UNION chiefs said they had not ruled out industrial action after talks on changes affecting low-paid council staff ended without any decisions being made.

City of York Council is considering switching about 1,000 staff, who are currently paid weekly, to a monthly salary.

But Unison, the union representing some of the workers, has asked the authority to reconsider, saying this would lead to problems for low earners who plan their finances from week to week.

Yesterday, council officials met union representatives to discuss the issue, but did not reach a conclusion. Instead, officers will present a report to council bosses detailing the options.

Following the meeting Heather McKenzie, of Unison, said: “The council said it was getting a paper together for senior management to look at the implications of the various options.

“One of those options would be to forge ahead with the switch from weekly to monthly, or they might like to ask individuals to look at monthly pay – which they have done in the past. There’s the option also of not changing the wage at all.”

She welcomed the council’s consideration of the matter, saying it was not “all doom and gloom”, but if the council imposed the change, Unison would consult its members on its next course of action. A fellow Unison representative, David Bonner, said the plan would affect low-paid workers, such as cleaners and maintenance staff who often paid their household, bills on a weekly basis. On the possibility of strike action, he said: “We are not ruling anything out.”

Coun Andrew Waller, leader of the authority’s ruling Liberal Democrat group, said he recognised there could be “issues” with the switch – and that it was being considered to cut the 52 annual payment transactions to 12.

He said: “It will save considerable amounts of money, which will save jobs in the city. We recognise there’s a change, but it’s been done for a reason.”