Unions are calling for a nationally agreed pay deal for council staff to go ahead next year as the number of local authorities unilaterally cutting pay and conditions grows.
The GMB has identified two councils which have offered workers a pay cut for next year, and a further six where they are being forced to choose between new contracts on worse terms, or redundancy. Rochdale and Barnsley borough councils are offering pay cuts of 2.5 and 5 per cent respectively.
The cuts are likely to affect thousands of public sector staff earning less than £21,000 a year, despite Chancellor George Osborne promising a pay rise for this group in his June Budget. In September, Unison, Unite and the GMB called for all council staff to receive a £250 pay rise.
In an open letter to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles this week, GMB national secretary Brian Strutton asked: “Will you intervene to provide the funding to stop their pay being cut?”
Unite national officer Peter Allenson said: “We’re looking to a proper negotiation with employers”, and stood by the pay claim.
A Local Government Association spokesperson said councils were in an extraordinary position because of the Government’s spending cuts and declined to guarantee that there would be a normal pay round.
The GMB also estimates that councils have announced 30,000 job cuts so far this year.
