CARE home workers in Darlington were claiming a "significant victory" last night after the council agreed that they are entitled to anti-social hours pay.

Darlington Borough Council informed care home workers in the town last year that they were no longer entitled to extra pay for working anti-social hours, a decision that was greeted with anger by employees.

But in a move which surprised workers at council-run care homes, a letter was sent out last week informing staff they were in fact entitled to the payments.

The letter blamed an administrative oversight and said workers would have the money backdated from the time it was stopped.

It could mean hundreds of pounds difference to the workers, who are facing redundancy in the near future if council plans to close the council-run elderly care homes in the town go ahead.

Darlington branch secretary of the union Unison, Alan Docherty, said: "This is a significant victory for us, although the original decision caused a great deal of stress and unhappiness for all the workers affected by it.

"This could have been so easily avoided, but it was not.

"It was a year ago that they said they were not going to pay unsociable hours pay anymore, and now they have turned round and said they will.

"Why did they have to put people through this for a year?"

Mr Docherty added: "Although this is a victory, it could prove to be something of a hollow one for the workers, as they face losing their jobs if the homes are closed in the near future, as the council plans to do."

One Darlington care home worker welcomed the news last night .

The woman, who did not wish to be identified, said: "It is good news, but it might just be a way of the council trying to say how good and caring they are, knowing that the homes are going to close, and they won't have to pay us the money for very long anyway.

"We feel like we are always kept in the dark by the council, we had no idea they were going to write to us and give us the money back.

"An administrative over-sight? They must think we are stupid."

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council said: "It was an oversight, which was rectified as soon as possible."

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