Today is D-Day for thousands of Birmingham Council workers who will be working under new terms and conditions imposed by management under the Single Status Pay Review. Yet with 40% of workers having refused to sign their new deal, there's confusion about what happens next.
From the Council's point of view, it's business as usual, with staff deemed to have accepted the new deal simply by turning up for work.
That's disputed by the unions who argue that there's legal precedent for saying that conditions imposed "under duress" are subject to legal challenge.
The issue is complicated by the unresolved question of whether or not there'll be further industrial action over the latest pay offer.
Cllr Alan Rudge, who's in charge of introducing the new deal, insists that unions would have to go back to their members for another ballot before going on strike again.
That's disputed by Steve Foster, chair of the joint trade union negotiating committee, who argues that there's already a mandate for industrial.
The only thing that we can be sure of is that this row will run and run...
