Shetland Council has been forced to withdraw its plans for a single-status pay scheme, after failing to reach an agreement with unions.
The Scottish local authority is one of many across the UK still trying to implement an equal pay strategy, despite opposition from unions and employees.
In a letter to all staff, the council’s chief executive, Morgan Goodlad, said: ‘The council had previously wanted these proposals to come into force following collective agreement with the unions, but as you may be aware, both Unison and the GMB rejected them by ballots in March.
‘When the council met on 28 March, it decided it wanted a review of the single-status project, and outcomes to be made over the next three months.’
The plans are now under review until 4 July.
East Ayrshire Council has decided to press ahead with plans to implement a new pay structure, without reaching full agreement from the unions. The council’s chief executive, Fiona Lees, said: ‘The council would have preferred to have reached a collective agreement with the trade unions on this matter, but it has not proved possible.’
Perth and Kinross Council wrote to employees individually to try and gain consent for its single-status plans, after failing to reach a collective agreement with the unions.
It claims that 92% of staff have accepted the new contracts, and only 1% declined, with 7% failing to give a response. In a statement, the council stressed: ‘The independent equalities assessment which confirmed that the proposed pay and grading structure provides fair and equal pay for employees was carried out by Unison’s preferred choice of expert.’
At Birmingham, the city council’s chief legal officer, Mirza Ahmad, is reported to have warned cabinet members last month that whatever the council did to implement a single-status agreement, it was likely to face legal action from disgruntled employees.
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