CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a rethink on plans to cut nursery staff wages by up to £8,000 a year.

A petition has been set-up calling for Brighton and Hove City Council to stop the “destructive cuts” and find alternative ways of making savings with frontline staff.

Last week The Argus revealed that staff at four council-run children's nurseries in the city face significant cuts to wages and hours under plans to save £140,000.

The plans have been heavily criticised with Green councillor Alex Philips warning they would leave vital public sector workers unable to pay their bills.

The council has announced an extension to a staff consultation until the end of this week for employees to suggest alternative ways to make savings.

It is planned that the £461,000-a-year public subsidy of council-run nurseries will end in 2020.

Union bosses said nursery assistants faced seeing their working hours reduced by up to 12 hours a week on top of a full-time salary drop from £22,000 to £17,500.

When discussions on the changes began, staff were set to be protected from wage cuts for three years but in July the council’s pay protection policy was changed to just one full year with 75 per cent of wages protected in the second year.

The GMB union has warned that the “draconian pay losses” will hit the predominately female low paid workforce hard while leading to “less consistent care” for some of the city’s most vulnerable children.

Councillor Alex Phillips, Green spokeswoman on children, young people and skills, said: “Nursery staff will see a double whammy of reduced hours and lower rates of pay, and are effectively being told to accept it or face redundancy.

"Under these plans, yet another group of vital public sector workers will end up unable to pay the bills and forced to look for more work elsewhere."

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “The aim of the changes is also to establish a structure with clear roles for staff and greater consistency across the nurseries.

“The final outcome of the consultation may be different and may vary according to the needs of each nursery.”

To see the petition visit gmb-southern.org.uk/brighton-hove-council-nurseries-petition.