By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter: The Labour opposition on Bath and North East Somerset Council has said it is “very surprised” a small committee of just three councillors will make a major decision on cutting some council workers’ pay.
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s employment committee is set to vote tomorrow (May 14) on the council’s new pay structure. Although it would mean a pay rise for 62% of its 3,500 staff, 106 council workers would see the pay for their role cut from June 1. The council has insisted its pay protection policy will mean nobody’s pay will go down for three years.
Robin Moss (Westfield) (pictured) who leads the Labour opposition group on Bath and North East Somerset Council said the Labour group had held “urgent discussions” with trade unions, the council leader, and the council’s chief executive. Now it is echoing trade union Unison’s call for the decision to be made by a full meeting of the whole council — not the three-member employment committee.
Mr Moss said: “We are glad to see that through their negotiations, the unions have secured three years of pay protection for these staff. But we want those people to receive fresh, detailed discussions to ensure the job and salary re-evaluations are correct.”
He added: “We are concerned and very surprised that the final decision will be taken by just three councillors from the Lib Dem administration, and not debated at full council. We feel strongly that this would be more appropriate.”
The proposals have also been criticised by the three independent councillors who formed the Independents for B&NES group on Bath and North East Somerset Council last month,who have called for the council to give the council workers a pay rise. Independents for B&NES leader Karen Walker (Peasedown St John) said the pay cut could lead to “an all-out workers strike.”
She said: “We are 100% behind the workers in their pay dispute with the council. I know many of these hard-working employees personally who say the proposed pay cut is a ‘kick in the teeth’ and shows a complete disregard for the work they do.”
A council IT worker, who is among the 106 people who would see the pay for their role cut under the structure being voted on tomorrow, said: “It’s gutting.” A further 245 more council workers in the passenger transport and waste and recycling departments could also face pay cuts when the proposals for those departments are implemented separately in the next three months.
In a statement issued last week, Bath and North East Somerset Council’s chief executive Will Godfrey insisted: “Our staff deliver valuable services and these proposals are fundamentally about fairness. We have undertaken extensive consultation and negotiation with trade union representatives on this since August 2024.”
Amy Rushton, who chairs the B&NES Council branch of trade union Unison, said: “It is astonishing that the council is claiming this is about ‘fairness’ when they are downgrading some of their lowest paid workers. The council cannot deny that those workers are worse off under these proposals even with pay protection in place.”
Unison believes the pay cut might be to help the council avoid an equal pay claim. The council recently brought some adult social care contracts in house, meaning that a low paid predominantly female workforce has TUPEd (transferred under protected employment) to the council. Councils can face equal pay claims when men are paid more than women for doing jobs which are considered equivalent.
The proposed pay cuts are in departments which are predominantly male. Council social worker and Unison activist Toni Mayo told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “As a woman and a social worker I don’t want equal pay to be addressed by men being paid less. We want women to be paid more.”
Under the council’s pay protection policy, if the pay for your role is cut, your pay will be frozen at its current level for three years. If the new pay level for the role increases to more than the level your pay was frozen at, you will be paid the higher wage. The council said: “At the end of that period it is possible no individual will see an overall reduction in pay.”
The employment committee will meet at 10am in Bath Guildhall on Wednesday May 14. The meeting is taking place during the council’s “values week,” when council workers have to do training on the council’s values.
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The journalists are funded by the BBC as part of its latest Charter commitment, but are employed by regional news organisations. A total of 165 reporters are allocated to news organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland including Bath Voice. These organisations range from television and radio stations to online media companies and established regional newspaper groups. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities, second-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
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