Local government and school workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will hold official protests today (Wednesday 21 May) as part of UNISON’s campaign for pay and fair council funding.
The protests take place on the eve of a strike ballot over this year’s pay offer that would see 90% of local government and school support workers receive a rise of just 1%. Ballot papers are due to be sent to 600,000 UNISON members later this week.
The lunchtime protests will highlight the dire state of local government pay and the disastrous impact of Government cuts on local jobs and services. Council budgets have been slashed by 40% under the coalition.
Pay freezes in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and below inflation rises in eight of the last seventeen years have sent the pay packets of some local government and school workers plummeting back to the level of the 1990s. This year’s offer would result in a cumulative real-term cut of almost 20% for more than one million local government and school workers.
Heather Wakefield, UNISON’s Head of Local Government, said:
“School and council workers are tired of the Government treating them like they are at the bottom of the pile and they are tired of going that extra mile for worse than nothing. In the wake of Government cuts and almost 500,000 job losses in councils alone, they continue to educate and support children in schools, maintain crucial local services, keep our communities clean and safe places to live and protect the homeless and vulnerable.
“The overwhelming decision by UNISON’s local government and school members to reject this year’s pay offer and move to a strike ballot is a clear sign of the strength of feeling amongst our members over the issue of pay. All local government and school workers deserve to be paid at least the Living Wage*.”
UNISON is seeking a £1.20 an hour minimum increase, which would bring the bottom rate of pay in local government to the level of the Living Wage, and help restore some of the pay lost across the whole workforce. More than half of the cost of the union’s claim would be recouped through increased tax and National Insurance take.
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Notes to Editors
*The Living Wage is £7.65 an hour, and £8.80 in London
