Strike warning over council move to force pay changes

CITY council chiefs will face a flood of employment tribunals and the threat of strikes if they force through major changes to the way staff are paid, trade union leaders warned today.

The Evening News revealed yesterday that up to 17,000 council workers in Edinburgh will be handed notices of dismissal unless they accept new terms and conditions.

The move has surprised unions, who said they were still negotiating the details of the council's "modernising pay" proposals, and said they felt like they had been "strung along" by council officials.

Leaders of both Unison and Unite said they had been inundated with calls from worried members since details of the council's proposals emerged.

While they insisted they still wanted to get back around the table to on key changes, such as staff losing public holiday entitlement, they warned that members were likely to take action over the proposals.

Kevin Duguid, Unison's lead negotiator in Edinburgh, said: "I would anticipate that there will be some people that are not losing as much as others and will accept. But others will be extremely unhappy and we will have to talk about what we can and cannot do.

"We will look at employment tribunals, legal action and industrial action to determine what will be the most effective."

Council officials said yesterday that they intended to send letters on 3 June to all 17,000 members of staff whose contracts will change, asking them to voluntarily sign up to the new terms and conditions.

Those who don't do so will then receive another letter on 5 July giving them 90 days' notice of dismissal. However, they will also be offered a new contract on the new terms and conditions.

Union leaders said they were surprised by the timing of the announcement as they had provided new proposals to the council three weeks ago and had not yet heard a response.

Stephen MacGregor, convener at Unite in the Capital, which represents bin men who are already on a work-to-rule over changes to their pay, said: "We want to resolve the issue and negotiate through it. But from the comments by the director of finance, it feels to me like the unions have been strung along."

He said that once a final package was received he would consult with members on the next step. "We are taking industrial action which may escalate at some point in the future,"he added.

A council spokesman said: "We recognise how difficult this will be for some staff, which is why we have taken negotiations with the unions so seriously.

"We have made strenuous efforts to reach a negotiated settlement and there is nothing to be gained from industrial action."