Shropshire Council's U-turn on sick pay welcomed
Shropshire Council's U-turn on changes to staff sick pay will help restore its relationship with its employees, union bosses said today.
Thousands of council workers threatened to strike over controversial changes to their sick pay last year. But following talks with union officials, Shropshire Council is to scrap the 'unfair' policy – and go back to paying staff for the first three days of sickness absence, regardless of their previous sickness record.
Changes to sick pay guidelines were implemented last October in a bid to save £7 million.
The dispute, which saw staff stage a one-day walkout last September, also centred on a 4.4 per cent pay cut, over two years.
Union officials claimed just £114,000 was saved in 12 months under the new sick pay rules, instead of the £1 million originally anticipated by the council.
Alan James, Unison branch secretary, welcomed the announcement, saying it was a 'positive step' in the relationship between the council and its staff.
He said: "Unison was the only trades union to oppose the introduction of a sickness policy that we always said was unfair and discriminatory.
"Unison branch officers have worked tirelessly over the last 12 months to get to the stage we are now at and we view this move as a positive step in restoring the relationship between Shropshire Council and its employees.
"We acknowledge the role elected members have played in arriving at this position and we give a commitment to Shropshire Council to continue working with them on addressing sickness levels that will lead to the council achieving targets in this area."
The council's cabinet is expected to approve the new policy which will take effect on November 1.
By Catherine Ferris
