Ealing Borough Parking Attendant Strike Suspended
Hopes raised of a deal between Serco and civil enforcement officers
'Parking free for all' may not be happening in Ealing borough
Civil enforcement officers employed by Serco on behalf of Ealing Council are suspending their industrial action due to the prospect of a successful conclusion to talks.
A two week strike was due to take place beginning this Monday (2 August) but the first two days of strike action will not now take place.
Forty five civil enforcement officers (CEOs), who are employed by outsourcing giant Serco on the Ealing council parking enforcement contracts, have been taking strike action since early May.
Unite the Union says that the company has offered severance agreements to Unite representatives and lay members, in order to undermine collective consultation and also over the company’s refusal to negotiate on their absence policy.
This follows recent successful talks at conciliation service Acas. The union says the decision to suspend the first two days of strike action is to secure a written agreement with Serco on bullying and harassment, as well as a formal agreement that the company’s absence policy is only used as an absolute last resort to dismiss a worker.
If agreement can’t be reached in these areas then the planned walkout from Wednesday 4 August until Sunday 15 August will go ahead as planned.
Unite regional officer Clare Keogh said, “Talks at Acas this week were highly productive and therefore Unite has agreed to suspend the first two days of strike action.
“Unite is hopeful that this will create a window where the union and Serco can hammer out the final details of a deal to finally end this dispute.
“However, if this proves to be impossible then sadly strikes will begin again from next Wednesday which will create fresh disruption to Ealing’s residents.”
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July 31, 2021