Union recommends local authority workers reject pay offer

The Unite union has urged its members who work for councils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to reject the latest local authority pay offer.

Last month, the National Joint Council for local government services made a pay offer of between 3.88% and 9.42% for the 2023/24 pay period, depending on employees’ grades.

The Council said this would mean a pay increase of at least £1,925 from 1 April 2023. For the lowest paid, their pay would increase by £4,033 over the two years since 2021.

Unite says that, given the current retail prices index (RPI) rate of inflation of 13.4%, this amounts to a local authority pay cut of almost 10% for some members.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “Local government workers provide vital frontline services. They are now absolutely determined to fight for a pay increase that will not see their pay eroded by inflation for yet another year.

“Local government employers need to enter into full pay negotiations and make a decent pay offer if industrial action is to be avoided.”

Unite argues that the current offer is “even lower” than that made to workers last year, at a time when the rate of inflation is even higher.

Graham added: “Local government workers provide vital frontline services. They are now absolutely determined to fight for a pay increase that will not see their pay eroded by inflation for yet another year.

“Local government employers need to enter into full pay negotiations and make a decent pay offer if industrial action is to be avoided.”

Unions including Unite, Unison and GMB are asking for a pay increase of RPI inflation plus 2%. They will hold further negotiations with local government employers today (8 March) in the hope of securing a “significant improvement” in the pay offer.

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Announcing this year’s pay offer in February, the Council said the government employers were “acutely aware of the additional pressure this year’s offer will place on already hard-pressed council finances” but argued that the offer was fair.

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