LIFEGUARDS in Blackburn with Darwen are set to continue strike action on Tuesday, which council chiefs say has forced them to close the borough's two swimming pools over the half-term holidays.

The industrial action, led by Unite, centres around plans by Blackburn with Darwen Council to restructure lifeguard pay, which union chiefs say could see its members lose £3,000 a year.

Having had six single days of action in January, this latest strike will run continuously from Tuesday, February 18, to Monday, February 24.

In those circumstances the council says it has been left with no choice but to close the pools at Darwen Leisure Centre and Blackburn Sports and Leisure Centre over the half term break.

David Fairclough, director for human resources, legal and governance at the council, said the action comes despite the authority being in continuous talks with the union – offering a range of packages of financial support and the opportunity to refer the review to an independent assessor (ACAS).

Mr Fairclough said: "We have been in ongoing talks regarding the outcome of job evaluation and the lifeguards’ roles for many months.

“It’s really disappointing that despite our best efforts, we have not been able to resolve the issue and avoid further strike action which impacts on staff and also our residents.

“It’s important to stress that this is not a money saving exercise.

“The re-grading comes following a review applied as part of a nationally agreed scheme, one which Unite the Union supports.”

The dispute surrounds changes to pay which came as part of a review of the role of lifeguards in Autumn 2018, following a restructure in the council's leisure services.

As part of the process, the authority undertook a benchmarking exercise to review what neighbouring authorities pay.

They say the outcome of that resulted in the lifeguard role being adjusted to one grade lower than the previous assessment, which would mean they would be paid up to £10.34 compared to between £10.54 and £11.88 per hour previously.

The lifeguards are currently receiving temporary protection arrangements, and therefore it will be May 2021 before they see the full impact of the proposed changes to their pay, which the council says would still see them remain in the top five per cent of highest paid lifeguards in the country.

The council says it has been able to fill vacant lifeguard roles at the new salary level while the dispute has been going on.

The council says the proposed changes are to ensure it complies with Equal Pay Legislation, which sets the pay of staff and ensures all council employees are paid fairly with others in the authority. It also said that over time assessments may be reviewed in the interest of continued fairness for all council employees.

Unite regional officer Tanya Sweeney said the dispute centres on 14 lifeguards and called for a "fair and realistic" deal for her members.

She said: "The reality is some of our members are being asked to work for less pay and £3,000 a year is a lot of money. This is a group of workers who do an incredible job of keeping people safe.

"The lifeguard role was evaluated 10 years ago and the job has not changed, so cutting pay at this stage is unfair and unjust."

Mr Fairclough said: “We value all of our staff, the work of our lifeguards and the role they play in keeping our visitors safe when swimming at our pools.

“We also understand their concerns over the re-grading and as long ago as September last year we offered to refer the decision to ACAS to be reviewed by an independent adjudicator. The union has consistently rejected this offer.”

The pools will be back open from Tuesday, February, 25.

Mr Fairclough said: “We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience this strike action will cause – this is not the outcome we want for our staff and our residents.”