About a third of local authorities are failing to stick to the terms of the revised pay deal for youth workers, according to the Community and Youth Workers' Union.

To implement the framework, which is due to come into force on 1 April, authorities have to reassess the job roles of all youth workers. This makes it unlikely that any authorities will be able to fully implement the pay deal on time, but changes to pay will be backdated.

Doug Nicholls, general secretary at the union, said he wasn't too concerned by the delay, but is annoyed that some authorities seem to be flouting the agreement. "We need to get it right and we need to get it true to the national agreement," he said. "I doubt that anyone will get it right on time, particularly those that are trying to use it to cynically downgrade payments."

He said a third of authorities were doing well, a third were struggling and a further third seem to be attempting to get round the conditions.

He added that some authorities were trying to save money by using altered versions of the grading structure and placing part-time staff on low grades without assessing their jobs.

The union will consider strike action in areas where it believes the pay agreements are being flouted, but Nicholls said this would be a last resort.

John Goffee, chair of the Association of Principal Youth and Community Officers, said the amount of progress made depends on the size of the authority and the number of youth workers. "We are doing our best to get the agreement in place as soon as we can," he said.