Council unions claim £15 per hour minimum

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 2022. The unions are asking the employers to respond positively after their employers’ side meeting on 23 February, but have not said what will happen if the employers don’t respond by then.

The focus is on RPI+2%, but it is important than the unions don’t lose sight of the demand for a £15 ph minimum wage in local government. The government’s national minimum wage is rising to £10.42 on 1 April, so the lowest paid council and school workers will be paid only a few pence more than the legal minimum.

Most high street supermarkets have a higher starting salary than Labour-run councils.

Unison members have voted to support a £15 ph minimum, and Unison and other trade unionists should lobby to ensure the employers don’t ignore this aspect of the claim.

Last year the unions accepted a flat rate of £1,925 for all grades in England and Wales, less than inflation for all workers.

On the latest figures (December-December), RPI inflation was still 13.4%, CPI still 10.5%. We can’t afford another year’s pay cut.