Our hard working members in local government deserve our support tomorrow, as they step up their campaign for an end to low pay and council funding cuts.
An official day of protest will be held across the UK by council staff who have endured a devastating 18% fall in pay since this coalition government came to power. As a result, many of our members’ pay packets look like they did back in the 1990s.
If the recent GDP figures are a “boost for the economic security of hard-working people”, as the Chancellor would have us believe, why doesn’t he lift the public-sector pay cap?
After three years with no pay rise and just a 1% rise last year, an extra pound an hour would make an enormous difference to thousands of families.
For low-income families, reality bears no resemblance to the so-called economic recovery that politicians have been boasting about.
The cost of food is up, gas and electricity bills are through the roof, and making ends meet is becoming harder and harder every month.
UNISON is claiming a pay rise of £1.20 an hour for local government workers – bringing their pay up to the living wage. More than half of the cost could be recouped by the Treasury through increased tax and national insurance take, so it’s certainly affordable.
Our local council services are being cut to the bone by ruthless funding cuts from this government, with no regard for the consequences on local people.
All of us use our council services in good times and bad, whether for support with housing, schools, care for our elderly, the bins emptied, the streets clean and well-lit or for a walk through the park.
Despite the government slashing council budgets by 40%, our members in local government have shown their commitment to keeping our local services running in the face of job losses, pay freezes and funding cuts.
What we now need is a commitment from the government and the local government employers to finally make a decent pay offer.
