Rebuilding union strength in local government

Unison members in local government will receive a pay increase of 3.3%, against a claim for £3,000 or 10%, whichever was the greater. Pay in local government has gone down by 25% since 2009, in the same period Councils in England have shed approximately a third of their total workforce, increasing workloads.

The union targeted branches that had previously got within 10% of the threshold in two previous national member ballots for strike action. As with the last ballot, some branches received targeted support from their regions. The yes vote for strikes was convincing, with 81.8%, but only 28.4% of members voted The union has not released the ballot results but The Socialist reports that no large employer (defined as over 1,000 members) met the anti-union-law 50% turnout threshold and only one employer with over 500 members reached 50%.

For previous whole-sector Unison industrial action ballots, overall national turnouts have always ranged low, typically between 25% and 34%, with the 2011 public service pension ballot at 29% and the 2022 NHS pay dispute national average at 34%. The 2011 and 2022 disputes were far from successful, but not primarily because of lack of member engagement or enthusiasm.

Since the 2016 anti-union legislation, people have learned to interpret low turnouts as a sign of weakness. Union activists have internalised the anti-union laws. This result will demoralise an already demoralised activist layer in the union.

There were a number of particular issues in this ballot. Members were balloted over a four-week period in the school holidays when a third of the workforce would not be at work. The timing also meant the ballot ended just as electronic balloting came into force. The member contact system was only open for two of the four weeks and branches were told this was the only mapping tool which could be used. The Movement system used for Get The Vote Out has greater functionality than Unison activists are offered. Five branches in London offered to pay from Branch funds to have the option to see workplace data but were refused permission by the national union.

Pay rise

The pay rise is enacted from 1 April, but as usual the union allowed the employer to set the timetable. The local government unions had no political campaigning around May elections or the Labour leadership nomination period and did not start balloting in April when the employer failed to provide a good enough offer. Reps report that increasing numbers of members don’t want to vote in the ballot because they want the backdated rise without delay.

Each of these mistakes of the bureaucracy is a real factor, but a bigger one is the structural weakness of the unions in the sector. Rep coverage is big weakness. In line with the rest of the movement Unison has had a decline in its activist base. Job losses in the sector have exacerbated this trend in local government. The union members and activists in local government are older than average local government workers. Unless we can recruit more reps we face an existential crisis. Branch life is lower than it has been, though there have been notable counter-trends in branches with strong local activity including disputes.

Local disputes

Whilst we try to wrestle control of the national machinery, activists must also build local disputes to bring in a new activist layer and build confidence and combativity amongst workers. Unison has recruited many new reps since the 2023 Organising to Win agenda was launched but many new reps, particular young members, find it difficult to stay active in inactive or even hostile branches. Honoraria paid in many branches incentivises keeping new leaders out. The union’s left must focus on providing some scaffolding for new reps trying to break into activity.

Time For Real Change London is holding a training event in September for activists struggling to become active in their workplace.

At national level we must ensure next year’s union local government conference takes pay seriously. We must move toward a bargaining machinery that people can understand and engage with. The “NJC” apparatus is opaque and baffling, and the union local government Service Group Executive rarely asserts itself between meetings.

We must also push for political campaigning which attempts to mobilise members alongside industrial disputes. For those branch activists and lay leaders who want to turn around Unison fortunes in local government, the road to the next pay campaign must start now.