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Council staff face showdown over forced 3000 pay cuts

HUNDREDS of council workers may be balloted over industrial action after being told their pay will be cut by up to 3000.

Around 850 staff at West Lothian Council will see their salaries reduced as part of a massive review of local authority wage structures. The remainder of the council’s 6000 workers will get paid more, or stay the same.

But the decision has provoked anger among staff and union leaders have instructed unhappy workers not to sign new contracts. They refused to rule out a ballot on industrial action over the issue.

The wage restructuring is part of a nationwide reassessment of pay in local authorities. The unrest in West Lothian will concern staff at Edinburgh City Council, where negotiations between employer and unions are ongoing. They are expected to finalise details of a deal in the coming weeks.

Council staff in East Lothian are being consulted on similar plans, which will see around 500 staff suffer pay cuts, while initial talks have begun in Midlothian.

Unison, which represents public sector workers, is advising West Lothian staff to refuse to sign new contracts, after failing to reach an agreement with the council.

But council officials insist anyone who does not sign will have their contracts terminated and be re-employed under new contracts anyway.

One IT worker, with more than ten years’ experience, was told yesterday his salary would be cut by 11 per cent, or around 2900. He said around 90 per cent of his colleagues in the department faced pay cuts.

He said: “We were all shocked. It’s a kick in the teeth for people who have been here for some time. These jobs are really specialised, but we’re ending up with the wages we started with.

“I’ll be losing 233 a month - almost my mortgage payments. We’ve had no consultation.”

All jobs have been re-evaluated, with around 14 per cent of employees being “red-circled” meaning their pay will be reduced. Most staff affected will not be paid at the lower rate immediately, but will have their pay “protected” for up to four years, meaning their pay will be frozen over that time.

A Unison spokesman said: “We are disappointed West Lothian seems to be seeking to engineer a dispute with its workforce on this issue, instead of continuing negotiations towards an agreement.

“We will resist the imposition of unilaterally decided contracts by any means open to us, including litigation and/or industrial action should this be appropriate.”

Peter Johnston, the leader of West Lothian Council, said all local authorities were in a difficult position over introducing the new structures, which are meant to ensure equal pay for all jobs of a similar standing. The review was prompted by multi-million-pound equal pay claims by mainly women workers who have been paid less than men in similar grade jobs.

Mr Johnston said: “We have done everything possible to get a deal with Unison. The ‘red-circled’ employees

will have a protected salary for up to four years, and we will be trying to see if they can do some retraining so they can move up and out of the red circle.”

He said only a “tiny minority” of staff would lose 3000.

Staff are being asked to sign contracts by June 22, and the new pay structures will be introduced in October.