine Ringland/Joy Lyness/ Philip Bailie

247 2 2

531 District Council Newry, Mourne and Down Teresa McAvoy 440 4 4

532 District Council Derry City and Strabane Kay McIvor 373 3 3

533 District Council Fermanagh and Omagh Sarah Boyle 224 2 2

534 City Council Lisburn and Castlereagh Brenda Brewster 342 3 3

535 Borough Council Causeway Coast and Glens Sharon McQuillan 224 2 2

Branches

171



PO Group Delegates

NIPSA Delegates

540 District Council Mid-Ulster Oliver Donnelly 256 2 2

545 NILGOS/LGSC Belfast 31 1 1

546 NICCEA Belfast Julie McGovern Peolpes 190 2 2

547 NI Fire and Rescue Service Province wide Catherine Bloomfield 97 2 2

548 Voluntary Housing Associations Province wide Vacant 147 2 2

549 Fold Housing Association Province wide Caroline Lavery 308 3 3

551 FE Colleges Belfast Metropolitan College David O'Neill 153 2 2

552 FE Colleges South Eastern Regional College 120 2 2

553 FE Colleges Northern Regional College Damian Anderson 88 2 2

554 FE Colleges Southern Regional College Karen Cosgrove 132 2 2

555 FE Colleges South West College Vacant 69 1 1

556 FE Colleges North West Regional College Alan Mitchell 68 1 1

560 Libraries NI Province wide John McKeegan 438 4 4

701 Business Services Organisation Province wide Cathy Tregaskis/Patricia Quinn 730 7 7

703 Business Services Organisation IT Brian Crawford 96 2 2

704 NI Ambulance Service Province wide Vacant 21 1 1

725 Voluntary Sector Province wide Adam Murray 424 4 4

726 Extern Province wide 127 2 2

727 Disability Action Province wide Anthony Carmichael 72 1 1

728 Credit Unions Province wide Vacant 8 1 1

730 HSC Trust Belfast Damien Magurie 2310 23 23

731 HSC Trust Northern Lucille O'Hagan/Majella Murphy 1868 18 18

732 HSC Trust South-Eastern Geraldine Mullan 1027 10 10

733 HSC Trust Southern Gerardette McVeigh 1777 17 17

734 HSC Trust Western Janice Walsh/John Harvord 1437 14 14

735 Charities Province wide Vacant 93 2 2

.

Documents

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