Leeds City Council workers have hit out at the local authority as the price of a fish and chip supper has usurped their hourly rate, it has been claimed.
Leeds Live met council workers, who all wished to remain anonymous, during their monthly fish and chips meet up. The group of plumbers and a painter meet up for their favourite lunch after pay day on the 16th of each month when they’ve finally “got a bit of money in our pocket”.
They’ve described the meal as a “luxury” as they can only afford once a month, unhappy with the council's blanket £26,000 salary for skilled workers. This comes to an hourly rate of £13.33 for a 37 hour contract, which wouldn’t even cover haddock, chips, peas and curry sauce and drink in many establishments across the city.
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This is just one example of how inflation has gone up across all sectors while their wages have remained the same.
Leeds City Council has stated negotiations with trade unions are currently ongoing. The four anonymous workers think a wage north of £31,000 would be fair, which they claim is being paid by other local authorities.
A father-of-two who has worked for the council as a plumber for about a year has spoken about how staggering the increase in food prices are while their wage remains the same.
He said: “When it’s pay day, we all meet up for fish and chips. When we’ve got a bit of money in our pocket.
“Our fish and chips cost us an hour’s work. Let’s say we earn £13 in an hour, our dinner is generally £7 or £8. I went to Morrisons yesterday and it was £6.90 for four chicken wings. We were on about it yesterday but our wages aren’t going up.”
Another plumber and father-of-two who’s been working for the council for 38 years says he has to work two jobs just to support his family. He said: “You’ve got to do two jobs. I don’t get to see the kids, I’m always working. It’s just luxury, having this butty.”
A painter who’s worked for the council for more than 35 years says the situation is all the more desperate. He said: “The bottom line is that people like us are just three months pay cheque away from destitution.
“If something happened to us, we’d be on the streets and we wouldn’t be able to afford our mortgages or rent, the utility bills or fuel.”
Another plumber, who’s worked for the council for 13 years, is convinced when she finally wants to settle down and become a homeowner but her options are going to be limited.
She said: “On my wage of £26,000, I’ll only be offered a £120,000 mortgage. So in the society we’re living in and in Leeds, what houses can I buy for £120,000 if I wanted to settle down and raise a family? Where can I get a house?”
A Leeds City Council Spokesperson said: “We recognise the challenges of the cost of living crisis and have a commitment to ensure all our staff receive a fair and competitive rate of pay.
“Leeds City Council is subscribed to National Collective Bargaining, which involves national employer representatives and national Trade Union representatives agreeing pay, terms, and conditions of employment.
“For the current year the negotiations between the national employers and Trade Unions are ongoing. Once this has been agreed Leeds City Council will implement the collectively agreed pay award and any other related changes.
“We also evaluate our jobs by using a national job evaluation scheme that was drafted through the Local Government Association for fairness across our roles.
“The Council’s budgetary setting process is public, and papers are regularly published on the Council’s website which demonstrate how our budgets are allocated, including the budget for our staffing.”
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