THOUSANDS of Lancashire County Council staff have been told their wages will be slashed by up to 30 per cent.

Unions instantly declared a 'dispute' with bosses and could now ballot their members after letters were sent to workers telling them of their new pay packets.

It comes after the results of a controversial 'equal pay' review which will also see more than 3,000 workers given pay rises in an attempt to impose a standard set of terms and conditions on all staff.

County Hall confirmed 1,950 of 15,000 non-school staff written to yesterday would see their basic wage drop, with workers earning less than £20,000 a year among the hardest hit, compared to 3,150 who are in line for an increase.

Les Parker, of the Unite union, claimed documents he had seen showed the 'vast majority' of those losing out would be female workers.

Ged Fitzgerald, the chief executive of Lancashire County Council, denied union claims the move was a cost-cutting exercise, claiming it would cost the council £11million the first year.

He said: “This review is about ensuring fairness in the way we pay our workforce, and ensuring residents’ money is spent appropriately.”

More than 65 per cent of basic wages will stay the same. But more people could be affected because bonuses, traditionally used to bolster low-grade pay packets in some departments, will also be scrapped.

And many more workers have been placed at the top of wage brackets, meaning they can no longer progress up the scale.

Workers who do not accept the new wages and terms and conditions within 28 days will be given notice of dismissal and an offer of a new job under the revised terms.

Some of the key 'winners' from the process are thought to be cleaners, social workers and catering staff.

Those losing out include day centre staff and social services admin workers. People in the highways department, including those in charge of the winter gritting operation, are expected to receive a small increase in their salary but will lose their bonuses.

It is also understood no workers earning more than £45,000 will lose money. Top-earning staff have not been affected because they are not subject to the 'job evaluation' process, although a separate review is to take place.

COUNTY Hall staff yesterday bombarded unions with phonecalls as they received letters informing them of their wage cuts.

Some of the personal accounts included a social worker given a £1,700 pay cut and a member of the environment department who was facing a £4,000 reduction.

Unison, county hall’s largest union, announced it had rejected both the new salary scale and the terms and conditions, claiming bosses had not followed the correct procedure.

It claimed the scheme had been 'budget driven' and said not enough cash had been invested to minimise the number of staff losing out.

Local reps will now liaise with their central office to decide the way forward - which could include a ballot of members.

Job evaluation stems from an agreement signed in 1997 by councils, the government and unions in an attempt to iron out traditional differences in the way similar jobs are rewarded. Some jobs traditionally done by women were seen as not as well-paid as comparable male-dominated roles.

But female-dominatd school staff, whose new salaries have not yet been released, are thought to be among the hardest-hit groups with fears that more than 200 are facing cuts of more than 30 per cent to their pay packets.

Les Parker, of the Unite Union, has arranged a meeting for Wednesday night in the council chamber for staff to air their grievances.