Three local government unions, representing 1.4m members, have submitted a claim for staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to receive a pay rise of at least £2,000.
Unison, the GMB and Unite called for council employees to be given a £2,000 rise at all pay grades or an increase based on the rate of RPI inflation (currently at 11.1%). Each employee would receive whichever of these awards is the higher for them.
The three unions claimed that staff working in local government have seen an average reduction of 27.5% on their pay since 2010.
GMB national secretary Rehana Azam said: “For too long, our local government members have faced real-terms pay cuts. This year, without a significant increase in pay, workers will leave their jobs for higher-paid jobs in other sectors.”
National Employers, the local government body responsible for pay offers, said that it would be consulting with the unions to inform its response.
Sian Timoney, chair of the National Employers, added: “Local government continues to face significant financial challenges, which became more acute during the pandemic, having lost more than £15bn in government funding since 2010.
“As well as rising inflation, cost of living, energy and fuel prices, the forecast increases to the National Living Wage also presents a significant cost to local government that will put further pressure on council budgets.”
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