Local government day of protest

Council workers up and down the country will be taking part in activities on Tuesday 4 February to highlight the continuing scandal of low pay and paltry pay rises. We deserve a pay rise because we deliver essential services and we are WORTH IT! Members in South Lanarkshire Branch are pictured supporting the campaign. They are WORTH IT!

Fair Pay for Local Government Workers

Edinburgh UNISON members at the City Chambers today

The pay of home carers, roadworkers, cleansing staff, social workers, public health workers, education staff and all the other workers who deliver
Scotland’s essential services is worth far less now than it was in 2010 yet they keep services going against the odds.

Councils have imposed a 1% rise for 2014, meaning these workers will be 16% worse off since 2010 while the top 1,000 people will be an amazing £190 billion richer.

UNISON says Scotland's local government workers deserve better and we are launching a new claim for 2014 - because they’re worth it!

Local Govt Pay - CoSLA claim is nonsense

The real fact is CoSLA imposed a new two year offer after a one year deal had been accepted by UNISON members in a ballot. CoSLA's criticism of UNISON "dragging its feet" is therefore nonsense.

See the UNISON Scotland blog for an outline of what actually happened.
http://unison-scotland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/local-govt-pay-cosla-claim-is-nonsense.html

Local Government Pay Ballot Helpline Number

#YestoFairPay

PAY BALLOT HELPLINE NUMBER - UNISON Direct 0845 355 0845.

The UNISON Direct number above can deal with enquiries regarding members who have not received/need replacement ballot papers.

This number will be available between 10 July and 12 noon on 7 August. No ballot papers will be sent out after this period. We have been advised that it will take up to 3 working days for replacement/other ballot papers to reach members.

(Details of the Yes to Fair Pay campaign are online at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/localgovt/pay2013/index.html )

Inflation up – Scotland’s local government workers deserve fair pay

#YestoFairPay

UNISON Scotland said today that inflation rising to 2.9% is grim news for hard pressed workers struggling to make ends meet.

The public services union is currently balloting members in local government on strike action to win an improvement on COSLA’s pay offer of just 1%.

Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby said:

“Sustained high inflation, coupled with a prolonged pay freeze, then squeeze for millions of public sector workers across the UK, has hit families hard.

“Parents are cutting back on food, clothes, even on things for their children – they are being priced out of basic living. Meanwhile, it is still boom time for British bankers who are dominating the EU bankers’ rich list.

Fair Pay Day of Action around Scotland - and in Dundee for #AusterityUncovered

#YestoFairPay Please help publicise UNISON Scotland's next Fair Pay Day of Action on Tuesday 25 June. Branches are campaigning across Scotland for Fair Pay for local government workers and Yes to Strike Action for Fair Pay.

Also on 25 June, Our Fair Pay Day Family Fun and Rally in Dundee is part of the STUC's Austerity Uncovered There is a Better Way tour from 21-29 June.

Delegates say Yes to Fair Pay campaign

#unlgc13 Scotland delegates to UNISON Local Government Conference stand up for Fair Pay. Ballot papers coming out soon. Be sure to vote for action! #YestoFairPay See http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/localgovt/pay2013/index.html

#YestoFairPay day of action today - new pay analysis shows importance to economy

11 June 2013

Today UNISON local government branches across Scotland are organising workplace events and action campaigning for Fair Pay. (Resources and info here)

Dave Watson, UNISON's Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, has blogged on today's new TUC research showing billions lost to the economy because of the falling value of pay.

".....Council workers are the lowest paid group of public service staff. We know that low paid workers will spend much of their fair pay and Living Wage in their own communities – building the local economy. A study by APSE on the Economic Footprint of Local Services estimates that local government employees re-spend 52.5p of every pound in their pay locally. A similar study in Stoke put the figure at 63p.

"Today the TUC has published an analysis of pay in the UK as part of their 'Britain needs a pay rise' campaign. They show £52bn being lost from local economies including £5.5bn in Scotland. In fact pay in Scotland has fallen 9.7% compared with 7.5% for Britain as a whole.

"A lot more work has been done on this in the US including a recent report on the cost of Walmart stores paying basement wages to the local economy. A study by Demos provides further insight. It found that if wages rose to the equivalent of $25,000 per year for full-time work, more than 700,000 Americans would be lifted out of poverty, GDP would grow between $11.8 and $15.2 billion over the next year, and employers would create 100,000 to 132,000 additional jobs.

"The falling share of GDP going into wages and the concomitant rise in profits means we have an increasing pool of capital for destabilising speculation, while the workforce becomes increasingly reliant on debt. This is a primary cause of the longest and deepest recession in our history.

"Scottish council workers have actually paid for their own pay rise several times over. Not only do they deserve a fair increase, but it’s good for the rest of us as well."

Read the full blog here

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