Nottingham deal follows new ruling

Approved social workers at Nottingham Council have called off their
proposed strike after reaching an agreement with the local
authority over backdated pay.

Council managers and officials from the trade union Unison agreed a
deal, which will see ASWs receive an annual pay rise of about
£800 per person and another £800 each in backdated
pay.

The deal follows last week’s High Court decision to allow the
strike to go ahead, when a judge revoked an earlier court order
granting Nottingham Council a temporary injunction banning the
strike (news, page 6, 26 February).

The 35 approved social workers opted to strike following a dispute
over the council’s alleged refusal to come up with their backdated
pay.

Paul Snell, director of social services at Nottingham, said the
agreement would allow the council to “move forward” and to avert
the “potentially dangerous consequences” of industrial action.