PUBLIC SECTOR PAY
Council workers face third year of pay freezes
The Local Government Association has confirmed that council staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will have their pay frozen for the third year in a row. The announcement covers 1.6 million local government employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Teachers and firefighters are covered by separate national pay arrangements.
Sarah Messenger, LGA Head of Workforce, said:
"This has been a very difficult decision to make but it is the right one for council tax payers and the workforce as a whole. A combination of rising costs and shrinking local government funding means councils were left with little choice. Increasing pay would mean more job losses and cuts to the services people need.
"Today's announcement represents an unprecedented third consecutive year of pay freeze and we recognise the frustration which will be felt by the workforce. While the financial outlook for councils is bleak, we are keen to begin discussions with the unions on a package of reform of pay and conditions that may enable us to avoid a fourth year of pay freeze in 2013."
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Local government trade unions - UNISON, GMB and Unite - have asked for: "A substantial increase on all pay points that recognises the financial hardship being suffered by NJC workers - in particular the lowest paid - as a consequence of inflation and the failure of the employers to award £250 to those earning below £21,000, as embodied in government policy."
Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public Services, said:
"Council leaders pay has shot up and councillors vote themselves higher allowances while the carers, dinner ladies, dustmen, social workers, school support staff and all the other council workers serving their communities will have seen their pay fall in real terms by over 15%.
“The chancellor promised the country in the 2010 budget that low paid public sector workers would be afforded some protection against the cuts so will he reign in the Conservative-controlled council leaders who have made a mockery of that promise? Council workers are the lowest paid in the public sector but are the only ones not to be offered even the minimum £250 the government guaranteed.
“Although we know that councils are strapped for cash it has come as a shock that they are saying no pay rise for the third year in a row. I don’t know any other workforce in the economy that has had to bear this and 150,000 job losses and cuts to terms and conditions.
“GMB believes that a third year national pay freeze is totally unacceptable and should be referred to ACAS arbitration for a fair and independent assessment. If the national council leaders refuse to do this GMB will consult with members over industrial action and consult with local branches about submitting the union pay claim direct to their local authorities.”
Employers say “No to arbitration”
The national employers have informed unions representing council workers that they are not prepared to refer pay to arbitration. In a letter to the trade union side secretaries of the NJC for Local Government Services, dated 28 February 2012, Sarah Messenger, employers’ secretary, writes:
“When we met last week the National Employers informed you that they were unable to make a pay offer in response to your 2012 pay claim. The Trade Union Side subsequently made a formal request that the matter be referred to arbitration. I have now had the opportunity to consult the Employers’ Side and am writing to confirm that they cannot accede to your request.
“Arbitration can take place only where both parties are prepared to commit themselves to accepting that the outcome is binding. The National Employers are not able to give such an assurance as it would be irresponsible to leave councils exposed to potential expenditure that they have told us they could not afford. It would be equally unfair to raise the expectations of the workforce that there might be a pay award for 2012 when that is not the case.
“The difficult decision to not make a pay offer was made in response to the unprecedented financial situation facing councils. Nevertheless the employers are keen to stress how much they appreciate the hard work and commitment of the local government workforce and understand that asking them to accept a third year without a nationally-determined pay increase will come as a disappointment.
“As we explained when we met, the National Employers are keen to avoid a fourth year of a pay freeze in 2013 and therefore wish to begin discussions with you now rather than wait until the autumn when you next submit a pay claim, and to that end we shall be in touch in the next few days to make arrangements for a meeting.”
Living on the Edge: Pay in local government
Published: 22 February 2012
Unison has released Living on the Edge, a report on local government pay written for the union by the New Policy Institute.
The key findings of the report are as follows:
38% of part-time and 8% of full-time workers earned less than the Living Wage of £7.20 in 2011.
280,000 part-time workers earn less than £6.63 pence an hour.
160,000 full-time workers earn below £8.72 an hour.
Three-quarters of full-time workers earn less than their private sector equivalents.
Mid-point basic pay for chief executives of district councils rose by 50% between 1998 and 2007 and by 75% for upper and single tier councils.
440,000 workers are in the lowest quarter of earnings and many are dependent on in-work benefits to survive.
To download the Living on the Edge document in PDF format visit www.unison.org.uk/resources/docs_list.asp.