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Hundreds of Stirling Council workers to strike in pay dispute

Hundreds of Stirling Council workers to strike in pay dispute

Hundreds of Stirling Council workers will stage a one-day strike on Monday.

Trade union Unison, which represents almost half of the workforce, has claimed more than 90% support for the industrial action.

The local authority wants staff to work an extra hour every week and take a 0.5% pay cut.

Unison insists the combination equates to a 4.5% salary reduction over the course of a year.

Branch secretary James Douglas said: “The hypocrisy of the management team is fundamental to this dispute.

“They want to force us to take a 4.5% pay cut while managers are merely invited to take a 1% pay cut.

“We have asked them again to have a look at the possibility of a 35-hour week for everybody, instead of 37 hours, bearing in mind senior managers already work a 37-hour week.

“They didn’t want to agree to that because it would hurt senior managers in the pocket, because they’d have to work fewer hours.

“We now have no other option but to strike.”

The move follows protracted negotiations, first with senior managers and, when talks broke down, with the leader of the administration, Councillor Johanna Boyd.

An initial ballot of Unison members saw 91.8% reject an original offer which would have meant workers taking a larger pay cut.

A revised package proposed by Councillor Boyd with a 0.5% reduction in salary was also rejected by 57.2% in a second ballot, with a reduced turnout.

Mr Douglas said: “I know the turnout was low but they still rejected it. I feel less comfortable that we’re now going on strike based on the first ballot, but this is the legal ballot and, because they also rejected the revised offer (in the second ballot), I feel morally justified in the decision to take industrial action.”

Mr Douglas added: “It’s going to hurt the council and we’ll make sure we target areas which will hurt the council. The sad thing for me is it is going to hurt the public.

“The council doesn’t care about its workforce, or the people that use the services, or they would have resolved this.”

Unison represents “about 1,500” of Stirling Council’s 3,089-strong workforce, according to Mr Douglas, who has urged other unions to follow his lead.

He added: “Unite are not going with us at this time. I would like to have seen them, and the GMB and UCATT come out with us, but they are not at that stage in their ballot process.”

The cash-strapped local authority is slashing pay because it has to make savings of £24 million in four years.

Stirling Council’s chief executive Bob Jack insisted 40% of his staff, including some union members, have signed up to changes following an internal consultation.

He told The Courier: “It is regrettable that Unison has called for strike action on Monday. This will only disrupt the lives of the very people that we are committed to providing services to.

“The council will be taking all necessary measures to maintain services to the public who depend on the services we deliver should the unions persist with this action.”