Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and its main non-teaching Trade Unions have today announced an agreement to consult the workforce on a package of measures designed to help the Council address the immediate financial challenges it faces.
The agreement will be the subject of a ballot of union members at the Council which will take place before Christmas. Both the Council and the Trade Unions recognise that this is the best deal that can be achieved through negotiations.
The main provisions of the proposed agreement are as follows:
- A one year pay deduction of up to 2% would be introduced from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. This would be applied at differential rates across the Council’s workforce. The lowest paid will not have a pay deduction at all; several thousand employees will have a pay deduction of less than 2%; but the Chief Executive’s pay would be deducted by 3% for the same period. This is in addition to the three year pay freeze that is already proposed for over 7,000 Council employees;
- Overtime and unsocial hours payments to also be reduced – to time plus 30% – and further negotiations would be held with the objective of agreeing new working rotas and related changes by September 2011;
- A new car mileage rate would be introduced at 40p per mile; any fees that the UK government may introduce for Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) would be borne by employees not the Council and there would be changes to disturbance allowance payments (once existing commitments have been honoured) and revised standby payments; and
- In support of the Welsh Assembly Government’s collaboration agenda across public sector organisations, mobility and flexibility clauses for staff would be introduced to promote more efficient working within the County Borough and with neighbouring local authorities and other public sector bodies.
Council Leader, Cllr Alun Thomas, said:
“Building on the enduring strength of this Labour Council’s relationship with our Trade Unions, we have been able to finalise a package of measures which protects jobs and frontline services at the Council to the maximum extent possible in line with the emerging list of issues under discussion between employers and trade unions at an all-Wales level. This Agreement clearly demonstrates the importance of strong Trade Union representation for our workforce and welcome the progress made.”
Cllr Thomas added:
“This deal represents a vitally important, but fair and balanced package of measures to help the Council through what will be an immediate and very challenging period in its finances as a consequence of the cuts to public services and avoids the need for greater reductions in front line services. Together with a range of other measures, including the recently announced a voluntary redundancy scheme and a new sickness absence policy, the Council will be much better placed to meet the challenges ahead”.
