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Norwood staff to protest over pay cuts prompted by government austerity

Governance | Celina Ribeiro | 17 Nov 2010

A number of care staff at Norwood are due to protest today over pay cuts as the union claims the charity is jumping the gun on local government funding cuts.

Some staff from Norwood will meet this afternoon at the Norwood Ravenswood village in Berkshire to demonstrate over pay cuts which Unite the union expects could be as high as 20 per cent.

Jamie Major, Unite representative, said that the charity’s plans to implement the cuts in one hit were “simply not acceptable” and would force staff to leave in search for better paid work. The union has also accused the charity of making panic cuts ahead of a predicted drop in local government funding.

“Local authority spending has only been cut by 7.1 per cent this year. Even if this 7.1 per cent cost saving were passed on in full by every authority that Norwood receives statutory funding from, it would only be a £950,000 shortfall, and not the £2.7m Norwood has predicted. This does not even take into account the £2bn extra that government has just announced for the social care sector,” he said.

“Norwood has admitted that it does not even know the outcome of this year’s funding negotiations with the various local authorities. It is surprising that it intends to make cuts based on the totally unknown figures for next year, the year after that and the year after that. The management is jumping the gun.

“We accept that in the current economic climate savings need to be made. All we are asking for those savings be rational and considered taking each year at a time.”

Norwood has responded to today's planned action, with chief executive Norma Brier saying that she understands the concern of employees about the proposed changes but that not acting “would put at risk the future of Norwood and all the people who depend on us for support”.  

“These proposals are a consequence of national economic events beyond our control, and the subsequent effects upon Norwood of cuts in local authority budgets,” she said.

“We deeply regret having to propose reductions in salaries. We have no choice but to bring our historically above average pay rates for frontline staff into line with those of other social care providers.”

The charity denied claims that the salary cuts were unfair, and emphasised that even after cuts Norwood salaries will still be higher than many of its main competitors.

Norwood also said that if negotiations with local authorities result in better than feared outcomes, it intends to reflect that in salary negotiations.

A final pay settlement is due in January.

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