NO CONFIDENCE VOTE IN ROW OVER COUNCIL PENSIONS Be the first reader to comment on this story
CHRIS DAVIES10:00 - 22 November 2005
Around 1,000 council staff have delivered a vote of no confidence in Swansea's chief executive Tim Thorogood, with union leaders warning strike action could be next.It follows a row between council staff and management over changes to the pension plan. Union leaders say the council has told them to accept the deal on offer or it will be forced on them.That would mean every council employee being technically sacked, their contract terminated and staff then being rehired under new terms, a move dismissed by the council at this stage.Jeff Baker, of Unison, said the council was holding a gun to employees' heads and forcing them into action. The vote was taken at a meeting of council staff at the Brangwyn Hall yesterday.He said: "There were 1,000 staff and all unions were represented and in the process of the debate there was a vote of no confidence in the chief executive. They saw this pension reduction as the latest issue in the way Tim Thorogood is running authority industrial relations - he is seen as the driving force behind these negotiations."A report to council on Thursday is expected to call for staff to accept the terms or have them forced on them.The controversial changes involve pension cash paid to council staff who are made redundant, meaning less money.A sliding scale reflecting how long an employee has been with the council has been put to staff.Mr Baker said: "The authority sold it to the public as wasteful golden handshakes. It may be the case for the top bosses but for most staff it isn't."Why are they insisting on pushing this through for the next financial year? The only reason we can see is that there is going to be redundancies in the near future. There is a possible hidden agenda."A spokesman for Swansea Council said the policy affected a tiny minority of staff and the current situation was unaffordable.He said: "Last year, £2.8 million was paid in added years awards to 77 council employees, including teaching staff."This money had to be diverted from services, not the pension fund, and places a huge strain on the council's finances. This is unsustainable and could lead to services being reduced in order to meet the cost of added years payments."We believe this policy provides reasonable redundancy protection while balancing the interests of the council tax payers of Swansea."Mr Baker said: "If there is no improvement in the current offer or there is no attempt to negotiate, our members are prepared to ballot for industrial action. All unions have agreed on that."