The 2014-15 pay claim A minimum increase of £1 an hour on scale point 5 to achieve the Living Wage and the same flat rate increase on all scale points. The Living Wage has risen to £7.65 an hour, so we would need an increase of £1.20 on scale point 5 to reach it. This year’s claim: After consulting with branches, we submitted this year’s pay claim to the Local Government Employers on 5 November. We told them enough is enough. The claim reflects responses branches received from their members. Last year UNISON members narrowly and reluctantly accepted a 1% offer. We have warned the employers that our members are calling time on poverty pay. The claim is for: A minimum increase of £1 an hour on scale point 5 to achieve the Living Wage and The same flat rate increase on all other scale points. The Living Wage has risen to £7.65 an hour, so we would need an increase of £1.20 on scale point 5 to reach it.

What the claim means for you (outer London) SCP 1 April 2013 1 April 2014 per year per hour 5 £14,961 £7.97 £17,746 £9.45 10 £16,452 £8.76 £19,170 £10.21 20 £20,406 £10.87 £22,941 £12.22 30 £27,498 £14.65 £29,972 £15.97 40 £35,772 £19.06 £38,208 £20.35 49 £43,803 £23.34 £46,118 £24.57 What an extra £1 means in your pay packet: The claim is for a minimum increase of £1 an hour for all local government staff and an increase to match the Living Wage for the lowest paid. Note for speakers: Since the pay claim was submitted to the Employers the Living Wage has risen. This now means that we will need a rise of £1.20 per hour for those on the bottom scale point to achieve the living wage outside of London.

What the claim means for you (inner London) SCP 1 April 2013 1 April 2014 per year per hour 5 £15,459 £8.24 £18,337 £9.77 10 £17,352 £9.24 £20,219 £10.77 20 £21,969 £11.70 £24,698 £13.16 30 £29,058 £15.48 £31,673 £16.87 40 £37,329 £19.89 £39,871 £21.24 49 £45,360 £24.17 £47,858 £25.50 What an extra £1 means in your pay packet: The claim is for a minimum increase of £1 an hour for all local government staff and an increase to match the Living Wage for the lowest paid. Note for speakers: Since the pay claim was submitted to the Employers the Living Wage has risen. This now means that we will need a rise of £1.20 per hour for those on the bottom scale point to achieve the living wage outside of London.

Local government workers 1.6 million on NJC pay and conditions in local government. 77% are women. 55% are part-time workers – over 90% of them are women. Hourly basic pay gap of ⅓ between equivalent full-time and part-time workers. Local government workers 1.6 million workers on NJC pay and conditions in local government. 77% are women. 55% are part-time workers – over 90% of them are women. Hourly basic pay gap of ⅓ between equivalent full-time and part-time workers.

Why our claim is a fair claim The real value of your pay has fallen by 18% since 2010. Half a million local government workers earn less than the Living Wage – that’s 30% of the workforce. Over 1 million earn less than £21,000 – the Coalition’s own low pay threshold. Everyone on NJC pay is low paid for the job they do. Local government pay and conditions are the worst in the public sector. Why our claim is a fair claim: The value of your pay has fallen by 18% since 2010 taking inflation into account – a three year pay freeze and this year’s pay award of 1% have seen to that. Meanwhile across the UK economy as a whole the average pay settlement has been between 2 – 2.5%. Half a million local government workers earn less than the living wage. 30% of the workforce. Far more than in any other sector delivering public services. In the NHS only 22,000 workers earn less than the Living Wage. Over 1 million earn less than £21,000 – the Coalition’s low pay threshold. Everyone on NJC pay is low paid for the job they do. Local Government pay and conditions are the worst in the public sector.

More for less Cost of living rises, a three-year pay freeze and 1% this year means you are doing more for less. 407,000 jobs lost in local government since 2010 means heavier workloads. Vacant and frozen posts not being filled either. Stress levels are rising and morale is falling. Fuel, travel, food prices and childcare costs are all rising. More for less Cost of living rises, a three year pay freeze and 1% this year means you are doing more for less. In fact, NJC pay has fallen below inflation in 8 out of the last 16 years. 407, 000 jobs lost in local government since 2010 means heavier workloads....that’s 372 jobs disappearing every day. Vacant and frozen posts are not being filled either. You are left to shoulder ever – increasing workloads. Stress levels are rising and morale is falling. 83% of our members say stress is affecting their personal life. Stress, depression, anxiety and mental health and fatigue are the top cause of sickness absence according to the Employers’ latest survey of its workforce. Fuel, travel, food prices, and childcare costs are all rising. (Fuel up 8-11%, rail up 3.5%, bus & coach up 5%, rents up 6%, housing prices up 4%, childcare up 6%).

Half a million earn less than the living wage The Living Wage: the bare minimum for an acceptable standard of living. £7.65 outside London and £8.80 in London. Over half a million local government workers earn less. In the NHS only 22,000 earn as little. It’s a scandal! Half a million local government workers earn less than the living wage. The living wage: the bare minimum for an acceptable standard of living. £7.65 outside London and £8.80 in London. Over half a million local government workers earn less. Many are dependent on benefits to make ends meet. Topping up your low wages with benefits makes no economic sense. By comparison, in the NHS only 22,000 workers earn less than the Living Wage. Local Government has more low paid workers than any other sector delivering public services.

Impact of inflation on pay since 2009 for SCP10 Below the Living Wage: Impact of inflation on pay since 2009 for SCP10 This slide shows the effect of inflation on pay since 2009 - for those workers just below the Living Wage on SCP 10 earning £7.26 per hour. If pay had matched inflation they would now be earning £16,260 or £8.43 per hour. More than the living wage. Instead, since 2009 their pay is worth £2,247 less in real terms. If you looked at the same graph for those on the very bottom pay scale, SCP 5, earning £6.45 per hour – they are almost £2000 (£1994) worse off now than before the Coalition came to power. And if pay had matched inflation, they STILL wouldn’t be earning a living wage.

Living Wage: support is growing! 28% of councils have already brought in a living wage, 41% are considering it and 7% have it under review or already pay more. Political leaders from all parties support the living wage. 60% of the public think the National Minimum Wage should be raised to the level of the Living Wage. Recent research shows that this would increase tax and NI income by £1.3 billion – and make savings on the benefits bill. The tax payer is subsidising poverty wages - it makes no sense! Living Wage: support is growing! But support is growing... 28% of councils have already brought in a living wage and a further 41% are considering doing so. Another 7% have it under review or already pay more. Political leaders from all parties support the living wage and are calling for action to end low pay ...and for a higher NMW. According to a recent opinion poll (by Labour List) 60% of the public, across all political parties, think the National Minimum Wage should be raised to the level of the Living Wage. Recent research (Landman Economics, Oct 2013) shows that the Treasury would gain £1.3 billion if the National Minimum Wage rose to the level of the Living Wage – making savings on the benefits bill. The tax payer is subsidising local government to pay poverty wages. It makes no sense!

If the NMW increases as much as many politicians would like, it will be between 49p – 62p above the bottom NJC pay rate of £6.45 per hour. If The graph (IDS) shows the national minimum wage plotted against the lowest local government pay rate. You can see how the two pay rates come closer and closer together as the three year pay freeze starts to bite. Only the 1% pay rise in April prevented NJC pay falling below the national minimum wage. Even then, your employer waited until October (not April!) to delete scale point 4. They did it, because they were forced to. Scale point 4 would have been one penny below the NMW! It shows how little they value their workforce.

Its not just the lowest paid struggling... … everyone is worse off now than in 2009 Local government employers chose to start the pay freeze a year before the Coalition government froze public pay. This has had a devastating effect on pay across all grades. Taking into account the rising cost of living, EVERYONE is worse off than in 2009. For example: (We’ve provided example occupations – you will want to use your own) Someone on SCP 5 (e.g. catering assistant) is £1994/year worse off. If pay had matched inflation they would be earning £14,429 instead of £12435. Someone on SCP 10 (e.g. library assistant) is £2247/year worse off. If pay had matched inflation they would be earning £16,260 instead of £14,013. Someone on SCP 19 (e.g. nursery nurse) is £2882/year worse off. If pay had matched inflation they would be earning £20,862 instead of £17,980. Someone on SCP 38 (e.g. social worker) is £5142/year worse off. If pay had matched inflation they would be earning £37,214 instead of £32,072.

Poor relations of the public sector Local Government has the worst pay and conditions in the whole of the public sector for comparable jobs. From the bottom of the pay spine through to the top. Cleaners and catering assistants earn about £800 a year (6%) more in the NHS. And about £950 a year (7%) more in the police service. Poor relations of the public sector Local Government has the worst pay and conditions in the whole of the public sector for comparable jobs. From the bottom of the pay spine through to the top. Cleaners and catering assistants earn about £800 a year (6%) more in the NHS. And about £950 a year (7%) more in the police service.

Difference between NJC and NHS Comparing NJC and NHS pay NHS NJC Job title Average salary Difference between NJC and NHS % NHS pay higher than NJC Pay Domestic support worker Cleaner £14,003 £14,813 £810 5.8% Clinical support worker (higher level) Community care assistant £17,980 £19,011 £1,031 5.7% Social worker £33,051 £34,070 £1,019 3.1% Senior social worker £37,287 £40,017 £2,730 7.3% Nursery nurse £17,983 £21,722 £3,739 20.8% But it’s not just those at the bottom who are paid less than their counterparts across the public sector. Local government staff are poorly paid across the board. To illustrate this, the table here compares key jobs on NJC pay scale to NHS pay. Again, local government staff are the poor relations of the public sector.

Cuts add insult to injury! Shabby treatment by employers on pay and conditions: Over 60% of councils have cut car allowances. Many have cut unsocial hours and overtime. Sick pay, basic pay and redundancy pay have been cut. Others have imposed unpaid holidays and cut annual leave. The Employers are coming hard for annual leave and sick pay. Cuts add insult to injury! Individual councils are also cutting pay and conditions. This shabby treatment by employers is worse for you than for anyone else working in the public sector: Over 60% of councils have cut car allowances and many of our members are subsidising travel for work purposes. Middle to higher income earners and high mileage users need their car to do their job. They are suffering a substantial loss in earnings as a result. Many councils have cut unsocial hours and overtime payments – hitting the lowest paid hard. Some councils have also cut sick pay, basic pay and redundancy pay. Others have imposed unpaid holidays or cut annual leave. The Employers are coming hard for annual leave and sick pay.  

The cuts don’t work! The cuts are not necessary. They are making the deficit rise! The crisis was caused by the unsafe and greedy practice of the banks and the finance sector – not public spending. Cutting pay and jobs is not the answer. We need to get the economy working again. Research shows that for every £1 a local government worker earns – 50 pence gets spent in their local economy. Higher wages means more local spending - boosting local businesses, increasing tax and NI returns and creating jobs. A pay rise for 1.6 million local government workers will make a big difference. The cuts are not necessary. They are making the deficit rise! The crisis was caused by the unsafe and greedy practice of the banks and the finance sector – not public spending. But local government workers are paying the price. Cutting pay and jobs is not the answer. We need to get the economy working again. Research shows that for every £1 a local government worker earns – 50 pence gets spent in their local economy. Most local government workers live where they work - and spend their wages locally in their community. Higher wages leads to more local spending boosting local businesses, increasing tax returns and creating jobs. A pay rise for 1.6 million local government workers will make a big difference.  

The employers will say... ...they can’t afford it. But... Over the last three years councils saved a quarter of their staffing costs. Their reserves rose from £2.6 billion to £19 billion! The extra £2.6 billion last year alone would pay for a 10% pay increase. They chose to boost reserves further instead of rewarding their overworked staff. The employers will say... ...they can’t afford it. But lets take a closer look at the facts: Over the last three years councils saved a quarter of their staffing costs. Their reserves rose from £2.6 billion to £19 billion! The extra £2.6 billion last year alone would pay for a 10% pay increase. They chose to boost reserves further instead of rewarding their overworked staff. They say they cut pay to save your jobs. But that doesn’t add up either - while your pay is held down year after year, the jobs still disappear.

But there is an alternative An increase in your pay of at least £1 an hour will: Generate significant savings for the Treasury in benefits and tax credits. Plus income from increased tax and national insurance. Our claim could be funded by recycling these savings to local authorities in the 2014 budget. But there is an alternative... An increase in your pay of at least £1 an hour will: Generate significant savings for the Treasury in benefits and tax credits. Plus income from increased tax and national insurance. Our claim could be funded by redistributing these savings to local authorities in the 2014 budget. We are not asking for the millions that the bankers demand in their bonuses (and we’re not claiming expenses we’re not entitled to). We’re asking for at least an extra £1 an hour. After 3 years of frozen pay and a below inflation pay rise last year that’s not too much to ask. The UK is the 7th richest economy in the world – if we can’t protect the very people who deliver our vital services from poverty and hardship – what does that say about our priorities? And about the people who think its OK to treat workers like this. The reality is – we can’t afford NOT to pay a decent rate of pay. Enough is enough.

What can you do? Join in campaign activities organised by your branch. Become an NJC pay ‘champion’ and help the campaign. Write to your local councillor and MP – get them to support our claim. Sign our Worth It! postcard to the Local Government Employers. Follow us on Twitter: @LocalGovPay. Join our facebook campaign: facebook.com/UnisoninLocalGovernment What can you do? Join in campaign activities organised by your branch. Become an NJC pay ‘champion’ and help the campaign. Write to your local councillor and MP – get them to support our claim. Sign our ‘Worth it!’ postcard to send to the Local Government Employers. Follow us on Twitter: @LocalGovPay. Join our facebook campaign: facebook.com/UnisoninLocalGovernment

Recruit!.... We’re stronger together! Talk to your work mates about what’s going on – let them know UNISON is fighting to win them a pay rise and defend their jobs. If they’re not UNISON members sign them up – we’re stronger together. It’s easy to join us – talk to your rep or join online: www.unison.org.uk/for-members/joining-unison/ Recruit!.... We’re stronger together! Talk to your work mates about what’s going on – let them know UNISON is fighting to win a pay rise and to defend their jobs. If they’re not UNISON members sign them up – we’re stronger together. It’s easy to join us – talk to your rep or join online: www.unison.org.uk/for-members/joining-unison/