But while the battle to agree the new conditions has been a long one, Nicholls, chief executive of the Community and Youth Workers' Union (CYWU), has little time for reflection. He is now preparing for weeks of further negotiation with employers to ensure a fresh dispute about the date a new salary scale comes into effect does not derail the hard-fought deal (YPN, 4-10 August, p2).
When questioned whether an average one-off extra payment of about 1,000 is worth risking youth workers' long-term benefits for, Nicholls is indignant.
"A thousand pounds is a lot of money," he says. "Local authorities are making interest on the money they've had in their coffers since last July.
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