Proposals to improve training and career prospects for care workers to help alleviate an ongoing workforce crisis may only “scratch the surface” and ignore the impact of low pay, experts have said.
Scottish council leaders have claimed the latest local government pay offer is fair and recognises the importance of the workforce, despite opposition from unions.
Government plans to cut 90,000 jobs from the civil service mark a return to the austerity that hurt economic growth and damaged public services in the 2010s, a trade union leader has warned.
Local government members of Unite are set to strike next month over an ‘unacceptable’ 1.75% pay rise, whilst other trade unions have accepted the offer.
Trade unions are likely to recommend their members reject the final pay offer for local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which one official has labelled as “scandalous”.
Public sector unions will consult members on potential industrial action over a 3% pay rise from NHS workers, which has been branded “inadequate and underwhelming”.
Local trade union branches must be strategically aware of their authority or agency’s policy in respect of outsourcing, writes outsourcing commentator John Tizard.
