Wiltshire Council scrapping changes to unsocial hours policy
The issue's led to strike action by traffic wardens and social care staff
Proposed changes to unsocial hours pay for some Wiltshire Council staff are being scrapped by the authority's new Chief Executive.
Unions claimed the policy would have led to a real terms pay cut for workers including traffic enforcement officers and those in the social care department.
They've taken strike action in recent months calling for the changes to be withdrawn.
Wiltshire Council's new Chief Exec, Lucy Townsend, has been meeting with unions and decided to scrap the changes to terms and conditions.
There'll instead be a priority on making services more efficient and cost-effective, with discussions focussed on consistent standby and callout procedures.
Lucy Townsend said: “I’m really pleased with how constructive the meeting was, and the response received to the decision I have made.
“We must be mindful of potential legislative changes being made by the new government which we do not fully know the details of yet, and given this has been ongoing for 32 months, I feel that now is the right time to try a new approach. Being new in post, I need to decide what my priorities will be in my new role, and I don’t believe that continuing with this long-running dispute is in the best interests of the organisation at a time when we need to deliver the best services for residents of Wiltshire.
“I am withdrawing our proposed changes to the current unsocial hours policy. While the business reasons for making changes to this policy remain valid, I have been clear with the unions that we may need to revisit policies in the future, but for now I want to prioritise discussions on consistent standby and callout approaches.
“While the savings proposed in relation to unsocial hours were not included in this year’s budget, they had been anticipated in future years and we will therefore need to consider alternative savings proposals with the unions, which we’ll discuss with them in due course.
“This has been a protracted issue, and I hope that this new approach will allow us to move forward positively and reset the relationship with the unions."
Andy Newman, GMB branch secretary, said:
"We welcome the constructive outcome of today's meeting. GMB members have been in dispute with Wiltshire Council for nearly three years now. It will therefore be a great relief to our members that the council has withdrawn the proposal to change their unsocial hours payments, and the dispute is now over.
"GMB looks forward to working together with Wiltshire Council in a spirit of mutual cooperation to find solutions that work for both the council and staff."
Michael Sweetman from Unison, said:
“Unison welcomes the council’s decision to remove the threat of “fire and rehire” which has been hanging over these groups of staff for over a year. Unison will always be opposed to this practice and are aware of the new government’s intention to remove this option for employers. We are glad that the council are taking a more considered approach and we will be working with them to protect our members interests.”