Council and school workers deserve a pay rise!

As a Councillor I was sent this motion by UNISON which I support and will send to our Council Labour Group, Newham School Governors and West Ham Labour Party Branch and General Committee.  

(Please note that workers in local government and schools, pay and other terms and conditions are determined by a negotiating body; the National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services)

Personally I think that all workers should have their pay decided by joint employer and employee wage councils.

MOTION ON PAY TO COUNCILS 

This London Borough of Newham Council notes that: 

• NJC basic pay has fallen by 21% since 2010 in real terms 

• NJC workers had a three-year pay freeze from 2010-2012 

• Local terms and conditions of many NJC employees have also been cut, impacting on their overall earnings 

• NJC pay is the lowest in the public sector 

• Job evaluated pay structures are being squeezed and distorted by bottom loaded NJC pay settlements needed to reflect the increased National Living Wage and the Foundation Living Wage 

• There are growing equal and fair pay risks resulting from this situation 

This council therefore supports the NJC pay claim for 2018, submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers and calls for the immediate end of public sector pay restraint. 

NJC pay cannot be allowed to fall further behind other parts of the public sector. This council also welcomes the joint review of the NJC pay spine to remedy the turbulence caused by bottom-loaded pay settlements. 

This council also notes the drastic ongoing cuts to local government funding and calls on the Government to provide additional funding to fund a decent pay rise for NJC employees and the pay spine review. 

This council therefore resolves to: 

• Call immediately on the LGA to make urgent representations to Government to fund the NJC claim and the pay spine review and notify us of their action in this regard 

• Write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting the NJC pay claim and seeking additional funding to fund a decent pay rise and the pay spine review 

• Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and the pay spine review

Council staff to go on Strike on 10 July over 5th consecutive year of Pay Cuts

UNISON members who work in Local Government will be out on strike over pay cuts on Thursday 10 July. I believe that other unions will also be out on that day including the National Union of Teachers.

5 consecutive years of real term pay cuts to predominantly already low paid workers providing vital public services is just unacceptable.

Below are some of the powerful arguments being put out by UNISON about why this strike is necessary.  Enough is enough. 

"The employer’s side of the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services, which covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, refuses to renegotiate on its 1% final offer.

The trade union side claim to the NJC this year was designed to call a halt to poverty pay in local government and schools.

The trade unions are seeking a minimum of £1 an hour for employees on NJC terms and conditions to make the living wage rate the bottom pay rate in local government and - because everyone on NJC pay is low paid for the jobs they do - the same flat rate increase on all other pay points".

"They really need it. They had a pay freeze from 2010 until 2013, followed by a 1% increase in 2013 when inflation was 2%. Now they have been offered another pay cut – 1%, while inflation is 2.5%. Their basic pay is the lowest in the public sector".

"Over one million NJC workers (two thirds) earn less than £21,000 a year. That's below the government's 'low pay' threshold and over £5,500 less than annual median earnings in the economy in 2012".

"Over half a million local government workers earn less than the living wage of £7.65 per hour".

"workers in local government have seen an 18% drop in basic pay in real terms since 2010".

Trots throw toys out of pram over pay consultation

UNISON is beginning a consultation process of its members subject to local government pay and conditions on the employers final offer of 1%. This is following a meeting of UNISON elected lay NJC representatives on Monday.

It’s not at all surprising that the middle class, self proclaimed revolutionary hero of Skidrow-on-Sea, has attacked those he doesn’t agree with as being in some way weasel worded.. timid...feeble...pathetic, inadequate failures (as well as being secret Tories).

The fact that he publically discloses the voting record of a private and confidential internal union meeting on our negotiating stance regarding this final pay offer from employers is probably far more significant.

The ultra left in UNISON not only think they are right and everybody else is wrong on everything but they can say and do anything they want regardless of the interests of our union or our members.

Amazing isn’t it that these people actually think that they can “unite the left” around them?

Now, I doubt that many people in that meeting are that bothered about the childish name calling nor am I criticising anyone at the actual NJC meeting. Since it was actually one of the better meetings I have ever attended, since it was a honest, largely fraternal and constructive debate between lay representatives, who agreed that we were all in a rotten situation but did not all agree on the best way forward. These things happen from time to time and this is what union democracy is suppose to be all about. I respect the reasoned arguments and opinions of those who on this occasion I did not agree with.

What really bothers me is the contempt that the Ultra left extremists outside that meeting since have shown for the Union and ordinary rank and file union members. Demanding that the union preempts the consultation by recommending rejection and strike action. They clearly consider members to be sheep, incapable of any free or rational thought, who must be told what to do and think by the “Great Leaders”. Workers are too thick to know what is good for them so they need to be led by the nose into yet another “glorious defeat”.

Since such an attitude is so essentially divisive and self defeating then you are forced to conclude that the Ultra left could not give a toss about tackling low pay but are throwing their toys out of the pram because they see yet another opportunity for strike chasing and revolution going out of the window.

There is actually a real opportunity for the union to fight back and organise around pay cuts by using it to build density in the workplace to increase our real bargaining power. We also need to talk with and not talk down, to our members about politics and economics. We need to persuade them without lecturing or sloganising, that there is a viable alternative economic policy to austerity.

If we achieve this then we can deliver successful strike action on pay. This will not happen overnight nor will it happen at all if we treat our members as mere cannon fodder.  Or if we try and force them into taking action that they may not believe in at this stage just to satisfy the warped beliefs of a tiny, tiny minority.

This tiny minority really don’t want action to bring about a decent pay offer they just want strike after strike after strike to bring about the fantasy Trotsky idyl of permanent revolution (yes they actually believe in this load of old nonsense).

There are many members who are not activists but are incredible loyal to the union and if the union recommends action they will support it instinctively almost without question. They do so not just out of collective solidarity but because they trust the union to only promise something it can actually deliver. If we play games with that trust then the next time we ask them for support on something we can deliver on then the answer is going to be NO.

Consultation on final pay offer for all on Local Government terms and conditions

This email was sent out by UNISON Community National Office yesterday. Many workers whose pay is linked to Local Government rates (NJC) do not work directly for Councils.

I represent these workers (my pay is also subject to this agreement) at the UNISON NJC Committee on behalf of Community Executive.

Dear colleagues,

Please find below the final offer from NJC employers to joint local government trade unions.

After our rejection of the two ‘options’ in their first pay offer, the Local Government Employers (LGE) came back to us with a final offer in writing on 25 April (attached).

The revised offer is:

·                     1% on all pay points from 1 April 2013

·                     Deletion of scale point 4 (the bottom pay point) from 1 October 2013

There are around 28,000 employees – mostly women working part-time - on scale point 4, who would move onto the revised scale point 5 in October. This would mean a 1% increase for them between April and 30 September and a further 1.4% increase on 1 October. Overall they would move from £6.30 to £6.45 – a 2.4% increase.

UNISON’s NJC Committee will be meeting on the 7 May in the morning to discuss the final offer and agree its recommendation for the branch consultation which will start as soon as possible after 7 May. The Joint Trade Union Side will meet in the afternoon and will hopefully agree a joint way forward.

John Gray is the Community Service Group Executive representative on the NJC Committee.  If branches or regions have the opportunity to take soundings with members on NJC conditions before 7 May, please pass on any comments to John at johnDOTgray2012ATBtinternet.com.

Local Government PAY 2009 – FINAL OFFER

The Employers’ Side met yesterday and agreed to increase their offer to a final offer in settlement of our 2009 pay claim as follows:

· Pay

From 1 April 2009 an increase of 1.25% on SCPs 4 to 10 inclusive

From 1 April 2009 an increase of 1.00% on SCPs 11 to 49 inclusive

· Annual Leave

From 1 April 2009, an increase from 20 to 21 days in minimum annual leave for employees with less than five years’ service.

By 1 December 2009, the NJC will produce joint guidance on best practice in handling redundancies.

So the latest offer has gone up from 0.5% to 1.25% for low paid and 1% for the rest. This would be back dated to April this year. Also an extra days days leave for workers with less service and an agreed union/employer guide on good practice over redundancies.

The joint unions will meet on Monday 27 July to consider a response.

In a press release UNISON Head of Local Government Heather Wakefield says:-

"We are pleased that the local government employers have come forward with an improved pay offer. While we believe that our members are worth more, we are pleased that the employers have realised that 0.5% was an insult. It is also vital that we have an agreement in place to protect jobs in the sector. This will help keep services running through the recession - when families and communities need them most. "UNISON's national committee and the NJC trade union side will meet next week to start the consultation on the offer."

*Scale points 4-10 earn between £11,961 - £13,336 (scale points 0-3 no longer exist)

**Scale points 11-49 earn between £14,197 - £41,083

I think it is fair to say "well done" to the Joint Union negotiators for helping to bring a positive offer to the table in these difficult times and also getting a fairly significant increase on the previous offer. I can imagine the Daily Hate headlines tomorrow morning. But maybe we can get more?

My employer is so far still holding out on a 0% increase for non-NJC Staff (i.e staff not on local government rates – usually directly employed staff who do not have TUPE protection). With us there is any appeal process in hand and this offer should help us argue against the 0% non-offer. I am just back tonight from a Housing Association Branch Executive meeting where I heard that one employer proposed a 5% cut in wages. This was beaten back and in fact many employers have increased wages for this year by more than 1%.

I think that those in local government UNISON leadership roles should wait until they can properly consult their ordinary members on this final NJC offer. Before passing instant judgement and slobbering over the thought of leading their members (who they obviously consider too thick to think for themselves) into the valhalla of glorious strike action.

Scottish Local Government Strike: Labour “Don’t desert local gov workers”

Good luck to the UNISON, Unite and GMB members out on a one day strike today in Scotland over a below inflation pay offer (2.5%).

Check out the UNISON Scotland blog and the list of events on the main site.

This is what UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, had to say on the national issue regarding pay for all Local Government workers at the Labour Party conference today (Tuesday).

"We really do need you to treat our local government workers with dignity, respect and fairness," he said, urging communities and local government secretary Hazel Blears to step in and increase the "insulting" pay offer that had pushed workers throughout the UK into taking strike action.

"Hazel, you have to intervene. Don't prevaricate. You've got to get this mess sorted out. "Pay them fairly and they will vote for you in the next election."

Mr Prentis said local government workers should be celebrated, paying tribute to them as the hidden heroes of our society."Dinner ladies, street cleaners, social workers, bin men, home carers, meals on wheels; caring for our sick and our elderly and our children; picking up the pieces, often behind the scenes – all extraordinary people who I am proud and privileged to represent.

"Yet, he chided ministers, those same workers are bearing the brunt of an "unfair and unjust" pay policy based on the myth that public service pay causes inflation.If the government really wants to tackle inflation, it must tackle the obscene bonuses of boardroom bosses, Mr Prentis said.

It must curb the huge price hikes in fuel bills and tackle the greedy energy companies "making millions of pounds on the backs of our members … the working poor who are taking the hit, paying the price for years of deregulation."

If Labour is the party of fairness, he said, it must show it. "Now is the time for action against low pay. Now is the time to show our people that Labour is on their side, that we are the party of fairness, that when times get tough – unlike the Tories – we’ll be right there."

The Tories look after their own. Let Labour look after ours."

I think that if the Government is really concerned about fairness (and I think it is) then it must not repeat the mistake of the 10p tax rate debacle. It needs to find a way out of the public sector pay hole they have dug themselves into.

This is not simply about naked self interest (being subject to NJC – local government terms - I do declare an interest), Labour has got my vote and support anyway. There is simply no alternative for working people in this country other than the Labour Party. Never has been and in all probability, never will be.

But what will be crucial in May 2010 will be rallying enough traditional Labour voters out on the day to vote. It’s no use the Party thinking that traditional supporters will vote for them anyway since the alternative is the Tories. In these days of nice and cuddly “Dave” Cameron that just will not wash anymore.

Now the Party still has to attract other voters and I am sure that once an election is called people will blink before actually putting their cross on the ballot paper for Cameron. But the core Labour vote will count.

We don’t want to nationalise the commanding heights of the economy (well, I don’t anyway). We just want a Fair deal for our members so we can remind them of all the many great things that the Labour government have done for working people during the last 11 years and the disaster facing them if the Tories get in.