Tracey Vallois resigns as Deputy Chief Minister

Wednesday 12 December 2018

Senator Tracey Vallois has resigned as Deputy Chief Minister and Chair of the board responsible for fixing public sector employees’ pay and terms and conditions in order to focus on her role as Education Minister, it has been announced.

Chief Minister John Le Fondre confirmed the news about Senator Tracey Vallois in a statement this afternoon, adding that Senator Lyndon Farnham, Minister for Economic Development, will replace her as Deputy Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister said that it was with "reluctance" that he accepted her resignation, but claimed that he was aware of the difficulties for the Senator of managing three senior government roles at the same time.

Senator Tracey Vallois' departure from the States Employment Board (SEB) comes amid continuing tensions over pay, which resulted in a strike on Friday.

Pictured: Chief Minister John Le Fondre said that he reluctantly accepted the Senator's resignation as his Deputy.

This afternoon she explained that balancing the roles had been "challenging" and that her focus, as pledged during her election campaign, was firmly on the island's education system.

“The first six months of the new government has been challenging and I am pleased to have supported the Chief Minister during this time with the wide remit of three roles. Now that the Common Strategic Policy has been agreed, with Education a common theme throughout, it is right that I now devote all of my efforts in this area. I stood for Senator with the aim to become Minister for Education, and delivering the ambitious objectives of the Department will be a full-time commitment for me and all of its dedicated staff," Senator Vallois said.

“Throughout my time in politics I have provided consistent and appropriate challenge, in order to ensure rigour and quality assurance of the government and its policies, and this will continue. I will also continue to support the Chief Minister, and work alongside all Ministers across areas of governance and reform, to ensure that we govern in the interests of all islanders.”

Early on as SEB Chair, she was tasked with responding to the findings of a damning report, which revealed an endemic culture of “bullying” within the States, but has more recently focused on leading negotiations over public sector pay rises.

Senator Vallois had on numerous occasions stated a commitment to iron out historical inconsistencies over equal pay for work of equal value between employee groups, and pledged to work constructively to reach an agreement with unions, who had been asking for pay increases in line with rises in the cost of living.

Pictured: Senator Vallois said that she was stepping down in order to focus full-time on her work improving the island's education system, which she had firmly committed to during her election campaign.

However, funding pressures – specifically, a projected £30-40million black hole in public finances – complicated the issue.

The largest pay increases had originally been targeted at the lowest paid groups, but this was not accepted by unions.

In the end, nurses, midwives, manual workers and energy recovery facility workers were promised a restructured pay offer with all employees receiving the same percentage rise, while it was decided that civil servants, teachers and uniformed services would have the existing deal implemented without agreement.

As of last week, teaching assistants had their pay increases brought in line with teachers to rectify what was described as a “longstanding anomaly”. 

The Deputy previously said the SEB had attempted to “strike the best balance” between the “competing pressures” of recognising the impact on employees of having their wages fall out of step with inflation and States funding problems during what she described as “difficult and protracted negotiations”.

Commenting on the latest pay offer, Senator Vallois added: “We want the States to be a good employer, and that means ensuring that no individuals or groups are unfairly disadvantaged in their pay, terms and conditions.” 

Pictured: During her time in the top SEB role, Senator Vallois had to deal with revelations of bullying within the States of Jersey and a prolonged dispute over public sector pay, which resulted in a strike on Friday - alongside her Ministerial portfolio and role as Deputy Chief Minister.

Having had their first strike on Friday, unions say there could be more if the pay issue is not resolved. Senator Vallois’ resignation from the SEB could mean a solution is a longer way off, however.

An announcement about Senator Vallois' replacement in the SEB is expected shortly. Richard Buchanan, who is Assistant Chief Minister, will remain as Vice Chair of the SEB in the interim. 

The Chief Minister commented: "Senator Vallois has made me aware for some time of the onerous demands of three senior government roles during a significant period of change for the public sector. I have always known that her first priority is to her Education portfolio, and I have valued the contribution she has brought to her other government roles during the busy first six months of the new Council of Ministers.

“We have discussed this on a number of occasions in recent months, and I recognised that I was unlikely to be able to keep Senator Vallois in these cross-government roles over the longer term. It is therefore with reluctance that I accept that the time has come to accept her stepping down as Deputy Chief Minister and her resignation from the States Employment Board.

“I am grateful to her for the rigour she has brought over the past six months to the pay and modernisation agenda through the States Employment Board. I also value and thank her for her support to me as Chief Minister and look forward to continuing to draw on her energy and expertise in the Council of Ministers as Jersey’s Minister for Education.”

Pictured: Senator Lyndon Farnham, Minister for Economic Development, will now become Deputy Chief Minister.

Senator Lyndon Farnham, meanwhile, said that he was "honoured" to take on his new role as Deputy Chief Minister.

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