GGCA publishes election wish list

The GGCA Executive Committee on Wednesday published its wish list ahead of the general election.

In a statement, the union addressed concerns for various sectors of the public service, including the Administrative Assistant grade, the Britannia workforce, health and safety, and HM Customs.

On the AA grade, the GGCA said the established complement of the civil service has “changed considerably” from 2011 to date as regards entry grade levels.

“The number of Administrative Assistant posts has increased sharply, with a consequent reduction in Administrative Officer posts,” the GGCA said.

“This means that Administrative Assistants are consistently undertaking tasks and roles that are beyond their job description.”

“The GGCA has recently obtained independent legal advice that supports the view that this situation is not just ethically unacceptable, but is also irregular from a legal perspective.”

“We would request a commitment from any incoming government to seek an urgent resolution to this matter.”

The union said its members in the Britannia workforce have “continually been in a position of flux and uncertainty as regards their employment status”.

“The TUPE transfer from Masterservices to Britannia in 2018 involved a procurement process that entailed a number of short term contracts which created a lot of uncertainty and anxiety for the workforce,” the union said.

“More recently, the expiry of the five year Britannia contact led to further uncertainty for our membership, finally resulting in a seven year extension of the contract.”

“We would wish for this instability to end by obtaining a commitment from any incoming government to transition the workforce from private sector to a government owned company.”

“We strongly feel that the seven years remaining in the existing contract is ample time to work towards a seamless transition that is on the best interests of both the workers and the taxpayer.”

The GGCA said it would welcome a commitment from an incoming government to carry out a health and safety check of all Government buildings, with a view to ensure “that no public servant will ever again have to work in an unsafe environment”.

“The GGCA is keen to prevent civil servants working in the conditions faced by Department of Social Security staff last year, and to this end, priority should be given to evaluating old buildings,” the union added.

On the issue of HM Customs, the GGCA said: “The union is pursuing a claim for the incorporation of allowances into the contributory pension contribution for HM Customs Officers, to ensure that they are on par with other enforcement agencies.”

“We would request that an incoming government would actively consider this claim.”