Temporary staff to cover strike action

Post by **rogersh** » 12 Sep 2017, 16:17

Where employees take strike action, can their employer hire temporary staff to cover their work?

We continually use Angard (outsourced to reed recruitment) staff at our RDC & I became aware today staff from another Agency are being given shifts again !!.

If we take strike action what would prevent Royal Mail increasing the number of Agency staff, Especially over xmas period when numerous casual staff are also given temporary fixed term contracts, & how would the numbers be monitored ? Bit of a grey area, for me anyway.

Copy & pasted the following; (I assume this information is currently correct)

Regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/3319) precludes the provision of temporary workers to perform the duties normally performed by a worker who is taking part in a strike or other industrial action. An employment business supplying workers in these circumstances will be committing a criminal offence, and the employer could be found to be aiding and abetting that offence.

The restriction does not apply if strike action is unofficial (ie is not endorsed by a union) or where the employment business providing the temporary worker does not know about the industrial action and has no reasonable grounds for knowing about the industrial action.

The Regulations do not prevent an employer from directly employing temporary employees on fixed-term contracts to cover the work of employees on strike, rather than hiring agency workers.

datasaint · Post by **datasaint** » 12 Sep 2017, 16:31

It's immaterial anyway, the way the strikes will be structure rolling across different functions having an army of agency staff isn't going to be effective or practical.

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 12 Sep 2017, 16:33

They alwaysl use casuals to clean up the mess in processing, it's a costly business though and not without security risks so it's not a free pass for royal mail. They won't directly replace striking staff but legally there's nothing stopping them resourcing the backlog any way they want. Like I said though it costs...

rubberbond · Post by **rubberbond** » 12 Sep 2017, 16:54

fishtank wrote:They alwaysl use casuals to clean up the mess in processing, it's a costly business though and not without security risks so it's not a free pass for royal mail. They won't directly replace striking staff but legally there's nothing stopping them resourcing the backlog any way they want. Like I said though it costs...

It does cost you're quite right and as they are or will be desperate,the price will go up,it's a sellers market.
I wonder if the cost of all this propaganda they keep sending out in a desperate attempt to prevent strike action has been costed somewhere?

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 12 Sep 2017, 17:05

rubberbond wrote:
fishtank wrote:They alwaysl use casuals to clean up the mess in processing, it's a costly business though and not without security risks so it's not a free pass for royal mail. They won't directly replace striking staff but legally there's nothing stopping them resourcing the backlog any way they want. Like I said though it costs...
It does cost you're quite right and as they are or will be desperate,the price will go up,it's a sellers market.
I wonder if the cost of all this propaganda they keep sending out in a desperate attempt to prevent strike action has been costed somewhere?

Probably Moya's mind but other than that NO.

NWpostie · Post by **NWpostie** » 12 Sep 2017, 22:14

Maybe you can get anyone to push letters through doors, it's a different matter to drive Royal Mail vehicles as there is the changeover training, compulsory licence checks, security checks reminders, driving qualifications, not all have licences even less have 7.5t or HGV qualifications, .

Post by **stephen500** » 13 Sep 2017, 00:58

In the past I have found once the dispute is over that Rm will not pay any OT to clear the backlog. They try to make us pay by bringing in casuals to clear

parforthewalk · Post by **parforthewalk** » 13 Sep 2017, 22:05

stephen500 wrote:In the past I have found once the dispute is over that Rm will not pay any OT to clear the backlog. They try to make us pay by bringing in casuals to clear

Yes...and either way it will still cost them, which serves them right!

No fight to pick..blah..blah!..they are the ones that have chosen to attack us (our t&c's etc)..They will soon be reaping what they have sown!

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 13 Sep 2017, 22:23

parforthewalk wrote:
stephen500 wrote:In the past I have found once the dispute is over that Rm will not pay any OT to clear the backlog. They try to make us pay by bringing in casuals to clear
Yes...and either way it will still cost them, which serves them right!

No fight to pick..blah..blah!..they are the ones that have chosen to attack us (our t&c's etc)..They will soon be reaping what they have sown!

Yep they sought that fight and have been doing since the ink was drying on the last agreement the gloves are off bring it on!