Picture: We are Barnsley

Barnsley council leader, Councillor William Brown, responded to six nurseries across the town that have voted to strike over ‘outsourced’ employment to private provider Limetree.

Yesterday, the GMB union announced that workers planned to strike in November due to a dispute with the council over the pension scheme amidst the transition.

These nurseries, under the council’s Family Hubs offer, are North East, Central, Bolton upon Dearne, North, Dearne and Darfield nurseries.

According to GMB union workers were told they would keep their existing pensions but have now been told they will move onto the companies basic statutory pension scheme, lowering their retirement pay out.

Further it would remove their ‘Death in Service entitlement’, a tax-free lump sum death grant of three times their annual pensionable pay, alongside ongoing survivor pensions for spouses, civil partners, eligible cohabiting partners, and dependent children.

Vicky Austin, GMB Organiser, said that: “This is a decisive result, showing Barnsley Council that they can’t dismiss this issue anymore.

“These workers will not take this lying down, even if it means an autumn of disruptions for the nurseries.

Cllr William Brown said, “The review started before I was elected. But the position is clear. The council cannot provide the childcare offer families need with the money we have.

“This proposal is about keeping nursery provision available and sustainable. It’s not privatisation, outsourcing or ‘selling the business’, as GMB has claimed.

“Councils do not have a legal duty to run nurseries. Under this proposal, nursery services would run separately from the council.

“At the start, there was discussion about whether staff could stay in the Local Government Pension Scheme…further legal advice later made clear that staff are not eligible to stay in that scheme.

“At the last meeting, trade unions – including GMB – had agreed to move forward on the proposed TUPE arrangements and pension scheme because they protect people’s jobs.

“Given that progress, we are disappointed that GMB has now moved to an industrial action ballot.

“We will put children and families first. We respect the right to strike, but we won’t allow the threat of industrial action to dictate our decisions.”