East Riding of Yorkshire Leader defends pay and reward review
Cllr Jonathan Owen the £2.25m scheme was thoroughly scrutinised and debated
East Riding Council’s leader has defended spending £2.25m on a pay and reward review he said would protect staff despite trade union opposition.
Cllr Jonathan Owen, Conservative leader of East Riding Council, said the Total Pay and Reward review was thoroughly scrutinised and debated by councillors before its final approval.
Economy portfolio holder Cllr Jane Evison said concerns about staff were central to undertaking the review after the cabinet heard vacancies were empty for months because of below average salaries.
But Liberal Democrat opposition leader said that while a review was necessary, his group opposed the way it was handled, adding it would leave staff facing years of uncertainty.
Unison regional organiser Sarah Keig told LDRS union members felt Conservative and some independent councillors did not listen to their concerns when debating the issue.
It comes as councillors voted against noting the cabinet’s decision to launch the review with regret following a push from the Liberal Democrats.
Councillors debated the issue at their full meeting yesterday (Wednesday, February 23), which saw members of the Unison, Unite and GMB trade unions protest outside beforehand.
Cllr Nolan said the unions felt they had merely been informed the review was going ahead, rather than being consulted.
The opposition leader said: “We believe a review into pay and conditions is overdue, the trade unions support having one too.
“But workers have just come out of a pandemic and they now face two years of uncertainty because of this.
“We need another option which involves the trade unions.
“We debate discuss and debate this in the Overview Management and Scrutiny Committee, but if you’re only presented with one option then you end up with only one outcome.”
But Cllr Richard Meredith, of the Overview Management Scrutiny Committee which examined the review, claimed Cllr Nolan was spreading misinformation and that opposition members supported it when it was discussed.
Cllr Meredith said: “Our current pay and reward scheme dates from 1997, we’re one of the last authorities to use it.
“Neighbouring authorities are recruiting and retaining more staff than us, change is required.
“Saying that council tax payers will pay for this is a misnomer, our committee examined this for hours and it was clear this was the cheapest option on the table.”
Economy portfolio holder Cllr Jane Evison said cabinet members had also thorough examined and discussed the review before giving it the go ahead.
The portfolio holder said: “No one can disagree that this needs to be done, our main concern is for our staff.
“We shouldn’t forget residents get first rate services because we have first rate staff.”
Cllr Owen accused the opposition leader of political posturing over the issue.
Cllr Owen said: “This is such an important issue, Cllr Nolan is trying to score political points, it’s extremely disappointing.
“I would remind councillors that when these proposals were brought to cabinet we asked for alternatives, including doing this in house.
“But we found we didn’t have the capacity to do so and that it would have been more expensive to do it in house.
“We’re aware the trade unions have raised concerns about this, they’re there to look after their members and their concerns were considered in detail.
“Councillors have already scrutinised this in great detail, the scheme we’re using is robust at the £2.25m cost is a one off.
“If we’d reduced council tax increases to pay for this that would be £2.25m knocked of our revenue year after year after year.
“East Riding Council is probably one of the largest single employers in the area, this is about protecting staff and their future prospects.
“The trade unions will be highly involved in this and they’ll have opportunities to be kept up to date.”
Ms Keig said trade unions supported the review but opposed what she claimed was secrecy around decision making and that the scheme to be used was not fit for purpose.
The cabinet excluded the press and public from its meeting on Tuesday, February 1 when voting on the review’s contract which it can do when discussing commercially sensitive information.
The regional organiser said “My members are saddened that the Conservative councillors and a number of Independent councillors did not listen to their concerns around the job evaluation scheme.
“For years the staff of East Riding Council have been paid well below the national average wage for public sector workers.
“We have always welcomed the decision to look at our members pay, terms and conditions.
“However, the amount of secrecy behind the decisions, the lack of information and consultation with the trade unions causes us and our members great concern.
“Tory councillors have repeatedly stated that to undertake a job evaluation in-house would cost more than the £2.25m being given to a private company.
“However, there is no evidence to back up these claims despite the trade unions constantly asking to see the figures.
“We have provided Councillors with evidence, which shows the Hay Scheme, which they wish to use to evaluate all 2,200 jobs within the Council, is not fit for purpose.
“It only measures the higher level professional and executive jobs, which are typically undertaken by men.
“The managerial orientation of the system prevents a true evaluation of non-managerial jobs, which are typically carried out by women.”