Local government pay negotiations stall

Pay negotiations for local government staff have stalled as Unison and Unite have both rejected the ‘final’ pay offer from council employers.

This is despite GMB members accepting the offer of a one per cent pay increase in April and a further one per cent rise the following year. However, Unison and Unite, members of the other local government trade unions have refused the offer.

Fiona Farmer, Unite’s national officer for local government, claimed the offer was ‘paltry’ and said the one per cent pay rise would do ‘nothing to restore the 20 per cent real cut in earnings that have eroded our members’ pay since 2010’.

Councillor Sian Timoney, chair of the employers’ side, said: “GMB’s acceptance shows that this is a fair deal given the financial climate but we’re still disappointed that we don’t have that level of agreement across the unions. We would urge Unison and Unite to rethink.”

The employers are due to reconvene in April ahead of a joint union meeting where the next step will be decided.