Sandwell Council staff to take industrial action over pay dispute

Members of Unison and Unite – working in Sandwell Council’s local neighbourhood offices – have voted to begin a ‘work to rule’ from May 10, which will see them refusing to take calls or pass along information on areas of work they have not been assessed on.

The 14 customer service assistants all voted for action over a pay grading dispute. They said a ‘poor evaluation’ process failed to take into account the emotional demands they face performing certain duties.

They will refuse to handle inquiries such as evictions or exchange information with other council departments or partners.

The union has also warned staff will not be dealing with deaths because of the emotional demands it places on workers.

Unite says the staff are paid between £19,000 and £20,000 a year and that its members could be losing out on an extra £5,000 per annum.

The union claims it has sought to resolve the issue through negotiation but its attempts have been repeatedly rebuffed by the authority.

Brian Rickers, a Unite regional officer, said: “Sandwell Council has botched its job evaluation exercise and failed to consider the demanding roles our members undertake for and on behalf of the general public.

“Rather than deal with the problem Sandwell has put its head in the sand and hoped that it would go away. Our members will not continue to allow themselves to be exploited and are being forced to take industrial action as a last resort.

“As Sandwell Council has refused to acknowledge key parts of the roles that customer assistants undertake it is only reasonable that they withdraw from performing these roles.

“The industrial action will inevitably cause disruption to the service that Sandwell provides to its residents but this is entirely of the council’s own making and it has the power to resolve it.”

Members of Unison are also affected by the job grading exercise and have voted in favour of industrial action.

Tony Barnsley, branch secretary for Unison said, “The unprecedented 100 per cent vote for action in a formal ballot by both unions just shows how strongly our members feel after they were denied a re-grade on the duties that they currently perform.

“Our members want grade justice under our national job evaluation scheme." Unfortunately, they are now being forced into a position where the dedicated hard-working staff will now need to withdraw from performing certain duties to demonstrate to the council’s senior management what they do.

“We apologise to the public in advance, if they struggle to get the service they are used to.”

The industrial action will be in the form of a work to rule that will affect housing offices in Tipton, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Smethwick, Oldbury and Blackheath. Sandwell Council have been formally notified that the action will begin on May 10.

Matthew Law from Unite the union said, “Unite members voted 100 per cent for action on an 85 per cent turnout. All we are asking for is grade justice for Customer Service Assistants, who help a range of people with their housing problems at the front desks of the local offices.

“We call upon the council to ensure the national grading scheme is applied correctly. We call upon the council to intervene and engage in meaningful negotiations if the action is to be avoided.”

When contacted, Sandwell Council declined to comment.