The purpose of this Agreement is to establish the relationship between the Management and the Association and to provide the machinery for dealing with matters arising between the parties.

2.1 It is the intention of this agreement to maintain and further good industrial relations between the Company and the Association.

2.2 The Company and the Association have a common objective in ensuring the prosperity of the Company for the benefit of both the Company and its employees.

2.3 The Company recognises the Association's responsibility for representing its members' interests and recognises its right at all reasonable times to communicate and consult with employees on matters concerned with or relevant to their employment.

2.4 The Association recognises the Management's right to plan, organise and manage the operation of its establishments and its responsibility to communicate with and consult employees on matters which are relevant to their employment.

2.5 The Company agrees that before any alteration on the locally determined Conditions of Employment or major changes in establishing work practices are implemented, it will consult the Association and resolve any consequent issues through the negotiating procedure outlined in this Agreement.

2.6 The Company and the Association agree to refrain from coersive (sic) action until the procedure outlined in this Agreement has been exhausted.

2.7 This agreement is not intended to be legally enforced nor does it constitute an amendment to contract or in anyway modify the terms and conditions of employment of the employees affected. However, the parties do intend the agreement to be binding on them and will take all practical steps to ensure its full observance.

2.8 The association will not involve the employees in any industrial sanctions resulting from matters arising elsewhere inside or outside the Company, except as provided for under the rules of the Association or when such action is the clearly expressed wish of the employees concerned.

The parties to this Agreement are committed to the development of policies to promote equal opportunity in employment regardless of workers sex, sexual orientation, marital status, creed, colour, race or ethnic origins. This principle will apply in respect of all conditions of work including pay, hours of work, holiday entitlement, overtime, shiftwork, work allocation, guaranteed earnings, sick pay, pensions, recruitment, training, promotion and redundancy.

The Management undertake to draw opportunities for training and promotion to the attention of all eligible employees.

The parties agree that they will review, from time to time, through their joint machinery, the operation of this equal opportunity policy.

If any employee considers that he or she is suffering from unequal treatment on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, marital status, colour, creed, race or ethnic origins, he or she may make a complaint which will be dealt with through the agreed procedures.

4.1 The Management recognises the Association as the trade union having the right to represent members employed on the West Gorton site and negotiate on behalf of staff up to and including GSS17 employed on the West Gorton site excluding those for whom other bargaining arrangements exist.

4.2 The Company welcomes membership of the Association by the employees covered by this agreement, although it is recognised by both parties that membership of the Association is not a condition of employment and members of the Association agree to work with other employees who are not members of the Association.

4.3 The Company undertake to advise new starters of the negotiating arrangements current in the employee categories covered in this agreement and will permit representatives to meet new employees (covered by the bargaining arrangements outlined in 4.1) within their constituency in order to discuss membership of the Association. This will normally take place during the induction programme.

4.4 The Company also undertakes to provide the Association with names of new starters in the bargaining units covered by this agreement.

4.5 The Company agrees to extend facilities for the deduction of Association subscriptions at source to employees covered by this agreement. The recovery of any arrears of payment will be the sole responsibility of the Association and the operation of this clause will be governed by the terms of "check off" arrangements agreed between National Officials of the Association and ICL Corporate Management.

5.1 The Association will elect and the Company will recognise representatives to adequately represent the members defined in 4.1. The number of representatives will be 11. Deputies may be appointed for representatives in the Drawing Office and Security.

5.2 The Association will notify the Company in writing of the name and area of responsibility of each elected representative and deputies as specified in paragraph 5.1.

5.3 The Company will not accept representations on behalf of the Association members defined above other than through this agreement and by the recognised representatives or deputies as specified in paragraph 5.1.

5.4 Representatives and deputies specified in 5.1 will be accorded reasonable facilities by the Company to enable them to perform their representative functions. They will, however, co-operate with their Manager in minimising the effect of their representational duties on their normal work activities. To this end each will inform his/her supervisor that they will be absent from their normal place of work and will observe the normal courtesies on entering other departments, co-operation in both cases will not be unreasonably witheld.

In all other respects they will confirm (sic) to the same working conditions as their fellow employees, in particular, actions taken by a representative or deputy in good faith within the terms of this Agreement and within the Association's rules in pursuance of his/her representational duties shall in no way affect his/her employment with the company.

5.5 The Company agrees to provide, at mutually convenient times during working hours, accommodation for committee meetings. For particular matters the committee can be increased, on request, by additional persons where specific expertise is required.

General meetings of members may be held with the prior agreement of Management on Company premises during normal working hours. Members will be expected to record time spent at such meetings using the normal time recording methods of their department or section. This will not alter the existing departmental practices.

An AGM will be allowed each year.

It is incumbent on both parties to ensure that grievances are resolved at the earliest possible stage of the Procedure and within the shortest possible timescales, every effort should be made to ensure that successive stages of the Procedure are invoked as soon as it is practically possible.

Stage 1 - Arrangements will be made between the representative and the appropriate Manager. The following will normally be present at such a meeting:

- Representatives for the department(s) or affected categories.

- Manager

- Representative of the Personnel Department.

Stage 2 - Arrangements will be made between the senior representative and the appropriate Senior Manager. The following will normally be present at such a meeting:

- As in stage 1 plus Senior Managers, Senior Representatives.

Every effort shall be made to resolve speedily all matters between the parties in the manner outlined above. In the event of continued failure to reach agreement then the matter shall be referred to the Works Conference stage of the Association/Engineering Employers Federation Procedure followed, if necessary, by a final local level meeting (ie a local conference held away from the site) on domestic matters, procedure is deemed to be exhausted at this stage if the matter remains unresolved.

The following procedure shall be established for dealing with grievances or other issues concerning individual members of the Association:

a) The individual concerned shall first endeavour to resolve the matter by direct approach to his/her immediate superior.

b) In the event of the issue remaining unresolved, the individual accompanied by a representative shall make reference again to his immediate superior accompanied by a representative of the Personnel Department.

c) In the event of the isssue (sic) remaining unresolved the individual accompanied by a representative shall make reference to the next appropriate more senior Manager accompanied by a representative of the Personnel Department.

d) In the event of the issue remaining unresolved, the individual accompanied by a Senior representative shall make reference to the next appropriate more senior Manager accompanied by a representative of the Personnel Department.

e) To pursue a question on which the Association has registered a 'failure to agree' at stage (d) above, it shall be referred to discussion at the Works Conference stage of the MSF/EEF procedural arrangements.

Either party may give six months notice of its intention to terminate their agreement provided that such notice is not given during the course of an industrial dispute between the parties.