Trade Unions representing more than 14,000 thousand staff have today signed an historic deal with Manchester City Council to guarantee Union involvement in a whole range of  Council policies and procedures. The deal, based on the 2004 'Warwick' Agreement between Government and the TUC, will allow Unions in Manchester (UNISON, GMB, Unite/T&GWU) to influence Council policy on issues including pay, training & the use of consultants and is thought to be the first of its kind to be agreed anywhere outside London.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Tony Caffery, Manchester UNISON Branch Secretary said;

"I am delighted that we have been able to get the Council to sign up to this deal. For the first time our members will be able to directly influence Council policy on issues such as the use of agency staff and the contracting out of council services. There is a commitment to look at introducing a 'Manchester Minimum Wage' and to do more to help train low paid staff.

"The agreement shows what Trade Unions can achieve by working with a Labour Council and I am looking forward to meeting with the Council to make progress on a range of initiatives which will benefit our members."

Leader of the Council, Richard Leese added;

"Manchester Labour Council recognises and values the important role that Trade Unions play in representing people at work and in wider society. We share a common agenda with the Trade Unions in that we want to deliver the best possible services for the people of Manchester. This partnership agreement is an important contribution  towards  helping us do this."

The agreement was signed today at Chorlton High School to highlight another aspect of the Agreement - the introduction of a scheme to ensure that a number of Council jobs are targeted exclusively at Manchester school leavers.

ENDS

The full text of the Manchester Agreement is attached below.

THE MANCHESTER AGREEMENT 2008

This agreement is entered into by the Labour Party, the Labour Group and the Council Trade Unions in Manchester.  It will be developed further through dialogue between the parties, and through the establishment of a joint liaison forum at which the Group will be represented by the Leader and the Executive Member for Human Resources, the Trade Unions by Branch Secretaries and the Party by an officer of the City Labour Party.  It is the intention of the parties to this agreement that it will be renewed annually from January 2009 onwards.

Priority issues for discussion in 2008 will include:

The use of consultants and agency staff
A joint review will be undertaken on the use of external consultants and agency staff to identify opportunities to reduce the numbers engaged by the Council.

Pay & Grading
The Council is currently implementing the National Agreement on pay and grading.  Like any major programme of change this is an extremely challenging process and the need to deliver fair and equitable outcomes is recognised by all parties.
A joint review will be established to review both implementation to date and the work yet to be done.  The review group will include Executive Members, Council Officers and Trade Union representatives, and will report back to the Council Trade Unions Liaison Group in June 2008.

Training
The parties believe that a well-trained workforce is essential to good service delivery.  Current training and development provision will be jointly reviewed to identify opportunities to improve both effectiveness and equality of access, and in particular to explore options for the further development of the work of Union Learning Representatives.  

Minimum Wage
The Labour Group will examine the feasibility of introducing a ‘Manchester Minimum Wage’ in line with those introduced by the Greater London Authority and some London Borough Councils.

In-House Service Provision
In determining how services can best be provided the Labour Administration in Manchester will give full and equal consideration to in-house options.  When other forms of service delivery are under consideration the Council will consult properly with Trade Unions on all employment related matters. 
Should a service be out-sourced the Council will seek to ensure that the providers of service agree to full Trade Union recognition.

Local Strategic Partnership
Increasingly Local Strategic Partnerships will play a key role in determining future service delivery models.  Proposals will be developed to enable consultation with Trade Unions when these impact on services and the workforce.

School leaver Scheme
The Labour Group will consider options to improve local recruitment into public sector employment, including a School Leaver Scheme, which would target leavers from Manchester Schools.

Good Employment Relations and Trade Union Consultation
The Parties agree to develop new protocols for consultation with the Trade Unions on matters affecting the workforce.