Staff fury adds to pressures on building firm

As many as 220 staff at Morrison plc, which was given three months until June to improve by the local authority, asked to be balloted for strike action after the contractor tried to change the pay bandings of workers’ contracts in August.

Although the company stepped back from its demands, union officials and discontented workers including office staff and tradesmen and women have warned that the threat of a costly walk-out is still a strong possibility.

The firm is 18 months into a £35m-a-year contract, which spans a total of five years, to look after 37,000 council homes in the south and west districts of Leeds.

Jon Smith, the Yorkshire regional organiser for Unite, which represents Morrison workers along with the GMB and UCATT unions, claimed that the danger of strike action is a distinct possibility.

Mr Smith said: “I think [strike action] is in the balance.”

He added: “Since day one with them taking over we have had massive issues with them trying to change people’s contracts and hours of work and simultaneously with that Leeds City Council have had problems with them – they have been looking at pulling the contract with them.”

Mr Smith claimed that Morrison, which took over the Leeds housing contract from several smaller contractors in April last year, had asked employees to go on a standard payroll which could mean some workers losing up to £20,000 a year.

He said: “We are hearing murmurings that they are basically going to start coming back at us but we have had nothing formally to suggest they are going to attack members’ terms and conditions.”

Earlier this week the Paragon Community Housing Group, based in the Richmond area of London, terminated a £10m-a-year five-year maintenance contract with Morrison just two years into the deal.

Thurrock Council also announced this month that its contract with the firm would not be extended beyond the five-year minimum after August 2015 as the results delivered by the partnership were “disappointing”.

UCATT member Mark Martin said: “There are a lot of unhappy employees but what we are trying to do is relieve that through the normal procedures.”

Two of the council’s housing management companies received nearly 1,100 complaints against Morrison, relating to a series of issues ranging from quality of service to attitude and damage, from April 2011 through until June this year.

The figures do, however, represent less than one per cent of the 140,000 repairs made in that period.

One Leeds Morrison worker, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s horrendous what we have to put up with – the blame game from both sides 
really – there is suspensions, disciplinaries, all kinds of things really.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Clearly we will monitor the situation and residents can be reassured that emergency cover would be put in place should it be needed.”

It has already emerged that the council’s improvement plan to bring the Morrison contract up to standard ended in June this year, but this week the local authority said the plan to improve the service by December 31 is “currently on target”.

Morrison’s problematic Leeds contract was expected to save the council up to £4m a year.

A spokeswoman for Morrison added: “The discussions we have held with our employees have been around pay banding and strategy and not contractual changes.

“However, following in-depth negotiations we have agreed to remove this proposal from the table at this point in time and it is currently no longer under review.”

She said that the company has just employed 20 new apprentices and has made “significant improvements” in its performance.