Six weeks of industrial action has plagued the council area. Unions and the council will meet this morning to discuss the suspension of strike action. It was keenly felt in the lack of waste management services available to contributors, with household bins left empty, recycling centers closed and bin bags lining the streets alongside overflowing public bins. An emergency meeting of the local authority was held, confidentially, yesterday afternoon. The council’s senior management team, led by chief executive Roger Wilson, was seeking councilors’ approval of a possible deal with union representatives. The meeting was held confidentially at the Craigavon Civic Centre. The strike is expected to be suspended while each of the three unions – Unite, GMB and Nipsa – are ballot members in the deal, which now includes phased pay rises. The decision taken by the municipal councilors was not unanimous. The SDLP council group said it was “delighted” a settlement had been agreed which will hopefully bring an end to the industrial action. Lurgan councilor Ciarán Toman said: “The deal agreed rewards all staff with payments to tackle the cost of living crisis and also targets the Council’s lowest paid staff with a fair wage. “The last six weeks have been extremely frustrating and we will certainly have a difficult recovery ahead of us to get everything back to normal. “But there are also lessons to be learned – the trust between the council, councilors and ratepayers has been broken. “The lack of clarity to the ratepayer during this period has been the main reason trust has been broken. “It falls short of the level of open and transparent government that citizens rightly expect in this municipality. “More information needs to be given about the resumption of services, but it is important to refocus our minds on the cleanup business and build that trust.” Alliance Party councilor Peter Lavery also confirmed the news on social media saying: “An agreement has been reached to end industrial action at ABC Council. “The Alliance believes the settlement represents a fair deal for staff and protects public services.” Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Féin councilor Liam Muckle expressed his party’s “delight” that a majority of councilors supported the deal. “The last six weeks have been very difficult for everyone at Borough. Now we have to focus on recovery,” he explained. “During this time, Sinn Féin has been resolutely focused on reaching a deal that is fair to our valued staff and contributors. We believe the deal agreed tonight does just that. “It targets our lowest paid staff while recognizing and rewarding all our staff. “We must now put our shoulders to the wheel and refocus our minds on the tough winter ahead and how we, as a council, can support our workers and families.” In a statement, the Council said: “The agreement reached will see staff in the lowest six pay scales (Scales 1 to 6) of the organization redefined and the scales adjusted to benefit the lowest paid workers. “In addition, these staff will receive a one-off cost of living payment of £500. The introduction of these new pay scales will align with the real living wage, therefore improving the Council’s ability to attract and retain staff to benefit from a long-term service delivery. “ In addition, some employees will receive a one-off living costs payment of £1,100.
