Pay Dispute
Sunday, 18 November 2007Local government dispute ends with pay warning
(30/10/07) Local government workers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have slammed this year’s below-inflation annual pay award, but stopped short of outright industrial action at this stage, putting employers and the government in the ‘last chance saloon’ over pay.
"Members have told employers that this critically important issue won’t go away," UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said after a narrow majority of members voted in favour of action in a ballot which saw a 24.4% turn-out.
The ballot closed last Friday, 26 October, and saw 144,719 valid ballot papers returned, with 74,631 members (or 51.6%) voting for action and 70,088 (48.4%) voting against. The ballot result was considered by the union's NJC committee and local government service group executive today. The NJC committee welcomed the majority vote in the ballot by members for strike action in the current pay dispute.
But it overwhelmingly voted for a statement which read: "However, in all the circumstances, including the narrowness of the majority and the size of the poll, this result does not constitute the basis for viable industrial action to break the government’s pay policy."
The NJC committee therefore agreed to:
"Members have told employers that this critically important issue won’t go away," UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said after a narrow majority of members voted in favour of action in a ballot which saw a 24.4% turn-out.
The ballot closed last Friday, 26 October, and saw 144,719 valid ballot papers returned, with 74,631 members (or 51.6%) voting for action and 70,088 (48.4%) voting against. The ballot result was considered by the union's NJC committee and local government service group executive today. The NJC committee welcomed the majority vote in the ballot by members for strike action in the current pay dispute.
But it overwhelmingly voted for a statement which read: "However, in all the circumstances, including the narrowness of the majority and the size of the poll, this result does not constitute the basis for viable industrial action to break the government’s pay policy."
The NJC committee therefore agreed to:
- conclude the 2007/8 pay deal as soon as possible based on the offer made on 24 August;
- co-ordinate with other public-service unions regarding over the 2008 pay round ;
- to start a campaign for 2008 based on securing fair pay and conditions improvements for and defeating plans to attack national conditions and negotiating machinery.