Wiltshire traffic wardens threaten second Christmas of strike action
It's alleged the Council's resumed a controversial 'fire and rehire' plan
Last updated 19th Oct 2023
A controversial Wiltshire Council plan could mean strike action by traffic wardens across the county this Christmas.
The Parking Enforcement Officers are preparing for industrial action over 'fire and rehire' plans, which would see an unsocial hours bonus removed.
The Council initially stood down the plans last year, after 10 days of walkouts.
GMB union members are preparing to walkout on November 4th, with further action not ruled out.
The union say the plan would see an unsocial hours bonus removed from staff’s contracts, something that can be up to 20% of an annual wage for some staff.
David McMullen, GMB Regional Organiser said in a statement:
“Our members took strike action last year to demand the council remove the threat of fire and rehire, and yet here we are again a year later.
“These are key workers within the council - traffic wardens, social workers and the like – whose jobs keep the county running and who cannot afford to lose 20 per cent of their wages.
“Last year the traffic warden strike in the run up to Christmas caused traffic chaos on the streets all over the county.
“Unless Wiltshire Council remove the threat of fire and rehire, we have to presume the same will happen again this year.”
Wiltshire Council response
In a statement, Terence Herbert, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, said:
“We have yet to receive notice from GMB of industrial action so it is disappointing to find out their intentions through the media. For strike action to be legal, notice must be provided at least 14 days before a strike starts.
“We remain committed to resolving this long-standing issue and have been working with the unions for 22 months to achieve this. The protracted nature of the issue has made this a difficult time for the staff impacted and they are very keen for this to be resolved.
“If the strike goes ahead, car park users should continue to pay for parking as normal, as all charges and restrictions remain in place and we will have staff monitoring the sites. We recognise the rights of GMB members to strike at this time, but do not feel that this action will help to move us forward to a resolution to this matter.
“Throughout this process we have strictly adhered to employment law and always will. We have been seeking to reach collective agreement, but to date the unions have not provided any alternative feasible proposals, although Unison and Unite did get a mandate to agree to the proposed changes.
"It’s important to note there will be no immediate dismissal and offer of re-engagement (also called “fire and re-hire”) despite the unions stating that this will be the approach. Our absolute preference remains to reach collective agreement but if this is not possible then we will seek to reach agreement with staff on an individual basis. We remain in consultation with the three unions and are open to alternative proposals that meet our business objectives. We have set up sessions with affected staff to provide them with all the information they need.
“For the sake of the wellbeing of our staff, and our need to ensure our policies are fit for purpose, we have also been clear that this matter cannot remain unresolved indefinitely. The existing terms and conditions are not financially sustainable in their current form, particularly the element that sees staff paid a flat rate on their whole pay for working unsocial hours rather than being paid for the actual hours worked. If our proposals are agreed then affected staff won’t see any changes to their pay for four years, as we have offered a generous pay protection, and we ensure all salaries are paid at the market rate in line with our pay policy.
“It is in everyone’s best interests that this is resolved as quickly and fairly as possible and we’ll continue to work hard to achieve this.”