“Immoral bullies” running Aberdeen City Council are being warned workers could strike over the threat of a years-long pay freeze.
Staff are being asked to sign up to standstill wages as part of a move to reduce their working week from 37 to 35 hours.
But unions fear it will hit the lowest paid hardest – and could last “for years”.
The row could leave bins overflowing, vulnerable people without support and half dug-up roads if workers walk out.
Industrial action could be called as unions claim staff are being threatened with the prospect of being fired and having to reapply for their jobs if they don’t accept the new terms.
Meanwhile, there are concerns for already-stretched public services in Aberdeen, as there will be no increase in headcount when staff are contracted for fewer hours.
And the row could cost the beleaguered local authority huge sums of Scottish Government cash…
Our exclusive article reveals:
- Why talks over the new system broke down, raising the spectre of strikes
- Union leaders claim the council is using “bullying tactics”
- How the hours cut equates to the loss of almost 200 workers across the year
Why are staff hours being cut?
Aberdeen City Council last year agreed its Target Operating Model (Tom) 1.2 – a corporate-speak blueprint for slashing £5 million from the wage bill.
Shuffling at the top – having one fewer director job and merging two chief officer posts into one – was expected to save hundreds of thousands of pounds.
But the rank and file soon learned of plans to reduce their working week from 37 to 35 hours.
And while the reduction in hours was appreciated by unions, they take issue with the proposed pay freeze that comes along with it.
The plans cover all full-time members of staff who work the full year, so don’t affect teachers and other term-time staff.
Council talks with unions ‘fail’ and bargaining is over
Months of collective bargaining involving the GMB, Unison and Unite unions has now “failed”.
That’s being blamed on a lack of compromise from council top brass, with the pay freeze potentially to last years until pay rises overtake workers’ current 37-hour-a-week wage.
And the spectre of staff being forced to reapply for their jobs on worse conditions still looms large.
Now at an impasse, GMB Scotland’s Aberdeen organiser Sean Robertson is urging the co-leaders of Aberdeen City Council to rule out the “bullying tactic”.
‘Fire and rehire is a bullying tactic’ not being ruled out by Aberdeen City Council
In a letter seen by The P&J, he’s called on the SNP’s Christian Allard and Lib Dem Ian Yuill to “state explicitly and without ambiguity that ‘fire and rehire’ will never be used against the workforce”.
“During bargaining, GMB Scotland directly asked Isla Newcombe, chief officer for people and citizen services, if Aberdeen City Council would rule out the use of fire and rehire,” Mr Robertson said.
“She provided no such assurances, therefore we can only conclude that the council is considering this.”
He added that talks held in “good faith” still had borne little fruit – warning Aberdeen City Council staff would be left “looking on” and suffering the effects of inflation on their frozen pay packets, as council workers elsewhere enjoyed pay and standard of living rises.
The union organiser claims the freeze would cost the city’s lowest paid workers, on £15 an hour, about £1,500 a year.
Fewer staff, same demand… what will happen to council services?
Fears are also being raised for the state of public services if Tom 1.2 is realised.
Unison branch secretary Karen Davidson says cutting two hours of work a week for every full-time member of staff – excluding teachers and others working to term-time – will be like losing 187 workers all at once.
“So how services will continue to be delivered for the citizens of Aberdeen… we just don’t know,” she told The P&J.
“Unison is bitterly disappointed the council is making the workforce pay for their financial difficulties.
“The plan to reduce the working week with staff pay frozen, in some cases for a number of years, through ‘fire and rehire’ is not acceptable.
“This practice will soon be outlawed by changes in legislation, so doing this now is immoral.”
Council co-leaders silent on hours cuts row and strike threat
But there’s no word from the co-leaders yet.
The SNP/Lib Dem administration was asked for comment but The P&J was instead referred to the council’s media office.
But if the reassurance doesn’t come from the politicians soon… Â the GMB is threatening to cost the city thousands in funding from the Scottish Government.
From April, it’s thought Holyrood’s Fair Work First rules will be a requirement for some central funding – and those need to be signed off by the unions.
Union chief on Aberdeen-wide industrial action: ‘Absolutely nothing is off the table’
And Mr Robertson is also warning of council staff taking to the streets and potential ballots on strike action if a rethink is not forthcoming soon.
He says: “From GMB’s point of view, to stop these bullying fire and rehire tactics there is absolutely nothing off the table.
“That’s up to and industrial action on a citywide basis which could affect workers in vital public services like waste and roads.
“Absolutely every option we have is under consideration to make sure this retrograde step – both the firing and rehiring and the entire proposal – is taken off the table.”
What’s Aberdeen City Council saying about the strike threat?
A spokeswoman explained the local authority is required to make “significant savings” in the years ahead.
“Moving from a standard 37-hour working week to a 35-hour working week would help deliver this, whilst also giving staff time back,” she said.
“Proposals for the 35-hour standard week were changed in response to feedback from trade unions, including pay preservation aimed at mitigating any associated pay reduction, and we thank them for their input.
“However, we have been unable to reach an agreed position, and the collective bargaining process has therefore ended.
“We have now moved to a period of formal consultation, aimed at maintaining engagement with trade unions as well as employees, and seeking feedback and input to proposals.”
Labour will next week ask all councillors to rule out fire and rehire as a tactic in the second stage of Marischal College’s £5m organisational overhaul.
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