Council rules out equal pay plan

One of the protests was held in the centre of Stafford

A council has decided not to introduce a new pay structure which would have meant pay cuts for thousands of staff.

Staffordshire County Council evaluated nearly 28,000 contracts under national guidelines.

Staff held several protests over the plans, which would have seen 45% of workers getting a salary increase, 30% remaining the same and 25% facing cuts.

Cabinet members unanimously rejected the single status agreement, which aims to equal pay within local government.

A council spokesman said the amount of complaints they received about the plan during a three month consultation was the reason behind their decision.

They spoke, we listened. This was never a done deal A spokesman for Staffordshire County Council

The authority said there would have been a three-year payment protection package for staff receiving pay cuts.

Discussions with unions are expected to start again in March.

A spokesman for Unison said they were relieved by the decision but wished the council had worked more closely with them in the first place.

In November, hundreds of workers carried banners and chanted as they demonstrated in Stafford's Market Square claiming the plan was unfair.

Unions said the plan was "life-changing" and members had been coming to them in tears.

'Made a promise'

But a spokesman for the council said he was grateful for so many workers becoming involved.

"They spoke, we listened. This was never a done deal.

"We made a promise to our employees that the proposals consulted upon would be true consultation and quite clearly what was proposed did not receive broad support and therefore cabinet voted to reject them.

"I am extremely pleased that so many employees engaged with us with this process and staff input was invaluable.

"We will continue to work with them and the unions to meet our national obligation of implementation."