Local Government Pay Claim - Latest News

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

The revised pay offer no longer includes changes to terms and conditions, but the Local Government Employers have made it clear that they are looking to break with national bargaining, unless UNISON and the other local government trade unions agree to look at changes to terms and conditions.

Full details can be found here: http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B6284.pdf

The Local Government Employers letter can be found here: http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/Employers_Letter_24Apr13.pdf

The Local Government Service Group Executive will meet on 7th May to discuss next steps, including balloting members. We need members views on whether or not they are happy to accept this pay offer and if not what sort of action they are willing to take to get an improved offer. UNISON members may want to consider that we have been subject to a 3 year pay freeze, effectively cutting our pay by 16%, and that the current CPI inflation rate is 2.8%, while RPI inflation rate is 3.3%. A 1% pay rise is therefore yet another pay cut!

Please email the branch with your views on unison@n-somerset.gov.uk or phone us on 01934 634759.

Please keep checking this blog for further updates.