NJC committee agrees way forward on pay

(21/09/2012) UNISON’s NJC Committee met on 18 September to review progress in the negotiations over the pay award for 2008/9, which followed the two days of action in July, and the joint statement with the LGA which followed them.

A number of important decisions were made at the meeting. They are explained in detail below. Please pass them on to members and activists in your branch. The decisions were:

• not to ask members to take any further industrial action in relation to this year’s pay offer;
• to refer this year’s pay offer to ACAS for binding arbitration;
• to approach this year’s pay offer, any review of the Green Book and pay for 2009/10 separately;
• to submit a pay claim to the employers as soon as possible for 2009/10;
• to agree the trade union side’s aims for any future review of the Green Book;
• to undertake an in-depth review within the NJC Committee of the negotiations and events surrounding this year’s industrial action and to draw up plans to increase our bargaining strength at local and national level;
• to hold meetings of the full Joint trade union side of the NJC on 1 October and 3 November;

Three joint secretaries’ meetings have been held since the July action. UNISON and UNITE have consistently pushed the employers to resolve the outstanding pay dispute and this was the first point included in the framework for the negotiations, which was agreed after the second meeting.

Unfortunately the employers claim that there is no pressure on them to increase their final offer of 2.45% and 3.3% for those on scale points 4, 5 and 6 - either from individual local authorities, the Local Government Association or the government. The joint trade union side of the NJC executive therefore met to take stock of this situation on 10 September and to consider the unions’ aims for any review of the Green Book which might take place in the future. The 2007/8 pay settlement included such a review.

The trade union side recognised that members need and deserve a pay increase as soon as possible. With no apparent prospect of an improved offer, there was therefore a unanimous decision by all three unions – including the GMB – to recommend to their respective national committees that the matter be referred to the Arbitration and Conciliation Service (ACAS) for binding arbitration. The national agreement – the Green Book – provides for either side of the NJC to do this and we believe that the employers will not stand in our way.

NJC committee’s recommendations

The NJC committee – UNISON’s lay committee - with representatives from each region, considered a lengthy report from the negotiators on 18 September and also looked in detail at the results of the consultation on members’ views over further industrial action, which it requested at its last meeting.

With few exceptions, branches responding said that members were not willing to take further action – either ‘all out’ or selective. The committee therefore decided not to call for further action and to accept the recommendation of the trade union side and seek binding arbitration.

Informal discussions have been held with ACAS and they will start the process, which will involve an independent arbitrator, in the near future. We believe that we can show that the cost of living, local government finances and the poor position of local government workers in the public sector pay league table will provide solid evidence for an improved award.

This is obviously not the outcome which UNISON hoped for. However, the employers have not been willing to improve their offer and we believe that members’ pay increase for 2008/9 needs to be resolved and paid as quickly as possible.

The review of this year’s action and negotiations and our bargaining power will kick off at the next NJC Committee. The aim is to create a stronger union presence in local government and ensure that our lay democracy functions well. This is essential if we are to be able to negotiate from a position of strength at all levels and ensure a forceful presence in every council and at the NJC bargaining table.

Green Book negotiations

The 2007/8 settlement included an agreement to undertake a ‘nothing ruled in and nothing ruled out’ review of the Green Book. The employers have been keen to start the review, but the unions have made it clear that we will expect additional funding to underpin it and there has been no progress to date. The employers’ offer for 2008/9 therefore included the objective of completing the review by December 2008.

The joint secretaries have discussed the review. As reflected in the framework for the negotiations above, UNISON and the other unions have sought to establish what funding – if any – is available for improvements, what information is available on the pay bill and the workforce to underpin the negotiations and what the employers’ objectives are. So far little progress has been made.

There is currently no additional funding available and the unions have made it clear that we expect improvements which would bring our members’ conditions at least up to the level of other groups of public sector workers.

The NJC committee considered a proposed list of trade union side objectives for any future review. This will be considered further at the next meeting on 14 November 2008. In the meantime, UNISON has been conducting two branch surveys to establish exactly what members’ current conditions are, to inform any future negotiations.

A very big ‘thank you’ goes to the 82% of local government branches who responded to the survey on working hours and unsocial hours payments. A copy of the results of that survey is included in the Pay News sent to local government branches and the information will be invaluable in showing the scope for improvements in the negotiations. We are currently carrying out a further survey of car allowances and special leave.

Please respond to the second survey. We need the facts to counteract any fiction coming from the employers and to ensure we negotiate for the things you need when any review starts. And please give us any ideas your branch has for possible improvements.

Pay claim for 2009/10

The NJC Committee considered a background paper on the current situation underlying pay increases and other agreements and agreed that we should submit a claim to the employers as soon as possible for pay from 2009/10. This will be considered by the full joint trade union side of the NJC when it meets on 1 October.

It was agreed that we should aim to finalise the claim at the full trade union side of the NJC on 3 November. Branches will therefore be asked to give views on the claim to a tighter timescale than usual, but we hope that you understand that we want to submit the claim as quickly as possible in line with Conference decisions.

Let’s work together…

The union realises that these are tough times for our members facing rising living costs, who took action to secure a higher pay offer. We are doing everything we can to make sure that you all receive a pay rise – and hopefully a higher one than offered – as soon as possible. In the meantime, branches are asked to help members facing hardship as a consequence of the dispute by use of branch industrial action funds. Other hardship claims can be referred to UNISON Welfare.

Don’t forget to recruit for a stronger union

UNISON needs to build its membership and bargaining power to have more clout with the employers locally and nationally. Please use the new recruitment leaflet to get non-members to join our fight for a better deal for local government workers. You can order order via the internet from the communications online Ccatalogue at www.unison.org.uk/resources/publicity.asp You can fax your order on 020 7551 1461 or e-mail stockorders@unison.co.uk , including numbers required and a deliver address and quoting stock numbers 2715.