Local Councils

The results of Unison's 23 May-4 July industrial action ballot for school and council workers were not good

Of the 22 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) in the catchment for the new “North-East mayor” to be elected in May 2024, eight have voted to make no nomination for Labour candidate for mayor. Hexham, Wansbeck, Blyth Valley, Blaydon, Newcastle East, Newcastle Central, Easington, and City of Durham have voted that way to protest against the 2 June decision by a panel of Labour’s National Executive to exclude Jamie Driscoll, current Labour North of Tyne mayor, from the longlist. Three CLPs did not meet to consider nominations, and two nominated all the candidates longlisted. Only nine nominated...

Darren Rodwell, the Labour leader of Barking and Dagenham council and parliamentary candidate for Barking, has threatened to evict council-tenant families not working with the police over knife crime. “If your child is involved in an incident and knows who the perpetrators are, and refuses to speak out, we will look at reviewing your housing agreement,” Rodwell said. “Everyone must play their part in stopping these crimes. As parents, it is up to us to know where our children are, and that we play an active role.” He added: “If families know their relatives are linked to crime, they must speak...

Discussing the 4 May local election results, pollster John Curtice told the BBC: “Perhaps there is a message here that voters are not yet fully enthused about the Labour alternative even if they are clearly disenchanted with the current Conservative government” The Tory vote was down to rhe equivalent of 26% in a general election, from 30% in last year’s local elections. The Tories lost 1,058 council seats, and that after losing over 1,330 when the same seats were contested in 2019. This despite their attempt at voter suppression through new voter ID laws . For the first time in almost three...

Background: • Behind Labour's purge of Leicester councillors • Hindu nationalism, communalism and the left • How the Tories won huge swing in Leicester amidst Truss debacle Over most of the country the recent local elections saw big net gains for Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens, and disastrous losses for the Tories. The picture in Leicester was very different, however. In 2019 Peter Soulsby, Labour’s candidate for City Mayor, won with just over 60% of the vote and Labour took 53 out of 54 seats on the council, with the sole remaining seat going to the Lib Dems. This time Peter Soulsby was...

Unison’s representatives on the local government National Joint Committee (NJC) that cover pay for local government and school support staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — voted on Friday 10 March to reject the £1,925 flat rate offer from employers and go to an industrial action ballot. The ballot, which will be disaggregated by employer, is likely to run from 23 May to 4 July, and could see local government workers joining taking strike in the summer and autumn. The offer did not meet the claim for a 12.7% pay-rise for all workers, or come close to the starting salary of £15 per...

On 23 February, council employers offered a flat rate award of £1,925, or 3.88% for those on higher wages, from April 2023, for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland The claim from the unions (Unison, GMB and Unite) was for RPI + 2% (interpreted as 12.7%), a £15 per hour minimum wage in two years, pus extra leave and other improved conditions. The value of council workers’ pay has fallen by 25% in real terms since 2010, and the lowest grades have now almost been caught up by the government’s legal minimum wage of £10.42 (from April 2023). With this backdrop, it is not surprising that council...

Unison, GMB, and Unite, the three unions which negotiate for local government workers’ pay (including school support staff) in England and Wales have submitted a joint claim on 30 January for 2023-4 pay, from 1 April 2023, of an increase of RPI plus two per cent on all grades. They also demand: • consideration of a flat rate increase in hourly rates to bring minimum rate to £15 ph within two years • Improvement of family leave/pay • An extra day’s leave • A two-hour cut in the working week • A homeworking allowance for those required to work at home It’s late to submit, though not as late as...

Local authorities will face a spending squeeze following the Tories’ Autumn Statement. Their funding may not have been cut directly, but it will have been significantly reduced because of inflation and no commensurate increase in funding. The Government is giving local authorities in England the ability to set higher Council Tax by increasing the referendum limit to 3% per year from April 2023. It is also giving local authorities with social care responsibilities the ability to increase the adult social care precept by up to 2% per year. The ability to raise council tax by up to 5% could make...

Housing Repairs workers in Unison who work for Barnet Homes have settled their dispute over sick pay for an employee who was injured at work. The worker did not receive sick pay for three weeks while the employer delayed in upgrading transferred-in repairs workers to its standard contract which pays sick pay from day one. The details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but I understand it is a satisfactory one for the worker concerned. The strike which began on 17 October, the first indefinite strike authorised by Unison, remained solid for 13 working days. It was well supported by the...