Further strike dates announced as council says on pay: “the decision isn’t ours to make – we’ve got no more money”

Wrexham Council ‘has no more finances left to give’, with senior leaders looking to a national solution to strikes.

The comments come as Unite the Union announced that its members in Wrexham and Cardiff councils will strike for a further three weeks from 25 September to 15 October.

Workers are currently in their second week of industrial action, with council workers taking to the picket line as part of their call for an improved pay deal.

Announcing the new strike, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Local Authority workers in Wales have seen their pay decimated in recent years. Despite this, their employers think its acceptable to propose what amounts to real terms pay cut, when workers increasingly can’t make ends meet.”

“There has been silence from local authority employers during this strike action. Our members are not backing down and we will now escalate the industrial action until Local Authorities start negotiating with us. Unite will be providing our members with its complete support during this dispute.”

At yesterday’s monthly media brief – as the lonely sole attendees – Wrexham.com asked the senior leadership of Wrexham Council about the ongoing strikes and if there was any likelihood of a local resolution on pay.

Workers represented by Unite have taken to the picket line after members of the union overwhelmingly rejected the local authority employers’ pay offer of £1,925. The deal has been described as “a poorer offer than last year”, despite the cost-of-living crisis having worsened.

Chief Executive Ian Bancroft said, “The strike is on national pay, and therefore any negotiations, which we are happy to be part of, happen at a national level and are coordinated by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and the Local Government Association on behalf of the employees body. We have made that clear and reiterated it a number of times.

“I think the WLGA have actually written to Unite on that basis making that clear in terms of that position, and if if Unite want to come back around the table to talk about that at a national level.

“The reason we have to do that is clearly we have a commitment and relationship with three unions, we are in a national social partnership, which is an agreement. So it’s really important that we follow good practice with trade unions, which is what we’ve always done, and always have good relationships. So I’m not in control of that discussion around national pay.”

Council Leader Mark Pritchard said, “I think it is important that all of us here respect the rights of workers to strike, and we support the unions on doing that.

“The honesty here is, as the Chief Executive has just mentioned, this is an agreement between the employer and the employees and it
comes from a national level. I did a BBC Radio interview and I said that we just haven’t got the money. Now, if there is movement by the Welsh Government that there is more money on the table, and they negotiate that through the cooperative agreements I fully support that – I have got no problem with that at all.

“But, I think we need to be honest with everybody. This council has been very supportive of staff, we took a report to the Executive Board, costing around £600,000. I think we’ve been very understanding and have done as much as we can.

“If there is any more increases of salaries the money for that will have to come from a national level, we just haven’t got it.

“I think councillors have been very supportive and I think the staff appreciate that. But, we just haven’t got that kind of money, and it has to come from a national level.

“Where will this will end up? I really don’t know. We can’t do any more as a council now, it is higher than us, and it needs to be discussed at a higher level. Lets see what comes back from the discussions ongoing at a national level.”

Chief Executive Ian Bancroft added, “That £600,000 was a big commitment, mainly to make sure that people at the lower scale levels were right within the pay structure. So it has gone in at that level, in terms of addressing that. So that that offer and that work as a council at a local level has been really important to try and provide support to employees, who we absolutely recognise are in a difficult cost of living crisis. But, our budgets are very difficult as well, and pay is a nationally negotiated position that we need to follow the procedures for.”

Cllr Pritchard added, “All the elected members that I’ve spoken to, and I have spoken to lots, everybody is sympathetic and understands where the members of staff are, and the unions, but the decision isn’t our decision to make – we’ve got no more money.

“That is why I did the radio interview, to put that out there, so everybody could understand where we are.

“But, if there’s money coming from a national level, and a deal is reached, we will celebrate that.

“But, where we are as a council, no we haven’t got any more money. There is nothing there. Wrexham County Borough Council has no more finances left to give.”

Peter Hughes, Unite Wales Regional Secretary said; “These strikes are about the scourge of low pay within local authorities. It can’t be acceptable for council workers who provide essential public services to be earning salaries that are barely above the national minimum wage.”

“Welsh councils must stop hiding behind the position of the Local Authority Pay Body and see what they can do to improve our members terms and conditions at a local level. Until they do this our industrial action will continue”.