Pay deal grumbles

HOPES of a happy ending to the SIC’s long-running single status dispute were dented this week after sections of the workforce reacted angrily to their proposed new pay grades.

The office workers’ union Unison greeted the revised offer sent out over the past week as “not perfect but substantially better”. However many manual workers, including cooks, domestics, janitors and some craft operatives, were said yesterday by an unnamed source to be “up in arms”. He estimated at least 700 workers had been offered a smaller rise than proposed 18 months ago and accused council management of picking on small groups with little power to protest. He said: “There’s a lot of people not happy.”

Official responses may now be submitted to the council rejecting the offer and seeking elevation to a higher pay grade.

SIC head of organisational development John Smith said earlier yesterday the response so far had been “fairly positive” following a series of briefing sessions and meetings between managers and their staff. He was unable to give a figure for the number of workers who had been made a lower offer this time, saying it had proved too complicated to calculate due to the number of changing parameters.

Asked if there was still scope for pay grades to rise for those who are unhappy, he said the council would have to reflect on the results of consultation before making formal offers in January.