By Richard Johnstone | 1 July 2014
Three local government trade unions are to strike on July 10 after members of Unite voted to join Unison and the GMB in taking action in a dispute over pay.
Unite announced yesterday that a ballot of members following the Local Government Association’s offer of a 1% pay increase for most workers had registered a 68% vote in favour of strike action.
Unite national officer for local government Fiona Farmer said the 1% pay offer from employers was insulting and action was needed to protest at low wage levels. Around two million council workers are now expected to strike on the day following votes by both Unison and the GMB, as well as the National Union of Teachers.
‘Our members have endured four years of pay cuts in real terms and they have now voted overwhelmingly to strike on July 10 to drive home the message to ministers that poverty pay in local government must end,’ Farmer said.
‘Poverty pay is widespread across local councils – household bills continue to soar, but our members’ buying power is constantly being eroded. The national minimum wage will soon overtake local government pay scales – members are choosing between heating and eating.
‘The aim is to get the employers back around the table to negotiate a fair deal for those who deliver vital local government services, from social care to refuse collection, on a daily basis.’
The union, which has about 70,000 members in local government, said it was seeking a £1-an-hour increase in pay across all town hall pay grades.
Responding to the announcement, a Local Government Association spokesman said: ‘Overall, only 5% of the total workforce have voted for this strike. Local government staff have worked wonders while councils have been tackling the biggest funding cuts in living memory and we have no doubt that many will still be at work on the day of strike action
‘The pay offer we have made would increase the pay of most employees by 1% while the lowest paid would receive an increase of more than 4%. This is the fairest possible deal for our employees given the limits of what we can afford.’
