UNISON’s key negotiating committee for local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will meet in early May to consider the union’s response to the latest pay offer from employers.
The meeting of the union’s local government service group NJC committee on 7 May to discuss the employers’ final offer and agree recommendation for the branch consultation which will start as soon as possible after 7 May.
The joint unions will meet in the afternoon of 7 May. UNISON members had rejected previous options – for a 1% pay rise with changes to terms and condition or a lower increase with no strings – put forward by the local government employers.
Now councils have come back with a final offer of:
- 1% on all pay points from 1 April 2013;
- deleting the bottom pay point (scale point 4) from 1 October 2013.
There are around 28,000 local government workers – mainly women working part-time – on the bottom pay point.
Under the offer, they would get a 1% pay rise between April and 30 September and a further 1.4% increase on 1 October. Overall, they would move from £6.30 an hour to £6.45 – a 2.4% increase.
Commenting on the new offer, UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said: “Local government workers have seen a 16% decline in the value of their pay in the last three years, coupled with significant local attacks on terms and conditions.
“UNISON’s local government committee will be mindful of this when we consider this improved offer. “We held out for a better deal and will now be consulting our local government members, the majority of whom are women who have been particularly hard hit by the coalition’s cuts to jobs, services, pay and conditions.
