ANGRY unions are to lobby Wyre Forest councillors urging them to reject “unfair and divisive” pay proposals for hundreds of workers.

Members of UNISON and GMB want the district council to get back around the negotiating table and avoid a potential collective dispute – such as the withdrawal of goodwill working - over the issue.

Last week, the authority put forward a plan to give employees a 4.5 per cent pay rise over four years from 2018, while also ending long service awards – worth up to £400 a year- for around 50 members of staff.

This is outside of the National Joint Council (NJC) settlement negotiations – from which Wyre Forest broke away from in 2014 - which are still ongoing.

Council bosses say their proposal gives certainly for budget planning and for staff themselves, adding that offering higher pay rises would result in the need for job cuts.

But the unions want to councillors to reject the plans when a report goes to full council on Wednesday (September 27) and are expected to lobby them prior to the 6pm meeting.

Wyre Forest Labour Group has also formally submitted a motion to the Tory-run authority supporting a return to national pay negotiations.

Both UNISON and GMB say the offer, less than inflation which is currently running at 2.9 per cent, represents a wage cut in real terms and is damaging morale amongst staff who have experienced a pay freeze for a number of years.

And they argue the scrapping of the long service awards will only result in £16,000 savings per year – less than one per cent of the cuts it needs to make.

But plans to cut sick pay have been dropped after progress was made with the unions.

UNISON regional organiser Steve Akers said: “The Council’s insistence on demanding a four year deal and suggesting a settlement which only amounts on average to one per cent per year for the next four years have been the main sticking points in the negotiations with the Council.

“We have called on Wyre Forest to return to national pay and conditions collective bargaining in the Local Government NJC but they have rejected this. This makes them an outlier among West Midlands Councils.

“During local negotiations we have suggested a local two stage, four year deal, with two per cent a year for 2018-2020, as the first part of this but this has again, for the moment, been rejected by the Council.

“If the Council had shown more flexibility, a negotiated settlement, avoiding a collective dispute, could have been reached.”

Mr Ackers added: “The proposal to end the long service award is wholly unfair and divisive.”

Kim Wright, GMB Organiser, said: “GMB members working at Wyre Forest District Council have endured years of real terms pay cuts.

“Despite this, they have continued to provide decent public services and have remained loyal to the council.

“It’s time that councillors recognised this and gave them a proper pay rise.”

Wyre Forest Labour group spokesman Stephen Brown said: “MP Mark Garnier and his Tory friends at the council keep telling us they want to improve pay and conditions for Wyre Forest workers.

“The first thing they can do is drop their ideology and sign back up to NJC national terms and conditions. Then we might be able to take them seriously.”