Anxious council workers in Wolverhampton were today still waiting to hear if their wages have been slashed as part of a huge salary shake-up.
Some members of staff have been forced to rely on rumours and speculation about radical reductions in their pay packets after problems with the delivery of letters. Workers have described scenes of “carnage” in the Civic Centre as rumours spread about the salary cuts - the biggest pay upheaval to hit the council.
Some staff went home in tears yesterday after it was revealed up to £11,000 had been slashed from some pay packets.
Around 9,500 workers should have received personal letters at their homes giving individual implications of the “single status” arrangement on Wednesday.Some of the letters, which have been sent out externally, were delayed by a printing problem and workers were told they would be landing on their doorsteps a day late.
But many have still not arrived, leaving devastated workers reeling.
One administrations worker, who did not want to be named, said: “I have still not received my letter telling me what is happening.
“I have heard that my pay is being cut but at the moment I still don’t know by how much. It is shocking.
“It is an absolute farce and the morale is so low now. Some people were having to be sent home in tears. It has been carnage.”
Single status arrangements have been brought in to end years of inequality in local authority wages nationally, and will see some workers, including cleaners and catering staff, receive wage increases and back pay for six years. Council chiefs estimate that shelling out back pay awards will cost up to £20 million.
Deputy council leader councillor Peter Bilson said: “It is very sad to hear some people still haven’t received their letters.
“The council has tried to implement the fairest system but I suppose it is inevitable some people will be left feeling aggrieved and I am very sympathetic with them.”
By Victoria Nash
27 Comments
Well, its disgusting to be honest. The council do not consider the effect this will have on their employee’s lives. Also it is quite possible it is illegal.
it makes your think how much was they on a year if they could take a 11 grand pay cut.
No doubt the powers that be will be stuffing thier pockets full of our money in the form the allowances they grant themselves but that is politicians for you.
Carnage?
Are people in England following the Americans trend for overstatement?
Get a grip people.
It might be heartbreaking etc. but I hardly think “carnage” is the best word to use.
Poor English standards are sadly rife everywhere these days.
I suppose the elected councillors are going to take a similar reduction in their overinflated expense claims. I think not!
£11,000 cut….. how much money are they getting paid !
No wonder they went home crying, I can’t see their wages being cut by half so some of them must be on well over £22,000.
Maybe they should put this money back into the community….. OK … Sorry…. I know that I’m being silly, I cannot see them doing that but it would be nice.
Salaries are protected for three years if there is a cut - so it gives people the opportunity to look for employment elsewhere or take early retirement. However it’s not nice that some people have had their salaries cut by £10k+. Not sure whether its illegal Rob wolf - put it this way some people were getting paid far too much - like some secretaties who were on £27/28k and have now had their wages cut by £10k!!
But clerical staff didnt deserve to get their pay cut to virutally the lowest grade ever!! - that wasnt fair…
At least when I had to work in Wolverhampton I got extra pay.
IF THEY DONT LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING THEY COULD ALWAYS LEAVE AND TRY AND GET A JOB IN THE REAL WORLD ON MINIMUM WAGE LIKE THE REST OF US.
Mick a lot of council workers do do jobs in the real world!!!! cleaning up S**t off the streets, dealing with people who really need help - via social services, housing homeless people, bin men etc. Council workers ARE a public service - what is it that you do then MICK??
I’ve never found a council employee helpfull. Just a bunch of fat cat pen pushing little dictators.
The only people to come out of the whole process better off are the Councils higher managers. Amazingly, senior management, directors, teachers and councillors were all excluded from the process. The pay model chosen was also voted for by the Councillors,who also vote on their own pay increases.
The figures banded about by the Council regarding the number of people loosing out and gaining are completely false. Far more are loosing out than people know about and councillor Lawrence is taking a very gung ho stance on this (i.e. people have three years to adjust their lives). I suppose though it is very easy when your not affected.
The people who have lost out the most are those already on the lowest wages, as the payscales go up, the losses go down until eventually, those paid high enough already actually get more.
Shame on WCC for the shambolic treatment of its staff!
I agree with Dave E.
Wolverhampton City Council is the largest employer in this area, and the loss of wages to staff can, and probably will, have far reaching ramifications for the City as a whole. If staff are demoralised and leave, who does their jobs? Council workers are often paid way less than they would be in the private sector, and there are many staff barely above minimum wage. There are no ‘perks’ to working for the council; no bonus schemes, no parking, not even kitchen or canteen facilities. Services and resources are already stretched - undervalued and underpaid staff just add to this burden.
There are staff who were WAY overpaid for what they do, and this new system is meant to ‘iron out’ these inequalities. However, telling people they have three years on frozen pay (no increments, no cost of living and then a dip in wages), marketed as ‘protection’, when they live within their means is unfair: some admin staff will be on less than they were 20 years ago. Imagine how low THEIR morale is?
Most council staff work their hardest in a highly pressured, stressful, thankless environment in order to make lives cleaner, safer and generally better for the citizens of Wolverhampton. They deserve our support on this matter.
i haave worked for the council for 4 years now, i am being expected to take a pay cut that will see my annual salary drop by 1/3rd. and no i am not someone earning thousands, in fact quite the opposite. no i dont like it, and yes if this proposal goes ahead then i will be looking for a different job as will most of my colleagues.
If I worked for council, toiling and working my fingers to the bone, in the conditions they put up with, I would be happy to leave i’d get a nice happy job,
Jo - pen pushing dictators - you obviously know nothing about the different services the council have to offer - we are not all pen pushing dictators!!!!! - unless you are referring to the migher management!! lol! maybe you should try an do an honest days living - or at least get a job in the council for a while!!! - NO DONT THINK SO!!
Anywhooo…….It is bad how the lower paid staff have been treated.
LS parking is only provided for those who need to use a car for their work (and lazy senior managers!). The council couldnt possibly provide spaces for up to 2500 staff?!!! - I agree witht he rest of your sentiments though,. Most people who have never worked for the council always have something bad to say bout us “we have a cushy number” “we get paid loads for doing nothing” “pen pushers” etc. These are shallow minded, ignorant individuals.
Most council workers go through a lot of stress and workd really hard for NO OVERTIME, NO HONORARIUM, NO PERKS, NO BONUSES AND NO THANKS!!
I have worked for the council for 8 years cleaning up body fluids in a stressful environment perhaps mike doesn’t realise we are only just above the minimum wage and are receiving a very small increase, if theres so many jobs out there “in the real world” how come he’s still on a minimum wage? Jo’s comment about council employees being unhelpful and pen pushers? I wish, I only ever see a pen to fill in my timesheet! Perhaps some people should check their facts before posting comments or perhaps they’d like to jobswap with me for a week?
REALLY SORRY EVERYONE… I WAS refering to the people who made this decision. The last thing I wanted to do was offend the people i have: the ones who actually DO something. Honestly.
There have been disparity issues for a while at the city council, and that needs sorting out.
Secretaries nowadays do more than the traditional role, but if they are on 27/28k that is staggering.
I have little faith sadly that fairness will prevail. I expect that staff in a post where there are many of them in existence, will not get a pay rise even if it is merited, because it would be too costly. I hope I am wrong though.
It appears some people have a pre-conceived idea that everyone in private industry works their proverbials off. Having been there I can tell you that this has got to be the biggest fallacy you could ever wish to come across.
I think some folk are missing the point - put yourself in the place of these people who are having pay cuts. If you apply for, and are lucky enough to be given, a permanent job, at an agreed wage, you budget your life to that wage -however large or small that wage is. If you are then, some years down the line told that you will be having thousands shaved off that wage, it will affect all aspects of your life. I work with people who will not now be able to pay their rent or their mortgages because of their pay cuts. These people have children to care for. Just what are they supposed to do? Oh, I know - go into B&B accommodation until the council can rehouse them!
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of ignorance that exists about Council workers! If we are all over paid good for nothings as some seem to think, try and imagine living in City without a Council to provide the services so many people depend upon. Usually the people making these types of comments have little or no knowledge about the real facts and can usually be found talking to equally ignorant sycophants about how things would be different if they ran the world!
I wonder what these people would say if they were told that their pay was being cut by up to a third!
Please, take note of the fact that that chief officers do not suffer single status but the Local Government office siad the following:
From the LGA website
Chief officers’ pay update - November 2007
Local authority employers have today (5 November) reached an agreement with local authority chief officers for a 2.475% pay settlement with effect from 1 April 2007.
That element of the agreement that exceeds 2% is in recognition of local government consistently producing the most substantial efficiency gains within the public … this is largely attributable to the valuable efforts of the workforce.
Clearly these people callously work us to get there pay rises and when they see we can do no more they cruelly cut our pay.
My first twenty years work were in the private sector so don’t tell me that its so much tougher there.
Hi just a bit of info.I’m working for Leicester City council.I’ve been working for the front line services for 16 years starting right at the bottom scale (yes cleaning the streets).I’ve worked my way up againing knowledge and respect into management.However we are going through the same single status and its in a shambles.Morale is at a all time low.Expience staff are leaving.
Front line services means you deal with the general public face to face in dealing with the concerns.I can confirm all our staff and middle management are dedicated in providing an exellent service.However if the senior/heads expect the same service when all the losers are losing pay NEVER,NEVER,NEVER.
To all the people who are stating that we should’nt moan.Put the shoe on the other foot and you do the same work + alot more than your job requirement and take a pay cut.I beat you would just smile and carry on.
Every council i speak to are going though the same situation and its all down to the government pensions.if your on a lower wage then that effects your over all pension.
There should be a united ballot on this scheme.
I am an employee of WCC, and being in the un-enviable postion of not being evaluated yet (I have been given a default grading because they didn’t have time to do my evaluation!), I have been able to watch what my fellow council employees have been going through, and I can see all arguments for and against Single Status. Yes, Equal Pay for Equal Work is a fantastic idea - but from where I’m sitting it only seems to have brought about even more inequality, with the pay gap between the Chief Officers (who have already undergone their re-grading) and us lowly ‘Administrative Assistants’ (because it now appears that is what we are all to be called after Job Evaluation, regardless of what we do) getting larger.
Fantastic - those staff members who really were low paid, Cleaners and Kitchen Assistants, have received a pay increase, and about time too, although I’m not sure that 20p an hour is anything to shout about.
Those of us who should be grateful that we have remained on the same salary lose out - because in most cases, the scale point we are on has been moved to the maximum, hence, no more increments.
Those of us who have lost money, not only have to suffer no cost of living or incremental rises for three years, but at the end of those three years we find that we cannot move any higher up the scale because, as with the people whose salaries have stayed the same, we have been placed at the top of the scale; no more increments.
There are members of staff that have yet to recieve their letters informing them of their outcome - TEN DAYS after the deadline!
There are members of staff whom despite doing completely different roles to each other have been given exactly the same values in the “13 Factors”. Was anyone paying attention when this data was being fed onto the Gauge software.
We have been consistently fobbed off, hoodwinked, and blindsighted by our employer. Nobody knows the truth, rumour and speculation are rife.
So yes, Single Status is a good thing; good for demolishing morale, good for demoralising the workforce, good for the bailiffs, good for the Chief Exec’s bonus, and good for nothing.
Staff facing cuts should formally log their concerns with their HR Team,and Union asap. Could also write to Chief Executive, local mp and coucil members and ward councillor if w’ton resident. urge staff to read up on emplyoyment law and to seek comparitors from other local authorities who have implemented Single status. Freedom of Information Act = 20 working days. The more pressure we put on the nervous decision makers/members to reject the scheme the better
I work at a school. Kitchen supervisors have now received their letters re JE. They are now on a GR7 point 19 which is higher than three quaters of the now called Administators level 3. They have also received letters today re compensation £12000. Which the council have said they will not have to pay TAX or NI and the council will be paying this. Is this legal? If so I would like my tax paid for me for the next six years please.
Having worked in education for nearly thirty years I and my colleagues feel totally devalued by single status. No offence to the catering staff etc but how can they justify paying them all of the back pay that they are intending to do so without causing further animosity. Isn’t it bad enough that people doing similar jobs across the city are losing money and then they find out that their well deserved cash is going to pay back pay for staff (who don’t get me wrong deserve a pay rise) dating back six years. What about joe bloggs doing a job at one place and another person doing the same job at another location one earns lots more than the other but now they will be both getting the same. Should the person who has been earning less for years get the back pay they have lost out on compared to joe bloggs who has been overpaid for years? The council and UNISON know exactly what if going on they are feeding the little people BIG reasons why to vote yes without looking at the long term prospects of their jobs and salaries. Wake up Wolverhampton workers you are being hoodwinked by some very clever people!