TILSLEY BLASTS “IRRESPONSIBLE” BORE OVER SINGLE STATUS

15-01-2008

Birmingham Council’s Deputy Leader Paul Tilsley has branded Sir Albert Bore “irresponsible” for saying he would back strike action over the new Single Status pay settlement.

At Saturday’s rally in Victoria Square, Bore told around 1,000 protestors, "If industrial action is what it takes to achieve this, then each and every member of the Labour group will support you” (http://tinyurl.com/2ylxsf)

The comments, reported in last night’s Birmingham Mail, drew an angry response from Tilsley who is the most senior Liberal Democrat in the coalition with the Conservatives.

He accused the previous Labour administration of failing to tackle the situation before they were deposed in 2004.

“The word irresponsible springs to mind,” he says. “We as an administration have had to deal with the situation, and have done it in the most sensitive way possible.

“Albert Bore had seven years to sort it out and failed miserably.

“We are only following through the government agenda, and did so after Labour were in power, so we are at the end of the feeding chain.”

Bore has previously argued on The Stirrer that Labour had been stymied from concluding negotiations because of a series of ongoing court cases but had set aside £11million in preparation for a settlement (see link here)

He complained that the cash was then spent on other things when the coalition came to power, but this was given short shrift by Tilsley who countered, “£11 million wouldn’t have even have sorted the back pay for the tea ladies.

“We had to spend £20 million clearing up the mess they’d made in Social Services, Education and Housing.”

Tilsley acknowledged that many staff are unhappy, not just with their new pay but also with the revised grading structure, which introduces performance related pay.

“We are working hard to mitigate any industrial action” he insisted. “But we have given a promise that nobody will lose any money for three years. I think that’s quite a generous position to take.”