Mudchute staff won't rule out fresh strikes

Both management and staff have agreed to seek negotiations through ACAS, and are fixing a date in the next few weeks.

GMB union official Kathy McTasney said: “Everything is still up in the air.

“The situation has not got any better in the last week. Hopefully we’ll meet with ACAS and thrash the problems out.

“If not, there will be further strikes because we don’t know what else to do.�

At last Thursday’s AGM, members suggested the introduction of a community member onto the board of trustees, and the union is currently looking at ways to change the Mudchute Association’s constitution to allow this.

It also wants a community user’s group which will propose ideas and share information about the park. Mudchute management have already pitched this idea to the Association of Island Communities in its bid to strengthen ties with the local community.

Kathy McTasney said: “What matters is getting proper communication flowing and restoring the trust between union members and management for the good of the community.�

Serving trustees Peter Fordham, Terry Lyle and Howard Wynne have been re-elected unopposed for a further three years, and chairman Martin Young has pledged to “seek to improve� services to the local community.

Mudchute Association chief executive Andrew Johnston observed that Mina Bowater’s appointment to the board of trustees was ratified by the AIC, and that therefore a community representative is already in place.

But he welcomed the “full and frank exchange of views� at last week’s meeting.

He said: “We need to work harder to engage with the local community.

“What I’ve always wanted to do is to offer Mudchute as a place for people to meet, interact and do things.

“The feeling is that we’ve focused too much on the corporate side. But we needed to do that to generate enough revenue to protect jobs, and I think we’ve been quite successful.

“As long as everyone’s willing to talk to each other, I’m confident that there will be no reason for another walkout.

“I don’t think they achieve anything, and we only do damage to our own reputation and to the people that use our facilities.�