2012 Olympic Games staff grievance procedure agreed

The London Olympic Committee has agreed on a grievance procedure with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) in order to minimise the disruption caused by any employment disagreements that may happen during the games in 2012.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) have made sure they have a grievance procedure in place for workplace disagreements after other major sporting events have suffered from badly handled disputes.

The most recent example is the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Workers staged large protests outside stadiums over their low wages, and there were clashes with riot police. LOCOG hope that by having an agreed and suitable procedure in place, these kind of scenes can be avoided in London next year.

A grievance procedure, which is usually accompanied by a disciplinary procedure, is a set procedure put in place by an employer that employees can use if they have a complaint about their working conditions or employment.

Acas is an organisation that specialises in resolving in workplace disputes. They produce the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Although an employer is not legally obligated to have a grievance procedure in place, an Employment Tribunal can penalise them if they do not follow the Acas Code of Practice.

The agreed grievance procedure for the 2012 Games covers day-to-day issues and will apply to the entire on-site workforce, including the 70,000 volunteers. However, it will not overrule any agreement in place between trade unions and companies that are working on the site.

The parties hope the procedure will allow any grievances to be dealt with “fairly and speedily”.

The procedure, officially named the Games-Time Grievance Resolution Protocol, was signed by LOCOG chairman Lord Coe, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, and Acas chair Ed Sweeney on Wednesday the 16th February.

Barber said “practical problems” were going to be “inevitable” at the Games but that the agreement will help to ensure that London 2012 is a “huge success” for employees and visitors alike.

Lord Coe said: “smooth and stable industrial relations are vital for any major event.”