- Conference
- 2016 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 24 February 2016
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the introduction of the Chancellor’s Living Wage is likely to mean that over a third of the NJC Green Book pay spine will have to be deleted by 2020. Authorities will need to consider the impact of this in terms of cost and its affect on pay and grading structures.
The consequences on pay equity and equal pay will require joint work with the Local Government Association (LGA) to revise the NJC pay spine and provide fresh pay and grading advice. At some point, authorities may need to conduct full pay reviews to maintain pay differentials.
Conference agrees that a revision of the NJC pay spine is long overdue and notes that many local authorities have already recognised this. FOI research by UNISON indicates over 200 local authorities have locally extended their pay spine well above scp 49.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive (SGE) and NJC Committee to begin discussions with the LGA on restructuring the NJC pay spine once the 2016 pay round is concluded. These discussions should be based on the following principles:
1)Seeking government funding to enable an extension of the NJC pay spine;
2)Maintenance of single status equal pay proofed structures based on job evaluation;
3)Maintenance of pay differentials and incremental progression.
Conference further calls on the SGE and NJC Committee to:
a)Develop pay and grading guidance in conjunction with the LGA, GMB and Unite to support local implementation of the NJC pay spine restructure, ensuring representation by low paid members from the NJC Committee;
b)Roll out UNISON training to regions and branches on conducting pay and grading reviews and equal pay audits.