Council workers facing pay cuts this summer

The council has said that some staff will "see a reduction in their pay" due to a "wider set of changes to pay and role profiles"

Staff at Bath and North East Somerset Council are facing a pay cut this summer, it has emerged.

The council has said that some staff would "see a reduction in their pay" due to a "wider set of changes to pay and role profiles".

Unison said union members had "overwhelmingly" rejected the pay offer, which it described as a "kick in the teeth for workers".

The new pay offer, if approved by the council's employment committee, would come into effect on 1 June.

Some of the lowest paid council workers in waste and recycling, passenger transport, and IT were facing a pay cut, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The council had recently brought a number of adult social contracts in house bringing with it a low paid mainly female workforce.

According to LDRS, the union suspected the pay cut was to avoid the threat of a costly equal pay claim.

Dr Marlene Davies, an expert in local government finance, said the female workers were "transferred under protected employment" and would be receiving less than the council "generally" provides.

"In order to put an equal aspect on that means that others will be in receipt of a reduced pay," she said.

"Ideally what you'd like to see is people who have been contracted in, get an increase in salary but of course local authorities are strapped for cash."

'Women paid more'

Toni Mayo, from Unison, said: "As a woman and a social worker I don't want equal pay to be addressed by men being paid less.

"We want women to be paid more."

While Amy Rushton, Unison branch chair, said: "This is a kick in the teeth for workers, who are being hit twice here.

"Many of our people facing cuts in real pay are already some of the lowest paid workers in the council."

In a statement, the council said it "valued" all their staff and had been working with unions and staff to look at a "wider set of changes to pay and role profiles".

"More than 800 of the council's lowest paid staff would see an increase in salaries," it said.

"The council acknowledges that some staff will be affected and see a reduction in their pay and will continue to discuss these roles with the unions and those staff who are affected.

"It has also listened to the unions on pay protection and has agreed a period of three years to protect affected staff."