Dinner ladies fight plans to cut hours
By David Shrimpton
School dinner ladies in Derbyshire may be balloted for industrial action over a proposed 10% cut in their working hours, as the county council seeks to slash £2.6m from its catering bill.
Members of the Unison trade union have rejected the proposals and asked the national office for the go-ahead to hold a ballot.
Their move came after the council put forward a package of cuts, intended to eliminate the subsidy on school meals.
Measures include a maximum 10% reduction in working hours, and reviews of hours six times a year instead of three.
The council insists the cuts are needed as part of a series of measures to reduce its overall spending by £18.4m and to help retain the contract when it goes out to tender next year.
The price of meals to pupils has already been increased by 10p in order to claw back funds. Meals went up to £1.35 in secondary and £1.25 in primary schools earlier this month.
The council is still talking to its 1,400 dinner ladies about the cuts. Workers will get a one-off compensation payment of £128.57 for each hour lost.
But Unison regional organiser Lindsay Common said he feared the authority might try to sack any staff who refused to sign the new agreements. Unison is advising its 1,200 members not to sign anything.
