Walsall Council staff face two per cent pay cut in bid to save £3.7m

Around 4,000 employees stand to be affected, across all services, but those employed directly by schools would not see any changes.

Council chiefs say tough choices have to be made but the planned changes to pay and terms and conditions would help to save around 150 jobs from being axed.

Together with the planned pay cut, staff will also be required to take three days unpaid leave per year.

Pay progression will be frozen for two years and car allowances would cut, under the proposals.

Suddenly George Osborne's one per cent cap on public sector pay rises seems generous by comparison.

After half a decade of austerity, Walsall Council is now well-versed in the business of tough choices.

But it is undoubtedly asking a lot of its workers to expect them to do the same work for less money and take three days unpaid leave every year.

It surely cannot expect that staff will put in the same effort or not engage actively in clock watching when they are treated in this way.

Living costs are not dropping either.

We are warned that mortgages will go up while inflation will continue, even at a low rate, to push up prices on basic essentials.

The council, too, may end up worse off.

Demand for its services will not necessarily drop but the people providing them will be demoralised and available for less of the time.

Cynics might reasonably wonder whether this is all a ruse, in order to make whatever final proposal is tabled following consultation seem much more acceptable.

There is, of course, another side to this.

Workers are effectively being asked which is the lesser of two evils.

Is it a cut in pay or is it the prospect of others losing their jobs altogether?

One councillor says it will protect as many as 150 posts from being axed.

We may well be about to see just how far the phrase 'we are all in this together' really extends.

Here, at least, we must give Walsall Council credit.

They mainly deserve it for broaching the subject and testing the waters, not to mention offering other authorities a valuable test case as they draw up their own budgets.

It will now begin to find out just how much its workforce is prepared to accept in the name of balancing the books and making do with less.

It has also given bosses of other public bodies a powerful propaganda tool in selling their own programmes of cuts to workers.

Other councils will be able to say to those workers who raise objections about their one per cent pay rises that 'it could be worse, you could work for Walsall'.

Sweeping pay cuts may be tough love.

Further changes include reducing the rate staff can claim for business mileage down to the HM Revenue & Customs approved rate of 45p per mile and also standardising standby and callout payments.

The authority said it had found itself under ever increasing financial pressures caused by the reductions to its budget and this would minimise the impact on jobs and services.

The council said it would have significantly less money available to pay for the services over the next four years, with £82m of savings on the cards.

Talks have been launched with trade unions and staff on proposed changes to pay and terms and conditions.

If implemented, the council is expecting the proposals will help deliver £3.7m worth of savings a year, with further one off savings of £3.7m.

Council leader Mike Bird said: "We've set ourselves a challenging task, but it's also a challenge to our workforce who would be directly affected by the proposals that are being put forward.

"This is going to be a long journey that will require some tough choices.

"I want us to reach agreement with our trades unions to help protect jobs and vital council services."

He also urged staff to voice their opinions on other possible changes that could be made to help us address the funding challenge the council faces.

Councillor Oliver Bennett, portfolio holder for personnel and business support, added: "The choices we are asking everyone to help us make - could potentially mean saving around 150 jobs and while the money is a significant factor, this is the real story here.

"By accepting the changes we are proposing we are hoping that we can retain a workforce that can flourish and is capable of meeting our immediate and future challenges head-on."