ALACE EXPANDS MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA TO INCLUDE ALL CHIEF OFFICERS
Following a decision at its annual general meeting on 30 June, ALACE has widened its membership criteria. All local government staff on chief officer terms and conditions are now among those eligible for membership. You can read more detail in the press release below.
ALACE announces widening of membership criteria
The trade union that represents chief executives and senior managers in local
government has expanded the membership criteria in its constitution to include all
staff serving under terms and conditions of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Chief
Officers of Local Authorities or under the equivalent conditions in Scotland.
The decision was taken at its Annual General Meeting, held remotely on 30 June.
Tracey Lee, who was re-elected as chairman of ALACE at the AGM, said “ALACE is
the only union focussed on meeting the needs of senior managers in local
government. Council structures have continued to evolve over time and our previous
rules inadvertently meant that some senior staff were not eligible for membership
even though they were responsible for dozens or hundreds of staff and large multi-million £ budgets. The AGM has supported a proposal from the ALACE Council that
anyone serving on terms and conditions for chief officers should be eligible for
membership.”
Ian Miller, who was re-elected as Honorary Secretary of ALACE, added “ALACE
membership was already available for the statutory office holders of chief finance
officer, monitoring officer and, in Wales, head of democratic services and their
equivalents in the various parts of the UK. It reflects the special protection
arrangements that they enjoy in statute. The AGM also approved extending eligibility
for membership to formally designated deputies of these statutory officer holders.”
Tracey concluded “In 2020-21 over 40% of our members accessed support around
employment issues from our experienced consultants or the popular paid for service
in respect of pensions. We also demonstrated the value of collective action in
working with Lawyers in Local Government and others to force a Government U-turn
on the exit payment cap regulations. Membership of ALACE remains the best
“insurance policy” for senior local government staff, both individually and as a
collective.”