BOLTON Council workers who do not accept new contracts drawn up following a controversial pay review will be told “take them or leave.”

In January, town hall bosses will write to all employees, asking them to agree to new terms and conditions of employment. The move is necessary because all council staff had pay reviews earlier this year, which saw some get wage rises and others get a pay cut.

Since then, members of Bolton’s largest public sector union, Unison, have agreed to the new terms and conditions.

But the GMB, which has 1,000 members in many “frontline services”, such as refuse collection and cleaning, has rejected them because it would mean many staff losing out on bonuses.

In a report to the council’s executive members, the director of legal and democratic services, Alan Eastwood, said staff who did not sign up to the new deal being offered would have it forced upon them.

He added: “It is proposed that consensual variation to contracts is sought from individual members of staff during January. We are hopeful the majority will agree to it. It is, however, likely that a number of people will not agree to the change.

“In this situation it will be necessary to serve 90-days notice to impose the new contracts with effect from April 1.”

Phil Roberts, GMB’s Bolton branch secretary, said he would hold talks with members to find out exactly why they rejected the deal before resuming talks with the council.

He added: “The 90-days notice would be a last resort of the council but it can happen. We will be asking the council to make a revised offer.”

Sean Harriss, the council’s chief executive, said: “In January we shall be writing to staff asking for their agreement to new terms and conditions and are hopeful that the majority will agree to the changes. However, in instances where employees do not agree, they will be given 90-days before their current contract is terminated and they are offered a new contract with changes to the terms and conditions.

“Although it would obviously have been better if both unions had agreed to accept the proposal, we still await a final position from both unions and will continue to work with both to find a suitable way forward.”