Workers at council-run company in Norwich to vote on strike action
Union members at Norwich City Services Ltd want a 10% pay rise
Strike action is looming at a council-owned company after unions voted to reject a pay offer they described as “woefully inadequate”.
Union members at Norwich City Services Ltd (NCSL) – which is responsible for park and building maintenance in the city – were overwhelmingly in favour of supporting industrial action in the indicative ballot.
They have rejected an offer of 4.2pc rise, having called for a 10pc increase.
The vote was not on whether to strike or not but whether to reject the pay offer and if members would like to pursue a future strike.
In total, 100pc of NCSL Unison members and 93pc of Unite members rejected the offer.
NCSL is an arm’s length company owned by the Labour-controlled council.
As well as parks and housing maintenance, its responsibilities also include street cleaning, grave digging and house building, and other work previously done by Norfolk County Council-owned Norse, before the city council ended those contracts and workers moved to NCSL.
Unite, which represents about 200 workers at NCSL said staff needed higher pay while inflation has soared to around 9pc.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Norwich City Council are asking an already low paid workforce to take a pay cut – that’s simply unacceptable.
“This vote sends a clear signal that they need to think again about their woefully inadequate pay offer.”
Adam Oakes, Unite’s regional officer, accused the council of failing to deliver on promises to put in place the funding required to bring the wages of the lowest-paid NCSL workers up to that of its directly paid staff.
He added: “The next step will be holding a strike ballot, within the next month, with the aim of achieving a decent pay award for this dedicated group of workers who keep Norwich’s streets and parks clean, and repair the council’s housing stock.”
Green councillor Jamie Osborn has added to the criticism, arguing the council should not have allowed the situation to reach this stage.
Mr Osborn said the Labour administration has a responsibility to ensure that everyone who carries out work for the council is paid fairly and decently.
“A real-terms pay cut is unacceptable and these workers, who do frontline jobs keeping our city clean and safe, deserve better.”
NCSL has been contacted for comment.
Ahead of the ballot, a spokeswoman for Norwich City Services Ltd said it was an independent employer, setting its own strategy and pay, so it would not be appropriate for the council to be directly involved in the discussions.
She said talks with unions had been going on for many months.
She said: “NCSL’s offer for this year sees a 4.2pc pay increase – significantly higher than expected in most parts of the public sector – along with further enhancements to annual leave, pensions contributions and increased sick pay.”