Posted on: 17 April 2024

Dear Members,

We hope you are all well and thanks once again for your patience.

We met with the Company just before Easter for the JNCC and following this David Jones attended to hear your concerns about pay, which a recent WOU had described as pay talks, something GMB was unaware of on the day.

It would be fair to say that this “pay meeting” was tense, with the Company complaining about GMB raising our concerns with representatives of the Parent Companies Geo and Amey, as well as PECS, the Scottish Government and a member of the UK Parliament’s Justice Select Committee.

Once the Company had calmed down, during the talks they admitted that the additional funds in Scotland were only for Officer pay and it was having a positive impact, supporting our view that additional investment in Officer wages would have a positive impact in England and Wales.

During the talks David Jones agreed with your JNC Reps that the current wage rates, and those already rejected by members, were not high enough. However when the dividend payments were questioned he admitted that he was responsible for proposing the dividends (£10M) paid to shareholders in recent years.

Eventually the second “full and final”, two-year offer below, was tabled:

“In addition to the terms outlaid below, it is agreed between both parties that there is an ambition to continue, in subsequent pay negotiation and deals, to reduce the time gap between the two rates of pay, to ultimately align the application of the higher rate to the successful passing of probation (usually at 6 months)."

Your JNC Reps knew there was no members mandate for a two-year deal, and we also don’t know the amount of Government funding for wages in 2024, so they counter-proposed a one-year deal of £12.50/£13.50p/h which would have at least aligned members with Scotland Officers. Both of these counteroffers were rejected, with the Company insisting on a two-year deal and that our counteroffer would cost too much at over £1M.

GMB subsequently proposed the following wording to ensure the full Government funding was passed on this September:

“It’s been agreed that the rate will increase in the second year, will be the greater of the offer as above or the Government wage settlement for September” but this was also rejected by the Company.

Overall

The JNC Reps welcome the reduction in the length of service between the two main rates of pay, and also the future ambition of a further reduction. The proposed increase on the previous “full and final offer” of £11.85/£12.75p/h respectively is also welcome, and there an ‘no strings’ attached to the offer.

However, it is a two-year offer that falls short of even the Scottish rate for Officers, let alone our claim, and provides no safety net for next year.

For these reasons your JNC Reps know that this is the best that can be achieved via negotiation but is not enough for a recommendation.

We are aware that some members will be looking to settle pay for last year and this, and others may still wish to pursue arbitration, as per the result of the last membership ballot. Our recent survey also showed that significant numbers of members were also willing to participate in public protests over the low pay you receive.

We will shortly be commencing balloting members to provide both those options, it will close on midday Friday 10^th May.

Lastly please ensure that colleagues who aren’t members take the chance to join to ensure that they too are able to have their say on pay: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

PS: FLM Pay ballot is up and running – if any FLM member has not received a ballot paper to contact Jim Edgar on 07720

GMB GEOAMEY JNC GMB NATIONAL OFFICER

Posted on: 27 February 2024

Dear Members,

Today your Senior GMB Convenor, Jim Edgar, and GMB National Officer met with Tim Coates, Head of PECS.

The meeting was in response to our correspondence to the Minister advising them of our dispute over pay, and the overwhelming, and unprecedented rejection members delivered.

We outlined our concerns that the PECS contract, and by extension our members, had been subsidising the failing operations in Scotland, at the expense of the England and Wales workforce.

Particularly as the Company have claimed that the PECS contract is becoming less profitable, whilst also paying out significant dividends to shareholders.

We were assured that there were appropriate oversight measures in place and that regular inspections were a feature of this.

The issue of staff retention was discussed and it was acknowledged as an area that is closely monitored, with GMB pointing out that retention was not improving on the contract.

Given that retention is a key issue of our pay claim, he did also acknowledge that he was aware of our dispute, and that it was also being closely monitored.

We sought specific feedback on whether PECS were aware of, and supportive, of the funding for the PECS contract being used to support the Scottish operations; or whether there was an expectation that funding for each contract is ‘ring fenced’ for that contract only.

This was particularly given the recent injection of funds by the Scottish Government to enable Geoamey to raise the pay rate £12.50 rising next year to £13 p/h.

Understandably we did not receive an immediate answer to this, and Tim committed to further meeting with GMB with a more substantive reply following further investigation.

We will obviously await that reply with interest and update members when that is proposed.

More widely it was agreed that we would look to establish a more regular dialogue between GMB and PECS, something we welcomed and will work with him to establish.

CALL FOR SHAREHOLDER MEETING

The Company have declined the call from the JNC for a meeting with them and the shareholders.

David Jones, who has been absent to date from the talks, has offered to meet Reps, and we have proposed the next JNCC in early March for this.

CALL FOR ARBITRATION

We are still waiting for a reply to Reps call for immediate arbitration on our pay dispute. We will be pursuing this this week.

Yours in union,

GMB JNC and GMB NATIONAL OFFICER

Posted on: 9 February 2024

Dear Members,

Please see below and the attached bulletin on the most recent pay talks.

NO COUNTER OFFER FROM COMPAY – GMB SEEK URGENT SHAREHOLDER MEETING AND PROPOSE FAST-TRACK ARBITRATION

Dear members,

We hope everyone is safe and well, please see update on today’s pay meeting. The Company acknowledged that they had been expecting a rejection since before Christmas, over 6 weeks earlier, so we reasonably expected them to table a counteroffer.

However to the amazement of your Reps, the Company had nothing further to table.

Your Reps countered that the additional Scottish Government funding meant that the PECS4 contract no longer had to subsidise the Scottish contract, freeing up the PECS4 profits for members.

Whilst on a personal level *everyone* at the meeting acknowledged that the current pay rates are not enough, the official Company response constantly justified the dividend payments because the Shareholders needed to see a return on their investment. David Jones’ absence from the talks was noted so your Reps called for an urgent meeting with the Shareholders, who make the funding decisions.

However, the most amazing moment came when the Company deliberately waited until the meeting was concluding to ask if we would ballot members on *accepting* the current offer, but with a *promise* to continue pay talks, because of the ‘distressing situation’ members were presently facing.

Your Reps were astounded; we know that many members are struggling and if the Company thought so to, it had 6 weeks to make an improved offer. Instead the Company asked us to re-ballot members on an offer rejected by 98% of members, knowing that if it was now *accepted* it would fundamentally undermine our arbitration position, and would take the pressure off them to negotiate any further.

In response to the Company’s request to re-ballot, your Reps offered to bypass any further negotiations and to move straight to arbitration, in order to fast-track a resolution.

We are now awaiting a reply to our urgent request to meet Shareholders, and our offer to move straight to arbitration. We will however meet the Head of PECS prior to any arbitration and we will keep members updated on developments as they occur.

As ever, please ensure that anyone not in GMB joins to support the talks: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

Yours in Union,

GMB JNC and GMB National Officer

The bulletin is also available as a pdf here: 

2023-pay-talks-update-v2-bulletin-08.02.24.pdf

Posted on: 2 February 2024

Dear Members,

We hope that you are all well and want to thank you for your patience.

Following the notification of the ballot result the Company said that they would contact us on the 26^th January about a further meeting to discuss the results.

We have now confirmed that meeting will be on the 8^th February at Preston Base.

During the course of the talks GMB also wrote to the Minister for Prisons, and the Head of PECS4 to raise the same concerns that we have shared with you in GMB bulletins.

Whilst we are still awaiting a reply from the Minister we can confirm that GMB has been invited to meet the Head of PECS4 to discuss our concerns.

You can read copies of the letters here:

letter-to-minister-for-prisons.pdf

letter-to-head-of-pecs4.pdf

head-of-pecs-response-letter.pdf

We will update members as soon as possible following the meeting on the 8^th.

Thank you again for your continued support as we seek to secure a pay rise that you deserve.

Yours in union,

GMB JNC and GMB National Officer

Posted on: 15 January 2024

Dear Members,

Following the rejection of the Company pay offer we have now sought to raise our funding concerns more widely.

We know the Company are claiming that they cannot afford a decent pay rise because of funding constraints, despite the PECS 4 contract subsidising the losses in Scotland.

Therefore we are raising this issue as well as their decision to extract £10M in dividends from the Company when they are claiming that profits are falling.

We are concerned that staff shortages will only increase due to the poor offer they have tabled and the proposed increase in the National Living Wage in April, which will further erode the value of your jobs.

Members perform dangerous and highly professional roles in our criminal justice system and it is crucial that this is recognised and rewarded fairly.

We have also written to the Company to supply proposed dates when GMB can meet to pick up the negotiations.

We will continue to keep members updated as we go.

Yours in union,

GMB JNC, GMB National Officer

tim-coates-head-of-pecs-ballot-result-letter-11.0.24.pdf

minister-of-state-ballot-result-letter-15.01.24.pdf

Posted on: 11 January 2024

FORMAL COMMUNICATION TO COMPANY

Dear members,

We have now formally communicated the ballot result to the Company and sought dates for the next stage of negotiations.

We will chase them next week should we not have any reply to our request for meeting dates.

At this stage there is no intention to utilise the services of ACAS to assist in negotiating a settlement.

Yours in union,

GMB JNC Reps

Posted on: 9 January 2024

Dear members,

Firstly we want to wish everyone a happy new year, we hope everyone had a safe and merry festive season.

Secondly we wanted to thank all the members who voted in the pay ballot conducted in December on the Company offer.

The result was an overwhelming rejection, with a 97.5% rejection from members.

We will formally communicate this to the Company, as a clear warning that it’s offer is not sufficient and that it needs to come back to the table with an offer that meets the needs and aspirations of members.

As we reported in the last bulletin the Scottish Government have acknowledged that the increase in wages is having a positive effect on retention:

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has written to GMB stating:

“…increased pay rates have been accepted by GEOAmey staff and while it is still early days, there are small positive signs, with a slowdown in staff attrition along with an additional 20 members of staff working on the contract compared to a few months ago…” – Letter to GMB from Scottish Government 27.11.23

This comes as no surprise to your National Committee, because they have been saying to GeoAmey for years that they need to increase pay rates to address the high turnover of staff.

As we understand it, the starting rate now in Scotland is £12.50 p/hr, and with the proposed increase in the National Living Wage in April 2024 it is even more crucial that GeoAmey act now.

We have a genuine fear that the PECS 4 Contract could end up in a similar situation to Scotland, with the Government having to bail out the Company, however given they have extracted £10M in dividends in the past years this may count against any bailout.

As ever, please ensure that anyone not in GMB joins to support the talks: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

GMB GEOAMEY National Committee

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 29 November 2023

Dear Members,

We hope you are all well, however it is with anger and frustration that we are publishing this response to the Company’s recent message to all staff and WOU.

RESPONSE TO COMPANY MESSAGES

It is astounding that the Company is trying to claim credit for making ‘generous’ pay offers in the past, when this money was wholly and solely provided by the Government, regardless of whether the Company was profitable.

The Company have never offered members anything additional ‘out of the kindness of their hearts’, anything extra has come from trade-offs where members have accepted reductions in conditions over the years to support the Company and ensure its profitability, something that is conveniently not mentioned in either message.

Your Reps have always argued that to aid recruitment and retention, the Company needs to invest in members via additional wages. The Company states in its 2022 Annual Report (page 8) and recent staff message:

“The directors continue to invest in making the Company a desirable place to work” – Annual Report

“If there is money left each year after paying its bills, paying increases, its taxes and making investments, the surplus funds are paid to the shareholders.” – Company Message

And in Scotland, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has written to GMB stating:

“…increased pay rates have been accepted by GEOAmey staff and while it is still early days, there are small positive signs, with a slowdown in staff attrition along with an additional 20 members of staff working on the contract compared to a few months ago…” – Letter to GMB from Scottish Government 27.11.23

Clearly ‘investments’ in members wages work as we have always claimed, but instead the Company openly admits using the profits solely generated by members on the PECS4 contract to pay dividends instead.

This is precisely why the Company is not ‘putting its hand in its own pocket’ to invest in members.

In the last pay talks the Company challenged the cost of our claim, so we asked for their calculations (made by the outgoing Finance Director); to date nothing has been provided, so we maintain our calculations are correct.

The claim that mediation and/or arbitration at ACAS could take up to 12 months is clearly being used to scare members, in GMB’s experience the only delays are due to Employers dragging their heels.

Lastly please don’t be put off by the Company messages, and ensure that you send them a message about their need to invest in members, and make sure anyone not in GMB has their say on pay: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

GMB GEOAMEY National Committee

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 26 October 2023

Dear members,

We hope you are all well. We wanted to update you that we are due to hold two further days of pay talks with the company on the 2nd and 9th of November, for PCO/ECOs etc and First Line Managers respectively.

SCOTLAND CONTRACT – ADDITIONAL FUNDS SECURED

In Scotland we understand the Company has secured extra funds to support its operations which have made losses two years in a row.

We expect that this money is ring-fenced for Scotland operations only, and not used to pay shareholder dividends etc but it reinforces the reality that the England and Wales contract is profitable and delivering nearly £10M in dividends to shareholders in recent years as expected.

This is an important development as we believe that if the Company does not invest any of its own cash this year, the PECs 4 contract in England and Wales will ultimately end up needing Government handouts in a similar situation to Scotland.

OFFER/ BARGAINING INFORMATION

As reported the Company has tabled an offer of 6.4%, which we calculate to be worth ~£2.4M overall.

We have now calculated that the Company is wasting nearly as much each year in extra recruitment and retention costs, excess overtime and fines, a large proportion of which is attributable to the low pay and inadequate staffing levels that members experience.

Now we have a much clearer picture of the Company finances we believe that the Company can afford to top up the Government funds with its own and deliver a pay rise that is almost entirely self-funded.

This will be the focus of the next talks, following which we hope to ballot members on offers for both groups of members.

Depending on the offers we may ask members whether they want to pursue enhanced offers via conciliation and/or arbitration ie an independent umpire, to help resolve pay for 2023. If we do ask members, we’ll outline what that entails as part of any member balloting.

Lastly please ensure that colleagues who aren’t members take the chance to join to ensure that they too are able to have their say on pay in 2023: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

GMB GEOAMEY GMB

National Committee National Officer

Posted on: 27 September 2023

Dear members,

We’ve now had a third 2023 pay claim meeting. Before this meeting the Company had written to GMB, asking it to review and revise your pay claim (as per the recent WOU bulletin), in order for talks to commence.

Your GMB JNC Reps declined the Company request, for two reasons, one it was your, the members’ claim, and two that we did not agree that it should prevent any negotiations commencing.

Having addressed that issue, the Finance Director was in attendance to provide information that we had previously requested, though unfortunately there are still some outstanding pieces that we have re-requested.

Possibly the most important outstanding piece is what does a 1% wage rise cost the Company in actual ‘pounds and pence’ each year.

The Company told us we could work it out, and our very rough estimate would be a 1% wage rise is worth ~£250K (not including pension/NI costs etc) but we are conscious that we want to make sure the figures we use are accurate, so we are hoping for the final pieces of information ahead of our next meeting.

This is crucial as it goes to the heart of what is ‘affordable’, particularly as the Company confirmed that it had paid out a dividend £4.3M, an increase from £1.2M the year before, despite profitability declining over the past year (also mentioned in the recent WOU).

Within that context, we spent some time discussing the funding received from the MoJ for your wages, with the Company committing to passing on the full amount it receives towards the pay talks.

Going forward your JNC Reps will be looking for the Company to dip its hand into its own pocket to add to whatever it receives from the MoJ, to put money back into the workforce, to invest in its people and to support them for the work they perform and service they deliver to the Courts and communities.

Lastly please ensure that colleagues who aren’t members take the chance to join to ensure that they too have their say on pay in 2023: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

GMB GEOAMEY National Committee

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 18 August 2023

Dear members,

Thank you again to everyone who completed a survey of your aspirations for pay and conditions in 2023. The claim has been sent to the Company and we held our second pay meeting yesterday to present your claim to Management.

Ahead of the talks we had sought financial information from the Company to ensure that your Reps had a clear and transparent view of the Company performance and operations. This information also helps us debate what is ‘affordable’ for the Company, which is always a key area of discussion during our talks.

We sought very specific information on Company profitability, dividend payments to shareholders and how much of your wages are funded by the Ministry of Justice each year.

Disappointingly, out of the 10 pieces of information that we sought, the Company provided less than half that, though the Company did confirm that it was making dividend payments to the shareholders even though profitability was reducing (as per Company accounts 2020 and 2021).

We have asked that the remaining information is supplied ahead of the next meeting so we can have meaningful negotiations at our next meeting scheduled for 19th/20th September.

At the talks we took the Company through the feedback that we had received from members, that had led to the contents of the claim, particularly the strong response from an overwhelming majority of members about a substantial increase in wage rates.

As in previous years, your Reps reinforced that the Company needs to invest in staff with a decent pay rise, particularly with the cost-of-living increases being experienced by members, and that 50% of members were considering leaving due to low wages, excessive hours and lack of work/life balance.

These are crucial issues for members and we are hoping that the Company is going to put members, not shareholders first this year. We will continue to report back as talks progress.

Lastly please ensure that colleagues who aren’t members take the chance to join to ensure that they too have their say on pay in 2023: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

GMB GEOAMEY National Committee

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 27 July 2023

Dear Members

Thank you to all of you who completed our 2023 Cost of Living/Pay Survey.

This year GMB asked members again for feedback on their personal circumstances during the current cost of living crisis, as well as for your aspirations for pay in 2023. Hundreds of members responded and like last year there was an overwhelming number of members who were facing severe increases in the cost of living.

Nearly 75% responded that their monthly costs had risen by £60 or more per month, a huge amount given the current rates of pay in GEOAmey. This was made up of both increases to members mortgage payments, nearly 70%, and continued increases in gas and electricity costs nearly 90%.

Members contributed many comments throughout the survey returns, particularly regarding pay rates and staffing levels being too low, increasing concerns at long hours and the negative impact this is having on work-life balance, and a feeling of being unsupported and under-valued in their workplaces.

In terms of pay and conditions, the majority of members are seeking a minimum of £15 p/h (PCO’s), with another large section of members seeking a wage rise in excess of 10%.

As in previous years, a majority of members also identified overtime after contract hours/on weekends be paid (1.5/2.0) and an increase in annual leave as options to consider in respect of enhanced conditions.

As a result we have submitted the following pay claim to Management:

• An increase to £15p/h for PCO’s with the equivalent percentage increase applied to other roles;
• Genuine consideration of overtime at 1.5/2.0 for work in excess of contract hours/weekends and;
• Increasing annual leave.

This is a strong claim and clearly represents the views of members who are increasingly frustrated, with 50% of members responding that they are considering leaving GEOAmey. This potential exodus is a huge threat to the basic operation of the courts and prisoner transfers and will form a key element of our negotiations with the Company this year.

Thank you again to everyone who responded and please look out for further updates as the talks progress.

Lastly please ensure that colleagues who aren’t members take the chance to join to have their say on pay in 2023: www.gmb.org.uk/join-gmb GMB,

WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER! GMB GEOAMEY GMB National Committee National Office

GEOAMEY NATIONAL COMMITTEE & NATIONAL OFFICER

Posted on: 16 March 2023

Dear Members

Welcome to the monthly update from the GMB on issues within the business.

FIRST LINE MANAGERS PAY AWARD – ACCEPTED BY MEMBERS

Thank you to all First Line Manager members who recently voted on the 2022 pay offer, we are pleased to confirm that the membership returned a 73% vote to accept the offer. The Company have been advised of the outcome and have confirmed backpay from September 2022 and the annual increase will be processed in March’s payroll.

DISCIPLINARIES/ INVESTIGATIONS

Following a number of recent operational incidents we have seen an increase in investigations, so we want to remind members that if they are invited to attend a 'Fact Find' they should advise their GMB rep, because it is crucial that you have advice and support from the outset of any process. Further should the investigation proceed to a disciplinary, then the GMB Rep is already familiar with the issues and can continue to support you.

COURT STAFFING LEVELS

Due to current staff shortages please ensure that you follow the standard operating procedures when running the court. In the event that you have to breach the procedures to operate the Court, please ensure you contact your GMB Rep so this is recorded with management and ensure staff are not putting themselves at risk. GMB takes staff safety seriously and it is frustrating that these problems are often only reported to us after the breaches have taken place which limits our ability to work with members to provide greater safety and support.

JNCC MEETING

March’s JNCC meeting has unfortunately been postponed until early April, after which an update will circulated.

REPS VACANCIES – HULL AREA

Since the last bulletin we have had interest for the Reps positions in both Manchester and North Wales/Berwyn. It is important that we have reps in all areas so members can be kept informed, and we are still seeking a GMB Rep for Hull Base and associated courts, so if any members in the Hull area are interested in this position can they please contact myself on 07720 953451.

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

Jim Edgar

GMB /GEOAMEY

National Convenor

Posted on: 8 February 2023

Dear Members

The GMB are committed to keeping you fully informed on the matters we are currently dealing with; please see the current topics outlined below.

1.FIRST LINE MANAGERS' PAY TALKS

On the 23rd of January the GMB Negotiating committee met with the Company to continue discussions in regard to the FLM pay negotiations. These discussions were positive and the GMB are now in a position to put the Company's final offer to ballot.

Our First Line Manager members will be balloted during the month of February and if the offer is accepted, the backpay and salary increase will be made in March, with the offer is backdated to the 1st of September 2022.

If any FLM has not been contacted by the end of February, can they please advise your local rep or myself on {07720 953451} so this can be rectified.

2.SAFETY AND SECURITY WORKING GROUP

The Committee continue their efforts to reduce incidents and staff assaults and are meeting with safety representatives in the Scottish contract to provide a consistent approach to safety and security over both contracts.

The Committee will keep members informed of the meeting outcome and will continue to monitor all incidents to share any good practice. In the meantime, please keep yourselves and your colleagues safe.

3.CURRENT GMB REP VACANCIES.

We currently have vacancies for representatives for the following areas:

• Manchester VB and associated courts
• Hull VB and associated courts
• Berwyn VB and associated courts

Any member who is interested in any of these positions can contact myself on 07720 953451 or email james.edgar@geoamey.co.uk

Please note this is a change to my previous email. Support and full training will be provided.

GMB, WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE EVERYDAY AT WORK BETTER!

Jim Edgar

GMB /GEOAMEY

National Convenor

Posted on: 18 October 2021

FAO ALL GMB MEMBERS

I am pleased to report that the 2021 pay ballot has resulted in a 70% acceptance by GMB Members.

We have now informed GEOAmey of the result and this should be processed in the November pay.

Thank you to all members for their support and participation in the ballot.

We have also now concluded the pay negotiations for first line managers and have an offer that can be recommended for acceptance. We will be balloting those members shortly.

Thank you to the negotiating committee for achieving an offer which was supported by our members and to all the GMB reps for conducting and completing the ballot.

Roger Jenkins Jim Edgar

GMB National Officer GMB Convenor

Posted on: 28 September 2021

Dear GMB member,

Please find below the 2021 pay offer from GEOAmey which applies to PCO’s and ECO’s only. We are still in talks regarding VBC’s, CCM’s and DCM’s and as soon as we have a positive offer for this group we will conduct a separate ballot.

The pay offer is:

1. All officers to move to a minimum rate of £11ph, equivalent to 4.8% for those on the higher rate and 7.8% for those currently on the lower rate. Achieving full parity for all.
2. Any PCO or ECO currently paid more than £11ph to receive a 1% increase.
3. All new starters in vehicle bases to start on a 38-hour contract. All staff currently in vehicle bases to have the option to move to a 38-hour contract - but not compulsory.
4. All hours worked over 10 hours to be 'banked' and paid for three months only to address increased pressure on staff due to current staff shortages.
5. Removal of the 'claw back' on ITC and uniform costs.
6. Removal of the attendance allowance.

Your reps have unanimously agreed to put this offer to the membership with a recommendation to accept. Local reps will soon be visiting bases to carry out a workplace ballot. The ballot will run from Monday 4^th October 2021 until Monday 18^th October 2021.

NADINE HOUGHTON

GMB NATIONAL OFFICER

Posted on: 27 September 2021

Dear GMB members,

Just a quick note to update you on CCM / DCCM and VBC pay.

The last GMB bulletin regarding this year's pay offer related to PCO's ONLY.

The pay offer for VBC's / DCCM and CCM's will be discussed at a special meeting between GMB representatives and the company next week.

As the bargaining group covers PCO's, ECO's and Court Managers, we cannot ballot you on the entire pay deal until the deal for court managers has also been negotiated and a final offer made.

Apologies for any confusion on the initial bulletin. We will update you as soon as talks for managers have been finalised.

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 23 September 2021

Dear GMB member,

I am pleased to update you on the pay offer from Geoamey. Your reps have unanimously agreed to put this offer to the membership with a recommendation to accept. Your NJC reps will soon be visiting bases to give you a ballot on the offer.

The offer is:

1. All officers to move to a minimum rate of £11ph, equivalent to 4.8% for those on the higher rate and 7.8% for those currently on the lower rate. Achieving full parity for all.
2. Anyone currently paid more than £11ph to receive a 1% increase.
3. All new starters in vehicle bases to start on a 38 hour contract. All staff currently in vehicle bases to have the option to move to a 38 hour contract - but not compulsory.
4. All hours worked over 10 hours to be 'banked' and paid for three months to address increased pressure on staff due to current staff shortages.
5. Removal of the 'claw back' on ITC and uniform costs.
6. Removal of the attendance allowance.

NADINE HOUGHTON

NATIONAL OFFICER

Posted on: 13 July 2021

Dear GMB member,

ANNUAL LEAVE

The GMB have been approached by GEOAmey regarding changes to Annual Leave that the company want to make. The proposals included changing the annual leave year to January to December and insisting that employees must use 5 days annual leave during January to March.

Your Union opposed this proposal and entered negotiations with the Company to ensure that members did not have any annual leave dates imposed.

Negotiations are ongoing. it has become clear that the company want to manage Annual Leave more rigidly going forward and that there will be a process to ensure a certain amount of Annual leave is booked by certain dates throughout the year.

The GMB will consult with our membership on any changes before reaching any agreement with the company.

COVID AGREEMENT

The above agreement was due to end on 1^ST July 2021, but the GMB have requested that this should be extended to August 2021, to which the Company have agreed. This agreement, once again, protects our members against Covid related absences.

STAFFING AND SAFETY SURVEY

The results of the recent survey sent to our members are now being reviewed.

There are concerns that have been raised consistently, such as the ability to respond to affray alarms and the fact that no action is taken when concerns are raised.

The GMB will write to the Company with these findings and have requested a staffing subcommittee be established to identify gaps in the model and ensure the Company have a process whereby members can raise their concerns directly.

We will keep you informed of further discussions.

INTERESTED IN GETTING MORE ACTIVE?

GMB is asking all members to provide us with up-to-date mobile numbers, so we can add you to a WhatsApp list to keep you up-to- date on comms. Can you please WhatsApp your name and workplace location to Jim Edgar on 07720 953451 and Jim will get you added to the right lists.

If any members would like to be more active in the GMB please also drop Jim a message and he will be in touch!

Many thanks.

NADINE HOUGHTON

GMB NATIONAL OFFICER

Posted on: 21 May 2021

Dear GMB member,

In the week where the case against SERCO for alleged Health and Safety breaches over the death of a PCO goes to trial, the GMB is launching our safer staffing survey to better understand the concerns of our members in relation to staffing levels across the PECS4 contract. The GMB will do all we can to protect our members Health' and Safety, but we need your help to do that effectively.

Please take the time to complete the survey and hand it back to your rep or officer or complete it online here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMBSecurityStaffSurvey

Some of the concerns we have currently are:

1. Staffing numbers being determined by a 'programme' with little ability to factor in fluctuations in numbers or increased risk of certain custodies.
2. When court staff are stretched, finding staff from elsewhere becomes extremely challenging and back up isn't getting to where it's needed.
3. Staffing levels are being determined on such a tight margin that they are easily tipped out of balance; sickness, challenging prisoners or a sudden influx of prisoners can very quickly escalate into a situation where staffing levels are no longer safe.
4. There does not appear to be a genuine reporting mechanism for staff to raise complaints other than through their CCM's who may be reluctant to escalate issues, this means that effective monitoring of staffing levels may not be taking place.

Of course, there may be more areas of concern and we would like to hear from you to understand them. Most importantly we would like to know your personal experiences - this is your chance to tell us what it's like on the ground.

The company have agreed to meet us to discuss these issues and we look forward to that, we will keep you updated on any discussions we are having with the company on this issue.

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 17 March 2021

Dear GMB member,

Thank you for taking the time to vote in this year's ballot on pay. Turn-out was approximately 80% which means that the majority of GMB members working for GEOAmey engaged in the democratic process of voting on pay. Your reps did a great job of getting round the country to talk to you all and a thank you must also go to them.

As many of you will now know, the offer was accepted by GMB members which means it will be backdated to September and paid into March's pay.

The vote to accept was, however, very slim with 55% to accept and 45% to reject.

Your NNC reps and I completely understand the strength of feeling and why the vote was so narrow. It would be wrong of GMB to hale the talks as a resounding success, however the NNC is of the view that the deal is the best we could achieve through negotiation and in the current circumstances.

Notwithstanding this we are proud of all we have achieved throughout the Covid crisis and the deals we have reached with GEOAmey to protect our members and ensure they have continued to be paid.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for taking part in the ballot.

Many thanks,

Your GMB JNCC

Posted on: 12 February 2021

Dear GMB Members,

Your GMB JNCC have now concluded the 2020/21 pay talks with GEOAmey The negotiations have taken some time and have been difficult but we are now able to put the pay offer to a ballot of the membership.

As we all know, 2020 and the start of 2021 has been unique. At the start of the pandemic the GMB successfully negotiated a deal that saw our members paid their full contractual hours, with no negative hours applied despite the working week being reduced. We then went on to push the company into improving the provision of PPE, followed by an agreement to protect shielding workers by paying them to be at home and finally we negotiated a deal that meant none of our members would be subject to disciplinary or sickness absence management procedures if forced to self-isolate and guaranteed full pay in some circumstances related to Covid.

GEOAmey went into these pay negotiations insisting that, as this was the first year of the new contract, 0% was all our members would be offered. This was clearly unacceptable to your GMB negotiating team, against a backdrop of increased risk to your health and safety and your designated role as key workers.

The Company Offer is as follows:

• The £10.00 p/h rate to increase by 20p per hour to £10.20 per hour
• The £10.40 p/h rate to increase by 12p per hour to £10.52 per hour
• VBC/CCM salaries to be uplifted by 1%
• A £25 per annum flat rate contribution to car insurance would be made to all officers on the MOT shift on provision of confirmation of Business Use for their private vehicle.
• Supervising YCS officers to receive additional £1.00 per hour
• The OIC payment of £1.50 on escort vehicles to be removed
• Bank Holiday Payments to be harmonised to GEOAmey terms and conditions for those on ex Reliance terms (single time plus day in lieu)
• Absence incentive received by those staff on ex Reliance terms to be harmonised to ex G4S terms and conditions (£175.00 for 12 months absence free)
• Long day allowance (for those on ex Reliance terms) removed and harmonised to GEOAmey meal allowance payment (£6:50 after 12 hours)

GMB JNCC are RECOMMENDING ACCEPTANCE of this offer as it represents the best that can be achieved through negotiation. This offer delivers a pay increase for all and continues to close the pay gap for those on the lower rates of pay.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Your GMB reps will be carrying out a ballot of our members. Your reps will be fully briefed to carry out the ballot in a Covid secure way and following all necessary precautions. We will be sanitising the ballot box and will be asking everyone voting to sanitise their hands before and after voting. The ballot will open on the 15th February 2021 and close on the 5th March 2021.

Please ensure that the GMB have your current postal address or email address in the event of a postal or electronic vote being required.

Thanks for your continued support.

Nadine Houghton Jim Edgar

GMB National Officer National Convenor

Posted on: 8 December 2020

Dear GMB member,

Your union is inviting you to a zoom meeting to discuss this year's pay talks and hear from you - our members - about what you believe the union's campaigning priorities should be for 2021.

We need you to attend and tell us what matters, you are the union, and we can't be effective without your input.

You can register for the meeting here Webinar Registration - Zoom

The meeting will last only an hour and you can join from the comfort of your home. It will take place on Tuesday 15th December 7-8pm.

It will be completely anonymous and you will be able to send in questions and comments to our meeting organiser who will put them to the panel.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 6 November 2020

Dear GMB member,

Your union Health and Safety team has been working round the clock to ensure management are doing all they can to ensure the workplace is as safe as possible during these uncertain times.

Please can we urge all members to complete the GMB Health & Safety Survey which has been sent via email or can be completed via the button below:

Take part in the survey

The GMB has a well-trained, experienced Health and Safety Team in GEOAmey, your H&S team is completely independent of management, but we are consulted with on all H&S issues affecting our members.

We have successfully negotiated a much-improved Covid Absence Policy, which although not perfect, does give our members added protections when having to self-isolate. We are proud to have achieved this.

HMPPS have recently introduced a mandatory policy for staff to wear face masks. This means staff across all HMPPS sites must wear a FSRM Type IIR face mask when at work; this is a surgical or clinical grade mask worn in clinical or social grade settings. The GMB supports this and we urge you to follow the guidelines. There is, as you know, additional management guidance that the GMB urges you to follow:

1. Please always wear PPE and change masks at least every 4 hours. Adequate and appropriate breaks should be taken to allow a rest from wearing your mask and to allow you to change it safely. Please remember, some of your colleagues will be exempt from wearing a mask and the reasons for this will not always be obvious.
2. Wherever possible try to maintain social distancing of over 1 metre.
3. Wash and sanitise hands on a regular basis.
4. If you have symptoms do not attend work and arrange a Covid test.

Finally, a brief update on pay. Your GMB negotiating team met with management today and we outlined our members’ pay claim. It's fair to say that GMB and GEOAmey are currently some way apart and we need to continue negotiations.

To ensure we are negotiating with the relevant information we need to see the company accounts which haven't yet been published, this may mean our talks may take a little longer. We hope members understand that a delay, while we wait for this information, is in everyone's best interest.

Thank you for all you continue to do.

Your GMB negotiating team.

Posted on: 12 October 2020

Dear GMB member,

Following campaigning by your JNCC reps I am pleased to confirm that GMB has secured dramatic improvements to the absence policy and pay for Covid absences.

The GMB made it clear to Geoamey that our members needed certainty during this period and that without a robust Covid absence policy in place the infection would spread amongst the workplace.

A fundamental issue for the GMB was to ensure no Covid absence could result in any disciplinary action through the absence management procedure and that no one would be unfairly out of pocket for a Covid absence.

The company have agreed to drop all CSP waiting days for Covid absences and have committed not to taking disciplinary action for a Covid absence (unless there is a pattern of absence that needs investigating) and in a number of scenarios staff will be entitled to full contractual pay.

We are pleased that Geoamey have listened to our concerns, with some of the changes including:

• Full pay for 14 days when contacted via Test, Track and Trace or any other official government body, i.e the MOJ. Absence will not be reflected in any absence management procedures.
• If you have symptoms but then test negative you will be entitled to Company Sick Pay, but the first three waiting days will not apply, so full sick pay from day one. No absence management triggers for first instance, but subsequent instances could trigger a further investigation.
• Symptoms followed by a positive test result will attract full sick pay from day one. Where a colleague has exhausted their contractual sick pay entitlement you can approach HR to discuss an extension to the CSP.

We hope this will give you some assurance during this time.

Read the New Geoamey Sick Pay Measures in full

Stay Safe,

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 7 October 2022

Please see below the GMB pay claim for 2020.

We have requested a meeting with the company and we will keep you updated. GMB Pay Claim 2020:

The GMB submits this year's GEOAmey pay claim against a backdrop of a global pandemic and (subsequently) a period of improving public sector pay awards. This year the MOJ accepted the Prison Service Pay Review Body recommendations in full and awarded rises between 2.5-7.5% for prison staff. Likewise, the Home Office accepted the Prison Service Pay Review Body's Recommendations in full and awarded a 2.5% pay award.

In absence of any comparable pay review body, it is beholden on GEOAmey to listen and adhere to the recommendations of their recognised trade union to ensure fairness and protect the interests of their own staff. David Jones, Geoamey Managing Director, consistently refers to the vital public service that GEOAmey staff provide.

GEOAmey staff face an increased risk from Covid related death or illness due to the front line work the staff do. The GMB notes that ONS stats throughout the pandemic highlighted those working in the security and justice sectors as being some of the occupations most at risk of Covid death or illness. We also note the increased risks relating to serious violent incidents in the workplace which are becoming more prevalent.

GMB notes the recent changes imposed on staff by GEOAmey, including the Mobile Officer Teams and the threat of dismissal and re-engagement following refusal to accept a Dual Badged Officer Role. Such changes have caused huge unrest amongst our membership and whilst GEOAmey view these changes as necessary for the running of the new contract the GMB urges Geo to give consideration to the ill feeling such changes have created and the subsequent detrimental impact on morale. A fair pay increase would go some way to addressing this.

The pay priorities for the GMB are:

1. Pay Parity. Regional and historical discrepancies must be addressed.

2. An award that mirrors relevant public sector pay awards.

3. An award that addresses the need to maintain a clear differential with the NMW, as the NMW continues to see significant increases.

4. A one off, non-consolidated bonus of £1,000 net per staff member following the savings made by Geoamey because of the lockdown.

5. A payment for the newly introduced supervising ECO officer.

6. An agreement on the payment for a dual badged officer who is rostered for weekend bed watches.

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 23 September 2020

Dear GMB members,

I wanted to quickly update you on a few issues:

As we head into the second wave of Coronavirus the GMB has today written to David Jones to seek clarity on the sickness arrangements / Covid absence arrangements for GEOAmey staff. The GMB is working with MP's to look at sickness / Covid absence arrangements across the Justice sector. Robust Covid absence schemes are essential to stop the spread of the virus and to protect hard working public servants, like GEOAmey staff.

We have commenced preliminary pay discussions. We have submitted several questions to David Jones which we are now awaiting a reply on. Once we have the answers to these questions, we will be requesting the next round of pay meetings commence. We will of course keep you updated on these talks.

We are receiving worrying reports of members experiencing a rise in incidents. We will soon send out a Health and Safety survey to identify how widespread the issue is and how we can best respond.

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 10 September 2020

Dear GMB member,

It is clear from the feedback we are getting from both members and reps that the new Mobile Officer Team shifts are not working. The concerns raised by the GMB all along are now playing out. We will not stand back and allow this to continue.

The GMB were clear from the start; the changes to the Safe, Secure Flexible Working agreement are subject to review. We had time scales and ad hoc arrangements built into the agreement. It appears that we will need to trigger the review quicker than we had envisaged.

We are hearing that:

You are not being given adequate notice to get to court.

You are getting sent to base to collect vans.

You are not being notified of your place of work by the agreed time.

You are being called back in after being stood down.

You are being sent excessive distances. 

You are being stood down when you arrive at the designated destination. 

None of the above is acceptable or what was agreed, and we will therefore be requesting an urgent meeting and review with Geoamey which we now expect to take place on Monday, 14th September. We will, of course, keep you updated on the outcome of this meeting.

Many thanks,

Nadine Houghton, National Officer

Jim Edgar, National Convenor

Your GMB NNC

Posted on: 26 June 2020

I wanted to share with you an email from the GMB to GEOAmey concerning Dual Badge Holders and Mobile Officer Teams. Your negotiating team are meeting with the company today (26th July) and we hope to update you after that. 

Here is the email we sent last night which summarises our position so far: 

Dear David,

 

You will appreciate that from a GMB perspective, we are at a logger heads over two key issues for the new contract. We welcome further negotiations tomorrow and sincerely hope we can, in fact, reach an agreement. To be very clear however, the GMB believes the current MOT proposals would give rise to a breach of contract claim and the next steps for us, if we fail to reach agreement, would be to organise a collective grievance of our members and a failure to agree.

 

Jim has very helpfully summarised our current position in relation to the proposals, they look eminently sensible to me. I will set these out out below and hope they will form the basis for our discussions tomorrow.

 

Dual Badged Holders:

 

Dual Badged Officers should be able to choose to be replaced at the earliest date possible opportunity by new Dual Badged Officers from the first available ITC's. Any officer who was originally selected will be entitled to request this option. This to be the subject to reviews with the GMB.

 

That any Court based SDB officer will receive an inconvenience payment of £50 if they are requested to transport a child either to or from their place of work and incur hours in excess of their daily contracted hours as a consequence of being Dual Badged.

 

That any Base SDB to receive an inconvenience payment if they work a shift above 12 hours as a consequence of being Dual Badged.

 

These parameters will ensure that the SDB officers are not taken advantage of after being forced to change roles and it will help allay the fears of these members and also would only apply in circumstances that even the Company themselves describe as 'exceptional' 

A Financial Penalty would ensure that management would be focused on running the operation correctly. These parameters will ONLY apply to those officers who have been selected by the Company to have their contracts changed and will focus the Company to replace these officers at the earliest opportunity. 

Mobile Officer Teams:

 

There must be a start time on this shift. We cannot have a member being notified on the morning of the shift with the possibility of any start time and travel to any location. This is quite clearly an as directed shift. The one hour leeway given in the SSFWA is currently only used when notification of any change is advised the day before and this must stay the same under the MOT. Any changes to the start time over one hour must also attract a payment as is the agreement now. 

The Officer should also be paid from their guaranteed start time. Under existing arrangements the officer is paid from the moment they leave base and travel to their first destination. It is the company’s decision to amend their place of work for the week and therefor the employer should provide the necessary protection around this.

 

We have to ensure that Officers are guaranteed their daily contracted hours for the week they are rostered on the MOT shift. The Company has increased ability to stand these officers down as a first option if the workload is reduced and this will have an effect on any additional hours worked previously.

 

The GMB have concerns that officers will have to fund parking expenses from their own pocket whilst on this shift. The GMB want the company to make arrangements to ensure our members suffer no financial difficulties, we cannot accept our members having to cover parking costs, even if they have the ability to claim them back at a later date.

 

GMB want the Company to consider whether some officers will not be eligible to be rostered for these shifts due to current contractual arrangements i.e. fixed hours, part time contracts etc.

 

Nadine Houghton,

 

Jim Edgar,

 

Your GMB NNC.

Posted on: 15 June 2020

Mobile Officer Teams:

You may well have seen the recent communication from David Jones. As this has now been shared with you by the company I wanted to go on record with our concerns regarding these proposals and make it very clear that as things stand we would not be in a position to agree with the company on a number of key issues concerning the Mobile Officer Teams. I will list these below:

1. Due to the nature of the MOT shift the GMB is deeply concerned that increased flexibility for Geoamey will prove detrimental to our members work / life balance and the potential for increased negative hours. Therefore, we have asked for guaranteed contractual hours for that week with no deficit of hours at the end of the reference period.

2. The GMB has consistently campaigned against what are called 'as directed' shifts. We believe the proposals, as they stand, are effectively an 'as directed' shift. The GMB wants a guaranteed start time for the week. Currently Geoamey are proposing to tell you as late as 7:30 a.m. the day you are working what time you will be starting and where you will be needed.

3. The GMB believes Geoamey are deviating from the current agreement, negotiated in 2012, which forms the basis of your working arrangements. This is not acceptable to the GMB.

4. The GMB want to see a guarantee that officers will be paid from the time they leave home when on the MOT shift. Currently you are paid from your start time when you reach your base but for the MOT shift you are being asked to travel elsewhere at the request of the company, this should be acknowledged by paying you from your start time / when you leave your house.

5. 'Use of Own Cars Business Insurance' we are seeking further information on what Geoamey's current insurance provides cover for. We are also concerned that Geoamey has referred to staff paying for some parking costs out of their own pocket and having to claim this back, clearly this is not acceptable to the GMB.

Given the current impasse, if Geoamey are intent on railroading through the current proposals we will have to consider asking you all to sign a collective grievance and unfortunately we will have to consider invoking the Disputes Resolution Procedure through a Failure to Agree.

It is deeply unfortunate that Geoamey has not adequately listened to your concerns and are continuing at pace with arrangements that will be detrimental to our members.

Dual Badge Holders:

Again, we are disappointed that Geoamey has now commenced formal consultation with a number of staff on amending their individual terms to make them dual badge holders. This is not an approach that the GMB agreed to. If you are one of the colleagues identified to become dual badge and you are asked to engage in consultation please make sure you take your local rep into the meeting with you and remember that you are always able to raise an individual grievance if you do not believe your concerns are being addressed through the consultation.<.p>

PPE:

You will remember at the start of the Covid crisis that GMB raised a number of concerns in relation to PPE. We understood that we had reached a point where the provision of PPE to our members was adequate. However, we understand that some staff are deciding to disregard the risk assessments to carry out their own 'dynamic' risk assessments and deciding they need less PPE. I want to remind you that the risk assessments and PPE are there to protect YOU, your colleagues and the prisoners. Please make sure you wear the required PPE at all times to keep you and others safe; we fought to make sure you have it because our members deserve to be safe at work.

As always, I hope you and yours are keeping well and safe.

Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer

Posted on: 20 May 2020

The GMB has been campaigning hard in Geoamey following reports from our members about a lack of PPE. Our recent survey showed that a staggering 83% of respondents 'did not feel safe at work' So, your GMB reps have been doing all we can to get this issue sorted.

I would like to take this chance to remind you of what the law says on this issue, section 44 of the employment Rights Act 1996, says that 'in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and which he could not have reasonably have been expected to avert, he left (or proposed to leave) or (while the danger persisted) refused to return to his place of work or any dangerous part of his place of work.'

You will have seen the recent communications between myself and David Jones. We very much hope you are now seeing a difference in the provision of PPE. If you are not or you still have concerns you must escalate these issues and raise them directly with your GMB rep or convener.

We have commitments from the company that there is NO ISSUE with the supply of PPE and that it *should* be available on all vans and at all bases. If this is not the case you must raise this with us, it is only by hearing what is happening on the ground on a day to day basis that we know whether or not your employer is doing what they should be for you.

You and your colleagues are also able to raise individual and collective grievances on this issue and I would encourage you to do this if you feel your concerns around PPE are not being listened to or addressed. We have a template for that here; https://www.gmb.org.uk/templat...

The GMB has now taken part in the Risk Assessment process, we have looked at the various scenarios that our members encounter on a daily basis and agreed with the company where and when PPE should be utilised.

Please also check the standards and quality of the PPE you are being provided with, detail on what you *should* be getting can be found here; https://www.gmb.org.uk/coronav...

We thought it would be helpful to set these scenarios out for you and specifically, what PPE you need for each scenario. This has been agreed with the company. These are as follows:

1. Searching/Rub downs where deemed necessary and only to be conducted by designated officers only i.e no underlying health conditions; Masks, Gloves, Aprons, Goggles/Face Shield.

2. Contact with suspected/confirmed Covid19; Masks, Gloves, Apron, Goggles/Face Shield.

3. Escorting Truculent DP to court; Gloves,Masks (maintaining social distancing)

4. Escorting Off Bail to Custody; Gloves, Masks (maintaining social distancing)

5. Dock Officer with Off Bail and no Social Distancing; Gloves, Masks

6. Handling Prisoners Property; Gloves, Apron

7. Cleaning Waste from Cell where suspected Covid19 case was located; Gloves, Apron

8. During Planned C/R; Gloves, Masks, Apron, Visor Helmet.

9. Handling Paperwork from DP such as Complaints and Legal documents; Gloves.

10. Escorting Suspected Covid19 to hospital; Gloves, Masks, Aprons, Goggles/ Face Shield.

11. Deep Cleaning of Cells were a suspected Covid19 case has been held; Contract Cleaner Only

In most other scenarios our members will encounter such as welfare checks, reception duties, cell observations, unlocking for legal and toilet breaks and use of Geotrack social distancing should be used as much as practically possible utilising the recent reduction in handcuffing.

The GMB will continue to keep you updated.

Many thanks,

Jim Edgar (GMB Convenor)

Chris Wilson (GMB Health and Safety Lead)

Nadine Houghton (GMB National Officer

Posted on: 7 May 2020

Please see below the text of a letter I sent to David Jones yesterday and the result of our GMB PPE survey.

Following receipt of this letter the company replied to say the following:

PPE is and should be available on all vans and that there is currently NO issue with supply. GMB says, therefore, that no one should be without PPE. If this is the case please raise this with your line manager and GMB representative immediately and in writing if possible. If however we continue to receive reports of lack of PPE we will of course escalate this collectively.

The company have also confirmed that they intend to extend Company Sick Pay to cover the 12 week shielding period for those staff that have been instructed by the NHS to 'shield'. Geoamey have however said that they expect a week of annual leave to be used during this period and we are considering our response to this. We welcome the commitment not to push our members into destitution as a result of shielding on SSP but it is unfortunate it has taken this long to get to this commitment and the worry this has caused our members.

Geoamey have also said that they do not intent to alter their sick pay arrangements further, in our mind this means that staff with Covid related absences who have run out of CSP will be forced onto SSP. We do not believe, that as key workers who are *potentially* more likely to come into contact with Covid, this is acceptable and our expectation is that ALL Covid absences (self isolating and sickness due to Covid) should be covered by full CSP regardless of whether or not someone has used up their allowance. We will be pressing this point further.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for the dedication you are showing, as key workers, to keeping our country running during the pandemic. Your union is on your side and we will continue to update you on the outstanding points mentioned above.

GMB Letter to Geoamey CEO David Jones:

Dear David

Following our constructive discussions last week, I am sorry to say that the recent results of the GMB survey of our GEOAmey membership are damning on the issue of PPE. I have attached them here in the interests of transparency.

It is unfortunate that the very issue our colleagues were campaigning around in Scotland and that we sought so hard to resolve only weeks ago is now rearing it's head in England and Wales.

I must impress upon you the urgency of resolving this issue, to put no finer point on it; our members lives are at risk. GEOAmey gave the GMB assurances last week that PPE was readily available. I'm unclear why that it still does not seem to be reaching our members and why our members still do not feel safe at work?

As key workers, our members - your staff - deserve better. Whilst the GMB values the relationship we have with GEOAmey, we must also represent our members and we reserve the right to do that through any means necessary.

We are awaiting assurances from David Bond on the issues of PPE and full pay for shielding staff and Covid absences. I very much hope these responses will give us the confidence that our members are being paid what they deserve when unable to work and protected whilst at work.

We discussed last week that as a government contractor you are unable to access Furlough, whilst we concur with that we are unclear why anyone taking a Covid related absence (shielding or sickness) would receive anything other than full pay on the basis that the PPN note of March 2020 states that suppliers "will continue to be paid as normal (even if service delivery is disrupted or temporarily suspended) until at least the end of June."

I will be sharing this letter with our members and look forward to receiving a response, but sadly if that response is not adequate we will have to do what we can to protect our members and get them what they deserve and need.

Many thanks,

Nadine Houghton

The results of the Geoamey PPE survey are as follows:

Do you currently feel safe at work?
Yes	16.89%
No	83.11%

Has your employer conducted a Covid Risk assessment of your workplace?
Yes	15.56%
No	20.44%
Unsure	64.00%

If yes, did the assessment involve local GMB health and safety reps?
Yes	0.90%
No	31.08%
Unsure	68.02%

Is your employer providing clear guidance on how to work safely?
Yes	40.83%
No	59.17%

Do you know where to access this guidance?
Yes	47.49%
No	52.51%

Are you confident this guidance is being adhered to?
Yes	13.70%
No	86.30%

Are you confident this guidance is accurate and is keeping you safe?
Yes	14.61%
No	85.39%

Do you feel your employer is putting your safety first?
Yes	12.27%
No	87.73%

When you are unable to adhere to social distancing measures are you confident you are being provided with the correct PPE?
Yes	12.11%
No	87.89%

Are you confident that your vehicle is being cleaned adequately and regularly?
Yes	15.38%
No	84.62%

When you are coming into contact with confirmed Covid cases are you confident you are being given adequate PPE?
Yes	21.39%
No	78.61%

Do you believe the PPE you're being provided with is of adequate quality? Guidance on this can be found here - https://www.gmb.org.uk/coronav...
Yes	18.09%
No	81.91%

Have you raised concerns around PPE that you feel have not been adequately responded to?
Yes	49.74%
No	48.68%

Are you confident that handcuffs and other surfaces you are coming into regular contact with are being cleaned regularly?
Yes	31.75%
No	68.25%

Do you have access to hand washing facilities / are you given hand sanitiser?
Yes	80.53%
No	19.47%

Do you know how to escalate concerns around health and safety?
Yes	64.21%
No	35.79%

Have you tried to escalate concerns previously but not received an adequate response?
Yes	31.38%
No	67.55%

Do you believe that staff should receive a Covid 19 bonus to acknowledge the challenging circumstances you have continued to work in?
Yes	94.18%
No	5.82%

Posted on: 24 April 2020

GMB requests urgent meeting with GeoAmey MD to discuss health and safety and PPE concerns. Please see below the text of a letter that has now gone to GeoAmey's MD, David Jones.

The GMB is concerned that David's recent communication suggested that the GMB had not raised any concerns regarding PPE, social distancing, etc. This is certainly not the case, GMB reps have been raising these issues consistently and we are now seeking an urgent meeting to discuss this.

Dear David,

I'm writing to you as the new GMB National Officer with responsibility for Geo Amey. I look forward to meeting you soon.

I'm sorry that this letter is the first time you are hearing from me and that I am writing to you regarding an issue that the GMB believes is causing our members to be placed in harms way whilst doing their job.

Our excellent Health and Safety rep, Chris Wilson, has shared with me a copy of the Risk Assessment that Geo Amey have produced to address the Covid outbreak. I'm sorry to say that we have serious concerns with the risk assessment.

You will see from the highlighted sections that we do not believe the level of risk being attributed to the transport of Covid patients is adequate, you will also see that we have concerns about the cleaning of cells. In addition to the inadequacies of the risk assessment

we have very grave concerns regarding the lack of PPE provision for our members on the front line.

We cannot sit back while we believe our members are being sent to work in a unsafe environment and we must, as a trade union, hold you and the company to account over this. We are therefore requesting an urgent meeting to discuss these concerns and we will make ourselves available at the earliest opportunity but ideally no later than Tuesday 28th.

Our members are key workers and they must be given the protection and assurances they need in order to do their job safely.

We will shortly be sending out a health and safety / PPE survey to our membership and we look forward to sharing the results of this with you in due course.

In addition to the above issues I must also raise the issue of shielding and vulnerable staff. To date the company have not decided to furlough these groups of staff, instead relying on them to use their contractual sick pay. As you will know, this will force some staff onto SSP. I am at a loss as to why you are not furloughing these colleagues as it would provide them with far greater financial security than they currently have. I would like to discuss this with you when we meet.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

Nadine Houghton

National Officer

Posted on: 23 April 2020

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new GMB national officer with responsibility for the security industry. I’m looking forward to working with you and getting to know you all over the coming months and years.

I wanted to take this opportunity to write to you about an issue that has been raised by a number of our members.

To date, both G4S in the Justice sector and Geo Amey have refused to furlough staff who are shielding, vulnerable or living with someone who is shielding.

This is completely unacceptable to the GMB.

The GMB was at the forefront of campaigning for the government’s Job Retention Scheme which has seen hundreds of thousands of employees furloughed. We also campaigned for the scheme to cover staff that are shielding or living with someone that is shielding. We are proud that this group of staff are now covered by the scheme.

We are calling on your employer to ensure they are furloughing all staff that fall under this category and we will of course be asking them to top up pay to 100%, as they can choose (but are not obliged) to do.

We have today written to G4S and GeoAmey to request that this happens immediately and is back dated where necessary.

I will update you on the responses we receive.

In the meantime, please look out for our PPE survey which will be making its way to you soon. I know this is an issue for those of you that are still at work and we will be taking action on this where necessary.

Stay safe.

Nadine Houghton

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 11 November 2021

FAO GMB MEMBERS

I am pleased to report that the 2021 pay ballot has resulted in a 90% acceptance by GMB Members.

We have now informed GEOAmey of the result and they have confirmed the uplift is now being processed and you will receive it in your November pay at the end of the month.

Thank you to all members for their support and participation in the ballot.

Roger Jenkins Jim Edgar

GMB National Officer GMB Convenor

Posted on: 22 November 2021

Dear members.

There have been a number of questions raised in relation to the changes to the holiday year and booking of holidays.

Proposals were put to the GMB on these changes in June 2021. A number of proposals from the company have been removed following consultation, for example having to take a quarter of your holiday entitlement each 3 months, these proposed changes were unacceptable.

The GMB did argue that any changes were unnecasary and would cause upset, it is only a few years ago that the start of the holiday year was changed from April to January, but the company were insistent on the need for this change.

For clarification, the GMB have also ensured that:

Employees will be able to carry over up to 5 days into next year.

Those with 27 days’ holiday entitlement can carry forward up to 7 days, after consultation with management.

That no pre-booked annual leave will be cancelled.
Staff will receive a full allocation in January 2022 to run to December 2022

Staff with 25 days holiday will have a pro rata allowance of 19 days from April 2021 to December 2021 and will be able to carry 5 days forward to the next holiday year to be used between January 2022 and the end of March 2022

This means that staff will only have to have used 14 days Annual leave between April 2021 and December 2021.

We would advise members to check you have made arrangements to ensure all these holidays have been taken or are booked.

Nobody will lose any holiday entitlement.

If any member is being told any different to this please raise it with your GMB Representative.

Roger Jenkins

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 21 July 2022

Dear GMB members

GMB as your union in GeoAmey has recognised that we want to improve our communications to you, our members, to ensure we keep you as updated as best as possible.

To support that we are looking to issue more regular bulletins to keep you informed of what GMB members and reps doing within GeoAmey, including updates on issues raised with the Company by your National Negotiating Committee. The current topics are as follows:

1.Pay Survey/Pay Talks

You will shortly receive a cost of living pay survey, the results of which will help us to formulate your 2022 pay claim, ahead of the talks that are due to commence in mid-August.

Can I request that you fill in this survey, and return it to your local Reps, so we know your thoughts?

2.Safety/Security Meetings

GMB are currently in talks with the Company to deal with the current resource problem and the effect on staff safety which was raised in our recent safety survey. Minutes and outcomes from the meetings will be circulated following the monthly meetings.

3.Assault on Duty Policy

GMB are due to start talks with the Company to discuss this policy with a view to streamlining the claim process. Further information will follow shortly.

4.Disciplinary Hearings

If you are requested to attend a disciplinary hearing can you please advise your GMB rep at the earliest opportunity so they can arrange to accompany you. Please do not attend alone.

5.GMB Rep Vacancies

We currently have a vacancy for a GMB rep at Hull Base and surrounding courts. Full training will be given. Please contact me for details .

GMB are working every day to make every day at work better.!!

Jim Edgar

GMB National Convenor

Posted on: 23 August 2022

Dear GMB members

GMB as your union in GEOAmey has committed to keep you fully informed on the matters we are currently dealing with. The current topics are outlined below.

1.PCO Pay Talks

Thank you all for completing the cost of living pay survey. We had an excellent response and all the information provided was very important to Joint National Negotiating Committee (JNNC).

As expected, the main concern was the current cost of living crisis and current hourly rate.

Shockingly the surveys showed that 20-25% members had utilised food banks and pay day loans. This is a huge issue and was of deep concern to the JNNC.

The surveys also showed that over 80% members had additional monthly costs of between £200-£250 per month.

As a consequence of the above, the JNCC decided that this year we had to focus on the hourly rate as the priority, and at a meeting with the Company on the 18th August 2022 we submitted our claim for a 15% increase in the hourly rate.

The Company did not table a counter offer are we are awaiting a response to the claim, though the Company acknowledged that Community Trade Union had recently accepted 5% in Scotland.

A further meeting is scheduled for the 15th September 2022.

Ahead of this can members please give your local/JNNC Reps your thoughts on the 5% offer in Scotland?

2.First Line Managers Pay Talks/Grading

The GMB and the Company are currently in discussion in regard to the grading system for bases and courts which affect our members’ pay. Members who are first line managers will shortly be contacted by the union to outline the proposed changes and to receive your feedback.

3.Safety Sub Committee

A further meeting of the above committee was held on 16th August 2022. This committee was formed as a result of our recent safety survey which showed that a majority of our staff felt at risk or unsafe whilst at work.

The GMB are continuing to work with the Company to reduce the amount of assaults and incidents that affect our members. There was a long discussion around current resources and the shortage of badged officers and the company has assured the GMB that they are doing everything possible to rectify the situation.

The Committee has issued a Safety/Security Toolbox Bulletin and we request that all our members familiarise themselves with the information provided.

On a positive note, the number of incidents are reducing but any assault or injury is one too many, so please keep yourselves and your colleagues safe.

4.Current GMB Rep vacancies

We currently have vacancies for reps in both the Hull Area and the Manchester area.

Please contact me on 07720 953451 if you are interested in finding out more. Support and full training will be provided.

GMB are working every day to make every day at work better!!

Jim Edgar

GMB National Convenor

Posted on: 20 September 2022

Dear GMB members

Welcome to the monthly update from the GMB as we continue to keep you informed of the matters that we are currently dealing with on behalf of our members in Geo Amey.

1.PAY TALKS UPDATE

The JNCC met with the Company at Birmingham VB on the 15th of September 2022 to continue the pay talks.

The company have tabled a number of options for the JNCC to consider and these options are based around employee's service.

We are committed to achieving an offer that benefits as many members as possible so your negotiating team raised various questions in regard to the Company's financial position and are awaiting this information before proceeding further.

Once we have secured the best offer possible, we will be balloting our members on their options.

There is another meeting scheduled for the 28th of September 2022

First Line Managers pay discussions will be held separately and further information will follow soon.

2.ASSAULT ON DUTY POLICY UPDATE.

The GMB has met with the Company to discuss amendments to the AOD process.

This will, going forward, involve a panel who will look at all applications for the AOD payment and this panel will include representation from the GMB. This will ensure that all our members get a fair hearing and that the process is dealt with as speedily as possible.

3.VEHICLE BASE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS PROJECT

The GMB are involved in discussions with the company around shift patterns and members work life balance.

The project is to see whether officer's preferences for particular shifts( ie. Am's,,Pm's , MOT etc.) can be facilitated within the rostering model.

This would improve work life balance and ease pressures around officer's personal situations.

This project is currently being trialled at Birmingham VB. We will keep you updated on any developments.

4.SAFETY AND SECURITY MEETINGS

These meetings are still continuing, and the committee are reviewing all incidents and publicising any findings that can help reduce the number of occurrences.

The GMB want to ensure that staff injuries are reduced and that staffing levels are adequate and relevant to the number of defendants in custody.

5, GMB REPS VACANCIES

We Currently have vacancies for Reps at both Hull area and Manchester area. Full training is provided by the GMB and if you are interested in either position, please contact Jim Edgar on 07720 953451.

6.DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS

Just a reminder for all members. If you receive an invite to a Disciplinary meeting, can you ensure you contact your rep as a matter of urgency to ensure representation at your meeting. All our reps are operational and need as much notice as possible to obtain release to support YOU. We want all our members to get the support of YOUR UNION.

GMB are working every day to make every day at work better!!

Jim Edgar,

GMB National Convenor

Posted on: 16 November 2022

Dear members,

We want to thank everyone who voted in the recent pay ballot.

It was a very close result, with 51% voting in favour to accept the offer.

It was hoped that if a Yes vote was returned that payments would have been made in the November pay-run.

Although the offer was accepted, we were unfortunately unable to meet the payroll deadline for November due to a number of unforeseen factors.

In recognition of the current cost of living pressures on members, the Company has agreed to bring forward the pay date for December to Wednesday 21^st when you will receive the increased rate of pay and the value of the backdated element of the increase from 1^st September.

FLLM pay talks, which have also been delayed due to illness and absence, are due to start shortly.

Yours in union,

GMB NNC GMB National Officer