Council pay dispute goes to arbitration

The national pay dispute that saw hundreds of Rochdale Council workers go on strike earlier this summer, has been referred to arbitration.

Conciliation service Acas will hear the case and bid to resolve the dispute afters the Unison, Unite and GMB unions agreed they would be willing to abritrate in order to resolve the dispute.

The sub-inflation offer to workers was slammed by the unions but local authority employers claimed that jobs and services would have to be cut if they paid out higher wages.

Brian Strutton, GMB's National Secretary for public services, said of the decision to arbitrate: "“GMB is party to the joint unions call for arbitration (alongside Unison and Unite) as we believe it’s now the right way to determine the 2008 pay award for 1.7 million local government workers. The employer’s final offer was 2.45% with an additional £100 for those on the lowest pay points. Average pay is £17,000 with most earning less than £10,000.

"The local government national agreement requires council employers to agree to arbitration once triggered and ACAS are on standby to appoint an independent arbitrator and help the parties draw up terms of reference. An arbitration award is final and binding. The whole process, including submissions and hearings, should take 2 to 3 months to complete. In the meantime it would be helpful for councils to pay their final offer ‘on account’ to help their employees cope with the rising cost of living.”

Council services in Rochdale, including some schools, leisure facilities and libraries, were closed down over two days in July, while recycling and waste collection services ground to a halt.