The offer is for a 2.45% increase on all grades from scale point 7, with an additional £100 flat rate increase on scale points 4, 5 and 6, giving workers on those points a 3.3% rise.Employers also want agreement that the National Joint Council, the negotiating body, will seek to conclude a review of 'Green Book' terms and conditions, started as part of the 2007-8 settlement, by the end of this year, and 'seek to' agree pay rises of 2009-10 and 2010-11 by 31 December also.
The offer is below the current inflation rate of 4.2% and less than the increase in average earnings across the economy. As such, it can only be seen as a pay-cut in real terms for all local government workers.
If members vote Yes to industrial action, that is likely to start with a two-day all-out strike in early July, and be followed by a sustained campaign of escalating action, involving strikes of more than two days.Asking members to vote for action, the union is making it clear that the employers' offer is final, and "solid and sustained" industrial action will be needed to convince the employers to reopen negotiations.
In Scotland, an 80% rejection result in UNISON’s local government pay consultation is also likely to lead to a campaign and an industrial action ballot.
Scotland’s local government committee has agreed to try and build a united campaign for industrial action with the other unions on the Scottish negotiating body.The offer from the Scottish employers hasn’t been improved in recent discussions despite recent increases in inflation. It stays at 2.5% each year for three years, with no weighting for the low paid, and no chance to reopen negotiations should inflation continue to increase over that period.
Scotland’s local government policy forum discussed the pay dispute and the results of the consultation exercise in some detail at their recent seminar and agreed to hold further discussions with colleagues from GMB and UNITE (T&G) at the next joint union side on 22 May. A Scottish local government conference has been called for 29 May, where a full report on the current position will be made, and a campaign is planned during June, aiming to build toward an industrial action ballot in the summer.
The importance of this years pay campaign cannot be overstated. Local Government employees are yet again being treated like an easy target by a government that seems determined to make us pay through job and pay cuts, privatisation and job evaluation even as they continue to cosy up to their wealthy friends in the City.
Our response, at every level of UNISON, will be crucial in securing a better deal for all workers in councils and schools. We have already taken a below inflation pay increase during the last year. We cannot afford to continue to see the value of our pay go down as, all around us, everything goes up in price.
When you receive your ballot paper, return it quickly. If we send a determined message to the employers and to the govenment we can win.
http://www.unison.org.uk/paymatters/localgov.asp
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