Unison members stage pay protests

21 May 14
Local government and school staff are to hold protests across the country today as trade union Unison steps up its campaign against the pay offer made by council employers.

By Richard Johnstone | 21 May 2014

Local government and school staff are to hold protests across the country today as trade union Unison steps up its campaign against the pay offer made by council employers.

The union is balloting members on strike action following the offer of a 1% increase for most workers from the Local Government Association, with strike ballots also called by the Unite and GMB unions in the sector.

Today’s lunchtime protests will highlight the ‘dire state’ of local government pay, the union’s head of local government Heather Wakefield said. Ballot papers are due to be sent to 600,000 Unison’s members later this week. 

Pay freezes in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and below-inflation rises in eight of the last seventeen years mean the value of some local government pay packets has been reduced to the level of the 1990s in real terms, according to the union’s figures.

‘School and council workers are tired of the government treating them like they are at the bottom of the pile and they are tired of going that extra mile for worse than nothing,’ Wakefield said. ‘In the wake of government cuts and almost 500,000 job losses in councils alone, they continue to educate and support children in schools, maintain crucial local services, keep our communities clean and safe places to live and protect the homeless and vulnerable.

‘The overwhelming decision by Unison’s local government and school members to reject this year’s pay offer and move to a strike ballot is a clear sign of the strength of feeling amongst our members over the issue of pay. All local government and school workers deserve to be paid at least the Living Wage.’

The unions in the sector are seeking a £1.20 an hour increase to bring the bottom rate of pay in local government to the level of the Living Wage, which stands at £7.65 an hour and £8.80 in London.

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