Shropshire Council and UNISON to meet for further talks

The Leader of Shropshire Council, Keith Barrow and Branch Secretary of Shropshire UNISON, Alan James have been in discussion, with several conversations taking place.

A further meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon.

Speaking about tomorrow’s meeting, Keith Barrow, Leader of Shropshire Council, said:

“We have had several further productive conversations with UNISON over the past week, which have been useful in helping pave the grounds for reaching an agreement that meets the difficult financial requirements placed upon us, but at the same time appreciates how much we value our staff and the fantastic work that they carry out for the people of Shropshire. We are meeting again tomorrow afternoon and I am hopeful that we will be in a position to agree the basis for moving forwards.”

Alan James, branch secretary, Shropshire UNISON, said:

“I think it is fair to say that both Shropshire Council and UNISON have worked extremely hard over the past week to bring a proposal to the table that our members can sign up to. We have had an open and honest dialog that has proved to return some positive results that I feel we can work with. We are hopeful that we will be in a position to move forwards as a result of tomorrow’s meeting and allow the dedicated workforce to continue to do the jobs that they are extremely proud of. ”

Last Thursday members of the trade union who are employed by Shropshire Council took strike action against a pay cut and working conditions. The strike took place after it was decided it was too late to call of industrial action following a meeting between the council and UNISON the day before.

Shropshire Council say changes being made to employee’s working terms and conditions were designed to avoid making 500 staff redundant. They affect 6,500 staff, and fewer than one in three of these are members of UNISON.

More than 1,600 Shropshire Council staff have currently accepted new terms and conditions to their employment.