Our local government and school support members have delivered a decisive verdict for strike action on 10 July.
The result is a clear sign of the strength of feeling amongst our members over the issue of pay.
I don’t underestimate how tough it is to vote for action and to lose precious pay when you are struggling to get by.
But members and their families have borne the brunt of the Tory-led government’s savage austerity agenda, with year upon year of pay freezes and pathetic 1% increases.
Another below-inflation rise would see local government pay down by almost 20% in real terms.
Those on the lowest pay scales will be teetering on the brink of earning below the minimum wage.
It is a travesty that it is becoming the norm for the workers who keep our local services running to be treated with such disdain.
But our members are fighting back.
The ballot result has sent the government’s spin machine into overdrive.
They had the audacity to claim that the strike would “damage the recovery.”
If there is a recovery, and I’m sure most of our members in councils and schools would be sceptical, surely the people who have kept our local services running under enormous pressure should be sharing in it? But this is not the case.
Once again the Tories have made it obvious that the mythical recovery is not for everyone.
As far as they are concerned, there is no problem with those at the top pocketing double digit pay rises and bonuses, while those less well off supplement their ever declining pay packets with in-work benefits and groceries from foodbanks.
We believe that all local government and school workers deserve to be paid at least the living wage.
We know it is affordable, and we know it is fair.
UNISON is urging the employers to get back to the negotiating table with an offer that recognises the invaluable contribution that our members make to their local communities.
But in the meantime, we are preparing for widespread industrial action when our members walk out next month.
