Historic single-status deal in local government

Summary

The 1997 agreement for the 1.5 million manual and white-collar (APT&C) staff in local government is the largest collective agreement in the UK. It covers (or provides for agreements to be made locally on) virtually all the terms and conditions of service of these workers, and brings together - with some modifications - the former two agreements which separately covered the manual workers and APT&C staff.

The agreement introduces single status for the employees covered and is the result of three years of negotiation. It is divided into four parts, reflecting the status of various terms of the agreement:

  • part 1 sets out the principles and constitution of the National Joint Council for Local Government Services - the new negotiating body for employers and unions;
  • part 2 covers key national provisions which are a national standard throughout the UK, such as holiday entitlement;
  • part 3 sets out other national provisions which can be modified by local negotiation, such as bonus schemes; and
  • part 4 covers agreed guidance on good practice "on a variety of issues" including the job evaluation scheme, equal pay, equal opportunities, and health and safety.

Under the agreement manual workers' standard hours of work are cut from 39 to 37 from 1 April 1999, although there is provision for the hours cut to be delayed by two years for employees in direct service organisations in certain circumstances.

One of the most important agreements in the history of UK industrial relations was signed on 10 July 1997. The mould-breaking single-status deal in local government marks the beginning of a new era for councils1 and for the great majority of their employees.

Distinctions between "blue-collar" and "white-collar" (APT&C) staff are being swept away and many centrally determined constraints on conditions of employment are scrapped. In their place a national "framework" agreement has been established which: creates single-table bargaining; increases the scope for local negotiation; and provides the basis for tackling equality and pay for equal value issues. In addition, most employees received pay awards of 2.5% from 1 April 1997, subject to a new minimum rate of £4 an hour, which means a 4.7% increase for the lowest-paid workers.

The road to single status

The new agreement is the conclusion of three years of negotiation on a set of proposals which emerged from both the trade union and employers' sides around 1994. However, single status for manual workers and APT&C staff has been on the unions' and employers' agendas for more than a decade.

In 1990 the manual workers' sick pay scheme was improved and harmonised with the APT&C scheme. There has been less success on hours reductions for manual employees, however. A framework agreement was reached in 1991 which committed local authorities and unions to local negotiations intended to introduce an average 37-hour week on a self-financing basis by January 1994. The Local Government Management Board (LGMB) says that in practice only a few councils have been able to reach this target, "largely because sufficient productivity gains are not available to offset the cost of reducing hours or because the unions are unwilling to agree changed working practices"2. A common maternity scheme was also introduced in 1995.

In 1994, with the support of all the then local government associations, the employers nationally committed themselves in principle to single-table bargaining for APT&C and manual employees and a single agreement with a common framework for pay and conditions.

In a separate development, the three local authority associations - the Association of County Councils (ACC), the Association of District Councils (ADC) and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities (AMA) merged on 1 April 1997 to form a single association in England and Wales called the Local Government Association (LGA). This move was in response to a number of factors, including: local government reorganisation, which created a number of "unitary" councils; to take advantage of economies of scale; and a belief that a single voice for local government would be more powerful.

The LGA and the employers have four main reasons for pursuing the concept of single status: equalities and equal pay issues; moral arguments; managerial considerations; and the extension of flexibility.

Equal pay problems

Single status in local government involves not only equality of treatment of manual and white-collar staff but also the equal treatment of all groups of employees, particularly men and women. One specific issue that could not be ignored was the prospect of tens of thousands of equal value legal challenges, especially in the areas of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) and bonus payments.

For example, at the end of 1996 a settlement was reached in a CCT equal value case for around 1,500 female school catering workers, employed by what was then the North Yorkshire County Council. This resulted in a payout of £4 million in back pay. A survey of equal value cases in Equal value update  drew special attention to the "twin-track" union approach of negotiation and the backing of industrial tribunal cases in local government. The review concluded that "at the same time [as CCT cases], local authorities are also facing union-backed challenges to the system of bonuses and enhanced payments which could have massive financial implications if successful."3

A key argument in selling the concept of single status to individual councils was that "the [national] employers' judgment is that the issues thrown up by the single-status agenda cannot be avoided. If they are not managed through the national framework, they will surface locally through equal value legal challenges with a strong possibility of enforced retrospective payments in many cases."4

Management and morals

Local government employers nationally argued that there is a strong business management case for integrating the workforce. People treated (or perceiving themselves to be treated) as second-class citizens may well produce second-class work, they believed. A workforce without artificial barriers will be more likely to work together as a team. There was also a management benefit from simplifying the industrial relations machinery and processes. Moreover, the national employers considered that single status was simply the right thing to do: it was no longer possible to justify the "officer/manual" divide which disguised many inconsistencies of treatment.

Flexibility and subsidiarity

The employers saw the new agreement as an opportunity to combine single status with their long-standing goal of more flexibility in national agreements. The local government associations - now the LGA - also considered that the whole future of national bargaining machinery was dependent on the modernisation of the national agreements to suit the future needs of local government, which includes more flexibility.

Flexibility for local authority employers, in these contexts, denotes two principal developments. Firstly, they argue that the national agreements should be shorter, simpler and less prescriptive. Secondly, connected with the aim of less prescriptive agreements, flexibility also implies "subsidiarity". Subsidiarity means that individual local authorities should have greater autonomy to negotiate local deals under the framework of the national agreements.

Since 1988 the employers claim that "significant contributions" have been made to decentralisation within the national agreements. Examples given include more local discretion on the grading of residential social workers; delegation to local level of decisions on working arrangements and pay for weekend working; and the removal of national provisions on bonuses for craftworkers. In addition, IRS's survey of pay and industrial relations in local government recorded decentralisation of pay and conditions as a consequence of direct service organisations (DSOs) having to compete for contracts (IRS Employment Trends 594 and Pay and Benefits Bulletin 385).

The new national agreement explicitly widens the scope of subsidiarity in a number of existing and new areas as discussed below.

Single-table accord

The agreement on single status has been achieved through the complete revision and amalgamation of the two formerly separate national agreements for manual and APT&C employees. Like its forerunners, the new national agreement has no statutory force and is not mandatory. Individual councils can therefore choose to follow the agreement or opt out. (Only about 50 local authorities, mainly small district councils in the south east of England, opted out of the old manual or APT&C agreement or both.)

The new national agreement - like the old ones - has contractual force where local authorities incorporate references to it into individuals' contracts of employment.

New bargaining machinery

The first act of the single-status agreement is the creation of a new national bargaining body - the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) - comprising union and employer representatives. The constitution of the new NJC is set out in the  box below.

Constituted as of 10 July 1997, the new NJC replaces the two former separate NJCs for manual and APT&C staff, which were dissolved. The agreement also establishes single-table bargaining for manual and APT&C staff, effective from 1 April 1997. This means that a new single bargaining group is formed, covering 1.5 million council workers - by far the largest group of employees covered by a single agreement in the UK and one of the very largest in Europe: probably second only to the 3.2 million-strong public employee group covered by one agreement in Germany. Even before the merger of the manual and APT&C bargaining groups, the groups separately were the two largest in the UK in their own right.

Technically, the NJC covers all council employees "other than those for whom there are alternative arrangements". Thus, groups like schoolteachers (who are covered by a review body in England and Wales and a collective agreement in Scotland that has statutory force), the police (with a statutory negotiation body) and firefighters (with a non-statutory collective agreement) are not covered by the NJC. Also excluded are council chief officers and chief executives, and specialist education groups such as educational advisors and youth workers.

Similarly, the local authority craft groups - building and civil engineering "craftsmen", engineering "craftsmen" and electricians - are not covered, but a separate single craft joint negotiating committee (JNC) has recently been established with a similar commitment to a 37-hour week. As with the APT&C and manual workers, most craftworkers received a pay increase of 2.5% from 1 April 1997, except building labourers who were awarded 3.25%. The long-term aim is for this craft JNC to be merged with the new NJC for former APT&C and manual employees, although there is no definite timetable for this.

It should be noted that the new craft NJC - unlike the manual and APT&C NJC - does not cover Scotland. Craft agreements in Scotland are separate from those in the rest of the UK, and at present employers and unions in Scotland are still negotiating on a common craft agreement for Scotland.

The constitution of the new (manual and APT&C) NJC in the UK provides for 29 employers' representatives and 58 from the unions, plus an observer from the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA). Unison has the majority - 31 - of the unions' representatives, followed by the GMB with 16 and the TGWU with 11, reflecting the relative strengths of their respective memberships.

The NJC has 29 employer representatives, of whom the LGA has 24, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has four and the Association of Local Authorities in Northern Ireland has one.

An important feature of the constitution is that it provides for either side of the NJC to be able to take a failure to agree "in a dispute over terms and conditions of employment" to binding arbitration (which has been carried over from the APT&C NJC constitution). Unilateral recourse to arbitration is now unusual in collective agreements: employers elsewhere have sought successfully to remove this provision. Local government employers nationally, however, see this provision as " a useful safety valve".

Single-table bargaining is also being phased in at regional level and at the level of individual councils. National negotiators on the NJC have formally called upon "their provincial [regional] and local [individual council] counterparts to follow through the principle of single table machinery, where this has not already been done".

Principles and national provisions

The new national agreement has been structured carefully into four parts. Each part is conceptually distinct and is designed to convey at what level (nationally/locally) and with what "strength" (directly applicable/advisory) it applies.

  • Part 1 sets out the principles and constitution of the NJC (reproduced in the accompanying box, right).
  • Part 2 covers key national provisions which are a national standard throughout the UK, such as holiday entitlement.
  • Part 3 sets out other national provisions which can be modified by local negotiation, such as bonus schemes.
  • Part 4 covers agreed guidance on good practice "on a variety of issues" including the job evaluation scheme (outlined below), equal pay, equal opportunities, and health and safety.

The new "green book"

With the dissolution of the two former NJCs, the famous "purple book" which set out the terms and conditions of APT&C employees, and the analogous "white book" (with different regional colours) for manual workers, also go. They are being replaced by a single handbook covering both manual and APT&C grades, called the "green book".

As the terms of the old purple and white books are superseded (at national and local level) the provisions of the new green book will be developed and expanded to form the substance of the new national agreement, structured into the four parts defined above. There will, of course, be a transitional period during which the provisions of the purple and white books remain in force - but only where these have been expressly carried over into the green book.

The green book does not alter local agreements, where these differ from the purple and white books.

Hours reduction

At long last local authority manual workers are to have the same working week, on average, as APT&C employees. From 1 April 1999, the employers have agreed to cut the standard working week for manual workers by two hours, to bring it down from 39 to 37 hours (outside London). In London standard hours will be 36 from a date to be negotiated regionally but will not be more than 37 as of 1 April 1999.

The one exception to these arrangements applies to certain workers in some DSOs in CCT contracts operative before 1 October 1997. If unions and the employer agree that implementation of the hours reduction on the nationally agreed date (1 April 1999) would cause a contract to default, then the hours reduction may be phased in. Any such phased introduction must be the subject of local agreement and must take no longer than two years (to 1 April 2001) or until the termination of the contract, whichever is sooner.

It is estimated that the national cost of the hours cut for manual workers will be just over 1%, or in cash terms £126 million pounds a year on the combined manual and APT&C paybills of around £12.6 billion. The exact amounts will vary between authorities, and those councils that have a higher than average proportion of manual workers currently working 39 hours a week will bear a correspondingly higher cost. The local authority employers have insisted that the hours cut should be self-financing.

Cost clauses

The transitional arrangements contained in the 1997 national agreement contain clauses relating to the need to minimise the cost of introducing the shorter working week at local level. These are as follows:

  • in implementing the provisions of the agreement the local parties (employer and unions) should endeavour to minimise costs whilst ensuring that service delivery standards are maintained;
  • it is the view of the NJC that it is in the interests of both parties that full-time employees will generally maintain existing output levels when the standard working week is reduced;
  • for part-time employees it is the view of the NJC that existing contractual hours [should be] maintained;
  • wherever possible, efforts will be made to offset the increased hourly rates of pay by more productive working methods; and
  • the NJC accordingly advises the local parties to cooperate in minimising the costs of reducing the standard working week in order to protect jobs and services.

Flexibility in practice

Not only does the structure of the green book introduce more procedural autonomy for individual local authorities, there are also substantive areas where there is significantly more local flexibility.

The main moves towards flexibility or subsidiarity involve grading, bonuses, subsistence allowances, and working time arrangements. In addition, the new agreement provides for changes to national arrangements for premium payments and sickness absence, which allow individual councils to amend provisions locally.

By far the most important move towards subsidiarity is in the area of grading. The agreement urges local authorities to review their grading structures, and recommends the use of a new job evaluation scheme (discussed below). When these reviews have taken place, local grades using the national spinal column points will supersede the existing national grading provisions and scales.

Councils will be free to use either incremental pay scales or spot rates for particular jobs. The unions argue that all jobs should have either pay scales or single spot pay rates. The employers, on the other hand, believe that a mixture of scales and spot rates will often be necessary. There has been no agreement on this issue and it has been left to local discretion.

The new national agreement no longer contains a "code of guiding principles" on bonuses, which was contained in the former manual workers' agreement. Existing local bonus schemes are not affected but the NJC has agreed to establish a joint technical working party to examine bonuses and associated issues. Particular reference will be made to equal pay considerations. The outcome of the working party will come under part 4 arrangements in the green book and will therefore be purely advisory.

Councils are no longer obliged to pay allowances for subsistence and for similar purposes. Instead, the new agreement obliges authorities to reimburse approved expenses relating to travel, meals or overnight stays so long as they are necessarily incurred i normal expenses, and subject to appropriate evidence being produced. This change brings the national agreement into line with existing practice in many authorities.

According to the Society of Chief Personnel Officers (in local government), "one of the guiding principles in the new agreement is a flexible approach to providing services to communities," and "a major manifestation of this will be consideration of working time and working arrangements ... an underlying theme to the new agreement is to encourage authorities to move away from the rigid confines of the working week."5

The agreement allows the new standard working hours to be averaged over periods other than a week. Safeguards for employees, to be determined locally, stipulate that working time arrangements "should avoid (a) short-notice changes to rostered or expected patterns of work, (b) excessive hours in any particular week, and (c) unnecessarily long periods over which the weekly hours are averaged."

Although the national agreement still specifies premium rates for overtime hours, there is now an explicit recognition that local alternatives can be negotiated, for example an inclusive average hourly rate instead of separate standard rates and premium rates. National premia for shiftworking are no longer specified, and these - together with payments for other non-standard rates - are for local negotiation.

Sick pay entitlements are unchanged, but there has been an important re-wording of sickness absence arrangements. The wording of the new agreements establishes more clearly that where the scheme is abused, sick pay may be suspended. The employers say that this may significantly help some authorities in managing sickness absence.

Job evaluation

A job evaluation scheme - the "local government single-status job evaluation scheme" - has been developed with single status specifically in mind. The scheme is not mandatory, and individual councils are free to use any job evaluation scheme they choose. The NJC, however, strongly recommends that local authorities should use its job evaluation scheme. It argues that "to fulfil a key objective of single-status employment, fair and non-discriminatory grading structures are needed at local level to integrate former APT&C staff and former manual workers."

In particular, the NJC believes that its job evaluation scheme is free of sex bias and that its proper use will ensure jobs are graded on a common basis in accordance with equal pay legislation.

The single-status job evaluation scheme is based on four sets of factors, under the headings of "knowledge and skills"; "effort demands"; "responsibilities" and "environmental demands." One particularly interesting factor within "effort demands" is "emotional demands". Two levels of emotional demand are defined:

  • significant emotional demands include those arising from dealing with people who are frail or have physical or mental impairments, or are seriously disadvantaged through homelessness; and
  • intense emotional demands include those arising from dealing with terminally ill clients, cases of child abuse or where the necessary actions of the jobholder may cause genuine distress to, or be in conflict with the wishes of, the client (for example, transfer from own home to residential care, or removal of child to foster care).

Emotional upset caused by verbal abuse is specifically excluded but is treated as a form of "people-related unpleasant condition" under the "working conditions" factor heading.

Training and development

The prominent position given to training and development in part 2 of the agreement (key national standards) reflects the importance that both employers and unions attach to training. It requires employers and unions locally to develop local training schemes.

It also lays down the requirements for:

  • equality of access to training;
  • equitable sharing of resources for training and development; and
  • entitlement to payment of normal earnings, fees and expenses.

Part 3 of the new agreement (national provisions which can be modified by local negotiation) fleshes out the basic principles set out in part 2 above, in particular:

  • how training needs should be identified and met;
  • the use of nationally recognised qualifications;
  • continuing employee development;
  • lifetime learning;
  • monitoring and evaluation;
  • financial assistance for training and NVQ assessments; and
  • paid leave of absence for taking examinations.

Equal pay cases

The resolution of equal pay problems in local government was one of the foremost reasons why unions and employers sought to conclude the single-status agreement. In recent years, the unions' approach to equal pay was to follow a twin-track strategy of negotiation while at the same time pursuing industrial tribunal cases.

Simultaneously with the signing of the single-status accord on 10 July 1997, the unions issued two statements (set out in the accompanying box, above) indicating their suspension of the initiation of equal value claims in respect of standard hours, premium rates and bonuses. These statements demonstrate the belief that the unions have in the new single-status deal, and the confidence they have in being able to resolve equal value issues amicably with local government employers.

Advice important

Part 4 of the new agreement (agreed guidance on good practice) will clearly be a very important feature of industrial relations in local government in the future. Although only advisory, this part already contains the jointly developed job evaluation scheme which councils are being urged to use, and will promulgate the results of the working party on bonuses.

The employers and unions have also agreed that other key issues will be covered in part 4 - equal pay and grading, equal opportunities, and health and safety. It has further been agreed that the NJC will consider whether to include advice on sickness absence, conduct, redundancy and job security, and performance management.

1The words "council" and "local authority" are used interchangeably in this article. More precisely, the agreement covers "local authorities in the UK and 'other authorities of equivalent status'," which would include bodies such as joint fire authorities whose administrative staff are covered by the NJC.

2"Framework and flexibility: national agreements for local authorities' needs", Local Government Management Board, September 1994, p.26.

3"Equal Opportunities Review" is published by Industrial Relations Services.

4"Pay in local government - 1996", Local Government Management Board, 1996, p.6.

5"The SOCPO guide to issues arising from the single-status agreement, 1st edition", Society of Chief Personnel Officers (in local government) April 1997, paragraph 6.1 .

The principles of the new National Joint Council for Local Government Services

  • Part 1

    The National Joint Council represents local authorities in the United Kingdom and their employees (other than those for whom there are alternative arrangements) and other authorities of equivalent status. We are jointly committed to the local democratic control of services to the community as the primary role of local government. Our principal role is to reach agreement, based on our shared values, on a national scheme of pay and conditions for local application throughout the UK.

    The National Joint Council's guiding principles are to support and encourage:

    (a)high-quality services delivered by a well-trained, motivated workforce with security of employment. To this end local authorities are encouraged to provide training and development opportunities for their employees;

    (b)equal opportunities in employment; equality as a core principle which underpins both service delivery and employment relations; and both the removal of all discrimination and promotion of positive action;

    (c)a flexible approach to providing services to the community, which meets the needs of employees as well as employers;

    (d)stable industrial relations and negotiation and consultation between local authorities as employers and recognised trade unions.

    The NJC has a strong commitment to joint negotiation and consultation at all levels, and to this end encourages employees to join and remain in recognised unions. Cooperation between employers, employees and unions will help ensure the successful delivery of services. Local authorities are therefore encouraged to provide facilities to allow trade unions to organise effectively for individuals and collective representation.

    In addition to this part, the national agreement consists of:

    Part 2

    Key national provisions which are for application by all local authorities to all employees covered by the NJC. They are basic provisions which constitute a standard throughout the UK.

    Part 3

    Other national provisions which may be modified by local negotiation. The party proposing change must state in writing what changes are sought and why, and the parties must then seek to reach agreement, normally within three months. Where agreement is not possible, either party may refer the failure to agree to the provincial joint secretaries (or other mutually agreed persons) for conciliation. If the provincial conciliation is unsuccessful, the provincial secretaries may recommend further procedures for resolution of the difference, including external conciliation, mediation or binding ACAS arbitration. The above procedures should if possible be completed normally within a further three months.

    Part 4

    Joint advice - this covers agreed guidance on good practice on a variety of issues.

    The constitution of the National Joint Council for Local Government Services

    1. Title

    The council shall be known as the National Joint Council for Local Government Services.

    2. Area

    The sphere of operation shall be England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

    3. Scope

    The functions of the council shall relate to all employees of local authorities in the United Kingdom, other than those covered by other national negotiating machinery and other authorities of equivalent status.

    4. Provincial and associated councils

    There shall be [X1] joint provincial councils, a joint council for Scotland and a joint council for Northern Ireland as set out in the schedule attached to this constitution.

    5 Membership

    (a)The council shall consist of 87 members of whom 29 shall be appointed to represent the employers and 58 [plus one observer] to represent the employees.

    (b)The employers' representatives shall be appointed as follows:

    Local Government Association

    24 representatives

    Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

    4 representatives

    Association of Local Authorities in Northern Ireland

    1 representative

    Total: 29 representatives

    (c)The employees' representatives shall be appointed as follows:

    Unison

    31 representatives

    GMB

    16 representatives

    TGWU

    11 representatives

    NIPSA

    1 observer

    Total: 58 representatives [and one observer]

    These are the recognised trade unions for this agreement.

    (d)If any of the bodies referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) fail to appoint the number of representatives provided for by the constitution, such failure to appoint shall not invalidate the decisions of the council.

    (e)In the event of any member of the council or any of its committees being unable to attend any meeting, the body represented by such member shall be entitled to appoint another representative to attend as a substitute, provided that a substitute for a member of a committee shall be appointed only from amongst the remaining members of the council.

    (f)The members of the council shall retire on 30 September in each year and be eligible for reappointment.

    (g)On the occurrence of a vacancy, a new member shall be appointed by the body in whose representation the vacancy occurs and shall be a member until the end of the period for which the previous member was appointed.

    6. Functions

    The functions of the National Joint Council are as follows:

    • To negotiate collective agreements on pay and conditions and any other related matters that the two sides of the National Joint Council agree to negotiate on.
    • To urge all local authorities, recognised unions and employers to apply national agreements.
    • To promote cooperation between employers and recognised unions throughout local government.
    • To make advice available to local authorities, recognised unions and employees on industrial relations and personnel issues.
    • To settle differences of interpretation and/or application of the national agreement that cannot be resolved locally or provincially.
    • To assist where required in the resolution of disputes that cannot be resolved locally or provincially.
    • To undertake any activity incidental to the above.

    Conduct of business

    7. Committees

    The council may appoint, from its own members, such committees as they may consider necessary. Reports from these committees shall be submitted to the council. The council may delegate special powers to any such committee. Reports in these cases shall be submitted for information.

    8. Other members

    The council or a committee may invite the attendance of any persons whose special knowledge would be of assistance. Such persons shall not have the power to vote.

    9. Chair and vice chair

    The council shall appoint from amongst its members a chair and vice chair who shall retire in the same manner as provided for members in clause 5. The chair shall be held in alternate years by a member of the employers' side and a member of the employees' side.

    In the absence of the chair the vice chair shall preside at the meetings of the council. If neither the chair nor the vice chair is present, a chair shall be elected for the meeting.

    The chair shall have a vote but not a casting vote.

    The chair and vice chair shall be ex officio members of any committees.

    10. Officers

    The council shall appoint joint secretaries, a treasurer, an auditor and such other officers, if any, as it may think fit. All honorary officers shall retire in the same manner as is provided for members in clause 5 and shall be eligible for reappointment.

    11. Meetings

    The annual meeting of the council shall be held during the month of October.

    Ordinary meetings of the council shall be held as often as may be necessary.

    The chair shall call a special meeting of the council if so requested by either side of the council. The requisition, and also the notice summoning the meeting, shall state the nature of the business proposed to be transacted, and no other matters shall be discussed. The meeting shall take place within 14 days of such a requisition being received by the joint secretaries.

    12. The voting

    The voting on the council and on all committees shall be by show of hands or otherwise as the council or committee shall determine. No resolution shall be regarded as carried unless it is approved by the majority of the members present and voting on each side of the council or committee.

    13. Quorum

    The quorum shall be one-third of the members of the council divided equally between the two sides. In the absence of a quorum the chair shall declare the meeting closed and the business then under discussion shall be the first business to be discussed at the next meeting of the council.

    The quorum of a committee shall be determined by the council.

    14. Notice of meetings

    All notices of meetings of the council and of any committee will be sent to the respective members at least seven days before the meeting.

    15. Finance

    The administrative expenses of the council (excluding expenses of representatives (which shall be met by the respective sides)) and its committees shall be borne equally by the two sides.

    16. Amendment

    The constitution may be amended only with the assent of the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and the first three unions referred to in paragraph 5(c).

    17. Arbitration

    In the event of a dispute over terms and conditions of employment arising between the two sides of the council the dispute shall, if requested by either side, be referred for settlement by arbitration. The arbitration award shall be accepted by both sides and shall be treated as though it were an agreement between the two sides.

    1The number of provincial councils has yet to be decided.

    Joint union statements on equal pay claims

    Equal pay and the standard working week

    Between 10 July 1997 and 1 April 1999, the status quo will apply on standard hours and premium rates, except where it is agreed to introduce the new arrangements earlier.

    Without prejudice to the legal rights of individual employees the unions agree not to actively promote the initiation of equal pay claims in respect of standard hours and premium rates for employees within the scope of the NJC, during the transitional period.

    Where an extension to the timescale for implementing the reduced working week within a DSO has been negotiated and agreed to 1 April 2001 in accordance with paragraph 21.2 of the implementation agreement, the unions would similarly agree not to actively promote the initiation of equal pay claims up to the date of the agreed extension.

    Equal pay and bonus

    Without prejudice to the legal rights of individual employees, the unions agree not to actively promote the initiation of equal pay claims in respect of bonus, pending receipt of the report by the joint bonus technical working group by the National Joint Council.

    The unions will review the position in December this year [1997] if the technical working group extends beyond that date.

    This undertaking does not affect cases which have already been lodged.