A new pay proposal by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council could mean a long-running council workers' strike may end this week.
On Tuesday night councillors voted to agree an "incremental" pay rise which will now be considered by union leaders at Nipsa, Unite and GMB and which follows six weeks of industrial action by council staff.
The industrial action over better wages and conditions has resulted in piles of rubbish building up outside recycling centres and at people's homes. Other services and civil amenities have also been impacted.
Read more: Warning residents facing "stark choice" without rubbish collections
A statement from the council late on Tuesday said: "A Special Hybrid meeting of council was held to approve the conciliation agreement, brokered by the Labour Relations Agency, between management and the Joint Trade Unions. Following a vote, elected members approved the proposal for a bespoke local pay offer to staff.
"Throughout this challenging period of industrial action, elected members, management, and the JTUs have been mindful of the cost of living crisis, therefore, the overall objective was always to find a way of focusing on the lowest paid in the organisation, whilst minimising the impact on the rate payer.
"The agreement reached will see staff on the bottom six pay scales of the organisation re-defined and scales adjusted so that the very lowest paid workers will benefit. In addition, these staff will receive a one-off cost of living payment of £500.
"The introduction of these new salary scales will align with the Real Living Wage, therefore improving Council’s ability to attract and retain staff to benefit long-term service delivery.
"In addition, staff currently on S01 – PO6 will have their pay adjusted and staff above PO6 would not receive any adjustment. All staff receiving salaries ranging from SO1 – PO12 will receive a one-off cost of living payment of £1,100.
"The overall annual cost to Council will be in the region of £1.5million, with an additional £1.2million taken from Council reserves to fund the one-off cost of living payments. Payments relating to spinal points will be backdated to April 2022.
"The council has also agreed to a process to conclude outstanding matters relating to harmonisation and regularisation of historic pay and grading issues resulting from the Review of Public Administration.
"As a result of Council’s decision, JTUs and Management will meet in the morning to discuss suspension of strike action."
Following the behind-closed-doors talks, SDLP Councillor Thomas O'Hanlon said: "The majority of councillors have tonight voted to accept deal which we hope will end strike action. More details to follow tomorrow on when and how recycling, bin and council services resume. Management and staff representatives will meet in the morning."
Councillor Peter Lavery, the Alliance group leader on the local authority, said a deal reached between council management and trade unions, supported by a majority of elected representatives, was welcome but long overdue.
Cllr Lavery added: “Alliance welcomes this long overdue settlement, supported by a majority of Councillors, which we believe represents a fair deal for staff and protects public services.
“However, we are firmly of the view that this deal could, and should, have been reached weeks ago. It has been hugely frustrating that while solutions existed, some political parties instead chose to needlessly prolong the industrial dispute.
“The past six weeks have been a disaster for ratepayers, our staff, and for our borough. The focus must now urgently turn to the clean-up operation, recovery of essential services and repairing relationships. Key lessons must also be learned by Council management.”
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