UNISON, Unite and GMB have today (28 October) lodged a pay claim on behalf
of more than 1 million local government workers in an effort to break
through the damaging 2 year pay freeze. While 70% of council workers earn
less than £21,000, the union is pointing to the yawning wages gap opening
up, with the latest figures showing the pay of directors in the UK’s top
businesses have risen by 50% in the last year alone. Incomes Data Services
(IDS), which released the findings, said this took the average pay for a director
of a FTSE 100 company to just short of £2.7m.
The unions have called for a substantial rise in their 2012/13 claim to the
National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland. Council workers, including teaching assistants, carers,
social workers, cleaners and dinner ladies, will have suffered two years of
frozen pay by April 2012. In the face of record inflation this has effectively led
to workers suffering an 11.6% pay cut. The lowest paid have been hit the
hardest, as local government employers have failed to honour the
Governments promised £250 to those earning below £21,000.
The pay freeze has come on top of huge Government cuts which are
disproportionately affecting women workers. Over the second quarter of 2011
alone, 57,000 jobs were lost in local government, where women make up
three quarters of the workforce. When the loss of purchasing power due to
inflation levels since the last pay rise in 2009 is taken into account, more than
314,527 members are coping on pay levels equivalent to less than the
minimum wage.
Heather Wakefield, UNISONs Head of Local Government, said:
“While directors enjoy huge pay rises, low paid local government workers have
suffered real financial hardship for two years and are struggling to make ends
meet.
“The cost of living has risen sharply, but their pay has stayed the same. If
their pay is frozen for a third year and costs remain high, whole families will
be pushed further into poverty.
“Council workers are already suffering from cuts to jobs and services, their
terms and conditions are under attack at local level and and the Government
plans to change their pensions, to make them pay more, work longer, for less.
This is an unparalleled assault on those who are working harder for less to
maintain vital community services.
“To add insult to injury, the £250 promised by the Chancellor to soften the
blow of a pay freeze for the lowest paid, has been denied to local government
workers. While other low paid public service workers have had this flat rate
increase, yet again council workers, go without. Low paid women are bearing
the brunt of the pay freeze and of the Governments service cuts as a whole.
“The evidence in our claim shines a spotlight on poverty pay in local
government and the struggle council workers are facing to make ends meet.
These workers are also under huge pressure to maintain a quality service in
the face of the cuts. We need a substantial pay increase to drag them out of
poverty, put some money in their pockets and help kick start the economy.”
Peter Allenson, Unite national officer, said:
“Local government employers are due for a wake up call. There is increasing
evidence that their workforce can no longer afford to work for them with pay
cuts increasing workload and proposed increases to pension contributions.
“Unite reps are reporting that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to
recruit and retain the right staff around the country.
“The pay claim lodged today is justifiable and affordable and our members are
becoming increasingly angry and frustrated with the way that they are being
treated.
“With the bottom rate now just 22p above the national minimum wage our
members are saying enough is enough.
Brian Strutton, GMB General Secretary, said:
“With pay rates for council workers now just 22p above the national minimum
wage and way below the rest of the public sector I know that GMB members
need a decent pay rise in 2012 just to keep up with the cost of living. Its no
more than they deserve.”
Ends
KEY FACTS ABOUT NJC WORKERS
The NJC workforce
á 75% of the NJC workforce are women
á 48% are part-time workers
NJC pay facts
á 45% of the NJC workforce earn less than £18,000
á 69% earn less than £21,000
á The lowest NJC pay rate is £12,145
á The NHS equivalent is £13,903
á The Higher Education equivalent is £13,203
Local attacks on NJC conditions
á According to the Local Government Employers 2010
Workforce Survey:
– 83% of councils are planning to cut car allowances
– 68% plan to cut unsocial hours premia
– 37% plan to cut sick pay
Redundancies in local government
á 57,000 jobs were lost in Q2 of 2011 alone
á The Local Government Association predicts that 10% of jobs will be lost
by 2015
Recruitment problems
á 80% of councils report problems recruiting social workers
OBR pay forecasts for 2012 and 2013
The OBR central economic forecast for March 2011 predicts economy-wide
pay increases of 2.2% in 2012 and 3.8% in 2013