More than 100 housing maintenance workers employed by Chesterfield Council have begun strike action today (Tuesday 29 August) in a dispute over pay.
The employees, who are members of trade union Unite, will take strike action tomorrow as well, as they claim they have not received a pay rise for 15 years.
According to the workers, who are responsible for maintaining and repairing Chesterfield’s Council housing stock, they were transferred from being paid via a combination of a basic wage and on piece work to a salary scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic. They received several standard local government pay increases in line with other council workers, but upon investigation discovered that their contracts stated they should receive both a salary, including annual pay increases, and additional payments based on the work undertaken.
They argued that Chesterfield Council wants them to return to the previous system where any increase in the basic pay, such as an annual pay increase, is offset by a reduction in the money they received for their piece work. The workers estimated that piece work rates are 70% below market value and have not been increased since 2008.
A Chesterfield Council spokesperson said: “The intended strike action follows a ballot of Unite staff on the national pay offer and the way in which local bonus pay calculations are made. The action by Unite involves employees based in our housing property services department, which carries out repairs, planned maintenance and improvement activities at the homes of council tenants. Though all efforts are being made to limit the impact, please be aware that the strike will cause some disruption for our residents and tenants, and please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is outrageous that our members have been denied a pay increase for 15 years and it is astonishing that when Chesterfield Council was presented with the facts it refused to do anything about it.”