Protect trade union secondments at Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is proposing to slash the funding for trade union secondments, funds which release trade union representatives from their day jobs in order to represent members, offer guidance and negotiate on behalf of all Council staff.
Portsmouth City Council is legally obliged to pay trade union reps for the time they spend representing the workforce, but properly funded secondments simplify arranging time off and cover. By slashing secondment funding the Council will increase costs, create long delays in resolving workplace issues and expose themselves to legal challenges. The trade unions themselves have offered to negotiate with the Council and put forward their own suggestions for reducing costs but these were rejected.
It is a false economy as by removing from the budget the relatively small costs of providing the secondments, the Council will increase its overall expenditure. They will be exposed to costly Employment Tribunal and personal injury claims which would otherwise have been prevented through the guidance and involvement of seconded representatives; statutory formal procedures will take longer to complete as the Council fails to find trade union stewards available to participate; collective agreements formed by employer and trade unions on behalf of the staff, which benefit both the Council and the employees, will not be reached as trade union representatives are unlikely to be easily released by their local manager to work on these or get their existing work covered in their absence.
At a time of unprecedented job losses in the public sector the Council wants to remove the protection, reassurance and independent advice that Council staff receive from their trade unions.
Portsmouth City Council is one of the largest employers in the city, it needs it seconded trade union representatives to function. By signing this petition you can show your support for the Portsmouth City Council staff and their elected trade union representatives and help us fight this politically motivated attack by the Council.