HUNDREDS of angry banner waving Unison members took to the steps of Dudley Council House as they demanded council bosses start paying its staff equally.

Members have been waiting for nearly 13 years for the council to start making offers to its 11,000 workers on Single Status and Equal Pay.

The Single Status Agreement has been in the pipeline since 1997 and was a decision made between local government and trade unions to streamline all pay scales into one.

Under the controversial pay deal, some workers will receive large sums of back pay while others will have their salaries cut.

Protestors took to the steps last night (Monday July 13) to lobby councillors going into the full council meeting, as they called for a prompt resolution to the long-standing issue.

Unison officials believe the delay is due to the authority’s failure to commit the required resources to dealing with the matter.

In March the council cancelled a scheduled meeting with the two groups, with just hours to go, saying they still needed to gather information together.

Graham Moore, Dudley Unison branch secretary, said they have been told they will have to wait at least another eight moths for any resolution from the council.

He said: “It is now nearly 13 years and our members are still waiting.

“Morale is about as low as it can get at the moment.”

Fellow branch secretary, Steve Beardsmore, said he was pleased with the turnout.

He said: “We have protestors on the front and back doors of the council. At the end of the day all they are asking for is their legal entitlement.”

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: “The development of the council's response to single status, as with all local authorities, has taken longer than originally anticipated because of its complexity and the ever-changing legal case law .

“Good progress continues to be made and we are hopeful that job evaluation will be completed by the end of the year to enable meaningful negotiations with the trade unions on options for a new pay and grading structure in March 2010.

“The equal pay offers are also targeted for March 2010 subject to progressing further detailed work and any subsequent legal advice received.”