- Ports of Jersey will be an incorporated company if the States approve the idea in June
- Deputy Geoff Southern wants to amend the proposal to protect jobs for three years
- Should staff have their jobs protected? Take part in our poll below
PUBLIC sector staff who are being transferred to the new incorporated company Ports of Jersey should be protected against possible redundancies or job losses during the first three years, says Deputy Geoff Southern.
The Deputy has this week lodged an amendment to the main proposition on incorporation asking States Members to approve a three-year ‘period of calm’, during which the former employees of Harbours and Airport will keep their right to apply for jobs in States departments.
The States is due to debate the full incorporation proposals for Ports of Jersey on 2 June.
In a report to the amendment Deputy Southern says that there have been ongoing concerns from staff representatives despite ‘extensive’ consultation between trades unions, Ports of Jersey and the States human resources department.
Although all workers are being transferred on their existing pay, terms and conditions – and have been assured there will be no redundancies as a result of incorporation – there may be a reduction in posts at any time ‘due to business, technology or process change’, he said in the report.
The report includes comments from Prospect union negotiator Bob King, who explained that currently, as members of the civil service, Ports workers could seek redeployment somewhere else within the public sector.
However, when Ports of Jersey became a company structure, they would automatically lose those rights. ‘Prospect’s position is that if there are redundancies that come up, those people should be allowed to go back into the redeployment pool and seek employment within the civil service as an alternative to redundancy, as they could do prior to the transfer.’
Mr King has also expressed reservations following the treatment of former Jersey Tourism workers, who were refused the right to the transfer of public sector employees policy (TOPSE) when Visit Jersey was set up.
At an Economic Affairs Scrutiny Panel hearing in March he described the tourism employees as ‘exceptionally unhappy’ and the transfer of the tourism department as ‘possibly the worst form of sell-off I have seen’.
It was made clear during a further Scrutiny Panel hearing this week that whereas Ports of Jersey will be incorporated as a wholly States-owned company, Visit Jersey has been set up as a grant-funded non-charitable purpose trust, similar to Jersey Finance, Digital Jersey and Jersey Business.
During Monday’s hearing the Economic Affairs Scrutiny Panel’s acting chairman, Deputy Simon Brée, questioned why Visit Jersey had not been set up as an incorporation and asked for the names of the trustees and guarantor.
At the time, Economic Development’s chief officer, Mike King, said he ‘did not recall’ those names, but the department has since confirmed that the trustees are accountant Philip Callow, former States Member Pierre Horsfall and retailer Gerald Voisin, and that the enforcer is recruitment specialist Charles Clarke.
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham also confirmed in the States on Tuesday that of the original staff, seven employees from Jersey Tourism had resigned and rejoined Visit Jersey; two were on secondment from Economic Development, three were on trial for redeployment and that five workers – possibly eight – would be made redundant at the end of May.
A TOTAL of 90,000 more people travelled through Jersey’s ports last year than in 2013.
Just over 2.2 million people went through the Island’s Airport and Harbour in 2014, which was a 4.4% increase on the figure for the previous year.
Sea passengers to and from the Island saw the biggest percentage increase, with nearly 20,000 more people travelling through the Harbour than in 2013, equating to a 6.21% rise.
Doug Bannister, Ports of Jersey chief executive, drew attention to the route development team’s work and the lack of bad weather as reasons for the success.
‘Our efforts in working with transport providers to increase capacity and product ranges have contributed to this success,’ he said.
‘We have seen a relatively quiet year in terms of operational disruptions and inclement weather affecting the ports in 2014, which can of course hinder passengers’ travel plans and therefore affect overall passenger numbers.’
