Leaders told to apologise over low pay

CITY council leaders should apologise for the latest pay wrangle with employees, opposition councillors said today. The Evening News revealed yesterday that around 1000 staff are being paid less than they believe they should be following the council's equal pay shake-up.

The problem relates to the promise to give three years of "pay protection" under the scheme - but staff who were absent last year say this has been deducted from their protected pay.

In a briefing to councillors, the council's head of human resources Philip Barr insisted that if there have been errors in calculations then "they will be dealt with as a matter of urgency".

But Councillor Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour group on the city council, said: "This so-called 'error' is potentially affecting over five per cent of the council's workforce.

"Someone should apologise to the workers affected by this, many of whom are very worried, and the problem should be resolved as a matter of absolute urgency."