UNISON Scotland 2010 PAY CLAIM
Update June 2010
UNISON consults members over "unacceptable"
council pay offer and calls for a NO Vote
On Monday 21st June UNISON started a ballot of all members working
for Scotland's councils on acceptance or rejection of the pay
offer made by the employers.
Please vote in the ballot. Do not be put off by the talk
of a pay freeze in the ConDem Government's budget. They can only
apply that where they are directly involved in negotiating pay.
Here in Scotland pay is negotiated through CoSLA and the budget
settlement is made by the Scottish SNP Government. Therefore it
is not inevitable that there will be a pay freeze for local government
in Scotland and we still need to know what our members think of
the pay offer.
The offer made is a 3 year deal of 1% in the first year, 0%
in the second and 0.5% in the third. UNISON and the other main
unions are recommending that the offer be rejected as it is effectively
a three year pay cut.
USE YOUR VOTE! The consultative ballot will run from 21
June 2010 and close at midday on 29 July 2010.
UNISON and the other unions are recommending rejection of the
three year pay cut. VOTE NO!
If you are a UNISON Local Government member in Scotland you should
have received a ballot paper in the week beginning Monday 21 June.
If you have not received your ballot paper or if you have any
queries relating to the consultative ballot, the Helpline number
is 0131 226 0087 and the enquiry e-mail address is membershipteamscotland@unison.co.uk
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Update May 2010
Call for members to reject pay cut
- it doesn't add up!
 UNISON,
along with the GMB and Unite unions, is calling on members to
reject CoSLA's three year pay offer of 1% this year, a pay freeze
next year and 0.5% in the third year.
UNISON Scotland has mounted a campaign for decent pay for
all our members, especially the low paid, and has described the
employers' offer as no more than a pay cut, when rising costs
and inflation are taken into account.
Ballot
A letter has been sent out to all members in local government
in Scotland and there will be a full postal ballot between 21st
June and 29th July, when you will all get a chance to have your
say.
What can you do?
Download the FAQs and the posters
and leaflets. Put up the posters and distribute the leaflets.
Talk to the other members and non-members
in your workplace and make sure they have a chance to discuss
the pay offer and understand why we are asking them to reject
the offer.
Encourage non-members to join UNISON.
The more members we have, the more bargaining strength we have
and the more likely we are to win a decent pay rise.
Let the Branch know your own views and
those of the members in your workplace by emailing the branch
office at aberdeenshire@unison.co.uk
Click
here to download answers to FAQs on why you should reject the
pay cut
Click
here to download the posters and leaflets
Anger
Dougie Black, UNISON Regional Organiser, and Lead Negotiator said,
"Our members will be very angry at this offer. It essentially
amounts to a pay cut when you look at rising costs and the real
rate of inflation. We need to make sure that the employers realise
this strength of feeling and return to the negotiating table.
This pay offer does not meet our claim in any way and if accepted,
will be seriously detrimental to our members, especially the low
paid."
Dougie added, "At a time when inflation is rising above
4% to offer 1% to members delivering essential front-line services
is completely unacceptable. Many of our members are low paid,
yet the employers rejected a call from the trade unions to redistribute
the offer in favour of the low paid."
The offer of a multi year deal flies in the face of the Government's
Public Sector Pay Policy which advocates single year deals. "The
only case for a multi year deal is political expediency,"
said Dougie. "Our members will not stand back and accept
such an offer just so that our politicians can ensure that pay
is not an issue during parliamentary and local elections next
year or the year after," he warned.
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Update April 2010
New offer ties council staff to pay
freeze next year as part of 3 year deal
In the most recent development of this year's pay claim, CoSLA
has made a three year pay offer incorporating 1% this year, a
pay freeze next year and 0.5% in the third year. They have been
unwilling to negotiate further.
This falls far short of the joint union claim for a one-year
rise of 3% or £600 (whichever is the greater) with a significant
underpinning for the low paid - including a claim for all workers
to be paid a living wage of at least £7.00 per hour.
Dougie Black, UNISON Regional Organiser, and Lead Negotiator
said. "Despite the fact that CoSLA have already agreed to pay
teaching staff 2.4% and their senior managers 2.5% this year,
as part of multi-year deals, it appears that the value that they
put on the main group of staff who deliver their services is a
lot less. These staff include the lowest paid in Scottish Local
Government. They are being offered a paltry 1% this year, but
worse, will be tied into a pay freeze next year whatever happens
to the economy. This is another slap in the face."
Dougie added, "At a time when inflation is rising above
4% to offer 1% to members delivering essential front-line services
is completely unacceptable. Many of these members are low paid,
yet the employers rejected a call from the trade unions to redistribute
the offer in favour of the low paid."
The offer of a multi year deal flies in the face of the Government's
Public Sector Pay Policy which advocates single year deals. "The
only case for a multi year deal is political expediency,"
said Dougie. "Our members will not stand back and accept
such an offer just so that our politicians can ensure that pay
is not an issue during parliamentary and local elections next
year or the year after," he warned.
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Update Feb 2010
Union fury at slap in face for low
paid
At a meeting on 24th Feb 2010, the pay claim submitted by the
Joint Trade Unions on behalf of members in Local Government, was
simply dismissed by the employers' organisation, CoSLA, without
any negotiations.
The claim is for a one-year rise of 3% or £600 (whichever
is the greater) with a significant underpinning for the low paid
– including a claim for all workers to be paid a living wage of
at least £7.00 per hour.
Unions representing around 150,000 Scottish Council staff, reacted
with anger at the employers' high-handed dismissal of their pay
claim.
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| Dougie Black |
Dougie Black, UNISON Regional Organiser, and Lead Negotiator
said. “Despite the fact that CoSLA have already agreed to pay
teaching staff 2.4% and their senior managers 2.5% this year,
as part of multi-year deals, it appears that the value that they
put on the main group of staff who deliver their services is nothing.
These staff include the lowest paid in Scottish Local Government.
For them it is a slap in the face.”
The unions are also angry that the employers chose not to address
the detail of the trade unions’ claim but simply dismissed it
in its entirety.
Dougie said “Just as the rejection of our claim shows how little
councils value their staff, the brusque and dismissive treatment
of the negotiators is further proof of the lack of understanding
that these employers have. It is similar to the treatment that
lords offered to their serfs.”
Despite many authorities, including our own, making provision
for pay for council staff this year they now appear to want to
backtrack on this and leave our members high and dry.
Further talks have been offered by the employers, and the unions
will now consult with their branches and consider if there is
any likelihood of serious negotiations.
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Update Nov 2009
Joint unions submit pay claim for next
year and call for fair treatment for low paid council staff
UNISON and the other unions representing Scottish local council
workers, submitted our claim for an annual pay rise at the annual
meeting of the negotiating body, The Scottish Joint Council in
Edinburgh, on 25th November.
This claim is for the period starting in April 2010. when the
current agreement ceases. The claim is for a one-year rise
of 3% or £600 (whichever is the greater) with a significant underpinning
for the low paid – including a claim for all workers to be paid
a living wage of at least £7.00 per hour.
UNISON Regional Officer and lead negotiator, Dougie Black, said
“This claim is simply an attempt by our members, who include the
lowest paid of Scotland’s council workers, to maintain their standard
of living in the teeth of what is predicted to be increasing inflationary
pressures.
"The RPI is forecast to steadily rise to 2.6% in the 1st
quarter of 2010 before reaching 3.1% in the second quarter of
2010, and we have already experienced the fact that increases
in inflation – especially in basic necessities like food and fuel
– impact particularly hard on low-paid members.
UNISON calls for low-paid staff to be treated fairly.
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| Stephanie Herd |
Stephanie Herd – Chair of UNISON’s Local Government Group said
“Local councils have already agreed to pay their chief officials
2.5% over this period, and teaching staff 2.4%. It would be invidious
if our political leaders now try to make the lowest paid staff
pay for the economic crisis. Bankers and fat cats in the city
get help – it is time for hard-pressed public service workers
to get that help.”
"Our members in Scotland’s local councils have already delivered
around £200 m worth of efficiency savings with a loss of around
7,000 jobs. It is only fair that councils should share these efficiency
savings with staff as well as with council tax payers.”
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Update Sept 2009
UNISON determines pay claim
Following an extensive review of the 2009 pay campaign and consultation
with all relevant branches, the Scottish Local Government Conference
agreed at its meeting in Sept 2009 that the 2010 pay claim should
take account of the following:
1. The claim should only cover the period 1st April 2010 to 31
March 2011.
2. The claim should seek a percentage increase of 3%.
3. In making this claim UNISON should also consider weighting
such a claim to favour lower paid members.
4. The claim should also contain a recommended minimum wage claim
of £7.45 per hour in line with the supporting evidence submitted
to the Low Pay Commission.
5. There was no clear indicator or majority view on any terms
and conditions that should be included in the claim therefore
for the period of this claim no terms and conditions should be
included.
6. The claim should also seek a statement from the employers
that any salary increase should also be applied to Community and
Voluntary Sector organisations, where Local Authorities fund staffing
costs.
This claim has since been issued to the other trade unions
for comment and consultation with a view to agreeing a joint claim
for submission to our employers in November 2009.
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