Local government workers have voted to accept the latest pay offer of up to 1.25%, after months of negotiation.
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) of trade union Unison’s members voted to accept the improved offer of 1% or 1.25% for the lowest-paid workers, who earn up to £13,700.
Councils made their “final” pay offer to 1.6 million workers in July after unions rejected point-blank the initial 0.5% offer earlier this year.
Librarians, social workers, refuse collectors and care staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are among the staff covered by the deal.
Heather Wakefield, Unison’s national secretary for local government, said: “Our members’ decision to accept the offer is the decision of hardworking, loyal local government workers who fear for their jobs while Tory councils slash council tax, jobs and services.
“Our members deserve more pay. They deserve better treatment. We will be campaigning hard over the next year to get that message across to service users and employers.”
However, industry experts have previously warned that unions were living in a ‘dream world’ for trying to negotiate any pay rise for staff during a period of economic uncertainty.
Jim Savege, lead on pay at the Public Sector People Managers’ Association, previously told Personnel Today: “We are disappointed that the trade unions seem to be living in a different reality in rejecting this at a time where the reality across many other sectors is pay freezes, pay reductions and job cuts.”
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