Rotherham gravediggers strike suspended after pay offer made

The first strike action by gravediggers in Rotherham was due to be held between 8-10 September

Nine days of strike action planned by gravediggers in Rotherham in a dispute over pay have been put on hold.

Unison said a pay offer had been made to cemetery grounds maintenance staff, however it added that it fell "well below what workers are asking for".

Members were seeking a 10% pay rise from Glendale Grounds Maintenance (GGM), but the firm's offer was "worth only around 4.6%", Unison said.

GGM is a private contractor delivering the crematoria service for the council.

The first strike was planned to take place from 8 to 10 September.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council leader Chris Read had previously urged GGM to "agree a fair deal".

'Second-class citizens'

A union spokesperson said staff had "lost out significantly" over the past decade due to the council outsourcing their work.

Its members were being "paid 10% less than they would be had the council retained the service in-house", the union said.

The new pay offer meant the majority of workers would see their pay increased from the national minimum wage rate of £10.42 per hour to £10.90 per hour, it added.

However, Unison said it had recommended its members reject the offer as it also provided "no detail about pay for overtime or weekend on-call rates".

Unison regional organiser Dan Wood said: "The employer is starting to engage in talks over pay, but the current offer falls well below what workers are asking for.

"It would still see outsourced workers paid considerably less than their equivalents employed by the council, after a decade of lagging behind.

"Outsourced staff are being treated and paid as second-class citizens. There's no justification for Rotherham's council services to be run as a two-tier workforce."

Cemetery maintenance work in Rotherham is contracted out to a company called Dignity which then subcontracts services to GGM, the union said.

The BBC has approached GGM and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for a comment.

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