Staffordshire Shop Stewards Network

Stoke-on-Trent city Council NO TO WAGE CUTS!

DEFEND BIN COLLECTOR'S PAY!

Bin Collectors across Stoke-on-Trent are incensed at the Labour run city council's plans to slash their wages. No wonder they are planning to vote on strike action to defend their pay and already diminishing living standards.

The council want to tear up their contracts and force workers to 'drop pay bands' which means they will lose up £90 a week! Why should hard working waste collectors who are out in all weathers be forced to take a pay cut?

If the Labour run council get away with this savage attack on their pay which other council workers will be next?

Unelected Chief executive John van de Laarschot said in the Sentinel (Thurs Feb 9^th ). “We need to have a really strong debate about what makes sense”. But what exactly is sensible about cutting workers wages by up £90 a week? What is 'sensible' about driving down the living standards of Bin Collectors? How will they or their families benefit? How will anyone in Stoke-on-Trent benefit?

The council say these wage cuts would save £395,000. But it would mean £395,000 less being spent by waste collectors families having a knock-on affect on small shops and businesses locally.

John van de Laarschot was paid £198,000 in 2010/11 in salary, benefits and allowances. He also plans to set on an assistant chief executive on £132,000.

This makes a grand total of £330,000 council tax payers are handing over to these two 'employees' whose main role is spearheading savage cuts, closures or privatisation of council services along with the cutting of jobs and driving down pay and conditions of their workers.

It would be more 'sensible' to get rid of these 2 unelected parasites and save £330,000!

The Con Dem government is hell bent on making ordinary working class people pay with lost jobs and savage cuts to services for a crisis we haven't created. It was top bankers, big business companies and governments who have created the mess we are in. They should pay for it!

No doubt councillors will be 'comforted' by the fact that there is no council elections in Stoke-on-Trent this year or for another two years. They feel they can carry on cutting without facing the wrath of local people. They are wrong!

• No councillors were elected to carry out cuts!

• If they won't vote against cuts they should resign and support anti-cuts candidates who will!