UNISON recommends rejection of local government pay offer

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, representing 600,000 local government employees, today recommended to its members that they reject both options in the Local Government Employers’ recent pay offer and agreed to consult them over industrial action. UNISON is calling on the employers to return to negotiations and improve their offer following a complete pay freeze for council staff since April 2010.

Pay has declined by 15% since 2010 and many councils have cut unsocial hours and overtime payments, hours of work, car allowances and redundancy pay. Others have introduced unpaid annual leave and term-time only working and have cut pay and frozen annual increments. Many have introduced car parking charges for staff. At the same time, 260,000 posts have been deleted through redundancies and scrapping of vacant posts since the Coalition took office, leaving existing staff to cover the extra work as they battle to keep essential services running.

A recent survey of 14,800 UNISON members in local government showed that more than 80% feel that workload, pressure and stress has increased since 2010. More than 70% now say that stress is affecting their personal and working lives. Debt levels are running high; more than 53% of respondents have personal debts, with 11% of these owing more than £20,000.

Heather Wakefield, Head of Local Government at UNISON, said:

“Our members have done their best to fill the gaps left by drastic government cuts, but they can be stretched no further. Once again they are being denied even the meagre reward for their efforts that was promised to all public sector workers by the Chancellor.

“Local government is a bargain basement employer, with pay for thousands barely above Minimum Wage rates. After three-years of no pay increase at all, enough really is enough. We hope the employers see sense and make an improved offer.

“It is unclear where the employers have got their mandate for this derisory offer. Almost 50 councils are now paying – or are pledged to pay – the Living Wage. Many others have publicly supported a no-strings 1% increase in line with Government public sector pay policy. Councils not covered by the NJC are paying at least 1% this year. Why middle earners like nursery nurses, social workers, customer service staff and engineers should be punished with a 0.6% offer is a mystery.”

The local government workforce is overwhelmingly low paid, with more than 800,000 workers earning less than £21,000. More than 75% of local government workers are women.

ENDS