Harbour Staff Transfer - Union's Claims "Simply Untrue"

Claims by the Transport and General Workers Union that the States is wasting taxpayers’ money by transferring 45 staff from one department to another have today been described as misleading and untrue.

The employment of 45 manual workers was transferred from the Harbour Department to Transport and Technical Services last May. But while their management has changed, the physical move from one workshop to another has yet to take place.

The changeover was decided by the States to cut out unnecessary and wasteful duplication – the service provided by the staff at Harbours mirrors the work done by staff at TTS. So, the decision was taken to close down Harbours’ workshop and move the men to one of two TTS workshops – one at La Collette and one at Bellozanne.

For the men going to the TTS workshop at La Collette, it will mean moving a distance of about 20 yards, as the old Harbours workshop occupies a wing of the same building as the TTS workshop they will be moving to.

The transfer will mean that the vacant wing of the building can be let out to the private sector, bringing in over £330,000 in rent each year. The cost of refurbishing TTS workshops, so that the Harbours employees can make use of them is estimated at £1m. But, because of the revenue from rental, this will be paid for in under three years. After that, the States will have a profitable income from the building.

Today, Chief Executive of TTS John Richardson says the Union’s claims (published in Tuesday’s JEP) that the States was wasting £1m were misleading and ‘simply untrue’. He added: ‘I’m amazed to see that the union claims to be surprised by plans to move some of these men to Bellozanne. This was clearly explained to the men before a final decision was made.’

He added: ‘I recognize that change can be uncomfortable. But I know that in this case the staff involved were fully consulted so that the transition would be as easy as possible for them. It is also a fact that the staff have been told that their jobs will not be threatened as a result of the move and that there will be no change to their terms and conditions of employment. To read in the newspaper that the Union believes its members are worried about their job security is surprising, to say the least.’

Mr Richardson said: "We have a responsibility to deliver services to the public in the most efficient, cost-effective way that we can. We would be failing to fulfil that responsibility if we allowed needless duplication to continue.’