RHS please cut the
grass,
not your workers
Britain's army of amateur gardeners is being asked to rally
behind a hundred staff at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
threatened with the sack.
Unite says that large numbers of professional gardeners are in
fear of losing their jobs, tied houses and pension entitlements
under RHS restructuring plans and management is flatly refusing to
talk to their unions.
Unite has been pressing the RHS managers to halt the plans,
which are being forced through at a hurried pace, and instead begin
meaningful dialogue with the union over the changes.
However, the charity has flatly rejected appeals to the union
about its proposed Change Programme, which is seeking to cut posts
and change pensions and housing entitlements even though the RHS
returned a £3 million surplus last year.
Now, frustrated at the charity's refusal to discuss the impact
of the cuts on its workforce, Unite has launched an online campaign
to get the RHA to think again.
Unite represents the gardeners at
the RHS, most of whom earn £16,000 - £17,000 per year. Unite
estimates that there are around 12 senior managers at the RHS who
are paid between £60,000 and £120,000 salary each year. This
includes three managers on between £100,000 and £120,000, which is
three times as many as were employed by the RHA in the previous
year.
Sign our petition
"We, the garden lovers of the UK, appeal to the Royal
Horticultural Society (RHS) to think again on cuts that will see
100 workers lose their jobs and, in some cases, their
homes.
The RHS has a vital role in British life, supporting
national gardening standards and undertaking its historic duty to
provide education and training. But both will be hit if RHS
managers push on with damaging plans to cut jobs and reduce the
terms of already low paid but extremely dedicated
staff.
The RHS is a vibrant and successful organisation. Last
year it made a surplus of £3 million. As a charity, its job is to
work for the public good - it does not need to pursue an aggressive
programme of cuts which will damage its worldwide reputation for
excellence.
So we urge the RHS to please think again.
Cut the grass, not your workers."
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