Council staff are planning to strike in a dispute over pay.
The GMB Union, which represents some members of the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council Neighbourhood Services team, have announced members have voted to strike after rejecting a proposed 1.3% pay increase which union members say is a “race to the bottom”.
Council leader Mark Brunt expressed his disappointment at the announcement and said the council stands by how important its staff are.
Paul Grafton, GMB Regional Organiser said:
“Our members within the Council are extremely disappointed to see such a poor pay offer. Instead the Council appears to wish to race to the bottom with pay, despite virtually all staff working behind the scenes during the pandemic, many of them placing themselves at risk continually.
“Neither the Leader of the Council nor senior management could seemingly be bothered to engage in trying to resolve the dispute – effectively this is the Council Leaders sticking two fingers up to their staff whilst they struggle to pay their bills when the long-term statistics are showing an expected inflation hike of up to 2.8% in quarter 4 of this year according to the Treasury.
“Date and timings when the council staff will be striking are as yet to be confirmed.”
Cllr Brunt rejected suggestions that the authority had not engaged with the negotiations, citing that other unions have accepted the proposed deal.
He said:
“This decision from GMB members follows months of discussions about the 2021/22 pay award between Officers and Union representatives from Unison and GMB, as well as the Council’s Staff Association. These discussions form part of our annual budget setting process and are in line with our local bargaining arrangements for pay and conditions.
“We are disappointed that GMB members – a small proportion of the Council’s staff – have rejected the 1.3% pay award. We stand by the award which, as well as being accepted by our major recognised Union – UNISON, we feel recognises the hard work and dedication of our staff, while also reflecting the financial challenges we face as a council, and the broader national picture. This award is in addition to a one-off payment we made to all employees in August last year as a thank you for their incredible commitment and efforts.
“We are incredibly proud of our dedicated key workers, who have responded valiantly to a range of challenges throughout this unprecedented year to keep our essential services running and provide support to our communities and local businesses.
“We would challenge the GMB’s statement that we are ‘racing to the bottom’ in terms of an award. A 1.3% award is one of the highest being offered across the Surrey Local Authorities this year and follows a 2.3% award last year. We face unprecedented times as a Council but stand by how important our staff and their efforts are, hence why we have committed to this award despite many other authorities freezing pay and making cuts.
“We hope that GMB reconsiders its position and that strike action can still be avoided. I would like to reassure residents that we are putting in place plans to minimise any disruption to our essential services, on which we know they rely, should strike action go ahead.”
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