Final pay cut demand for Southampton council workers (From Daily Echo)
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Final pay cut demand for Southampton council workers
4:14pm Thursday 27th January 2011 in News
COUNCIL chiefs have today issued a third and final offer to cut the pay of thousands of council staff in Southampton.
A plan to introduce a 5.4 per cent pay cut has been scrapped after nearly 1,000 members of the Unison and Unite unions marched through the street in protest.
Ruling Conservative councillors now want staff earning more than £17,000 a year to take pay cuts of between 2 per cent and 5.5 per cent, with the higher paid hit the hardest.
And those earning more than £22,000 will get five days extra holiday in a bid to sweeten the deal.
The council had previously asked all staff to take five days unpaid leave to help cut the wage bill.
The latest pay package comes on top of a two year Government imposed pay freeze from April for public sector workers earning over £21,000.
There will also be a reduction in car allowances and mileage rates to 40p and more than 200 jobs will be axed.
Unions wanted council chiefs to agree to no compulsory redundancies, that the cuts would only apply for one year, and to scrap an “unfair” council tax discount for pensioners.
The council said the savings will protect an additional 400 council jobs from being lost, and the services those people provide.
The council’s Unison branch secretary, Mike Tucker, said: “The council’s new proposals will cut the wages and working conditions for the majority of council workers.
“The Conservatives in Southampton are following the policy of the Conservatives in Government of passing on the cost of the bankers crisis to ordinary workers. “Southampton Council workers will not pay for the bankers greed, nor the economic policies of the Government which are leading Britain into new recession.”
Council leader Royton Smith said: “In an ideal world I would not be asking any staff to take a wage reduction. However this is the only way of protecting 400 jobs at the council from being lost and the services those people provide to our residents.
He added: “The biggest impact will be on those earning the most. Those earning more than £65,000 will take the biggest percentage drop in their wages.
“We will protect those on the lowest salaries from having to take any reduction in wages.”
Comments(13)
Nod
says...
6:19pm Thu 27 Jan 11
Mike Tucker needs to understant its the Cost of the Labour party, the party his union funds, overspending for years. If they had kept councils and spending in check. This wouldn't have had to happen.
lapwinggirl
says...
6:22pm Thu 27 Jan 11
Paramjit Bahia
says...
6:52pm Thu 27 Jan 11
Few people marching in protest may be a small step in the right direction, but for bringing arrogant management and right wing leadership of the council down to real world bit of hard hitting industrial action is urgently required.
Poppy22
says...
7:10pm Thu 27 Jan 11
??
I didn't see any problem with staff/managers being asked to work a reduced week (eg 37.5 hours down to 35 hours) with a pro rata salary; I'd have thought a lot of people would have welcomed working 35 hours a week (and, let's face it, overtime would then kick in at over 35 hours, and who knows any Council workers who work unpaid overtime, which is what many private sector workers have to do???!! It's all an accountancy/balance sheet juggling exercise anyway - ie show the new overall salary bill as much reduced and ignore the fact that the resulting overtime actually increases the total bill!! The finance directors/accountant
s rule organisations these days as they know how to manipulate the figures to show the results wanted by the government or shareholders!
As for strikes, if I see someone striking then they lose my support and sympathy straight away. And organisations who give in to Unions following such strikes need their heads seeing to! If public sector/Council workers don't like the new terms and conditions, do what private sector workers have to do and either grin and bear it or vote with your feet and find another employer whose terms and conditions you do like!! But then that would mean leaving behind your cushy pension scheme!
chrisdemeanour
says...
8:09pm Thu 27 Jan 11
Bill-B
says...
10:06pm Thu 27 Jan 11
joenice
says...
10:17pm Thu 27 Jan 11
Paramjit Bahia wrote:Are you MAD.The reason we are in trouble is because of Labour's stupid spending.
These threats have gone on for far too long. When are the unions involved going to take some real industrial action for teaching bit of real sense to the cut crazy Tories? Few people marching in protest may be a small step in the right direction, but for bringing arrogant management and right wing leadership of the council down to real world bit of hard hitting industrial action is urgently required.
As a tax payer and dad I would like my kids to not have to deal with the dept that you would love to increase.
Sometimes I do wonder! do you even think Labour would do different now because they would not be able to they are just a bunch of ******
Condor Man
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10:42pm Thu 27 Jan 11
stay local
says...
11:13pm Thu 27 Jan 11
southy wrote:that is exactly what the article says!!!
start the cuts at the top, reduce pay here also at a greater %. if not then its time this council put up all the seats for relection, right away, let the people decide which councilors return and those they don,t want back.
"Ruling Conservative councillors now want staff earning more than £17,000 a year to take pay cuts of between 2 per cent and 5.5 per cent, with the higher paid hit the hardest."
southy
says...
2:24am Fri 28 Jan 11
stay local wrote:but not those right at the top, there,s to many chiefs that are earning well over the 100,000, bring there wages down to 50,000 a year, make them work at lest a 60 hour week for it to.
southy wrote:that is exactly what the article says!!!
start the cuts at the top, reduce pay here also at a greater %. if not then its time this council put up all the seats for relection, right away, let the people decide which councilors return and those they don,t want back.
"Ruling Conservative councillors now want staff earning more than £17,000 a year to take pay cuts of between 2 per cent and 5.5 per cent, with the higher paid hit the hardest."
stay local
says...
4:09am Fri 28 Jan 11
southy wrote:No read it again it says those who are highest paid will be hardest hit; by loosing a higher percentage of their salary.
stay local wrote:but not those right at the top, there,s to many chiefs that are earning well over the 100,000, bring there wages down to 50,000 a year, make them work at lest a 60 hour week for it to.southy wrote: start the cuts at the top, reduce pay here also at a greater %. if not then its time this council put up all the seats for relection, right away, let the people decide which councilors return and those they don,t want back.that is exactly what the article says!!! "Ruling Conservative councillors now want staff earning more than £17,000 a year to take pay cuts of between 2 per cent and 5.5 per cent, with the higher paid hit the hardest."
I am also surprised to see a so called socialist, demanding an end to the working time directive, limiting the number of hours work in order to protect the oppressed workers.
I know it is pointless asking but do you have anything to show that the senior are not working their full allocation of hours or that the lower paid staff are racking up many hours of unpaid overtime?
work-on
says...
7:43pm Fri 28 Jan 11
And those earning more than £22,000 will get five days extra holiday in a bid to sweeten the deal
No information about the stages of cuts between 2% and 5.5%. I'm assuming there's a big step up at £22,000 hence the extra holiday 'sweetener' at that point. If it had been a gradual increase a) the holiday should have been incremental too and b) it probably wouldn't average at the 5.4% that is needed.
On the face of it it does appear fairer on the lower paid doesn't it?
southy says...
5:11pm Thu 27 Jan 11
if not then its time this council put up all the seats for relection, right away, let the people decide which councilors return and those they don,t want back.