Dear Member
As you may be aware the Cornerstone Stewards Committee met today to discuss re-establishing recognition with Cornerstone and our 2018/19 pay claim which remains unsettled.
In particular, the meeting focussed on recent communications from Edel Harris to Cornerstone staff, the ACAS talks last week, and our application for Statutory Recognition. The meeting also considered various ongoing grievance and disciplinary matters that affect UNISON members at work.
The meeting agreed that UNISON would respond to the communication that the Chief Executive has released, pointing out areas of contention. This response will be sent to the Chief Executive herself, ACAS, and to the Scottish Government & COSLA. It will of course be copied to UNISON members through our normal communication channels.
Further to this, it was confirmed that our application for Statutory Recognition at the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) would continue and we await the CAC moving to the next stage of the process.
UNISON has been contacted by numerous members asking if we have agreed to remove the threat of litigation in terms of the potential Inducement claims that staff could have against Cornerstone. UNISON would not and could not sign away our member’s statutory rights. Furthermore, we believe that this would be a tactical mistake as this would allow Cornerstone to impose the pay offer that 92% of members have already rejected in a recent ballot.
UNISON is conscious that this is a troubling time for members, please be assured that this issue remains a priority for our union as we aim to restore recognition and negotiate a pay offer that is acceptable to our members.
Membership levels continue to increase, and this indicates that the views and tactics of Cornerstones Leadership Team are becoming ever more isolated and out of touch with staff and the people you support.
Look out for a newsletter in the next week.
UNISON Cornerstone Team