ANGRY council workers staged a demonstration last night over job evaluation pay cuts.

Employees at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council lobbied their bosses before a council meeting at Eston Town Hall, near Middlesbrough.

A large number have received letters stating that their salaries are to be reduced, some by as much as £7,000.

The council's chief executive Colin Moore told The Northern Echo in March that a software fault had resulted in up to 300 council employees being put in the grade below the correct one and pledged that the mistakes would be found and corrected.

That figure is now thought to be closer to 500.

But Councillor Glyn Nightingale, cabinet member for corporate resources, has been unable to confirm whether all the communications to council workers about pay cuts had been received in error.

Unison's regional officer, Mike Hill, said that Unison members were lobbying the council to ensure that the depth of anger over the mess it had created was felt directly.

"It is vital that all mistakes are now corrected and all future activities are transparent and equal," he said.

Coun Sheelagh Clarke said: "I have spoken to workers who are absolutely devastated."