THE largest trade union representing workers at County Hall has called off industrial action.

The announcement comes after controversial plans for workers to take 12 days unpaid leave were dropped from proposed changes to terms and conditions that could save the council £1.3m a year.

Members of the council’s staffing committee have presented unions with a package of measures that could end subsidised lease cars, and change unsocial hours payments for overtime, standby allowances, and call-outs.

Pam Jefferies, branch secretary of Dorset Unison, said collective agreement to the proposals had been reached among the authority’s “green book” unions and said a work to rule among Unison members would be halted.

“I’m writing to our members now to suspend industrial action until the end of the ballot. We have been working to contract and it has had an impact.

“We are not happy about any reduction in the terms and conditions but I think it’s the best that we are going to achieve with negotiations.

“The consultation has been well conducted. We have been listened to. We will now be balloting our members on the proposals,” she said.

In return for collective agreement among unions, the council has pledged to withdraw proposals for compulsory unpaid leave, although the authority will continue to promote voluntary unpaid leave Staffing committee members have also offered to retain the redundancy multiplier rate at 1.75, and to rule out further “whole authority” changes – barring national agreements or legal changes - until December 31, 2012, if collective agreement is reached.

The staffing committee’s measures will leave the council’s accountants searching for a further £3m of savings from elsewhere in the authority’s budget.

In January, chief financial officer, Paul Kent, told cabinet members that proposed changes to terms and conditions that included 12 days unpaid leave would save the authority £4.3m a year, and safeguard 155 jobs.

Government funding cuts have forced councillors to find savings of £55m by 2012/13 and generated proposals for redundancies and service cuts.

Council leader, Cllr Angus Campbell, said yesterday: “We are working closely with trades union colleagues to try to get a collective agreement as a basis for moving forward.”

Trades unions will need to confirm their agreement to ballot their members by June 28, with a ballot of union members taking place in July and August.

The council hopes to implement the changes from January 2012.