Kirklees road gritters back on duty – if pay deal accepted

Nov 5 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A DEAL which may end the gritting dispute will be put on the table tomorrow.

Council gritters and their union Unison met council chiefs on Tuesday to negotiate a new pay scheme for 50 council road workers.

A possible deal has been thrashed out, but details of it remain under wraps until it is put to the gritting teams themselves tomorrow lunchtime.

The workers, who run the operation from bases at Honley and Batley, were set to go on call on October 30 and be ready for action if the weather turns bad.

But the gritters refused to make themselves available after Kirklees Council announced a change in pay.

The council’s new standby policy means that drivers would only be paid from the minute they begin gritting.

They would not be paid for preparing the wagons or driving to remote gritting locations. Previously workers could volunteer to go on standby and would then be paid from the moment they were called into action.