Every member of Ceredigion County Council staff will be paid a minimum of £9 an hour - the equivalent of the Foundation Living Wage from April 2019. This follows the approval of a new pay policy by the council on 21 March 2019.
Councillor Ellen ap Gwynn is the Leader of Ceredigion County Council. She said, “We have aspired to this for years. Austerity has tied our hands behind our backs and limited what we can do to increase staff pay. We have a dedicated workforce and it’s only right that we pay them properly.”
“It’s particularly important that we have been able to give the lowest paid in the council the highest proportion of pay increase. Every member of staff is now paid at least the Foundation Living Wage.”
The new pay policy incorporates nationally set pay scales. Setting the new pay scales means that the lowest paid staff will see the biggest increase in pay. The two lowest pay grades have been merged in Ceredigion, meaning that every member of staff will be paid a minimum of £9 an hour from 1 April 2019. This will rise to £9.18 within 12 months of working for the council.
Alison Boshier is the Secretary of the Unison Ceredigion County Branch. She said, “We have worked closely with Ceredigion County Council on the new pay policy. We’ve been involved in every stage of an open and transparent process. Most council staff live locally, so not only will this increase benefit council staff, it’s also going to benefit the local economy.”
Peter Hill is the Regional Organiser for the GMB Union. He said, “GMB union are very pleased that agreement has been reached with Ceredigion County Council on implementation of the NJC Pay Award. This pay deal was negotiated with the recognised unions and broke the government’s 1% pay cap, giving our members in local government a much needed 2% pay rise, with additional rises for the lowest paid grades.”
21/03/2019