THURROCK Council's ruling Conservative group have rubber-stamped a pay deal for its workers, despite a call from opposition members to redistribute part of the pay pot to lower paid workers, rather than senior officers.

Central services portfolio holder Cllr Jack Duffin presented a report to this evening's (Wednesday, 23 February) full council meeting on pay rises to come into effect in April. The full draft of his report can be found via this link.

More than 200 senior staff members who earn more than £50,000 will get a 2.25 per cent increase across the board. That equates to an average pay increase of £32 a week and at the top of the scale, the council's CEO, Lyn Carpenter, is set to get an increase in excess of £80 a week.

The rest of the council's adult staff will get a 2.5 per cent increase. In real terms that means an average lower pay scale worker at the council, who currently receives an annual salary of between £18,186 and £22,614, would get an annual increase under the proposed new deal around £10 a week.

In his address to council members Cllr Duffin said the proposals had been 'shared with staff and no issues had been raised. However, in his own written report he had said: "Pay negotiations between the NJC and Trade Unions for 2022-2023 have not commenced. The current negotiations for 2021/22 have stalled and the unions are currently balloting their members for strike action. The current expectation is that an agreement will not be reached before the 1st April 2022 for 2021/22 and could result in an agreement not being reached until late

2022/23 before negotiations start for 2022/23." Nub News recently reported on the unease about the pay offer and that union officials were batting members for action.

Unison eastern regional organiser Leon Kilbourn said: "While we recognise that Thurrock is in a parlous financial state, years of real-terms pay cuts are leaving staff as poor as the council."

At the full council meeting opposition leader Cllr John Kent said: "We are in the grip of a cost of living crisis, inflation is running at 5.5 per cent - the highest level for 30 years – while the retail price index is running at 7.8 per cent.

"People across Thurrock are being hit hard as the triple whammy of soaring energy costs, an impending 10 per cent National Insurance tax rise and low wage growth starts to bite.

"Given that backdrop, it's just not right that we are offering our front line workers just a 2.5% pay increase – and this after they have already endured years of pay freezes and real terms pay cuts.

"These are the men and women who look after our vulnerable old folk and our youngest children, those who empty our bins, sweep our streets, cut our grass, grit our roads and so much else besides – many of those who we were happy to stand on our doorsteps and clap during the height of the pandemic.

"If we add to that the insecurity caused by the threat to cut hundreds of jobs that is hanging over many of our staff there must be a very real risk of losing valuable members of staff.

"Moving on, we come to the issue of senior officer pay. I have to remind members that between 2010 and 2016 no senior officer received a pay increase and every year Conservative members would stand and demand that those officers take a 5 per cent pay cut.

"As we all know, those calls for a cut were soon replaced with a series of pay increases and we are asked this evening to endorse another increase. I have to say that I have no problem with any officer receiving a fair annual increase but I have always had a problem with flat rate increases.

"For this year, a 2.5 per cent increase for a front line worker is worth about £10 a week. A 2.25% increase for someone on £50k it's a £21 a week increase, on £100k it's £42 a week. And if you happen to be sitting at the top of the tree it's an £80 a week pay rise – that is 700% more than the increase proposed for a front line worker.

"I think that's just wrong. This council's pay policy should be rooted in fairness and offer our workforce some real help with the cost of living crisis – and this does neither of those things."

However, the plea fell on deaf Conservative ears and the new payscales were passed.