Just got back from National Local Government Conference and want to give you feedback on Unison's key decision on pay.The local government conference sent a resounding message to chancellor and future prime minister Gordon Brown over pay today, warning that pay cuts will not be tolerated.
General secretary Dave Prentis's call to work together with civil service union the PCS was warmly welcomed by the floor, and it was agreed to recommend a complete rejection of 2.5% or less, together with positive support for "a programme of industrial action".
It is highly likely we will be looking to ballot members on industrial action in the late summer/early autumn, along with other unions in the public sector, unless Gordon Brown offers a reasonable pay settlement.
Current inflation is 4.5%, so a 2.5% offer is actually a 2% pay cut to our members!
The pensions dispute last year saw the biggest public sector strike since the general strike in 1926, with more than a million members taking industrial action. A co-ordinated dispute on pay the covers, Nurses, Teachers, Council Workers and Civil Servants could make that dispute look small in comparison.
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