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Ports of Jersey and airport firefighters are still locked in a row over pensions months after the dispute escalated to the point of potential industrial action.
Ports of Jersey told Express this week that it was in "dialogue" with the union after it emerged that an attempt to bring a legal claim against them failed. It said it was now considering "next steps".
The dispute centres on Ports of Jersey's decision to close the Public Employees' Pension Scheme to new members from January 2020.
New employees were instead offered what the union described as "a savings scheme that provides a finite sum and not a pension". National Secretary of Prospect Union Bob King described the changes as "hugely detrimental".
Ports of Jersey, however, defended the alternative scheme as a "good-quality pension" with employer contributions ranging from 5% to 10%.
In response, Prospect argued the Airport firefighters were the only group of eligible emergency service workers in the island to be denied access to the pension scheme – leaving them without the same protections afforded to ambulance staff, police, and civilian firefighters.
The union said in July that it would be balloting members in the "near future" about industrial action – leading Ports of Jersey to launch legal action against the union for 'opting out' of the agreed dispute resolution process.
However, a newly published judgment on the case, which was heard in September, shows that the matter ended in a stalemate – with the Employment Tribunal declining to back either side.
Instead, it said ruled that the pension row should be resolved through negotiations facilitated by the island's employment relations service, rather than through the legal route.
Contacted by Express, a Ports of Jersey spokesperson said its team were "continuing constructive dialogue with both Prospect and Unite unions, while we digest the judgement and consider the next steps."
Express also contacted Prospect, but did not receive a response at the time of writing.
Concerns about pension provision were first raised by a member of staff in April last year, with a formal grievance being lodged by Prospect in December 2023.
Discussions between the union and Ports of Jersey went through three stages of a four-stage resolution process earlier this year but broke down in February when Prospect opted out of the process.
They did this by announcing they would hold a vote among union members to decide whether to go on strike after a preliminary ballot included unanimous support for industrial action.
In May, Ports of Jersey argued that Prospect's decision to opt of the agreed process and pursue industrial action left them with no choice but to take legal action.
They also argued the union was violating a 2001 agreement that included a clause prohibiting strikes and brought the matter to the Employment Tribunal.
The position of Ports was that Prospect was bound to follow the four-stage procedure in the 2001 collective agreement and that its actions in failing to do so were "unreasonable".
Prospect countered that a 2015 agreement replaced the older 2001 framework and suggested bringing in a mediator from the Jersey Arbitration and Conciliation Service to help resolve the issue, which Ports of Jersey declined.
After a hearing in September, the Employment Tribunal ruled that neither the 2001 nor the 2015 agreements provided clear rules for resolving this kind of dispute and recommended that the parties use JACS to help move things forward.
The Tribunal also decided that the 2015 agreement replaces the older 2001 agreement, meaning that disputes over current terms should be handled according to the 2015 agreement's procedures.
Finally, the Tribunal found that neither side acted unreasonably.
Prospect's plan to vote on strike action, which was supported by 100% of their members in a preliminary vote, was not a breach of any agreement.
Similarly, Ports of Jersey's earlier refusal to engage in JACS mediation was not considered a violation of any terms either.
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