By Richard Johnstone | 1 August 2014
Local government trade unions have announced they will escalate their pay dispute with council employers by holding a second one-day strike across England, Wales and Northern Ireland on October 14.
The GMB, Unison and Unite unions, which represent more than a million council workers, said the action would take place as the Local Government Association has not resumed talks since the one-day strike on July 10. This is despite the unions offering to enter into arbitration to resolve the dispute, which began after the LGA’s offer of a 1% pay increase for most workers was rejected.
Announcing the action, the unions said that pay in local government had fallen by 20% in real terms since 2010 as a result of a three-year pay freeze followed by below-inflation pay deal in 2013, and the offer for 2014.
Unison’s head of local government Heather Wakefield said employers and government must be left in no doubt that the unions are serious in this dispute. The new date replaces Unison’s previously-announced action for September 30.
‘As sister unions, we stand together to make sure that our members are treated with decency and respect,’ she added.
‘Our members cannot afford to carry on propping up local services through their pay packets. We need to put the heart back into local government by paying a Living Wage.’
GMB national secretary Brian Strutton said members across the unions –which include care workers, librarians, street cleaners and carers – deserve a fair pay deal. ‘Council leaders should reconsider their parsimonious pay offer and do the right thing by their staff,’ he added.
Unite’s national officer for local government Fiona Farmer added that, based on current rates, the National Minimum Wage will overtake local government pay scales on October 1.
‘Local government workers have had years of real pay cuts, working harder to deliver vital local services while being paid less and struggling to make ends meet,’ she said.
‘Low paid members unable to afford basis essentials are having to choose between heating and eating.’
