Street-cleaning and libraries staff reject pay offer

Peterborough Limited is owned by the council and its services include waste management, museums and leisure centres

Staff working for a council-owned company have rejected another pay offer, bringing the threat of industrial action closer.

About 80% of GMB Union members at Peterborough Limited, which provides services including street cleaning and libraries, turned down the latest offer.

Union regional organiser Gordon White said the salary was less than the Real Living Wage, of £12.60 an hour, and members felt "unloved and unappreciated".

In response, the company said it was "disappointed" its pay off was not accepted.

The city council, meanwhile, previously said it faced "unprecedented pressure on its resources and finances".

Mr White described the latest pay proposal as "measly", as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It is heartbreaking that these outsourced workers continue to suffer with low wages when the solution is very clear – bring them back in-house," he said.

The GMB believes outsourced workers should be brought back in-house

The union said the new pay would come into effect from 1 April.

The government's mandatory national minimum wage across the UK is £11.44 for workers over 21.

The real living wage - on the other hand - is the rate based on what people need to live, according to the Living Wage Foundation.

'Above inflation'

A Peterborough Limited spokesperson said the offer represented an 8.87% increase over a two-year period for the lowest paid staff, and a 57% rise since operations started in 2019.

It said the offer was "very much above inflation" and added: "We have committed all the funding we have available in our pay rise budget into the offer."

The company is wholly owned by the council and its services also include museums and leisure centres.

It was established in 2019 and, while autonomous from the council, it does require a council-appointed board.

It can trade with the wider market and does not need to rely solely on income from the cash-strapped council's services.