UNISON, representing 850,000 local government workers, said the Commission’s report offered a unique and overdue opportunity to thoroughly overhaul the treatment of local government staff and human resource management.
UNISON National Secretary for Local Government, Heather Wakefield, said:
“I particularly welcome the rejection of regional pay bargaining and the Commission’s support for the national agreement as flexible enough to allow councils to respond to local labour markets and deliver customer focused services
“I said all along that it was insulting for the employers to suggest that the 9 to 5 culture prevailed in local government. I said the employers were out of touch. The Commission has supported us with their finding that in most areas of local government the traditional 9 to 5 pattern is the exception not the rule.
“The Commission’s recommendation that above inflation pay increases could be justified on equality grounds is a hopeful sign for a workforce in which inequality remains a persistent feature.”
However, UNISON is concerned that its evidence on low pay across local government had not been given sufficient attention. Retention and recruitment difficulties will remain as long as this is not tackled.
UNISON welcomed these key findings and recommendations:
No support for regional wage bargaining or determination. The Commission found the national agreement provides sufficient flexibility to allow individual councils to develop their own approaches to pay.
Every local authority must undertake an equal pay audit. The Commission said that “equality in local government is a necessity, not an option”.
Local employers, with the assistance of the NJC, to review the pay and conditions of part-time workers. The Commission found there is a 42% pay gap between part-time women and full time men.
The jointly developed job evaluation scheme for local government should be retained. The scheme is designed to achieve equal pay for work of equal value. The employers had claimed in their evidence that the scheme was too inflexible and alternatives should be sought.
Greater investment by local and national government in training and workforce development. The Commission recommended that local training and workforce development plans be drawn up with local unions on a partnership basis
London Weighting must be reviewed and consideration given to aligning London Weighting across the public sector with “defensible rationales for remaining variation in rates”.
ENDS
