THOUSANDS of local government workers who have waited years for a new pay deal are facing a further delay, with one of three unions involved still to sign up.

A full meeting of Labour-led Durham County Council approved a new pay and grading structure affecting about 8,900 workers in February, with Alan Napier, the council’s deputy leader, calling it a fair deal.

It was hoped the single status shake-up, which would mean a pay cut for 1,800 workers, a raise for more than 2,500 and no change for about 4,600, would come into force in May.

It would increase the council’s annual wage bill by £6.7m.

However, the negotiations have still not been resolved.

In an internal memo to staff seen by The Northern Echo, Don McLure, the council’s corporate director of resources, says the Unison and GMB unions have formally agreed to “progress in partnership with the project”, but no such response has been received from Unite.

All three unions balloted members on the deal.

In a statement, Mr McLure said: “Discussions between the council and the recognised trade unions are therefore continuing.”

One council worker, who asked not to be identified, said: “It’s a joke. It’s going to go on longer and longer and it’s costing more and more money. We’re all frustrated.

Morale is getting lower by the day.”

Independent councillor John Shuttleworth said: “We need to get to grips with this.

It is letting the staff down.”

In February, Liberal Democrat councillors claimed the deal was too generous, too expensive and had been reached too slowly.

The deal, as it stood in February, included 14 pay grades ranging from £12,145 to £41,616, with each grade including at least five levels.

Workers’ car allowance would fall from 52p to 48p per mile and staff would receive 26 days of annual holiday, rising to 31 after five years’ service.

Unite did not respond to The Northern Echo’s request for a comment yesterday.

The national single status agreement was reached in 1997 and was due to be implemented by July 2007. Many councils have already done so.

County Durham underwent a major local government shake-up in April 2009, with the two-tier set-up replaced by a unitary authority.