Shock wage cuts for Dudley Council workers

More than 1,200 workers at Dudley Council were today being told they face salary cuts as part of an equal pay shake-up.

In a shock announcement, council leader Les Jones revealed that 14 per cent of the authority's 9,000 staff will be offered a reduced salary – and some could lose more than a quarter of their annual pay cheque.

One-to-one discussions with 350 employees who are facing a cut of 15 per cent or more were starting today.

The offer has been formally submitted to trade unions, who have six weeks to decide whether they are acceptable. Under the offer, around 47 per cent of staff would maintain the same basic pay and 38 per cent will see an increase.

"Discussions have been ongoing with staff and trade unions for some months now and we have got to have a point where we say this is the offer we are going to make," said Councillor Jones.

"We have to make sure these people who are going to be affected are told as soon as possible. It is unfortunate that some people will be negatively affected but we have no choice."

If the proposals are agreed the new arrangements will come into effect in April 2012.

The changes are for the single status agreement which aims to introduce a fairer pay scale for people performing different jobs at a similar level.

Job evaluations have been taking place over previous months to determine whether, for example, a parking warden should be paid the same wage as a receptionist, and so on.