Have your say on local government pay for the year ahead. Fill out the pay claim consultation today.
Each year UNISON and other recognised unions in English local government put in a pay claim. This sets out what the unions believe a fair pay offer would be for the year ahead and will form the starting point for negotiations with the employers.
Take part in the consultation on the pay claim
This year the pay claim for consultation – so the union is asking if you think this is the right claim to put in – is:
5% increase on all NJC pay points and deletion of NJC pay points scp 6-9
- The 5% increase on all NJC pay points is to reflect inflation and provide some catch-up on lost earnings.
- The deletion of pay points 6-9 after the 5% increase has been applied to ensure that no NJC pay points fall below the Foundation Living Wage rate of £8.45 per hour.
Fill out the SW pay claim consultation here
The economic background paper considered by the Committee is below and highlights:
- Context of pay claim: The sector faces the phasing out of revenue support grant and reliance on business rates; unprecedented cuts to funding; implementation of the NLW; an ongoing pay spine review to maintain pay differentials.
- Pay at the bottom: Linked to legal minimum and remaining below the real Living Wage. NJC continues to be one of the lowest pay rates in the public sector.
- Low pay: A problem throughout the pay spine with those above in the middle and top of the spine receiving scant reward and differentials being threatened following years of bottom loaded pay settlements.
- Terms and conditions: Savaged across the board and impacting on pay.
- Job losses: Employment in local government has fallen by over three quarters of a million since June 2010.
- Recruitment and retention problems: Developing as value of pay plummets.
- Inflation: RPI at 3.2% and CPI at 2.3%. RPI to average 3.5% over 2017 and remain over 3% to 2021.
- Average earnings: Predicted to be 2.6% in 2017 rising to 3.6% by 2021.
- Average pay settlements: 2% for private sector; 1% for public sector.
NJC economic background report April 2017
