Council workers refuse to sign new pay agreement

Published 5 Jan 2010 16:14 69 Comments

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Chief executive Angela Leitch insists the introduction of single status is the right thing to do - to treat staff previously on different terms and conditions equitably. (Picture by David Robertson)

FURIOUS council workers in Clackmannanshire facing pay cuts of thousands of pounds are refusing to sign up to a new single status agreement.

Many employees also refuse to believe that the slashing of their salaries is unrelated to the council's current financial crisis.

They have raised concerns over the future pensions of those facing cuts and over changes to the way they will be paid - and they have attacked the trade unions for failing to protect their members.

The council, however, has stressed the reduction in salaries for some employees is not in response to the £9 million 'black hole' in its budget which was revealed in November last year.

It points out that it has a legal responsibility to implement a salary structure which gives equal pay for work of a similar nature and value, and says its pay bill will actually increase by around three per cent in the next financial year.

However, the workers who received letters just a few days before Christmas informing them their job grades had been reduced, claim the council's actions have destroyed staff morale within the organisation.

Sickening

One worker told the Advertiser website, "I have never seen anything like this in my 18 years as a local government employee. It is sickening that anyone in this present climate is being asked to take a wage cut when everything else is going north.

"This is the short-sighted idealism I have seen over the last couple of years from the folks who are now running the council.

"Sadly the unions haven't done any good either. They haven't been protecting the members.

"Demoralised doesn't even come close to how everyone is feeling."

Disproportionate

Another employee commented, "Single status is meant to be about greater fairness and equality, yet anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see that the vast majority of those hit will be the lower paid - jobs where there are a massively disproportionate number of women. So much for fairness and equality."

He also questioned what would happen to those employees a few years away from retirement.

While their pay will be protected for three years, he suggested their pensions would be based on the lower salaries, potentially having a major impact on retirement plans.

A road sweeper told the Advertiser his salary would drop from £15,400 to £11,300 - a cut of 26 per cent.

Others told of cuts of up to £7000, and claimed the council was also planning to make staff work longer hours for no additional pay.

And a number of council staff have told the Advertiser they won't be signing up to the single status agreement.

One of them said, "I sent back the form refusing the new contract.

"I've been with the council for 20 years and the £11,300 I was offered is what I was getting 10 years ago. The council doesn't care about its workers.

"No wonder we feel like telling the council where to stick their jobs - but we can't, we've got bills and mortgages to pay. It sucks."

Another employee claims his workload has doubled in the last three years, yet his £11,500 salary is £2000 less than others doing the same job.

He says he raised the issue with the union 14 years ago and eventually thought the discrimination would end with the introduction of single status - but it hasn't.

He claims union officials have done nothing to protect his rights and even failed on many occasions to return his calls. He now plans to try to take the council to court.

Another employee also suggested the single status agreement was flawed.

She said, "I'm set for a reduction of over £2500. I only work part-time as a clerical assistant so this is going to be a big loss for me.

"I can't understand how a new pay structure that is meant to end inequality between males and females has resulted in a cut to my pay. The vast majority of clerical assistants in my office are females."

There is also anger over plans to change when council workers are paid. At the moment, many employees are paid every four weeks, two weeks in arrears and two weeks in advance. This will change from the new financial year to four weeks in arrears.

Workers claim this means they will receive half their wages in April, leaving many short of money to pay household bills and mortgages, and to feed their families.

One worker told the Advertiser, "It's disgusting the way we are being treated. The council has screwed up and lost millions and, as usual, it's us who ends up paying for it."

The council's chief executive Angela Leitch insisted the introduction of single status was not about cutting costs, but was a legal requirement to implement a pay scheme which gives equal pay for work of a similar nature and value.

"It is the right thing to do - to treat staff previously on different terms and conditions equitably," she said. "This applies to all local authorities.

"Clackmannanshire has put a lot of time and effort into producing a scheme that will see a significant proportion of staff gaining increased pay, as well as flexible working and increased holiday entitlement.

"While the majority of people will see their pay either increase or stay at a similar level, around a quarter of the workforce could potentially see a reduction in pay after a three-year protection period.

"We're strongly committed to working with these individuals to find ways to maintain their current salary levels by, for example, taking on a wider range of work.

"There is also an appeals procedure in place for any staff who feel that their job has been wrongly graded."

The chief executive added, "The new pay and grading scheme will see an overall increase in the council's pay bill of around three per cent. This is a significant investment in our staff.

"While the council - in common with other public sector organisations - faces difficult budget decisions, investing in and supporting our staff is a key priority."

She also pointed out that the change to pay wages in arrears would bring Clackmannanshire Council in line with the standard practice of other employers.

"Staff will receive detailed guidance in the new year, giving new pay dates and explaining the change," she said.

"Advances will be made to smooth the transition and these will be recovered gradually over the course of the financial year 2010-2011.

"Trained money advisors will be on hand for anyone who may experience difficulty in managing their finances during the transition."

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Mrs C
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Jan 7, 14:31
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What sort of pay cut is Ms Leitch taking as part of single-status I wonder?

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council worker
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Jan 7, 16:16
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liked the bit when she said that they would try to maintain the individuals salary by them taking on a wider range of work! aye good one Ms Leitch more work out of the indvidual for less money!

What planet are they on? siting in their nice cosy officies with hair-brained schemes playing with peoples livlihoods, making the single-status an excuse to slash poor paid workers because of their incompetence! They could not run a bath!

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readerscouncil
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Jan 7, 16:31
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"Sadly the unions haven't done any good either. They haven't been protecting the members."

There are no comments from any Union Officials in this article...

Unions are there to collectively support and stand up for the needs of the workers. These staff members have been paying their monthly union contributions, and from what I can gather, are not being supported.

Put pressure on your union reps!! Strike!! Put down your tools!! Demand your contributions back!!

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another council worker
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Jan 7, 21:53
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Its an outrage that the 'Chief Execs' of the council are not included in the single status. The single status should be applied to the whole council, starting at the top!! It does say that we can appeal - but this can (and will knowing Clack Council) take up to 3 years. This is definately to cover up the the incompetence of the council - if this massive mistake had been made in a business heads would roll.

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Cocteau Eight
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Jan 8, 08:18
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'This is a significant investment in our staff'! What a complete load of codswallop! As Ms Leitch knows full well, and is being completely disingenuous here in so knowing, the increase for the first 3 years is solely because of the 3 year cushion, not because of any 'investment in staff! What, Ms Leitch, will be the estimated saving to the Council's budget after the 3 year cushion, both in terms of salaries and pensions paid? And only 25% will suffer cuts?! Well, she knows full well that this is complete nonsense. I could be polite and use a big word like 'disingenuous', but this statement is a blatant lie!

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Clacks Resident
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Jan 8, 13:08
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It would be interesting to see who's salaries are getting increased - guaranteed it will not be those at the lower end of the chain, it will be those sitting in fancy offices making up blatant lies! Our council is a disgrace!

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another council worker
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Jan 8, 15:55
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Lets get rid of another mis represented story.

all this talk about different coloured circles.

no mention about the colour of your circle on any documents sent to staff.

on top of that staff need to look at this a lot more closely.

white circle does not mean you are staying the same.

the council have cut the rate for the job in other words the top of the scale (pay cut) and increased the working week by an hour (pay cut) not many if any white circles if you look at the two hourly rates 35 hr week and 36 hr week are staying the same.

ms Leitch ! just be honest it is about pay cuts to fix the budget not equality. the only reason its is costing more money is because of the preservation in three years time you will be saving big time. I bet you wont be around for that!

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council worker
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Jan 9, 13:35
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Reading today how much councils spent on the xmas festivities clackmannanshire spent £4,278.43p nice to see the cash strapped council have their priorities right, i noticed Stirling spent less £2,500!

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notsofatcat
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Jan 9, 18:13
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The council employees should be glad they have jobs, an income and pension. A lot of people are unemployed right now. I myself am self employed and work outside. Due to the bad weather since October (constant rain then freezing) my income has plummeted with the temperatures and I cannot afford to contribute to a private pension... I still have to pay full council tax and rent and get no help from anyone even though I have no income...

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Jimmy Neebur
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Jan 10, 02:07
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notsofatcat - I sympathise wae ye neebur as am self employed maself. If ye get yersel doon tae one of the cooncil offices ye can discuss discounts and other help ye might be entitled tae. Nae shame in gettin whit yer entitled tae. Hope things pick up fur ye neebur.

As for the cooncil workies, wae some of the pay cuts folk are talkin aboot, they may very well find themselves in a similar plummitin income position and have tae seek help like yerself.

As for yon comment aboot the cooncil spendin £4k on xmas - ah read that article tae in The Sun. Tae be honest, ah'd take whitever that paper says with a pinch of salt as they're very very anti-government - either local like oor cooncil or national. They probably asked the cooncils how much they spent on xmas - a bit like askin how long a piece of string is. Some cooncils would have included things others didnae and vise-versa. Ah think the £4k oor cooncil apparently spent wis nae bad - ah fair enjoyed the big lights switch on by the Provest and co. At least ah felt ah wis 'gettin somethin back' fur ma cooncil tax so widnae really class it as a waste... unless folk think xmas should huv been cancelled this year!!! It's not like the cooncil were needlessly frittering money on some mad-cap unnecessary scheme/project that would give zero-benefit tae the area. The lights etc gave me, and no doubt others, a fair bit of enjoyment throughoot the festive period.

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workie at clacks
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Jan 10, 10:07
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Jimmy well said however the cooncil are needlessly frittering money on some mad-cap unnecessary scheme/project that would give zero-benefit tae the area. This being management training (ah thought that's what we paid aww thon big bucks fur) PSIF aye another acronym fur Public sector improvement (consultancy's dream) money fur ald rope.

CIM that's the same as above but they need tae change the name cause yi might think its just aboot awards.

Here is the gid yin IIP (yes Investors in people) nae chance

And what does aw this cost hae a guess its mare than onny lights.

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Council Worker
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Jan 10, 20:40
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As a council worker who will face a substantial pay cut due to the new job evaluation scheme, I would like to ask Angela Leitch why "it is the right thing to do "- to impose a savage wage cut on over a quarter of the work force which incidentally includes a large number of female members of staff and state that it is about equality?

Why has it taken over ten years to for the council to implement the single status agreement ?

Why were the letters about how single status would affect staff held back in October and not sent out until December? Would it have anything to do with Janet Cadenhead statement on 2 December 2009 , with regard to addressing the financial problem facing the council, that with the exception of teaching staff there will be a drop in previously anticipated pay increases for council staff. This is in stark contrast to Angela Leitch who stated that the introduction of single status was not about cutting costs.

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workie at clacks
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Jan 11, 16:35
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workie at clacks it gets better than that IIP is to be rolled out in April just when this kicks in

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worker
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Jan 11, 17:48
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All senior management keep their 2% annual increase while staff such as cleaners, catering staff, bin men, care workers, social workers and call centre workers experience as much as 25% decreases in wages for some this is as much as £7,000 drop in wages. They are also planning to make staff work for an extra hour for no extra pay.

Also they are going to pay staff 50% of their wages in April as they move from a 2 week backdated wage to a monthly wage all in the name of equalities. The council also has announced a £9m deficit in its budget. Sounds more like a cost saving exercise than an equalities pay exercise. Also why are senior management, craft workers and teachers exempt from this. This has been announced to staff 2 weeks before Christmas

Furthermore why have elected members agreed to this I blame the labour party. voted in to look after the working class and who do they punish the low paid workers of the organisation while the fat cats of senior management keep their fat cat wages.

It would also appear that the HR Management team got a pay rise of aprox £10k out of this something is sus

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council worker
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Jan 11, 19:06
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This just show how incompetent the council is weeks ago i filled in the pink non-acceptence form rejecting the single-status today a memo from the boss in charge of my service had a list of names of people who did not let the single-status team know if they were accepting the single-status.

Everybody on the list had returned the pink slip it was a stupid memo because we all got letters after we returned the pink slips telling us we had time to change our minds. This council don't have a clue what their doing!

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bawbag
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Jan 12, 00:26
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If I were a strapped for case council wanting to rid myself of several hundred staff i would cut salaries by a huge amount and watch the head count drop like a stone. Many will resign and find better paid work.

I would then sit back and think what a great job i've done. I got rid of a couple of hundred employees AND I DIDNAE PAY A PENNY IN REDUNDANCY!

So how many staff will just leave and make her day?

Surprised our great union leader provost, Derek Stewart has said nothing about this. Its the unions that paid his way to Provost yet he says nothing...

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Triny bird
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Jan 12, 09:19
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THIS IS THE BIGGEST ABUSE OF SINGLE STATUS AND RESTRUCTURING I HAVE EVER SEEN. I WOULD ADVISE MS LEITCH (THE NAME SEEMS APPROPRIATE - LEECH) TO SERIOUSLY LOOK AGAIN AT HOW SHE HOPES TO MOTIVATE AND SUPPORT THE STAFF THAT KEEP HER IN HER WELL-PAID JOB, WHICH I NOTE IS NOT SUBJECT TO A PAY DECREASE. IT IS THE COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION OF THESE HARD WORKING INDIVIDUALS THAT KEEP THE TOWN RUNNING SMOOTHLY AND THROUGH DISILLUSIONING AND DISENGAGING THEM EVERYONE IN THE TOWN WILL SUFFER. I WONDER IF ALLOA'S AUDITING DEPARTMENT HAS CHECKED THAT ALL PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN PROPERLY ADHERED TO WITH REGARDS TO EVALUATIONS OF JOB ROLES ABD APPRAISALS? I AM SURE IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED! TO THE PERSON WHO THOUGHT COUNCIL WORKERS OUGHT TO BE GRATEFUL THEY HAVE A JOB...WITHOUT THESE PEOPLE THE TOWN OF ALLOA WOULD COLLAPSE SO I THINK YOU OUGHT TO RECONSIDER YOUR ILL INFORMED AND IGNORANT COMMENTS WHICH SHOW THAT YOU HAVE NO COMPREHENSION OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED AND THE APPALLING MANAGEMENT STAFF HAVE TO ENDURE!

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Red Circle Employee
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Jan 12, 09:43
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As a council worker I feel thoroughly demoralised through single status. I for one have never had my job evaluated, and wonder just how many other employees have been "Red Circled" without any consultation or evaluation of how their jobs work? We all have different roles, and these should have been looked at individually before rolling out an illinformed pay grading structure.Ms Leitch seems to claim that Single Status is for the greater good of Council employees. I urge her to speak to "her" employees and find out what "WE" are all thinking. All Council employees are aware of the "£9 million" blunder. All employees are also aware that the implementation of Single Status was pushed back to December after the Council realised they needed to claw money back due to the aforementioned blunder.We are being penalised because of the Council's incompetence. It is unfair and absolutely disgusting to treat your workforce like this. Without us, there would be NO Council!!!!

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LOOK HERE
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Jan 12, 13:22
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I think the views of the above people are spot on. There will be no council soon staff will have shifted to Fife, Falkirk and Stirling Council or Tesco's and ASDA which will be paying better money, have better job opportunities and will allow workers to make a real difference to society as a whole.

For the general public this does not mean Fat cats leave their job but the carers, cleaners, support staff to children in Schools, social workers to help the vulnerble and cooks who feed our old and vulnerble will be all gone no one will be left to do this work.

I think in summary this is a victory for budget management but a travesty for care and support to the vulnerble people out these in Clackmannanshire

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legaleagle
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Jan 13, 07:58
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This is a pretty emotive subject for obvious reasons. An examination of the facts appears to bear out the assertions that the exercise has been twisted from a purely pay -vs- job perspective to a workers -vs paybill reduction scenario purely in order to plug a gaping hole in the council finances/budgets.

People can blame the Chief Executive all they like, however, I would argue it's the ideological, arty-farty policies and principles of those we elected to represent us that is the root cause.

While some employees of the council remain disenfranchised, demoralised and soon to be skint ... 'look aboot ye' at who your politicians have made rich throughout their tenure! One (in)famous "Local Businessman" who has been described loosley as the saviour of Clackmannanshire and -if you believe the press- one who is worthy of a prestigious honour such as a knighthood or similar accolade, has swept to glorification courtesy of that elite school colloquially known as Cadenheads cronies. Perhaps if the ruling group stopped spending so much time manipulating circumstances to fit their friends ideals, more time could be spent getting to grips with serious matters such as budgets etc!

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contaxpayer
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Jan 13, 10:00
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it is often said that this council is a officer led council.

well i think you can now see this for all its worth.

if the elected members control this council it is about time they stood up abd be counted and

stop this whole process and ask some serious questions. it is quite clear here that the tail is not only wagging the dog but the dog is not being fed with the facts.

while it may cost the council to stop this mess right now, it is in the best interest of the tax payers that this is done correctly and legally. yes legally. the officers running this are either so niaive or arrogant that this will cost us tax payers more in legal costs than it will in doing it correctly.

at least have the courage to stop when you are heading towards the iceberg.

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Jimmy Neebur
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Jan 13, 12:35
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"at least have the courage to stop when you are heading towards the iceberg."

RMS Clacktanic sails on while the heid yins party doon below wae champers and canapes.

Yon Leonard DiCaprio could play the part of the Provest if they make a big budget movie aboot aw this.

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Elsie T
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Jan 13, 12:40
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Jimmy Neebur - am awfy glad yer self-employed and no browsing the tinternet aw day sittin at a cooncil desk!!

Ye fair make me laugh though!

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Jimmy Neebur
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Jan 13, 13:45
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Hahaha... one of ma workshop desks actually came second-haund fae a Central Region cooncil office clearance years ago!

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******
Jan 13, 23:26
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shipmate
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Jan 14, 07:25
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at least the RMS***anic had a captain. The Clacktanic only has a ...Steward trying to run this ship.

the purser is man over board

the lifeboads have been deployed

the entertainment staff (elected members) still play on unaware aboot whats goin on around them.

the engines are still running just aboot

but the rudder is brokernis it now time for a mutiny?

where is captain pugwash?

at least he was a captain

female drivers mmmm

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anon
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Jan 14, 07:44
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I have worked for the Council in school meals for 23 years. I am the low paid woman worker that has waited patiently for the last 12 years for single status to address my pay.

Single status implemented fairly would have seen my pay increase by a massive 13p per hour. Over a year that increase would amount to £235.

The Council, to offset its obligation to me, has chosen to impose a change to my present terms and conditions that will see me lose over a £1000 per year from my already low pay.

I received my letter of dismissal last week with an offer of re-engagement on the new terms which has to be signed soon. If I have not conformed to the council's bullying by then I will be dismissed and my last working day will be on March 31.

The council will not be drawn to an answer and feels what it has been produced should be accepted gratefully. Instead its civil servants will bury their heads and wait for it to pass, most likely with a pay rise to cover the stress they have suffered implementing further cuts to the low paid.

I do feel the council logo needs to be looked at. It don't see how it can justify "Clackmannanshire is open and transparent" when at least one thousand are to lose pay. Has anyone thought how the services will be delivered when staff have been sacked?

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info
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Jan 14, 07:46
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Please Notern

FORMER council care workers who missed out on five-figure equal pay claims have criticised their union and solicitors.

Colleagues Sylvia Webber and Marilyn Dwyer, from Erdington, were among thousands of women Birmingham City Council workers who were eligible to claim for equal pay following the controversial Single Status agreement in 1999.

Like many, they were kept in the dark over their rights until no-win no-fee lawyers started signing up claims in 2006 and 2007.

But while more than 4,000 of their former colleagues are taking legal action at an Employment Tribunal they have been told they do not have a case.

That is because Sylvia retired in 2002 and Marilyn left due to ill-health in 2005, and despite having 18 years and 16 years service caring for the city's frail and elderly, they did not make their claims within six months of leaving employment, which is the legal limit on equal pay claims.

They were given some hope however when Stefan Cross Solicitors offered to sue their union Unison for failing to inform them of their rights earlier.

Sylvia said: "The union knew about this long before we retired, but we were told nothing. So when a solicitor said they could help us sue the union for negligence we agreed."

The women, and scores of others in their position, had to take out insurance at £100 each, to cover them if their action failed at court and they were lumbered with legal costs.

The solicitor told them: "Even though we believe there is a relatively small risk of losing the case we still require you pay the premium so we can go ahead and sue the union."

Soon after paying up they were told that the court action could not go ahead.

Sylvia said: "We feel we have been misled all along. We did the work, we were underpaid for many years. Others are getting what they are entitled to. We are £100 out of pocket."

Spokesman for Stefan Cross Solicitors Paul Savage said: "We believed that the unions were negligent in not informing their members of their right to equal pay.

"But the legal advice was that the unions had dealt with single status as a collective issue."

Unison would only comment that the matter had been dealt with in the courts.

The outcome of the tribunal, in which more than 4,000 woman are suing Birmingham City Council over equal pay, is expected in March.

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info
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Jan 14, 07:58
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As guidance published by ACAS (the national arbitration service) warns, the job evaluation

process used by this Council to regrade jobs is not scientifically precise. An

Employment Appeal Tribunal has similarly warned that the results "may offend

commonsense".

The scores awarded by job evaluation have a significant margin of error and jobs are

downgraded with no reduction in the workloads and duties. Which jobs go up or down

depends on how a council decides to translate the scores into grades. [It is highly suspicious

if managers gain and low paid workers lose.]

If councillors look at the Single Status News feature of the Labouruniondigest

website, http://www.labouruniondigest.org.uk/index.php?page_id=13, they will see how lifealtering

pay cuts are increasingly causing damage to morale, industrial relations, workers'

health and ultimately council services.

The unions, having promised their members before they voted for Single Status that "nobody

should lose" in pay and grading reviews, are morally bound to oppose pay cuts, even if these

are phased in. It is clear from landmark legal judgements that there is no equal pay

justification for pay cuts when, as is almost invariably the case with pay and grading reviews,

the downgraded jobs are not predominantly male.

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Unfare
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Jan 14, 08:01
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The Council are proposing to dramatically cut the salaries of various staff including officers, technicians and low-paid workers after job evaluation processes. Hundreds of staff are being asked to accept pay cuts ranging from £400 to £8,000 in monetary terms - around 20-30% of our salaries. This is unacceptable.

The proposed reduction in salary will cause hardship for many people. In some cases, where two members of a family both work for the Council, they could be losing over Â£10,000 per annum. This is a devastating blow for staff who just want to continue with the job that they have been contracted to do. The several hundred people being down-graded are employed in a wide variety of posts, in departments throughout the Council, so the impact will be widespread.

There is no question about the support for the other employees pay, but not at the expense of other equally hard working members of staff. Local government employees deserve fair pay and deserve compensation for past discrimination. Other employees pay, conditions, and jobs should not have to pay for this legal requirement. Nor should the public through cuts in services or big rises in Council Tax.

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Rudi
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Jan 14, 09:31
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Blame your Union Unison along with the rest of the Unions involved... it was them who agreed to JE in the first place.

Stop paying your Union dues and invest the money in a 'legal cover' insurance policy the next time you renew your insurance. make sure it covers employment issues though :-)

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council worker
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Jan 14, 16:03
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I will lose £4,000 i earn £15,000 at this present time my 20 yrs service means nothing to the council.

But the council's probably thinking he's just a roadsweeper he will just accept us slashing his wages!

I think its time for industrial action now let the council see how we are all feeling, i am surprised the national newspapers are not covering this story!

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Programme Contributor
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Jan 14, 22:29
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I've worked for the Council for over 20 years. I enjoy my job and feel I give good value for the service I provide. However I work shifts and I will lose my shift allowance in March. This could cause problems to services throught the Council in particular and the community in general.

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Angry Cynic
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Jan 15, 00:24
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Single Status leading to pay cuts, stress, demotivation, removal of goodwill, etc, so what to do next? Go for Investors in People, to show how much you care about your staff! Laugh? I nearly did! And then what? Restructure, that's what? Move people around, get rid of services (Housing?) and then, having done what new Chief Execs obviously feel they have to do - make waves - get a job with a bigger local authority elsewhere, leaving the newly created chaos behind!! You know it's going to happen

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red
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Jan 15, 07:58
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At least they are now restructuring the senior management of this place it looks like they are firing most of the HOS and getting rid of most of the time wasters how have let the organisation get into the position it is now.

So at least the management will now see how the workers feel !!

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Angry Bystander
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Jan 16, 00:40
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Wrong Red. What they are doing is breaking up Housing, making the Council the only authority in the whole of the UK, I believe, without a Housing Services, splitting the whole service and therefore further demotivating staff and damaging the service that tenants receive severely, and that goes without mentioning that one of the motivations is to use the rents paid by tenants, that should go towards their services, to subsidise other Council services, without having consulted anyone.

The people that got the Council in this position are not based in front line services such as Housing, but Housing (and it is not alone in this) will suffer, so that Ms Leitch can also mention a restructure on her CV when she cuts and runs.

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HRA
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Jan 16, 14:25
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"use the rents paid by tenants, that should go towards their services, to subsidise other Council services" - so the concept of a legally ring-fenced Housing Revenue Account is being ignored then? I doubt whether your observation could actually be correct Angry Bystander as there is legislation preventing what you describe. Then again, we are dealing with a council that acts first and thinks later.

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Angry Bystander
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Jan 16, 23:55
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Unfortunately, HRA, it might be illegal, but then again, there's a requirement to consult with tenants before such a restructure takes place. Has this happened?! Illegality does not seem to be a block to the CE and cronies!

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OmG
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Jan 17, 11:38
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analyse the situation;

1) An innefective Roads Department that's only bothered about screwing up the county's traffic systems

2) A housing service managing 5000 houses and whose ratio of staff to houses is currently 1-33 compared with a 1-700 30 years agorn3) Arty farty posts such as 'walking officer 'artist/poets in residence' what is their 'contribution'to this area?

4) Senior officials who don't live here and therefore have no legitimate moral standing on policies affecting CLACKS residents

5) A ruling council bereft of any meaningful policies except sacking people in an election year

6) A chief executive officer who is quite obviously way out of her depth on certain matters

7) officers awarding lucrative 'consultancy deals' to family members

8) Extensive and unabashed cronyism between councillors and certain local business peoplernThe council is rotten FROM the core as opposed to it

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Red
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Jan 18, 14:24
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Angry Bystander

All HOS have signed off or have complied with Single Status. They knew who was getting red and that it was not followijg proper processes. So they get what they deserve.

In relation to Housing the staff will still be doing the same work plus extra for the same wages but under another department. The weorkers will still in work while the HOS will be taking a nice little package and will back working as a consulatant or HOS in another organisation by the end of the year

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Interested Party
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Jan 18, 18:44
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Wrong again Red!

Senior management went through all the job review forms before the summer and the resulting review led to very different figures in terms of how many people would gain, stay the same and lose out from single status. Then along came budget difficulties and delays in releasing the results of this process and, lo and behold, when the results were finally released they were very different from what senior management (barring the CE and one or 2 of her acolytes) believed they would be. Amazingly enough, not all of senior management are the enemy here.

And, further to this, whilst I agree with your irritation regarding people being made redundant and then returning, at higher rates, on consultancy fees, amazingly enough a lot of the senior management who are suffering from this ridiculous and totally unprecedented restructure are extremely dedicated to the role of local government, i.e. providing essential and beneficial services to the local community, unlike the CE, whose interest is to get a good CV, make a name for herself, get a job with a bigger council and screw Clacks!

The CE clearly loves the concept of divide and rule and it appears to be working here!

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Interested Party
Unregistered User
Jan 18, 19:11
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Wrong again Red!

Senior management went through all the job review forms before the summer and the resulting review led to very different figures in terms of how many people would gain, stay the same and lose out from single status. Then along came budget difficulties and delays in releasing the results of this process and, lo and behold, when the results were finally released they were very different from what senior management (barring the CE and one or 2 of her acolytes) believed they would be. Amazingly enough, not all of senior management are the enemy here.

And, further to this, whilst I agree with your irritation regarding people being made redundant and then returning, at higher rates, on consultancy fees, amazingly enough a lot of the senior management who are suffering from this ridiculous and totally unprecedented restructure are extremely dedicated to the role of local government, i.e. providing essential and beneficial services to the local community, unlike the CE, whose interest is to get a good CV, make a name for herself, get a job with a bigger council and screw Clacks!

The CE clearly loves the concept of divide and rule and it appears to be working here!

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Interested Party
Unregistered User
Jan 18, 19:26
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Wrong again Red!

Senior management went through all the job review forms before the summer and the resulting review led to very different figures in terms of how many people would gain, stay the same and lose out from single status. Then along came budget difficulties and delays in releasing the results of this process and, lo and behold, when the results were finally released they were very different from what senior management (barring the CE and one or 2 of her acolytes) believed they would be. Amazingly enough, not all of senior management are the enemy here.

And, further to this, whilst I agree with your irritation regarding people being made redundant and then returning, at higher rates, on consultancy fees, amazingly enough a lot of the senior management who are suffering from this ridiculous and totally unprecedented restructure are extremely dedicated to the role of local government, i.e. providing essential and beneficial services to the local community, unlike the CE, whose interest is to get a good CV, make a name for herself, get a job with a bigger council and screw Clacks!

The CE clearly loves the concept of divide and rule and it appears to be working here!

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Interested Party
Unregistered User
Jan 18, 20:03
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Wrong again Red!

Senior management went through all the job review forms before the summer and the resulting review led to very different figures in terms of how many people would gain, stay the same and lose out from single status. Then along came budget difficulties and delays in releasing the results of this process and, lo and behold, when the results were finally released they were very different from what senior management (barring the CE and one or 2 of her acolytes) believed they would be. Amazingly enough, not all of senior management are the enemy here.

And, further to this, whilst I agree with your irritation regarding people being made redundant and then returning, at higher rates, on consultancy fees, amazingly enough a lot of the senior management who are suffering from this ridiculous and totally unprecedented restructure are extremely dedicated to the role of local government, i.e. providing essential and beneficial services to the local community, unlike the CE, whose interest is to get a good CV, make a name for herself, get a job with a bigger council and screw Clacks!

The CE clearly loves the concept of divide and rule and it appears to be working here!

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Interested Party
Unregistered User
Jan 18, 20:05
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Dunno what's going on here. My comment may have been ok, but not worthy of being here 3 times!

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Jimmy Neebur
Unregistered User
Jan 18, 20:44
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Hahaha.... the Advertiser t'interweb page must have thought it wis a braw comment eh! Ah fair enjoyed readin it maself 4 times neebur! Some amount of comments own this page now... surely must be an Advertiser record or somethin?

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Jimmy Lafferty
Unregistered User
Jan 19, 09:01
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Next they will be sacking manual workers and replacing them with Agency workers....OOPS sorry they already doing this, how many manual jobs are being filled by agency workers?, every job that come up so striking wont make any difference, strike and they still get the work done, maybe this is part of the master plan..I see the council have just employed another 4 made up admin posts, instaed of 1 they have one for each of there main offices at a cost of well over 100k, not bad considering the streets are filthy for the want of employing front line staff.I myself have written along with sent photos to the Scottish Office regarding the street cleaning here in the we county, its way of the E.U standards that councils must adhere to. If you go off the main roads and look into the housing schemes they are something to be desired. Its time the people of this county STOPPED paying there Council Tax on the grounds that its not value for oney, after all they get rid of services that they think isnt good value for money so this can work 2 ways. This Council isnt all bad, there are some departments that are still run okay, but are burdened by top heavy management which should be trimmed down and this money either saved or put towards manual more staffing that will get this County back to its former glory, once upon a time Alloa was a nice town but then again that was when there were few Chiefs and those who run the authority lived local so the objective was to look after the place they lived and worked in. As one manager said to me when i asked him about the amount of new private housing being built here and the lack of services being expanded " who cares really, I dont live here" you know who you are.

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Jimmy Lafferty
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Jan 19, 09:01
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Next they will be sacking manual workers and replacing them with Agency workers....OOPS sorry they already doing this, how many manual jobs are being filled by agency workers?, every job that come up so striking wont make any difference, strike and they still get the work done, maybe this is part of the master plan..I see the council have just employed another 4 made up admin posts, instaed of 1 they have one for each of there main offices at a cost of well over 100k, not bad considering the streets are filthy for the want of employing front line staff.I myself have written along with sent photos to the Scottish Office regarding the street cleaning here in the we county, its way of the E.U standards that councils must adhere to. If you go off the main roads and look into the housing schemes they are something to be desired. Its time the people of this county STOPPED paying there Council Tax on the grounds that its not value for oney, after all they get rid of services that they think isnt good value for money so this can work 2 ways. This Council isnt all bad, there are some departments that are still run okay, but are burdened by top heavy management which should be trimmed down and this money either saved or put towards manual more staffing that will get this County back to its former glory, once upon a time Alloa was a nice town but then again that was when there were few Chiefs and those who run the authority lived local so the objective was to look after the place they lived and worked in. As one manager said to me when i asked him about the amount of new private housing being built here and the lack of services being expanded " who cares really, I dont live here" you know who you are.

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rob
Unregistered User
Jan 19, 11:06
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Oh quit winging....you get what you vote for, ie corrupt cronies.

And judging by the amount of council workers on here the workforce could do with a cull..lol.

The council is the biggest employer in clacks, that is shameful.

For years the depts have been stuffing in non-jobs...."walking officers"...."global warming co-ordinators"...."community blah blahs"....all on £30k+pension+petrol+perks.

As soon as someone mentions cuts, the council hide behind the dinner ladies/street cleaners/gritters/ etc. Don't get fooled again.

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anon
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Jan 19, 13:55
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Rob - by a long long way the 2 biggest budget areas in the Council are Education and Social Services. Would you like the Council to shut some schools as part of the cull you propose? Also, we all know what happens when you make cuts in social work etc - headline cases we've all seen on the tv. I'm sure though your cull will be popular with the local community.

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red
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Jan 19, 15:55
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Red

Why don't you do an FOI request. You will find that very few staff are on £30k+pensions+petrol+perks most are on 15K+pension 6% wages + petrol which they will be taxed on - no perks

You could widen this out and say if the bankers who were on £100k+petrol+pensions+perks inc jollies in the USA had not bankrupted the country then we would now be saying staff at Clacks are getting equal pay, are motivated and trying their hardest to help the most vulnerble, educate our children and attract businesses to the area.

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council worker
Unregistered User
Jan 19, 16:43
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As a streetsweeper my self who will lose £ 4,000 off my £15.500 in 3 yrs time the unlikely event of me still working for the council the streets will be dirtier as i will have no incentive to work for wages i earned 15 yrs agornAnd i can't see many people wanting to apply for a job as a streetsweeper doing a 35hr week out in all weathers working for £11.500

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ono
Unregistered User
Jan 19, 23:36
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Rob the only cul that is required is that of the chief executive. someone that can come up with this hair brain scheme is not fit to manage the council. tax payers i would like to know how do you sack the ce. must be her boss i thought it might be us or the so called elected members. also with the amount of comments on this i think it must be time for the Alloa advertiser to move this up to the nationals as this is fast becoming a farce

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Red Circle Employee
Unregistered User
Jan 20, 10:09
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As a council employee can I just thank all those that have commented and supported the workforce during this frustrating time.

Although we're all stuck between a rock and hard place it is somewhat heartening to see that the local community who are not employed by the council are also flabbergasted by our plight.

Let's hope Ms Leitch visits this site and finds this interesting reading material.

It seems everyone has an opinion - with the majority finding Single Status RIDICULOUS!!

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outraged
Unregistered User
Jan 20, 23:50
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I must agree with ono in that I now believe it is time to move this to the national press. I cannot believe they have not picked up on this yet perhaps the article with MSP will give more media coverage. The coverage it deserves.

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Jimmy Lafferty
Unregistered User
Jan 21, 22:13
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C.mon what we need to ask is does teh council need as many offices? I think not didnt need them years ago when the countyw as bustling place with 100% housing stock lovely gardens everywhere that had beds of nice plants etc etc, they have gone but in place we have pen pushers who are basically doing a job thatw as created on the break up of the region..These posts themselves have more than doubled again,this doesnt help run schools nor anything else, we have already had school closures and with more to come, Claremont schoole earmarked for closure{the grounds worth a few bob}, and St.Johns school{more land sold for housing..private of course} will go and they will be merged into 1 1school built on the rewell football parks, there goes another public bit of land used by the community...This Council isa disgrace, Claremont schools in good condition, St.Johns in need of repair but its more cost effective to sell the land off and rake in more money from the sale of land for housing especially when the land is in the likes of Claremont area where its woth so much more, thats why the new schoolw asnt rebuilt on the present Alla Academy site. Also someone mentioned the Chief Executive position, she has been placed in that job as its a political placement, she will do what she is ordered to do by the same people who want the school closures to go ahead, it happens everytime big changes are going to take place, but you woulg agree to they demands as well if you were being offered wages in excess of 60k plus expenses.When voting time comes you have to vote those people who run teh council out of office, they are only there because we put them there to do a job, IS THAT JOB BEING DONE?. Is Alloa getting any better? okay we have new bridge, new train station but those are nothing to do with the council but Scottish Office money, these things apart are we getting good value for money? ithink we are being sold down the river, the workers and the taxpayers..Lets change it.

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Tellthe politicians
Unregistered User
Jan 27, 11:23
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Don't agree that the Council is a disgrace Jimmy Clacks council was the Audit commissions top performing Council last year. Compared to other areas it does a good job of keeping the streets clean, schools well looked after and staff well motivated.....untill now.

Job evaluation has wreaked havoc with othe Council's reducuing staff morale and taking away staff buy in. The real work gets done by the willing and involved.

It's easy to Council bash Jimmy but look at the positives, the railway, bridge, all new high schools, Alloa regeneration, soon a New College more centrally located all helped along by motivated and loyal staff. Job evaluation has been brought in with an attempt to do away with conditions of service and downgrade lots of staff meaning real cuts in pay this means the biggest employer in Clackmannanshire I beleive reducing the committment and effectiveness of the Country's top performing Council....Why? I agree that the school merger would be a mistake by the way Primary schools do benefit from the small is beautiful philosophy and it shouldn't be just about cost savings.

I advise everyone to e-mail your Councillor with your concerns about Job Evaluation.

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Tellthe politicians
Unregistered User
Jan 27, 11:40
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Local papers are quoting prominent local politicians saying no cuts in wages till 2013. That is just not true, staff who have been recieving allowances as part of their pay will recieve enormous cuts in April. The small print in the Council's Job evaluation literature says changes in conditions of service will be implemented in April, as well as a halving of pay when the Council takes back it's two weeks advance payment. In reality this amounts to hundreds of pounds lost from pay as the Council tries to sneak in it's cut's to condition of service with job evaluation. The Council are not trying to minimise the financial loss to staff by the way they are not even answering questions from staff but referring this to a helpline who have been told not to answer any questions.

People need to deal with this at source, it's your Councillor who's in charge not the officers so get in touch with them and let them know the reality. Could they afford to lose hundreds of pounds a month? Oh yeah and is sacking 75% of your staff and re-employing them on worse terms really about equal pay, everyone agrees that low pay should be dealt with but this exercise was supposed to be about "no detriment". The choice staff have been given is take it or leave your job that's hardly ethical or moral behaviour.

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Tellthe politicians
Unregistered User
Jan 27, 11:45
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The Council are meeting tomorrow to discuss job evaluation so e-mail your Councillor now and tell him?her how these proposals affect you ad your family...just do it.

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WTF
Unregistered User
Jan 31, 09:17
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I would like to add comment to this job evaluation carry on.I can't understand how some managers and good payed workers were all getting pay cuts from 4k-7k are now getting a slight pay rise up to 1k. Is this a case of HR looking after the clique ? I think so. Hr have decided that i dont need to read and write to do my job,yet i'm handed job sheets and maps....doh.

I would like to hear that the Hr staff who have worked on this scheme will be made redundant after this farce has been sorted out,as 3 people have been employed to do the job they previously done. I can't see the logic in that.Not very bright i would say to make your self redundant.

I mind a meeting at the town hall when a member of staff asked for assistance to fill the form in.The head of HR said he would go visit or get someone down to help and advise with it.5 years on they are still waiting.But he says his door is always open...he isn't in but it's open.Your a joke man.

I hear the councillors have given all power to the leech to steamroll this J E through.They should hold there head in shame. From what i hear most council employees will not be giving Labour there vote...So Wee Dec and co,move over and let the SNP clean up your mess.What a pity we didn't have 12 Craig Holdens. I never thought i would see a council work force vote to get Labour out.

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OmG
Unregistered User
Jan 31, 09:27
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Apart from Keith Brown, what is our other MP doing about it? Presumably, because of his deafening silence onb the matter he must support it?

The sooner this labour lot are ejected from 'power' the better, and that's me speaking as a soon to be ex-labour party member!!!!

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jake
Unregistered User
Jan 31, 11:33
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Who is this Angela Leitch ?

She seems to be causing some hassle since she came to power.

Public vote of no confidence should rid us of the Labour councillors and the Leitch

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Jimmy Lafferty
Unregistered User
Feb 3, 15:53
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The council was run better when the councillors cared about the way that its employees were treated,social deprevation is no way to treat anyone no matter what there job is,wheres the dignity in slashing low paid wokers wages or giving some fat cats huge pay offs only to be bring them back in the back door as Consultants earning anything upto £700 per day...Regarding a comment made earlier regarding the Clacks having the best council, these figures are all political games mate, like the unemployments figures,the hospital waiting times etc etc,they print what you want to hear, look at the place, yes its got a railway station{private Investment and some govt funding},the new bridge again nothing to do with clacks council, Fife and scotish office mainly,the new schools Private funding once again that WILL cost this council millions over the course of the next 25 years.Streets and filthier now than they ever were, why because they wont employee enough people to clean to them.Education is being slashed to the point where Scools have no books, most of the support staff have either been paid off or had there hours slashed to a point where its not worth it anymore..look around you, GO BEYOND the main roads and into the schemes themselves,unsightly and unsafe for kids thats the truth of it.This Council has let everything run down over the years in a deliberate ploy untill its so bad they can then apply for E.U grants as its classed as a deprived area..Like the town centre getting 2 million pound grant,lets see what they do with the money.,i can tell you now it wont be much and what it will be is something that will have to be rectified because some Shirt n tie in Kilncraigs or didnt bother checking the work as it went along.Truth is this Councils offices are awash with white collar workers who couldnt run for a bus let alone run a department, the Councillors now are not of the standards we had of late, the Theresa Mc Nallys or Margaret Patersons, Harry Brown etc,sorry but its needing cleaned out desperately and its coming soon..

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Shamie
Unregistered User
Feb 3, 21:37
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I find this very disturbing when you consider the levels of poverty that are obvious in the Alloa area. This is a classical move by those who are in a safe haven to make the working class pay for the financial mistakes of the few and as has been pointed out earlier the CE is a civil servant yet is operating like a dictator. What are Councillors doing to keep her in check? The CE is there to advise council not dictate.Democracy turned on its head. We should call a public meeting and vent our anger on the total mismanagement of our public service by totally incompetent council management

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Angry Bystander
Unregistered User
Feb 3, 21:53
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Unfortunately, Shamie, whilst you're absolutely correct, we have councillors who are too thick to be able to think for themselves and are too ready to listen to a leader whose oly question of the leitch is to ask how high when told to jump. One councillor who seems to be active in questioning what is happening is Cllr Holden, but one of them isn't enough. Roll on the elections!

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******
Feb 4, 21:56
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Shamie
Unregistered User
Feb 4, 22:26
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Further to your comment "Angry Bystander" while you say roll on the elections and mention the fact that there is only one Councillor (Holden) who is challenging the administration that is the precise reason why I mentioned that we should call a public meeting of all councillors and make them accountable for their lack of action. These elected representatives think that the only time they feel the need to listen to the electorate is when they are canvassing. I dont agree with you on "Roll On the Elections" as it will be the same old story ....promises will be given and hands will be shook and the odd wink of an eye will return the same old faces. Cllr Holden may well challenge the establishment and he is right too but his voice is alone one and he is seen as a renegade to those whom want it handy so they can get their allowance and photograph taken and allow administration to call the shots. Cllrs are in effect our civil servants and so should be held to account as any employee would should they not follow their terms of reference.

I say get a public meeting organised and make them all accountable! lets call it a mid term audit!!!

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Tell the politicians
Unregistered User
Feb 4, 23:52
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Great idea Shamie we should ask them to face the people. You might need some of those stun guns that Strathclyde Police are trialling...to shock some life into their morality glands.

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Angry Bystander
Unregistered User
Feb 5, 09:30
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Probably right Shamie! Ultimately, the main aim of most councillors is to get themselves re-elected. Those who see themselves as servants of their electorate are a rarity!

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political posturing
Unregistered User
Feb 17, 15:21
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Agree with you Shamie.

The vast majority of Local Councillors are married to their political parties, those political parties come over and above the people that they are supposed to represent and those people who actually elected them in the first place!

For years it's been X, Y, Z political party asks their councillor to jump, councillor replies "how high master?"

It's time to do away with party politics in local government and get people outwith politics who know about their areas to stand for election.

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BoB
Unregistered User
Feb 25, 07:23
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The council employees need to adopt a better attitude rather than drowning in self pity.

Think what can I do for my council, not what can my council do for me!

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