Thousands of Dundee City Council’s employees are facing “drastic” changes to their terms and conditions that could affect their pay.
The council, which needs to find£23 million of cuts this year, wants to transform the way workers are paid.
Proposals are currently beingdiscussed with unions but the GMB claims they will hit the lowest paid staff the hardest and that women onmaternity leave may lose out onthousands of pounds.
The plans would see the scrapping of extra payments for working weekends or public holidays other than five days over the festive period.
Overtime will only be paid after an employee has worked 40 hours in a week while maternity pay will be reduced to six weeks at 90% followed by 21 weeks’ half pay and then 21 weeks at the statutory minimum.
Staff currently get paid overtime at a time and a half if they work more than 37 hours a week. The new overtime rate will also be cut.
Employees redeployed to a lower paid role because of the restructuring of council services will only have their pay maintained at a higher level for a year, rather than the current three years.
However, shift workers will receive a 7.5% enhancement to their pay.
The GMB said: “This will result in low paid female workers losing hundreds if not thousands of pounds.
“So far the proposals look like they will hit the lowest paid hardest, while none of the proposed changes will affect those at the top.
“This is not fair.”
Regional organiser Drew Duffy said the wide-ranging proposals will affect around 40% of the council’s near 8,000 strong workforce.
“We think around 60-70% of our members will be worse off. It is pretty drastic.
“It looks to be the ones at the lower end of the pay grading who will lose out.
“The changes to maternity is going to affect a large proportion of women. The age profile for council staff is for over forties but as time goes on they are going to employ younger women.”
Discussions between unions and the council over the planned changes are to continue after the Easter recess.
However, social care workers have already said they may strike over the proposals.
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “The council is currently reviewing its terms and conditions of employment in consultation with the trade unions to ensure a fair pay, grading and employee package.
“While these discussions are still going on it would not be appropriate to comment further.”