Local government workers in England, Northern Ireland & Wales, currently subjected to an imposed ‘pay freeze’ from 1 April, are being exempted from Government pledge to pay a £250 annual pay rise to public service workers earning less than £21000 per year.
The arbitrary and unilateral decision by the LGA employers’ organisation has been condemned by UNISON.
“Most councils budgeted for a pay increase this year, and for the next two years. There is money available to pay staff a rise, but not the political will. How can councils expect staff to help them deal with the harshest budget for decades when staff are so obviously not valued.”
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=1905
UNISON national secretary for local government Heather Wakefield has used her latest column on the public finance website to expose the discriminatory treatment of local government workers:
“And then there are our members who have to suffer the consequences. No-one can even start to kid themselves that they are less worthy of a pay increase of £250 this year than civil servants or the 2.3% that teachers they work alongside will be getting. It’s time to ask how much longer can the excuse of local democracy mean impoverishment for the people who do what the good burghers of the council chamber ask them to.” http://bit.ly/aYrYc5
The time is overdue for UNISON and other local government unions to step up protest action against this unprecedented de facto de-recognition of our collective bargaining rights.
