COUNCIL bosses in Wyre Forest are on a collision course with union members after setting out their proposed pay rise for its 300 staff.

Wyre Forest District Council is offering a deal which would see employees see their wages increase by 4.5 per cent over the next four years – starting with 1.5 per cent in 2018.

Finance chief Councillor Nathan Desmond said the offer was the best the authority could put forward without resorting to job cuts.

But the package, which also includes phasing out long service awards, is short of what staff union UNISON wanted and the authority admitted that extensive negotiations had failed to see both sides reach an agreement.

The proposal is set to be discussed at a full council meeting on Wednesday, September 27. A report will set out what steps will be taken to secure implementation, including further consultation with unions and staff.

Wyre Forest District Council is looking to set the increases its staff receive rather than going through national negotiations led by Local Government employers.

But in a letter sent to staff in August, the authority said UNISON wanted to go back to a national pay agreement and added they and the union were “too far apart to make meaningful progress”.

UNISON also held a consultative ballot on the proposed phasing out of long service awards, affecting around 50 staff, and this was rejected by members.

Councillor Nathan Desmond, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “These are fair and affordable pay increases for staff, worth the equivalent of 4.5 per cent over the next four years.

“They give certainty to staff that they will receive a pay increase every year and what the increase will be, and give certainty to the council in its financial planning.

“We recognise that staff in the council and across the public sector have experienced pay restraint for many years as a result of the Government’s austerity programme.

“We could pay higher increases but the stark reality is that we would have to fund it by cutting jobs. I feel strongly that it is better to offer all staff an affordable pay settlement than have to tell some of them that they no longer have a job.”

He added “Early projections show that the council faces a significant funding gap rising to about £2m in 2020-21. We have demonstrated an excellent track record in making savings while at the same time preserving public services and jobs for our valued employees.

“However a pay award in excess of what we’re proposing would be extremely difficult to manage within the available funding and would inevitably lead to job losses and service reductions. It is against this challenging backdrop that the proposals are being made.”