Unions must be part of negotiations over Derbyshire council cuts

Derbyshire County Council must fully consult with unions as it seeks more than £30m of spending cuts that will damage community services, says UNISON. The union says reductions in services and jobs are not the only way to make savings and is urging the council to stick with an earlier pledge to discuss plans properly […]

Nottinghamshire County Council is the latest to face financial crisis but won’t be the last

Following yesterday’s announcement that Nottinghamshire County Council needs to plug a gap of over £60m over the next 3 financial years, the UK’s biggest trade union is calling on the Westminster government to urgently address the ‘broken’ local government funding system. UNISON, which represents local government workers delivering vital frontline services across Nottinghamshire, says Jeremy […]

Derbyshire’s financial crisis is Westminster’s fault

We are calling on the Westminster government to urgently address the ‘broken’ local government funding system that has led Derbyshire County Council, like many others, to enter financial crisis. Yesterday, Derbyshire’s councillors met to agree freezes on recruitment and other so-called ‘non-essential’ spending to try and patch a £46 million hole in the budget. The […]

Local government and schools workers balloted for strike action over pay

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 […]

Derby’s Tories find money to help themselves but not for workers facing the axe, says UNISON

Following the Conservative group’s failure to get approval for the 2023-24 budget at a full council meeting on Monday night, Leader of Derby City Council Chris Poulter said: “We can make available a sum of money for priorities to be negotiated and discussed with group leaders in relation to being able to formulate an acceptable […]

The nightmare before Christmas as Derby City Council workers face the sack

Derby City Council are proposing to cut the equivalent of 162 full-time jobs, axe vital front line services and hike council tax by almost 5% in a last ditch attempt to balance this year’s books. The Conservative-run administration plan to effectively axe community-managed libraries, cut support to vulnerable children and the elderly, scale down highways […]

East Midlands councils face cash crisis of more than £181m

Councils across the East Midlands face a collective funding gap of over £181m in the next financial year forcing them to cut essential services, says a report published by UNISON. Waste collections, leisure centres, nurseries and other vital services will all be hit according to the findings based on information* from local authorities in England, […]

East Midlands devolution deal is crumbs off a rich man’s table

In response to the government’s announcement that Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and their cities will be united under an elected mayor, UNISON East Midlands are concerned that the region has been short changed. The £1.14bn deal over 30 years, or £38m per year, amounts to £516 per head for the 2.207m residents living within in the combined […]

Derby’s Conservatives abstain on vote to help council’s lowest-paid workers

The Conservative group on Derby City Council last night (Wednesday 20 July) abstained on a vote that supported a ‘reasonable’ pay rise for council and school workers, despite staff working on the frontline throughout the pandemic. The motion brought by the Labour group and backed by UNISON, asked that Derby City Council support a real […]

Tory councillors who voted to give themselves 11% pay rise should be ashamed

Conservative led North Northamptonshire Council has voted to give its councillors an inflation busting 11 per cent pay rise whilst council staff are still waiting to hear about their salary increase, rumoured to be around 2%. Council leader Jason Smithers will now receive an annual allowance of £42,990 – an increase of 6.5 percent for […]