Sefton council dispute ends

Talk at the ACAS employment advisory and conciliation service last month saw the settlement of a long-running dispute between the UNISON public services union and Sefton council on Merseyside.

Sefton UNISON branch convenor Nigel Flanagan and branch organiser Paul Summers were sacked in November following the union's successful campaign against the privatisation of council housing.

Their dismissal came after a four-month disciplinary hearing arising from their presence at a Defend Council Housing protest in Bootle in May. Union lawyers described the disciplinary process as "seriously flawed".

And UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis declared the sackings a "disgraceful act" by a council which had spent £5 million of council taxpayers' money on its privatisation campaign.

The ACAS talks resulted in the two sides agreeing undisclosed compensation for Nigel Flanagan, while Summers was reinstated. The council also accepted that Summers could continue as a union official and that there would be no victimisation.

Council staff had staged a series of strikes in support of their sacked colleagues, and several unions boycotted Sefton's conference centre in Southport.

UNISON's North West regional secretary, Frank Hont, said: "We have also agreed to work, under the guidance of ACAS, to create a better relationship with Sefton council as that relationship has not been good."