Members may have seen in the latest update from Lancashire County Council Chief Executive, Phil Halsall, the ‘intention’ of the Council to reduce business mileage from 60p to the HMRC level of 45p per mile.
It is imperative that members understand this has NOT BEEN AGREED BY UNISON OR THE OTHER UNIONS and no negotiations have taken place yet. A report was presented to the unions last week setting out the proposals and providing some background detail.
Members will recall that as part of the Collective Agreement that followed the 2010 EPR dispute the mileage rate was to be reviewed prior to 1 April 2012 and would remain at 60p per mile provided that a reduction in the TOTAL number of miles/TOTAL cost of mileage of 10% was achieved by 31 March 2012.
To date no review meetings have been held and UNISON has a number of fundamental questions and concerns about the figures cited in the background report. UNISON is clear that a reduction in total mileage of over 12% has been achieved just on the very small reference window the council has calculated over. We believe the reference period itself is insufficient and that the comparison – as set out in the Collective Agreement – is on totals, not averages, between the mileage/costs from the old pre-EPR scheme and the mileage/costs following the end of Lump Sum payments on 1 August 2010 and the revised rates agreed between the unions and LCC and set out in the collective agreement. UNISON is confident that in any comparable reference period the required reductions have been achieved if we are comparing apples with apples and not, as we believe is the case, comparing apples with pears.
A meeting has been arranged with officers from the council where the branch will be negotiating further and we trust that the Council will approach these negotiations in good faith and in full accordance with the wording, spirit and intent of the Collective Agreement made with the Trades Unions.
Unison Reaction to proposed changes to mileage allowance
Members may have seen in the latest update from Lancashire County Council Chief Executive, Phil Halsall, the ‘intention’ of the Council to reduce business mileage from 60p to the HMRC level of 45p per mile.
It is imperative that members understand this has NOT BEEN AGREED BY UNISON OR THE OTHER UNIONS and no negotiations have taken place yet. A report was presented to the unions last week setting out the proposals and providing some background detail.
Members will recall that as part of the Collective Agreement that followed the 2010 EPR dispute the mileage rate was to be reviewed prior to 1 April 2012 and would remain at 60p per mile provided that a reduction in the TOTAL number of miles/TOTAL cost of mileage of 10% was achieved by 31 March 2012.
To date no review meetings have been held and UNISON has a number of fundamental questions and concerns about the figures cited in the background report. UNISON is clear that a reduction in total mileage of over 12% has been achieved just on the very small reference window the council has calculated over. We believe the reference period itself is insufficient and that the comparison – as set out in the Collective Agreement – is on totals, not averages, between the mileage/costs from the old pre-EPR scheme and the mileage/costs following the end of Lump Sum payments on 1 August 2010 and the revised rates agreed between the unions and LCC and set out in the collective agreement. UNISON is confident that in any comparable reference period the required reductions have been achieved if we are comparing apples with apples and not, as we believe is the case, comparing apples with pears.
A meeting has been arranged with officers from the council where the branch will be negotiating further and we trust that the Council will approach these negotiations in good faith and in full accordance with the wording, spirit and intent of the Collective Agreement made with the Trades Unions.