UNISON, the UK’s largest trade union, today described as “dangerous and dated” the local government employers’ submission to the Local Government Pay Commission, warning that it doomed low paid women to even lower pay.
UNISON National Secretary for Local Government, Heather Wakefield said:
“It is astonishing how out of touch the employers are about the local government workforce – over half work part-time and their shifts are designed to deliver services when they are needed, and not just between nine and five.”
UNISON, which represents more than 860,000 local government workers, said 75% of the workforce are female and form the biggest group of low paid workers.
They would be big losers out of any move to local bargaining, as recommended by the employers.
Heather Wakefield said:
“We fear that the employers wish to use local bargaining to ‘peg’ women’s jobs to market rates, which they know can be lower than those in councils. We have already seen evidence of this with homecare workers, who are facing increased privatisation and erosion of their wages.
“We have no confidence that the employers would approach local bargaining with the needs of the majority of the workforce in mind, given the general lack of awareness of equality and pay issues demonstrated by their track record and approaches to job evaluation and pay.”
The private and public sectors are both moving towards centralised pay systems.
An IDS study of regional pay, which is part of the joint trade union submission to the Pay Commission, looked at how large multi-site private companies have responded to local pay pressures within national pay structures. There has been a reluctance to devolve decision making and to vary pay according to each locality.
The submission says “that the danger of local pay determination was seen to be spiraling paybill costs, as each branch claims to be a ‘special case’, branches poaching rather than training staff, and ‘leapfrogging’ pay claims from trade unions comparing awards to other sites.
“Employers also felt that single pay and conditions structure was easier to administer, enabled the easy transfer of staff between branches and minimized the risk of equal pay claims.”
Ms Wakefield added:
“The 9 to 5 culture has long since disappeared. UNISON has taken significant steps to ensure modernisation of work practices to provide services that the public want, when they want them.”
57% of UNISON local government members surveyed for the Pay Commission work unpaid overtime each week with over 20% working more than four hours extra a week.
Those most likely to work unpaid overtime are among the lowest paid: teaching assistants (85%), nursery nurses (75%), school secretaries (74%), librarians (51%) and social workers (64%). But 84% Chief Officers also work regular unpaid overtime.
74% of the local government staff surveyed said they work unpaid overtime because their contractual hours are too short.
“This suggests the opposite of what the employers are saying – this is a workforce committed to delivering quality services. What they want is to have their efforts better recognized and valued,” Ms Wakefield said.
ENDS
