- Conference
- 2021 Virtual Special Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 23 March 2021
- Decision
- Carried
This Local Government Service Group Conference notes with deep concern the government�s intention to impose some form of pay freeze or pay restraint on public sector workers.
While individual pay claims and campaigns remain the responsibility of the various sector committees, the Local Government Service Group Executive has a role in wider public sector pay policy as it impacts members of our service group.
We note that the government has signalled an intention to seek to create division not only between public and private sector workers but even between �deserving� public sector workers such as those NHS workers covered by pay review bodies and other public sector workers.
Our service group represents many workers who have been in in the front line throughout the pandemic in social care, schools and elsewhere. More broadly we believe that all public sector workers continue to support our communities through the pandemic and will be vital to enabling the recovery from it.
We reject any attempts at division.
This conference therefore calls on the Service Group Executive to call on the National Executive Committee to launch a campaign against government attempts to restrict pay rises for public sector workers.
This Conference also calls on the Service Group Executive to request UNISON’s General Secretary to ask for an emergency meeting of the public services committee of the TUC with a view to organising a cross union campaign to defeat the attack. The campaign will include production of campaign materials, social media activity and online meetings for members that stress the unity of workers. The campaign should include the following points;
1) How much public sector workers have lost in real terms since austerity was imposed in 2010;
2) There is no justification for public sector workers to pay for the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has found billions to support business. The government has shown a cavalier attitude to awarding huge contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic without proper consideration of their effectiveness, such as the contracts for test and trace to Serco and Deloitte. This shows money can be found for pay rises;
3) Increased taxation of the wealthy, big business and those that evade or avoid tax should be used to invest in public services, workers pay and for full income protection for any workers who cannot work because they need to self-isolate or because of lockdown restrictions;
4) Increased taxation must be used to increase funding for local government and to ensure the pay of workers in private contractors is also not restrained. The point must be made that pay restraint in the public sector does not improve the pay of workers in the private sector. The distinction between private and public services is often arbitrary and should not be used to divide workers. For example the health and social care system is made up of workers across all sectors. We want pay rises for workers across all sectors;
5) While some NHS workers may not face the same degree of pay restraint as other public sector workers, we reject divide and rule tactics and point out that NHS workers are likely to be offered pay rises well below their aspirations. We are in favour of unity between workers in the NHS, local government, and the private and voluntary sector;
6) For the same reason we reject arbitrary definitions of who are frontline workers and which workers are deserving of pay rises. This includes attempts to divide workers on the basis of those who work from home and those who work in work places. The stress, strain and health and safety issues for both home workers and those in work places must be highlighted.
This conference agrees the Service Group Executive has a specific responsibility to launch a campaign on behalf of its members covered by the public sector pay freeze.
Therefore in addition to the above, this conference calls on the Service Group Executive to seek agreement with all the sector bargaining committees to agree to launch an immediate break the pay freeze campaign that would:
a)Call on members to organise local protests ( that they locally decide on) before the end of the year(in line with Covid-19 regulations) highlighting the attack;
b)Begin a consultation with members to seek to win support for a ballot for industrial action;
c)Approach other service groups affected through the service liaison committee for a joint campaign on the lines.
This conference also notes that local government pay restraint goes hand in glove with continued underfunding of local government services including not adequately compensating local authorities for the additional costs associated with Covid-19.
In many areas members face the prospect of both job losses and pay restraint.
i)This conference calls on the Service Group Executive to encourage and support local government branches to organise rallies and protests, whether virtually, or physically with suitable social distancing and other Covid-19 safe measures that bring these elements together;
ii)This conference calls on the Service Group Executive to call upon the National Executive Council to seek the maximum possible unity with other public sector trade unions (and within UNISON) including, where possible, coordinated lawful industrial action.