Unite again raises concerns over GHA’s grievance procedures

Unite the Union has raised renewed concerns over the Gibraltar Health Authority’s (GHA) approach to handling grievances, citing a lack of transparency and failure to follow established processes. The union said that a growing number of its members are discouraged from raising concerns due to grievances being ignored or not progressed.

Stuart Davies, Unite National Officer, said: “It is incredulous that members where they have genuine concerns raise a grievance through the established GHA grievance procedure and these are either sidelined or ignored, with no grievance hearing being convened. This points to a culture where the GHA is not prepared to countenance any employees questioning the decision making processes within the Authority or consider genuinely held concerns.”

“It paints the picture of a damaged employee relations framework, the GHA should foster an environment in which employees are encouraged to question and raise issues.”

“Further concerns are evident when the GHA pursues complaints against employees, often transferring them away from their posts or interdicting them for prolonged periods of time, often with no explanation as to why and not posing allegations to the employee.”

“There needs to be a fundamental reset of dispute resolution within the GHA.”

The union cited an ongoing formal trade dispute declared in February regarding a collective grievance within the Critical Care Unit [CCU].

Unite said the dispute relates to concerns about the GHA’s “mishandling” of the grievance investigation and a lack of clarity around key issues raised.

According to Unite, the GHA’s refusal to follow the investigation’s recommendations and engage in open communication after the complaint was upheld has eroded trust within the workforce and undermined principles of fairness.

Bochra Lasfar, Unite Regional Officer, said: “Our members in the CCU showed great courage in stepping forward to raise the alarm when serious concerns were raised as part of their grievance that directly impacted patient safety.”

“However, the GHA’s refusal to properly address these matters has created an environment where staff fear retaliation making them reluctant to speak up in future.”

“Such a scenario, in what should be an environment where challenge and speaking up is encouraged for continuous improvement in the service, is a dangerous development.”

“The complainants have been denied the right of appeal to their collective grievance with management stating that the matter has been dealt with through the disciplinary management guidance.”

“This however does not detract from those named on the collective grievance having the right of appeal under the GHA’s grievance procedure.”

Unite is calling for a wide-scale review of both collective and individual dispute resolution processes within the GHA, and an independent external review of the CCU grievance to assess whether due process was followed and to ensure an appeal is granted.

The union said it remains committed to resolving the issues through collective dialogue, although it stated that the actions of the employer often do not reflect the constructive nature of those discussions.