Social workers recruited in India by Swindon Borough Council might be about to go on strike, having criticised ‘colonial’ hiring practices.

But the council says the statements by the workers’ trade union GMB about the reasons for the workers' discontent are not accurate, and it does not treat workers hired from overseas differently to those hired in the UK.

Over 2022 and 2023 the council addressed its need for more social workers by recruiting 14 from India.

The GMB says the council offered an £8,000 relocation package to the staff who agreed to move to Swindon, as well as a £7,000 recruitment and retention bonus.

But now the 14 workers, who are all members of the GMB trade union, will be balloted on whether to take strike action, as they feel unhappy with the way pay has been structured in the last year.

The union says the social workers knew the £8,000 relocation bonus would be taken away if they left the employment of the council within three years, but the £7,000 would not be.  

Now they say the £7,000 bonus has been removed, thanks to a pay and grading restructure.

And the union says this was not agreed with the workers nor GMB Union, and now it says the council insists the £8,000 must still be repaid if they leave within three years.  

The Swindon branch secretary for the GMB Andy Newman said: "GMB members are shocked at being treated unfavourably compared to staff recruited directly from the UK.  

 "Threatening them with a cash penalty to lock them into a job smacks of indentured labour. One worker described it to me as "modern day slavery".  

"Many say they feel belittled by managers, who they say show ‘subtle insensitivity to our needs’.   

"It has the hallmarks of colonial era working practices, and GMB will now ask members if they want to strike."

The ballot will be held by April 26. Only the 14 social workers will be balloted, and if they vote to strike it is only they who will stop work.

Swindon Borough Council said the purported basis for the possible industrial action was inaccurate.

A spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed with these latest comments from the GMB.

"The inference that colleagues have been treated differently is simply not true. All colleagues are treated  fairly and equally and this is reflected in our terms and conditions.

“We remain wholly committed and supportive of our workforce at all times.”

This is not the first time the council’s pay and reward restructuring has not found favour with its social workers who are members of the GMB.

Beginning last year, a number of social workers, also members of the GMB, from the emergency duty team have been taking regular strike action over a pay dispute with the council also arising from the reorganisation of the council’s pay and reward scheme.

The striking workers say they have lost a 20 per cent uplift in their total pay which was paid to them for working anti-social hours at night and over weekends.

The council denies this is the case and says the workers were now receiving a greater increase, 30 per cent, payable for the unsocial hours they worked.