Respect and Congratulations for Letchworth's town council staff

Philip Ross, former Town Mayor, praises and congratulates the six women who have won their employment tribunal.

I would like to write to add my congratulations and record my respect to the women who have won their employment tribunal against the HELP-run Letchworth Town Council. The case was always about how the women had been treated not just in their contracts but in their every day work under these people.

Employment judge slams 'unattractive' HELP-run council

The following was written by someone closely associated with the previous Letchworth Town Council, which lost office after a mendacious and concerted campaign by the HELP group, which now holds 22 of the 24 seats.

THE NEWS is out – and it is good news. Good has triumphed, and justice has prevailed. Six former female community staff of Letchworth Town Council have won their employment tribunal case. 
  This crisis for the council, led by solicitor George Ritchie, will prove an embarrassment not just for them but also for the town.Not only has the case gone against them, but it has revealed the dark, murky and spiteful workings of the HELP group. 
  We understand that all that the six women had originally asked for was that their previous agreements and contracts were honoured, and when this was rejected asked for the help of ACAS.   
  HELP refused. Instead, they told the women to sign a compromise agreement with clauses  that were so unreasonable that the solicitor paid for by HELP advised the staff not to sign it. They would have been gagged while HELP would be free to make any claims they liked. 
  Ritchie and HELP refused to amend it when asked, and instead threatened the staff with costs if they took it to an employment tribunal. In their political opinion the staff were not entitled to anything,  and they  threw the financial and institutional weight of council into supporting that position. A council supporter even heard Cllr Greener say they would fight staff in every  court in the land, regardless of the cost. 
  But the judge at the employment tribunal has said the complete opposite, stating that former councillors carefully considered the position, and the position taken by HELP was extremely 'unattractive'.

Remember when

We had an attractive roundabout  in the Town Centre ( Christmas tree in December ) and traffic flowed freely? Ah well,that's progress for you!