Thursday, May 15, 2008

Council workers seek strike ballot

UNISON’s local government NJC committee is seeking authorisation for an industrial action ballot after members said No to the employers’ offer of a 2.45% pay rise.

That request, which was endorsed by the local government service group executive, will now be considered by the union’s industrial action committee, which is responsible for authorising all industrial action undertaken by the union.

The move comes after a lengthy consultation of members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland saw a rejection of the 2.45% offer.The offer included an element of 'bottom loading', making it worth 3.3% for those on the bottom three pay points. Also as part of the offer, the employers had said they would 'seek to' negotiate pay for 2009-10 and 2010-2011 by 31 December 2008 and conduct a review of the Green Book national terms and conditions by the same date.

Any industrial action ballot will be on the basis that a sustained strike action campaign will be needed to move the employers, starting with a two-day all-out strike and moving on to escalating all-out action for longer than two days.

Members in Scotland were consulted on a proposed multi-year deal of 2.5% in each of the next three years. The joint unions are discussing the outcome of their consultations and a decision on the way forward will be made at a local government conference next week.

For more information, click on the link below.

http://www.unison.org.uk/paymatters/localgov.asp

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