Unions reject ‘woeful' local government and schools pay offer
The three unions representing council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have today (Wednesday) rejected the 2% pay offer made by the local government employers.
Last summer GMB, Unison and Unite – which between them have more than a million local government members – submitted the pay claim for 2020/21.
If accepted, this would mean that £10 an hour would be the lowest rate for town hall staff from this April. Everyone else would receive a 10% wage rise.
Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary said:
“This offer does nothing to address the decade of savage cuts our members have suffered – their wages have been devalued by 22% over the past ten years. It's a no from GMB.
“This is Johnson’s first test on how his government will treat public sector workers and the offer tabled today is woefully short of a proper decent wage.
"Local government workers are the backbone of our communities; overwhelmingly part-time and female.
“We demand a proper negotiation, in good faith, that restores public sector workers’ confidence that Johnson and his new MPs – many who represent public sector workers – value the vital services they provide.
“The election is over and soundbites are worthless unless words are followed by deeds.”
I will keep our GMB members updated when information is passed on to me, further meetings are booked in diaries and again I will update you following these.