Hundreds of thousands of low paid local government workers including home
carers, residential care workers, school dinner ladies, cleaners and
teaching assistants have been fooled out of a pay rise again this year, said
UNISON today (1 April).
When staff look at their pay slips on April 1, the £250 increase promised by
George Osborne to public sector workers earning under £21,000 will be
missing for another year.
Heather Wakefield, UNISON Head of Local Government, said:
ÒLiving on poverty wages is no joke. It is a disgrace that George Osborne
has tried to fool local government workers and the public into believing he
cared enough about the hardship of low pay to announce he would cushion the
impact of the Government pay freeze.
ÒHundreds of thousands of low paid, mainly women workers – who every day
care for people in our local communities Ð the carers, cleaners, cooks,
teaching assistants and many more have been fooled out of the £250 promised
by George Osborne.
ÒTry feeding your family or paying your bills when you have not had a pay
rise for 3 years. £250 isnÕt much to the likes of George Osborne but every
little helps when you are on minimum wages.
ÒInstead of dragging local government workers into dispute, councils should
do the right thing and pay the £250 now.Ó
April 1 marks the third consecutive annual pay freeze. It means that
council workers will have suffered a 15% pay cut in three years and now earn
a shocking 10% less in real terms than in 1996.
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