Medway set to become latest to withdraw from national pay bargaining

Members of Medway Council will next week consider a proposal to become the latest local authority to withdraw from the national agreement for pay.

However, unions attacked the plan, claiming it would ultimately lead to large pay cuts for the council’s 3,500 staff.

A report on the matter will be considered at a meeting of the council’s Employment Matters committee next Thursday (13 September).

If approved, Medway will conduct a 90-day consultation with staff and unions.

A spokesman for the local authority said: “It is simply not accurate to say that Medway Council’s staff face large cuts in their pay packets. This is not what is being proposed at all.”

The council pointed out that if the move goes ahead, Medway would only be following what 31 out of 74 councils in the South East had already done. Near neighbours to have taken this step include Kent, Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Maidstone, Shepway, Swale and Thanet.
 
The Medway spokesman said: “The national agreement is set by government and unions and sets the size of a pay increase – if any, as it has been frozen for three years by the Chancellor. This increase is then added on top of staff salaries for that year.

”The council has to, by law, set a balanced budget every year and is currently part way through its budget setting process for the next financial year - 2013/14. Given this, it is important that we have as much certainty and control over our finances as possible.”

The spokesman insisted that withdrawing from the national pay award negotiations would provide greater local influence on pay. “[It] allows councils to better control their spending by having the power to set their own level of pay award increase (if any) on the salary staff already collect,” he added.
 
But Unite regional officer Ian Methven said: “What this will mean is that hard-working council staff, providing such diverse services as child protection, adult care, libraries, bin collection and weddings, will have their pay cut in future. It will also affect school staff, but not teachers who are governed by a different agreement.

Methven said Unite and the other unions were strongly opposed to the council’s plans as Kent was one of the most expensive parts of the country in which to love. He added that the unions would make their case before Thursday's committee meeting.