Published: Thursday, 8th March, 2007 09:56
Anger over pay plan
By Tracy-Ann Carmichael
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FURIOUS council workers could be on a collision course with bosses over a controversial pay agreement.
Some workers could see their pay slashed by as much as £3,000 a year under the Single Status framework.
Argyll and Bute Council sent letters to 4,350 of their employees outlining proposals for a new pay and grading structure under the scheme.
The Single Status agreement was reached in 1999 as a way of resolving inequality in the pay and conditions of local authority employees across the country, with the aim of bringing the salaries of blue and white collar workers into line with a single set of pay and conditions.
But while some baseline workers, such as home-help staff, will see their salaries rise others stand to lose out.
Those who stand to lose cash are subject to a three-year wage freeze, where their salary plummets in the third year.
One irate clerical worker who contacted the Advertiser said: “I’m one of the lowest paid members of staff and I’ve been working for the council for 18 years.
`This is to be implemented in three years and I’ll basically be back where I was 10 years ago.
“We won’t be getting a cost of living rise either but people whose salary is going up will.”
The worker added: “Manual workers are losing bonuses and some people are losing benefits, morale is really low.”
A colleague added: “My salary is going down by over 10 per cent. Basically it’s been affecting the lower paid members of staff who are predominantly female, they are trying to resolve one inequality by enforcing another.
“They are saying that it’s out to consultation at the moment but morale is at an all time low at the moment.”
Council bosses insist that although some workers will be hit hard by the cuts, the measures are not aimed at cost-cutting.
They say a £1.6m sum has been ring-fenced to help fund the move but additional costs will be met by the reduction of 140 posts over the next three years.
The proposals are currently out to consultation, due to end on May 29, individuals who wish to have their jobs re-evaluated must appeal against the cuts by April 6.
Donald Brown is Chair of the Argyll and Bute branch of the public sector workers’ union Unison.
They were set to have consultation meetings with affected employees at the Commodore Hotel in a bid to fully outline the situation as the Advertiser went to press.
Mr Brown said: “Unison has agreed to absolutely nothing so there is no agreement other than the broad national agreement taken in 1999 which our members were balloted on.
“When the consultation ends on May 29 the council will make a final decision on the proposals in June.
`It’s at that stage that Unison will then be balloting the membership on whether to accept the proposals.
“If the membership tell us to accept it then we will do what they tell us, if they reject it we can only see one alternative, that being some sort of industrial action. What we will not comment on is what form that action will take.”
A spokeswoman for the authority said: “The biggest group of people losing out will be at the lower end of the pay scale simply because there are more people at this level but not everyone at the lower end is suffering from a reduction in their salary.
`So although the biggest groups suffering are at the lower end the greater individual loses will be incurred at higher levels, with some losing between £4,000 and £5,000.
“The Council has put forward a proposed package which addresses the equality issues and strikes a fair balance among competing pressures.”
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