Wiltshire traffic wardens to be reballoted for strike action
A row over unsocial hours pay has been ongoing for two years
Last updated 14th Feb 2024
Traffic wardens working for Wiltshire Council are to be reballoted for strike action, in a row over unsocial hours pay.
Members of the GMB union have been in a dispute with the authority for two years now.
Staff oppose the removal of a 10% allowance for working unsociable hours, which would see them each lose around £180 a month in their pay.
Traffic enforcement officers have already held walkouts for 11 days in both 2022, and 2023.
Andy Newman, GMB Branch Secretary said:
"Unbelievably, we are now at the second anniversary of this dispute, which was first raised in February 2022. The senior managers at Wiltshire Council, led by Terence Herbert, the Chief Executive, are determined to cut pay for the key front-line staff, despite Wiltshire Council boasting of their good financial position compared with other councils.
"Whereas any reasonable employer would have compromised by now, Wiltshire Council is threatening to ram the pay cuts through, using the unethical practice of "fire and rehire". Letting an industrial dispute continue for two full years is a sign of poor management.
"The council have offered to "protect" the pay until December 2027 for existing staff, which delays the pain, but doesn't stop it. However, they are using bullyboy tactics by making that pay protection conditional on staff voluntarily agreeing to the pay cut.
"GMB and other unions have warned Wiltshire Council that we believe that threatening staff over pay protection is unlawful, and even were it lawful it would be the desperate tactic of a cowboy employer. It is not too late for the council to withdraw this threat."
The reballot for possible strike action has to be carried out every six months.
Wiltshire Council response
Terence Herbert, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, said:
“We have been notified by the GMB union that they intend to hold a ballot for industrial action. At this stage no strike has been confirmed by civil enforcement officers and we remain committed to resolving this long-standing issue and have been working with our three unions, Unison, Unite and GMB, for over two years to achieve this. The protracted nature of the issue has made this a difficult time for the staff impacted and everyone is very keen for this to be resolved.
“We are once again disappointed in the action GMB has taken by going down this route, given we remain in consultation. We have been seeking to reach collective agreement, but to date the unions have not provided any alternative feasible proposals. Throughout this process we have strictly adhered to employment law and always will.
“It is incorrect for GMB to state that the council has not compromised as following a working group which included all three unions, we made changes to our original proposal and included an offer of a four-year pay protection which the unions balloted their members on in September 2022. Unison and Unite did get a mandate to agree to these proposed changes. All unions agreed that a four-year pay protection was a generous offer when they balloted their members, however GMB then provided a recommendation to their members to reject the proposal. Despite entering into ACAS conciliated talks and having further discussions with our three unions, no alternative feasible proposal has come forward yet that would allow us to reach collective agreement, and this is why the process remains ongoing.
“Wiltshire Council's continued sensible financial management has put us in a strong position to meet the financial challenges facing many other local authorities, but the existing terms and conditions are not financially sustainable in their current form. We have a responsibility to spend our budget appropriately and we’re looking to pay staff for the actual hours they work during unsocial hours, as opposed to a flat percentage on their whole salary which is not a good use of taxpayers’ money.
“It’s important to note there will be no immediate dismissal and offer of re-engagement (also called “fire and re-hire”) despite GMB stating that this will be the approach. Our absolute preference still 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 open to alternative proposals that meet our business objectives.
“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.
“Our preferred approach to making any changes to terms and conditions is always through collective agreement. Therefore, we have continued consultation with all three unions to outline that we are still willing to consider alternative, reasonable proposals from them that could enable us to achieve this outcome.
“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.”