The public sector union is understood to be angry at Guinness' refusal to involve it in negotiations about the changes, which were first mooted by the registered social landlord two-and-a-half years ago.
Guinness is due to begin what it hopes will be a final consultation with staff in early April.
Meetings to discuss the proposals are understood to have been scheduled in some of its 90 regional offices.
However, a Unison source claimed it had been involved only to the extent that Guinness believed it would help "sell" the planned arrangements to its members. He added that more than 300 Guinness employees – roughly two-fifths of its national workforce – faced pay cuts of £700-£7000 if the proposed structure was put into operation.
Unison only signed a recognition agreement with Guinness in February, following protracted negotiations, entitling it to act as sole representative for Guinness staff in employment negotiations.
Simon Dow, chief executive of the Guinness Trust, said: "The new system has been in place for new recruits for about 18 months, and we were a long way down negotiations before signing the union recognition agreement."
He added that the number of potential salary cuts had not been worked out and that employees assessed as receiving higher than the market rate under the proposed system would see no reductions in pay before 2005.
Source
Housing Today
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