Union criticises council for not backing low-paid staff, in bid to save £13,000

A UNION has accused Harrogate Council of not backing its lowest-paid workers after it voted against giving them a greater pay increase in order to save £13,000.

Unison has spoken out and claims the authority put money before its staff when it decided not to increase its minimum pay to the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended figure of £8.75 per hour – known as the real living wage.

Instead, the council will pay a minimum of £8.50 per hour to its lowest-paid workers, which includes cleaners, gardeners and staff at the Turkish baths.

The £8.50 figure was agreed nationally between the Local Government Association and unions.

However, the local branch of Unison wanted Harrogate Borough Council to follow the lead of neighbouring Scarborough Borough Council, which agreed this month to pay its staff £8.75 per hour.

David Houlgate, Unison’s local government branch secretary for Harrogate, has hit out at the council, accusing the authority of double standards after it had a sevenfigure underspend last year.

Mr Houlgate said that the £13,000 to increase wages to £8.75 would likely to be a one-off payment as next year the real living wage and the Local Government pay award would both be set at around £9 per hour.

He added that it was believed the number of staff affected would have been 50.

The real living wage is higher than the National Living Wage, which stands at £7.83 per hour and is set by the Government.

The real living wage is voluntary and worked out on what employees and their families “need to live”.

Almost two-thirds of local authorities now pay the real living wage.

Coun Tim Myatt, chairman of the human resources committee which made the decision, said that the agreed pay rise “was in line with the national Local Government Association and union recommendations”.