Commenting on the pay offer for 2023/24 made to council and school staff by employers, UNISON head of local government Mike Short said today (Wednesday):
“Without investment in the workforce, there’ll be no public services.
“Council and school staff are caring for the most vulnerable, educating future generations, and keeping the local environment safe and clean.
“These unsung workers deserve to be properly rewarded. But this offer falls short of what’s needed when the value of their pay has been chipped away for years and bills are soaring.
“Preparations are now underway to ballot council and school employees to see if they’re prepared to strike to achieve a better deal.”
Notes to editors:
– The joint union local government pay claim was for 12.7.% for the forthcoming year. That was based on the government’s own inflation projection for the coming months plus 2%, to begin the process of catching up after years of below-inflation pay increases.
– The offer is for £1,925, which amounts to roughly 9% for the lowest paid, but only around 4% for other staff. For school employees on term-time contracts, the offer will work out to be considerably less.
