NEARLY a quarter of staff at Broxtowe Borough Council are facing pay cuts.

The move comes following the completion of the council's job evaluation – a process which all local authorities have had to go through over the last few years.

Under the proposals, announced to staff recently, around 24% of workers will see their pay reduced.

For 76% of staff, their pay will stay the same or increase.

Among those worst affected are workers in the refuse department – who claim that some people will see as much as £4,500 docked from their annual salary.

The changes led some bin men to take unofficial strike action two Thursdays ago, when they refused to start work on time.

They also opted not to work overtime two Saturdays ago.

Their actions resulted in several bins in the borough not being collected that day.

One refuse worker, who did not want to be named, said: "The job evaluation results came through and we found out that we will be losing money.

"It's not just the refuse section that's been affected, others will be losing out too.

"Some people could be losing up to £4,500.

"We are not very happy with what's happening."

He said workers refused to start work on time on the Thursday following the news.

"We protested for a couple of hours at the council's yard in Kimberley. We told them we weren't going to leave the yard until we spoke to senior management," he said.

"Nobody started work for two hours. Nobody left the yard until 7.45am."

He said staff also refused to work overtime on that Saturday, as they are not contractually obliged to.

As a result, garden waste which would normally have been collected on the Saturday had to be collected on Monday, October 5, instead.

There are around 50 workers in the refuse section and they are hoping to meet with a representative from the Unite union this Wednesday.

Mick Till, regional industrial organiser for Unite, said: "The council has gone through the local government job evaluation scheme.

"Some of our members will be losing various amounts of money."

He said staff will be given the right to appeal against the decision.

They will remain on their existing rates of pay until at least March 31, 2011.

He added: "We will be balloting members within the next three weeks to see whether they accept or reject the proposals that have been put forward.

"At this moment in time we are not ruling out lawful industrial action on behalf of our members."

Councillor Michael Rich, leader of Broxtowe Borough Council, said: "This authority has made a commitment to implement a fairer pay structure and has been working hard over the last two and a half years to develop this.

"In order to achieve equality for all our employees, we have been reviewing our existing grading and pay arrangements by undertaking a comprehensive job evaluation programme."

All of the council's workers received a letter informing them of the results of the evaluation last week.

Coun Rich said: "This is not about individuals but rather about the jobs, equality and fairness.

"We are committed to continue helping employees through this period and are providing support and advice on job evaluation, the appeals process as well as on the skills and training they might need to help them with future career development."

sarah.gillett@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk