Union members protest at 'immoral' plans to award the chief executive a £40k pay rise

UNITE members protest at plans to award the chief executive a £40k pay rise

Members of UNITE, Britain's largest union, and major funders of the Labour Party, held a demonstration outside Rochdale Town Hall tonight (Monday 9 December) in protest at the Labour Council leader Colin Lambert's determination to push through highly controversial plans to award the chief executive a £40k pay rise and other senior executives huge pay rises.

A Labour supporting union demonstrating against a Labour Council is highly unusual and gives a measure of the vehement opposition to the proposed pay rises, and adds to the already substantial public outcry the proposals have met with.

Rochdale Branch Secretary of UNITE, Peter Scott, wrote to Councillor Colin Lambert on 27 November opposing the pay rises and going as far as calling them "immoral" He said: UNITE cannot stress enough in these times of austerity that a decision to accept option 2 [the proposed pay rises] is immoral."

He ended the letter asking if the views of Unite's Rochdale branch could be expressed to the Council Employment Committee before a decision is made. It is understood that Mr Scott was furious to find out that Councillor Lambert chose not to do so. Mr Scott had to resort to emailing Labour group councillors direct on 5 December saying: "Good afternoon councillors I wonder if you are all aware of this letter which I personally delivered to Councillor Lambert on behalf of my members." They were not.

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