West Dunbartonshire Council 'pause' threat to fire and re-hire workers

GMB Scotland, a trade union which represents council workers, has announced that the threat to redraw workers' contracts amid a disagreement over holiday pay has been paused to allow for further negotiations.

We previously reported, that some council workers were sent a letter informing them of changes to their contracts which include the removal of public holiday entitlement in exchange for annual leave.

The union says staff can lose out on the rates of pay they can get working the public holidays in the 'money-saving' move.

The council argue their decision to 'fire and rehire' workers under a new contract was taken after two years of negotiations were 'exhausted'.

Keir Greenaway, from GMB Scotland, said the move to send these letters to staff 'beggared belief'. (Image: GMB Scotland) A statement from GMB Scotland reads: "Due to the pressure exerted on the council, we have heard this afternoon that West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) has now agreed to 'withdraw the communication issued to employees and pause the process.'

"GMB will be meeting with the council next week and we will keep you informed of any updates.

"We would like to thank you for your support in helping us get the process paused and we will continue fighting until the threat of fire and rehire is completely removed."

A report to the Council’s Corporate Service committee in November highlighted a historical difference in public holiday entitlement for 190 craft workers who were receiving 12 days rather than the eight days received by the remaining 4000 or so staff.

Meanwhile, GMB wrote to council leader Martin Rooney saying they would formally withdraw its endorsement of West Dunbartonshire as a Fair Work First employer next week unless a resolution can be found.

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Fair Work First is the Scottish Government's flagship policy for driving high quality and fair work across the labour market in Scotland by applying fair work criteria to grants, other funding and contracts being awarded by and across the public sector, where it is relevant to do so.

A spokesperson for West Dunbartonshire Council said: “We are committed to ensuring equality for all employees.

“We are confident our approach to addressing a historical difference in public holiday entitlement is consistent with these principles and have been consulting with trade unions since December 2022 to agree the best way forward.  

“Feedback from trade union colleagues this week provides an opportunity to continue discussions we previously thought had been exhausted, and so we have agreed to pause this process to engage in further negotiations with them.

“Our shared priority is to ensure all employees are treated fairly and equitably, and we remain hopeful we can come to a suitable agreement for the benefit of the workforce.”

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West Dunbartonshire Council leader Martin Rooney. (Image: West Dunbartonshire Council) Council leader Martin Rooney says he is 'striving for partnership' with the union and welcomes the continuation of negotiations.

He said: "This decision was made with cross-party support and came about following two years of consultation with the trade unions, as well as feedback from the workforce which showed the large majority preference was to retain or reduce public holidays.

"We value the trade union movement’s efforts to represent employees and always strive to work in partnership with them. I therefore welcome this week’s indication that they are willing to continue negotiations on this pressing historical equality issue.

"Fair and equal pay is a priority for all of us, and I am hopeful that by temporarily pausing the public holiday's process, a resolution can be identified that not only results in equity across the workforce but also takes into account the financial challenges facing local government."