It comes weeks after details of a dispute over pay between Gigabit Field Force, a subsidiary of JT, and some workers tasked with installing superfast broadband emerged.
Some workers claim they have not been paid for some hours worked while the company says that the problems have been due to timesheets being incorrectly filled out.
- 58.2% – Island students gaining five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths in 2011
- 463 – Sanctions applied to work shy jobseekers by Social Security in October to December 2013
- 70 – Premises connected to the fibre-optic network last week
- 3,103 – Number of empty properties recorded in the 2011 census
A number of protests have been held by the workers and JT hit back by claiming that some members of staff had been deliberately failing jobs but still claiming payment for them.
On Tuesday in the States, Deputy Sam Mézec asked Treasury Minister Alan Maclean what powers he had to ‘step in’ and make sure the workers were paid and could put food on the table.
‘We need action right away,’ he said.
Senator Maclean said that having attended meetings with JT and HR representatives, he had written to the head of global regions at CH2M Hill, who are contracted to do the work on behalf of Gigabit Field Force, in the US, who are due to visit Jersey during the next month.
‘I was assured there would be no further suspensions,’ he said. ‘Gigabit Field Force are continuing to work, 70 connections were made last week – the highest since the project started.
‘I don’t dispute there are some issues, but that is why CH2M Hill are visiting.’
‘I was also pleased to see that some clients of the Health and Social Services Department who were in group homes now come under Andium Homes and are tenants in their own right, which is a big step forward.’
(Housing Minister Anne Pryke describes how impressed she has been with Andium Home’s work to date)
‘I do not think we are neglecting our duty in looking after these people with sanctions. They have put themselves in this position against the advice of their advisors and mentors.’
(Social Security Minister Susie Pinel says that despite the high number of sanctions that have been applied to jobseekers, they are supported by the department in finding work)
‘Will the Minister find a viable way of implementing this tax? Hopefully it would never be used but be there as an incentive so property is put to good use so we can home these Island families.’
(Deputy Montfort Tadier asking the Housing Minister Anne Pryke if she would consider introducing an empty property tax in Jersey)
‘While I am not prepared to make any commitments one way or the other, I did indicate to residents, and I would indicate to Members of this Assembly, that I would consider it very unlikely that anybody in the position of Planning Minister would not undertake a site visit before determining anything as significant as the Gas Place application.’
(Environment Minister Steve Luce reassures States Members that he is likely to visit Gas Place before deciding whether or not to allow a 300-home development to be built in the area)
Deputy Geoff Southern asked if the minister was aware of a ‘series of communication problems’ between all the parties, and Deputy Andrew Lewis said that CH2M Hill appeared to have underquoted for the work.
‘The Deputy is talking about a commercial arrangement,’ said Senator Maclean. ‘CH2M Hill may have underquoted, but that is a matter for them. There is a contract in place, JT were astute and it is a good contract to ensure that the Island has fibre. In a digital economy, that is critically important.’
In the longer term, Deputy Southern asked if the minister consider the memorandum of understanding between JT and the States to have failed, and was there a way to make sure that good standards of employment practice were applied on behalf of the States as shareholder.
‘I’m not convinced that I am satisfied,’ replied the minister. ‘It is under review, together with all the assets held by the States. This memorandum has not been reviewed since 2006.
‘These workers are not JT staff and I accept that Gigabit Field Force is a recruitment firm, but there is a moral, if not legal, obligation and we expect all companies to act in a responsible way.
‘There have already been some issues with zero-hours contracts and if there is misuse it needs to be addressed.’
Responding to Deputy Mézec’s claims that workers were being brought in from outside the Island, Senator Maclean said he regarded it as ‘hearsay’ but would establish what the licence arrangements were and look into the matter further.
EDUCATION is making a concerted effort to raise GCSE results in Jersey above those in the UK, according to the Education Minister.
Deputy Rod Bryans told Members that Island results had been consistently higher than the UK for over a decade up until 2011, when the number of students in the UK gaining five GCSEs at grades A* to C, including maths and English, reached 59 per cent – ahead of Jersey’s 58 per cent for the first time.
Answering a question from Deputy Montfort Tadier, Deputy Bryans said that several main areas were being targeted for improvement, including standards, curriculum and school autonomy, which would allow individual institutions to make their own decisions on certain matters. However all statistics needed a ‘major health warning’, he said, particularly in light of recent changes to the way results are calculated in the UK.
Deputy Geoff Southern asked about the emphasis on tests for phonics at aged six and twelve-times tables at 11, suggesting that it did not improve standards but had people ‘jumping through hoops’.
Deputy Jackie Hilton asked whether there was any evidence to show that children from families where English was a second language were at a disadvantage and asked the minister to consult head teachers on the subject.
- ALL but two Members were present for the sitting, despite the snow, although six arrived after the 9.30 start time.
- St Helier Deputies Mike Higgins and Russell Labey were en défaut.
- The Bailiff, William Bailhache, was presiding.
Deputy Judy Martin wanted to know why it had taken until now to find out if standards had been falling behind since 2011, and suggested that Education had been guilty of ‘spin’. But the Education Minister said that all the results had been made available to the public and that there was no spin.
According to the department’s website the GCSE results for 2013/2014 were up and five per cent ahead of the UK’s, Deputy Southern said.
Asked by Deputy Montfort Tadier whether he would consider employing specialist maths teachers at primary level, the Education Minister said the department took a ‘holistic view’ of younger children and their families until they reached secondary school, when exams were taken into account.
THERE are no plans to introduce an empty property tax in Jersey, according to the Housing Minister.
Deputy Anne Pryke said it would be ‘cumbersome’ to introduce such a tax during States questions on Tuesday.
She made the comments after Deputy Montfort Tadier asked her whether she would support the move in an attempt to alleviate the Island’s housing shortage and to bring down rental prices.
‘In a short answer no,’ Deputy Pryke said, adding: ‘I think property owners have a social responsibility to ensure that their house is put into good use.
‘Properties are taxed through income tax and the parish rates system. A change for a small amount is quite cumbersome and would it achieve a lot?
‘The most important thing is to encourage supply.’
States Members heard that the 2011 census found there were 3,100 vacant properties in the Island.
Deputy Pryke said seven per cent of vacant homes were up for sale, six per cent belonged to someone who had died and five per cent were owned by someone in a care home.
IT was only the second sitting of the year, and maybe I’m being a little hasty. But it would have thawed things a little sooner if a few more of the newer States Members had not been frozen to their seats yesterday, pressed that enticing buzzer that turns on the red light and their personal microphone, and had their say. About whatever.
Not only does it cheer us old die-hards no end to hear a new voice, a fresh perspective, but it surely must help the electorate to have faith in Jersey’s democratic process if someone they voted for, or thought about voting for, is visibly having an influence.
The alternative, as we witnessed this week, is that the same people ask most of the questions, week after week, sometimes on similar subjects to those asked during a previous sitting (given that they are unlikely to get fullsome answers first time around). It’s not that I’m decrying Reform Jersey Members for making the effort – far from it. If it were not for their persistent, consistent interventions, Question Time would be a political desert.
To be fair, there are new voices coming through more frequently. For example, St Saviour Deputy Louise Doublet has already joined the ranks of women Members tabling sensible and well-targeted questions. This week her chosen subject was the price of housing for young people wanting to own their own home.
Female ministers had a less comfortable ride from Members who had warmed up. Social Security Minister Susie Pinel was again put through her paces, this time over financial sanctions applied to jobseekers who did not appear to be looking for work. Was it not inappropriately harsh, suggested Deputy Geoff Southern?
What about vulnerable families with children, left without rent or food, asked Deputy Judy Martin. Most were young people still living at home, the minister said. ‘I do not think it is punitive if a jobseeker is constantly encouraged to look for work.’
It was Deputy Montfort Tadier who found this a little difficult to accept. ‘Sanctions not punitive?’ he blustered, suggesting that the minister might like to give answers that did not ‘undermine the intelligence of Members’.
It was not too long before Housing Minister Anne Pryke was facing a similar barrage over the 3,000 or so empty properties around the Island, which Deputy Tadier suggested should be taxed. Several times Deputy Pryke tried to explain that many such properties were being renovated, were between tenants or their owners had died or were in care homes. And weren’t property owners already paying through income tax and rates?
‘You’re saying it can’t be done, rather than it can be done,’ retorted the exasperated questioner. ‘Unsatisfactory!’
Quite so. Painful and unsatisfactory all round, I’d say.
