Unions escalate action over government pay limits

26 Jun 08
The government is facing the biggest assault yet on its public sector pay policy after council workers in trade union Unison voted for 'sustained' industrial action - beginning with a two-day strike next month.

27 June 2008

The government is facing the biggest assault yet on its public sector pay policy after council workers in trade union Unison voted for 'sustained' industrial action – beginning with a two-day strike next month.

The 55% vote for strike action was announced by Unison on June 23, a day after Chancellor Alistair Darling attempted to reinforce the government's stance.

'It's absolutely imperative from the boardroom to the shop floor, both private and public sector, that we don't allow inflation to take hold again,' Darling told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. 'What it means is that pay awards… have to be consistent with our inflation target, which is 2%.'

But around 600,000 Unison members could be joined on the picket lines on July 16 and 17 by council staff in Unite, which was due to announce the results of its own strike ballot on June 27. Both unions have rejected a 2.45% pay offer.

Up to 100,000 civil servants could also join the action. Members of the Public and Commercial Services union walked out in April over pay – when they were joined by striking teachers. The PCS is now discussing co-ordinating a further strike with the council workers' action in July, a spokesman confirmed.

The PCS members, who include Department for Work and Pensions staff, have been further angered by plans announced by DWP Secretary James Purnell to give private firms a 'right to bid' for the provision of all welfare services.

And, despite acceptance of a three-year pay deal by most NHS unions, up to 100,000 health workers in Unite could still stage strikes. The union rejected the deal and is planning protests on July 18. 'After that, we will be balloting our members for strike action,' a spokeswoman said.

Six trade unions representing 250,000 further education staff are weighing up a 'final' pay offer of 3.2% over ten months – equating to a 2.7% annual rise – and could yet join the summer of discontent.

The National Union of Teachers will hold a strike vote in the autumn, when the PCS is set to escalate its campaign by balloting all its 280,000 civil service members.

Meanwhile, local authorities are facing school closures, overflowing bins and disruption to other services on the July strike days. Brian Baldwin, chair of the NJC Employers' Side, said the action 'could have serious implications for some of the most vulnerable people in society and would not change the fact that our last offer was our final offer'.

He added: 'If the pay settlement is set any higher, then councils will be forced into making unpalatable choices between cutting frontline services and laying off staff.'

But Unison head of local government Heather Wakefield said: 'It is a tough decision to take strike action, but our members have shown that they are willing to fight for a fair deal.'

The union was happy to meet the employers, she added. 'The solution to this is in their hands. They must know that we mean business and they must know that our members cannot afford to take another pay cut this year.'

In the Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown responded to taunting from Conservative leader David Cameron by saying the government had 'no plans to change employment law' in the wake of the Unison strike vote.

Instead, he emphasised the government's strategy of encouraging three-year public sector pay deals. 'They're a barrier against inflation, [provide] stability for the future and are a signal to the rest of the public sector and private sector,' he said.

But the government is set to come under pressure as rising inflation triggers 'reopener' clauses in longer-term pay deals.

NUT head of pay Barry Fawcett confirmed that the union had written to the School Teachers' Review Body, urging it to seek a new remit from ministers after inflation rose over an agreed trigger level in both 2006 and 2007. 'Simple justice requires that the government accept the case for a review of teachers' pay without delay,' Fawcett said.

And Unison general secretary Dave Prentis told the union's annual conference in Bournemouth last week that the NHS deal would be reopened if prices spiralled in its second or third years.

'We won't take no for an answer. If the government refuse, we will ballot for industrial action – and that's a promise,' he said.

Ken Mulkearn, of Incomes Data Services, said rising prices would mean the government 'might need to look again at the deals and the arrangements for subsequent increases'.

PFjun2008

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