Social workers agree on pay deal

The pay dispute between Nottingham City Council and specially trained social workers has been settled.

In a joint statement, the authority and the public services union, Unison, say a settlement has been agreed in the interests of staff and the public.

The 35 social workers, who work with mental health patients, were given permission by a High Court judge to ballot for strike action.

They will receive an average annual pay rise of £800 and about £800 back pay.

Linda Perks, Unison's regional secretary, said: "We think it is very unfortunate that this matter ended up in the courts.

"We were prepared to talk to the city council to solve the problems and for reasons of their own they decided to test the matter in court.

"We are glad that the court's decision was really to send us back round the bargaining table to sort it out."