Hansard Reads:
1.12 Deputy T.A. Vallois of St. Saviour:
I do not know where to start, to be honest. I am utterly confused by everything that has been said. One minute we have got the States Employment Board which should have done this, should have done that. Now they are saying in the future we should be doing this, we should be doing that. Why was it not done in the first place? Also Senator Ferguson mentioned about the facts. The facts: exactly what facts? Where are they? The States Employment Board has come to the Assembly today knowing the proposition was on the table. I have got nothing here to say to me in black and white, in evidence that there was any kind of negotiation between the States Employment Board and the unions. [Approbation] Nothing in front of me to say that economic downturn is definitely here in Jersey. I have heard so many times when we have been doing a review on the economic stimulus package how back in April even we were saying it is going to be real hard times in October. Real hard times. Now we are in October and we have reopened the review and now it is: “Nothing has changed.” That is what we are hearing in certain reviews from certain people. I am not saying that that is exactly what is going on all across the board but when you are hearing that kind of news it makes you think. You are getting mixed signals from everywhere. There is nothing here to say to me ... I cannot say that I believe anybody at this precise moment in time because I have nothing to say that anything has been done. No due process has happened. There is a reason why there are processes in place because we have identified that exactly the reason why government are so appalling at communication, not only between the people whether they are in the private or public sector out on the street but with our own employees. It just is absolutely shocking. We are talking about an economic downturn and how it started last year when Lehman Brothers went down. Our Scrutiny Panel was speaking to an economic adviser from London on Monday and the economic downturn started in February 2008 and the Lehman Brothers collapse was only an acceleration of that downturn. The question begs here to the States Employment Board, if there were signs of a downturn in February 2008, what was going on? I know that Jersey have a lag but we should still have picked up on that and looked at that at that precise time. I believe our employees and the union representatives are very reasonable and also sometimes the States Employment Board and the Council of Ministers can be reasonable. But the point here is that the process has not been followed. Something has gone wrong along the line. I feel like I have been misled with regards to the voting of taking the money away because I believe that the process was going to be followed and that it was followed. [Approbation] Now I do not have any evidence to say that that was the case. I voted for the money to be taken away. I now believe that I did the wrong thing. I can only apologise to the people because I do not have the information here. We are supposed to make decisions in this House based on informed debate. I am sorry but there is nothing here to tell me that anything has happened. There is nothing here to say that I should vote against this proposition because the way I see it is the process has not been adhered to. The way I see it is that we should allow this to go back to the drawing board and for this to be started again. It should have been done months and months ago but it is the same old situation with regards to communication. We are just no good at it. Senator Le Sueur mentioned yesterday with regards to a similar situation happening back in 1994/1995. Everyone knows that I am only young and I was only about 11 in 1994/1995. But I would just like to make the point that since 1994/1995 we have changed a lot of laws. We have changed a lot of regulations. In fact we now have human rights in Jersey. The thing is unless we communicate, unless we speak to the people, we do not know what effects we are putting on these people in the future. I just think it is very unfair for the Constable of St. Brelade to say that because of 2 propositions that were brought to this House was the reason for why these negotiations or this collective bargaining could not continue. Like I said, by law there is supposed to be minutes to say that the States Employment Board have met with unions. Where is the evidence again? I do not see that that has happened. If it has, I apologise to those if it has. But, like I say, nothing has been put on my table here to say that is the case. That is another thing as well. This proposition was done quite a while ago and we come in yesterday morning and the comments by the Council of Ministers, one sheet on our desks that morning. It is appalling. The only reason that they give, nothing states in those comments that they have had negotiations, that they have spoken to the unions, that they have sat down. I have got nothing there to say it is all because of the economic downturn. Then we are told, we are happy to carry on negotiations and free collective bargaining as from 1st January 2010. Then I am sitting in Corporate Services Panel hearings and hearing we are going to feel the effects of the downturn in the first 2 quarters of next year. Are we going to go through this again? Am I going to have to sit here and be the mediator between the States Employment Board and the union representatives because believe it or not I really do not want to be here and doing this again. The process has been absolutely appalling. I say shame on the Council of Ministers, shame on the States Employment Board for allowing this to come to the House. I will take responsibility for voting for the money to be taken away because I do not believe I was fully informed and I should have picked that up. Now I have picked it up I will be voting for this proposition.
Looks like CTV have some explaining to do??
http://www.statesassembly.gov.je/frame.asp
