What the papers say

A digest of stories about the local government dispute from around the media.

Bosses are spinning out the Big Lie again
The Big Lie is back in circulation, peddled by politicians, bosses and pundits who have something to gain.
The Mirror, 18 July 2008

'After your core job's sorted you need something else to get by'
The pickets gathered around a Barbara Hepworth sculpture in Wakefield yesterday had more than strike action in common.
The Guardian 17 July 2008

’We can’t afford to live on our wages’
Hundreds of council workers formed picket lines across South Devon yesterday to add their voices to the national pay dispute.
Teaching assistants — among others out on strike — told how they cannot afford to live on their wages and 'had to take a stand for a decent wage'.
Herald Express, Devon, 17 July 2008

Union rally held in Derby's Market Place as part of two-day strike
Jeena Badwal has been forced to sell her car and now walks to her job at a city primary school.
She says this is because she is struggling to cope with the increasing cost of living but below-inflation pay rises.
Mrs Badwal, who is a member of sports staff at Dale Primary School, was typical of friends and colleagues in local government who joined her on a two-day strike over pay yesterday.
Evening Telegraph, Derbyshire, 17 July 2008

Half a million workers strike over pay
Hundreds of thousands of local government workers went on strike on Wednesday in a dispute over pay that paralysed services from education to rubbish collection.
The Mirror 16 July 2008

Biggest strike for years shuts schools, libraries and airport
Hundreds of schools have closed as a result of the biggest strike by public sector workers for years along with libraries, museums and even an airport.
The Telegraph 16 July 2008

Council workers walk out over pay
Thousands of council staff are striking over pay in their biggest campaign of industrial unrest for years, forcing schools to close and hitting services.
BBC 16 July 2008

Council workers man the picket lines in pay strike
COUNCIL workers mounted picket lines outside schools, libraries, museums, sports centres and refuse collection depots today as they launched a 48-hour strike in a bitter dispute over pay.
The Scotsman 16 July 2008

Row over support for strike
A row has broken out on the eve of a pay strike by council workers when an employers' claim that fewer than one in four staff would take industrial action was rubbished by union leaders.
Northeast Journal 15 July 2008

Union leaders rubbish strike support claims
UNION leaders have rejected employers' claims that fewer than one in four staff will take industrial action this week.
The Northern Echo 15 July 2008

Strike union threatens to stop £1.5m cheque for Labour
Interview with Dave Prentis on the eve of local government strike
The Independent 15 July 2008

Union: Councils 'can afford pay rise' for workers
Local authorities in England and Wales can afford to increase their proposed pay rise for workers because of £3 billion of unused savings sitting in their bank accounts, public sector union UNISON says.
inthenews.co.uk 14 July 2008

Councils could use 'secret billions' to avert national pay strike
Local authorities are sitting on billions of pounds of reserves which could be used to avert a strike by more than 600,000 council workers over pay, it was claimed today.
23dash.com 14 July

Council workers set to strike over 'last straw' in pay row
Top earners doing well, but what about the people at the bottom, says union.
Bedford Today 14 July 2008

Union: Councils 'can afford pay rise' for workers
Local authorities in England and Wales can afford to increase their proposed pay rise for workers because of £3 billion of unused savings sitting in their bank accounts, public sector union UNISON says.
Inthenews.co.uk, 14 July 2008

‘We just want fair play and fair pay’
Anita Lewis, a part-time Rhondda Cynon Taf council employee who cares for elderly and vulnerable people, is one of the 600,000 UNISON members across the UK who voted to strike.
Western Mail, Wales, 14 July 2008

Union puts pressure on councils to end strike
Public sector union UNISON is stepping up the pressure on local councils to settle this week’s two day strike over pay.
The Citizen, Blackpool, 14 July 2008

Why make poorest pay?
A few months ago when striving to determine a set of characteristics that defined ‘Britishness’ the Prime Minister included an inherent sense of fairness ... This week’s local government strike is a firm and clear expression of that very sense of fairness.
The Journal, 14 July 2008


Public sector walkout: is 50p an hour really too much to ask?
Investing in people makes sense, even if it does only amount to coppers, writes Dave Prentis
Personnel Today, 11 July 2008

The education boom has proved a curse for the poor
Society can't do without cleaners, carers, caterers and classroom assistants. So is it OK to pay below minimum decency, so long as they are all proven to lack potential, asks Polly Toynbee
The Guardian, 5 July 5 2008

Council workers' pay dispute
The local government secretary, Hazel Blears, has called for fresh talks to resolve the council workers' pay dispute.
The Guardian, Wednesday 2 July 2008

Money's too tight to mention
As we head for strike action over the local government pay settlement, Heather Wakefield asks why the sector is not showing how much it values its staff.
localgov.co.uk, 30 June 2008

You ask ... they answer
Today we continue our series of Q&As with the people who shape our lives. Next month 600,000 local government workers will strike after a rejecting a 2.45% pay offer. Here, the man leading them out, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis, is quizzed by building firm boss Torvald Alexander, 38, from Edinburgh
The People, 29 June 2008

Public sector faces crunch time over pay
Karen Pearson is passionate about her job. She is a case worker for Herefordshire council's home-improvement agency and has worked contentedly in local government for 12 years, but last week she voted for strike action in protest at a 2.45% pay offer from local-government employers.
The Sunday Times, 29 June 2008

640,000 council staff to strike on 16 and 17 July
Union leaders have given the go-ahead for a 48-hour strike involving 640,000 local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 16 and 17 July, writes Daniel Lombard.
Community Care, 27 June 2008

Who really holds the country to ransom?
New Statesman editorial on UNISON ballot result and potential strike
New Statesman, 26 June 2008

Right to strike over low pay Since 2004 local government workers have had below-inflation awards. Their vote in favour of strike action shows you can push people only so far, writes Dave Prentis.
New Statesman, 25 June 2008

Dave Prentis: 'Raise them up, or they will bring you down'
The UNISON leader's stark warning to Gordon Brown last week sounded like a return to the Seventies. Cole Moreton meets Dave Prentis
Independent on Sunday 22 June 2008



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