Unions consult council workers on action over pay

2 Mar 12
Local government trade unions have begun consulting their members on possible industrial action over pay, after employers announced there would be no increase for the third year in a row, Public Finance has learned.

By Richard Johnstone | 2 March 2012

Local government trade unions have begun consulting their members on possible industrial action over pay, after employers announced there would be no increase for the third year in a row, Public Finance has learned.

The three unions representing council workers – Unison, Unite and the GMB – had already called for the employers to agree to enter arbitration on pay. However, the Local Government Association had rejected this, saying it would be ‘irresponsible’.

Peter Allenson, Unite’s national officer for local government, told PF the unions hope that the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service can ‘put forward reasonable arguments’ to convince the employers to take part.

He added that alongside this, Unite was ‘consulting with members on what next steps to take’.

Over the next couple of weeks, a number of regional roadshows will ask Unite’s members: ‘are you prepared to take action on this issue?’

He added: ‘Employees have had below-inflation increases for nearly all of the past decade, and in the past three years inflation has been particularly high. This has eaten into their living standards.’

Brian Strutton, the GMB’s national secretary for public services, also confirmed that the union was ‘already starting’ discussions that could lead to a ballot on action.

He said: ‘We’re consulting, through our branches throughout the country, to ask members whether they will support a call for industrial action.’

Stating that ‘the freeze has gone beyond what’s reasonable’, he said that plans for any action were ‘at the discussion stage’. A decision on whether to take formal steps towards a ballot was likely towards the end of March.

He also urged employers to agree to enter arbitration.

Heather Wakefield, Unison’s head of local government, added that the employers’ ‘refusal to negotiate’ had led to the arbitration call.

She said: ‘Under the national agreement, unions have the right to seek binding arbitration over pay. We hope that the employers will join us in that process.’

But Local Government Employers has confirmed that it could not agree to a binding outcome.

In a letter to the three representatives, LGE secretary Sarah Messenger said: ‘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.’

Writing on Tuesday, she added: ‘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. To that end, we shall be in touch in the next few days to make arrangements for a meeting.’

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