This Green Party press release sheds more light on the current situation in Brighton and Hove
A
meeting of the Brighton & Hove Green Party earlier this week
overwhelmingly agreed that it could not support any Brighton & Hove
City Council pay offer now being made that would leave staff worse off.
The
council's pay offer, which it suggests will affect about 10% of staff,
varies from employee to employee, so each offer is now being
individually communicated to staff members by their managers during a 90
day 'staff consultation'.
Hundreds
of staff face a drop in take home pay, offset by one-off, lump-sum
compensation packages; the council has stated that, as a result of
allowance changes and the compensation, some affected staff will be
better off while others have to decide whether they feel the
compensation is enough to offset their overall loss. This is an
individual decision.
Much
play has been made on social media that individuals may lose up to
£95/week, or more than £4,000 a year. However, unofficial sources have
recently revealed that a reduction of that level applies to just three
employees and does not take into account their compensation package,
which is worth about three years' losses.
Most
staff face lower reductions and lower compensation, generally worth
between two and three years of loss, sometimes a little more.
The
complete picture is not this simple but it seems clear that once the
compensation is gone, low paid staff will be living on even lower weekly
take home pay. This has angered staff and it's unacceptable to the
Brighton & Hove Green Party, which has resolved to campaign against
it.
BHGP chair Rob Shepherd said:
“The
party's made it clear it cannot support a final offer that appears to
leave council staff with a cut in their consolidated take home pay.
These include some of the city's lowest paid workers and we understand
how they must be feeling.
"We
recognise that the offer particularly benefits women who, it seems,
have not been treated fairly under the existing payment structure. It
goes without saying that women should be paid the same as men in
comparable situations and we support creating a fair and gender-balanced
pay structure. But it is not right if low paid people of either sex end
up with a loss of income to achieve that balance.
"We're
also disappointed with the council administration's decision to
delegate pay negotiations entirely to council officers, meaning the
administration now has no say in what's being proposed. This is a
council offer, not a BH Greens offer. If there are pay cuts on the
table, they are not in our name.
“We
hope that, as a result of the party's intervention, the Green
administration will find a way to take back control of the process and
ensure the council will look again at any offers that result in
consolidated pay losses."
Green MP Caroline Lucas said:
"Since the negotiations began, I have made my opposition to any cuts in take home pay very clear.
"I
am therefore disappointed that, whilst some will gain from this
process, a number will face a reduction in the money they have to live
off each week.
"This is unacceptable. I know from the many constituents who have written to me about this issue that they agree.
"So
too does the Brighton and Hove Green Party, whose members have voted to
condemn the offer and also express dismay that responsibility for the
pay negotiations was handed to council officers.
"With
the support of the local Green Party, I have pledged to campaign
against proposals made to workers that will lead to a loss of pay, in
accordance with the local and national party's democratically agreed
anti-cuts and anti-austerity policies."
Rob Shepherd added:
"We
also condemn the city's Labour and Conservative parties for creating
the mess that the council is seeking to manage. They are quick to
criticise the Green administration yet they created the problem.
"Going
back decades, both parties have presided over agreements which look
blatantly unfair to some parts of the workforce and especially women.
Both parties permitted what look like unethical, unequal deals. And both
parties were warned time and again by council officers that they needed
to sort it out but they bottled it in fear of industrial disputes.
"Whatever
the current state of the pay offer, it is utterly hypocritical of
Labour and Conservatives to say anything other than 'sorry'."
"However,
it’s more important that all politicians now pull together in the
interests of some of the city's lowest paid workers. These people must
be at the heart of whatever we do."
Responding to the party’s decision, council leader Jason Kitcat said:
"I very much understand and sympathise with the concerns expressed in the local party motion.
"Members
of council staff have just received the council's offer to create a
fair and clear system of allowances which completes the final step of
the ‘single status’ process. There is now a 90 day consultation period
for staff to consider the offer, how it will affect them and respond to
their managers with their views.
"I believe it is important to
not prejudge that consultation, how staff may consider the proposals,
nor any negotiations which I hope will follow.
"During
this consultation period I am confident that the council continues to
be open to any suggestions from staff and unions that could further
improve the offer whilst ensuring it remains legally and financially
viable."
