Disruption warning as unions ask for pay talks to resume
Research shows drop in council pay over past decade
Council to offer all staff a free flu jab
North Northants Council to pay real living wage
The local government workforce: equal by default
The APSE Commission message is clear: we need a well-trained, properly rewarded workforce to meet local public services’ future challenges, says Heather Wakefield.
District boosts pay to tackle shortage of bin drivers
05/10/2021 South Holland District Council has agreed to increase pay for its waste and recycling teams in response to the national shortage of drivers. |
Unison warns of strike action over council pay
04/10/2021 Trade union Unison has warned of future strike action unless local government employers improve their pay offer. |
Scottish teachers declare formal dispute over ‘sub-inflationary’ pay offer
01/10/2021 Teachers in Scotland have declared a formal dispute over what they describe as a ‘sub-inflationary’ pay offer. |
Newcastle Council publishes data on ethnicity pay gap
30/09/2021 Newcastle City Council has published data showing the pay gap between their white and BAME staff for the first time. |
Union calls for reversal of pay cuts to give economy £3.3bn boost
24/09/2021 The TUC has called on the Chancellor to reverse public sector pay cuts in the spending review as a means of supporting the post-pandemic recovery. |
Cllr Richard Leese steps down as leader of Manchester City Council
08/09/2021 The leader of Manchester City Council, Cllr Richard Leese, has announced his intention to step down after a quarter of a century at the head of the council. |
New pay deal ends long-running bin strikes in South London
03/09/2021 Disruption to refuse services in the London Borough of Bexley has finally come to an end after a new pay deal was agreed. |
Police criticised for handling of child abuse cases
01/09/2021 Police criticised for delaying alerting children’s social care when they have found children living in houses where they might be vulnerable to abuse. |
Scottish union to hold nationwide strike ballot
24/08/2021 Councils in Scotland have been put on notice as Unison ballots members over industrial action. |
Council’s deputy leader resigns over spiralling Marble Arch Mound costs
13/08/2021 Westminster City Council’s deputy leader has resigned as the cost of the Marble Arch Mound almost doubles. |
Strike action at Ealing ends
05/08/2021 There will be no return to the picket lines after an agreement has been reached between the Unite trade union and outsourcer Serco. |
Unions urge pinged staff to isolate
02/08/2021 Unions have urged waste and recycling staff to stay at home if ‘pinged’ by the COVID-19 app despite several councils having to reduce or suspend services. |
PM urged to intervene over council pay
27/07/2021 A trade union has urged the Prime Minister to make funding available to give council workers a 'fair' pay rise. |
Council pay offer increases to 1.75%
27/07/2021 Council employers have offered an improved 'final' pay offer to staff but have offered council chief executives and chief officers a lower increase. |
Combined authority first to be awarded RACE quality mark
26/07/2021 The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has become the first organisation in the UK to be awarded the RACE Equality Code. |
County approves hybrid model of working for staff
19/07/2021 Nottinghamshire County Council will adopt a hybrid model of flexible working from October. |
Self-isolation payments 'failing' workers
21/06/2021 Two out of three people applying for self-isolation payments are being rejected, according to new research. |
Unions rejects 'insulting' council pay offer
24/05/2021 Two trade unions have rejected the 1.5% pay offer from the national local government employers. |
Homes England invites council officers to join summer training programme
17/05/2021 Homes England are inviting council officers to join a Summer Learning Programme aimed at sharing knowledge on topics that could enhance home-building efforts. |
Council ‘outraged’ by Unite decision to continue bin strike
14/05/2021 Thurrock Council has said that it is ‘disappointed’ workers in the local authority’s waste and recycling department have decided to continue pay strike. |
Norwich Council workers to strike over pay dispute
13/05/2021 Staff working at a council-owned company in Norwich have announced five days of strike action over 'broken promises' on pay. |
London council offers paid leave for miscarriage sufferers
12/05/2021 Barking and Dagenham Council has announced it will give paid leave for any of its staff who suffer the loss of an unborn baby. |
Councillors receive 'profound' apology for bullying allegations
05/05/2021 Attleborough Town Council has issued a 'profound and unreserved' apology to two councillors that were falsely accused of bullying and harassment. |
Scottish councils see 22,000 jobs cuts since 2007, say campaigners
29/04/2021 The SNP has been accused of overseeing the loss of 22,000 council jobs since coming into power by campaigners. |
Council had 'truly toxic atmosphere,' tribunal hears
27/04/2021 The Hammersmith & Fulham LBC director at the centre of an unfair dismissal claim had been working in a ‘truly toxic atmosphere,’ an employment tribunal has heard. |
Call to tackle 'mental health crisis' in care sector
27/04/2021 Three quarters of care workers have experienced worsened mental health as a result of the pandemic, new research has warned. |
Unions reject councils’ pay offer
26/04/2021 Scottish members of two trade unions have voted to reject a pay offer from councils, raising the prospect of strike action. |
Grenfell director dismissed while on sick leave, tribunal hears
20/04/2021 A council director who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after working on the Grenfell Tower response was dismissed while on sick leave, an employment tribunal has heard. |
PM told to 'urgently' reform sleep-in shift rules
20/04/2021 Unison has warned that a Supreme Court ruling that sleep-in carers should not be paid the minimum wage for the hours they are asleep could be seen by some as ‘an opportunity to cut costs including wages’. |
Unions reject Scots pay offer
06/04/2021 Trade unions in Scotland have formally rejected employers’ pay offer of an £800 lower-rate pay rise for 2021, dismissing the sum as an unacceptably poor response to staff efforts during COVID-19. |
Virtual insanity: Councils hit out at refusal to extend meeting rules
26/03/2021 Councils will not be able to hold virtual council meetings after 6 May after the Government refused to budge on changes to legislation. |
COVID-19: How has the past year affected council staff?
23/03/2021 Council staff have been left feeling ‘undervalued and overwhelmed’ this past year as a result of COVID-19, according to an exclusive survey by LocalGov. |
COSLA pay offer ‘slap in the face’, union says
18/03/2021 Unison has accused the body representing local authorities in Scotland of making a pay offer that ‘falls far short’ of what local government workers deserve. |
Budget 2021: Furlough scheme extended until autumn
03/03/2021 The chancellor has extended the furlough scheme and announced further funding for apprenticeships in a bid to soften the impact of COVID-19 on jobs. |
Employers branded a 'disgrace' over council pay delay
26/02/2021 Council employers have been branded a ‘disgrace’ after they said they would not respond to a union pay claim until after the May 6 elections. |
Council housing chief resigns after anonymous Twitter account was exposed
18/02/2021 The cabinet member for housing at Southwark Council has resigned after it emerged he was not 'transparent' about a Twitter account he managed. |
Women on the frontline are 'exhausted' survey warns
17/02/2021 Women working in local government have warned the emotional, physical and financial impact of the pandemic is taking its toll, a new survey has revealed. |
Unions call for 10% pay rise for council staff
16/02/2021 Three local government unions have called for a wage increase of at least 10% for all council and school workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
Treasury scraps cap on public sector exit payments
12/02/2021 The Government has dropped its controversial cap on public sector exit payments after admitting it had ‘unintended consequences’. |
Communication now at the top table in local government, survey reveals
29/01/2021 The pandemic has brought communications to the top table in local government, according to the results of a new survey. |
Social care directors warn of 'exhausted' workforce
14/01/2021 Social care needs an immediate cash injection to support exhausted staff and ensure services don’t collapse, service directors have warned today. |
Care services hit by staff shortages due to COVID-19
11/01/2021 Care providers across the country are finding individual services hit hard by staff absences caused by COVID-19, an association for social care providers has warned. |
Union calls for libraries to be ‘completely closed’ during lockdown
06/01/2021 A public sector union has called for libraries to be completely closed to protect library workers during the lockdown. |
Local government workers impacted by pay freeze already facing ‘pay penalty’
23/12/2020 Public sector workers affected by the pay freeze next year already face a pay penalty compared to private sector staff in similar roles, think tank says. |
Report praises local authority and volunteer partnership during COVID-19
16/12/2020 A new report has praised the way local authorities in Wales worked with the third sector to protect vulnerable people during the pandemic. |
Sandwell's outsourced refuse workers secure back pay deal
07/12/2020 Refuse workers in Sandwell are set to receive substantial back pay following intervention by trade union Unite. |
Spending Review: Public sector pay increase for low earners
25/11/2020 Public sector worker wage increases will be limited to the lowest paid, the chancellor has announced this afternoon. |
Leeds council proposes nearly 200 job cuts
20/11/2020 Leeds City Council has warned that it might have to cut 199 full time posts in order to save £17.6m as it deal with the impact of the pandemic and austerity. |
District council workers agree to strike next month
18/11/2020 Up to 1,000 workers at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council are set to strike following a row about pay and conditions. |
A fifth of employees still paid under the real Living Wage, research shows
09/11/2020 A fifth of employees are still paid under the real Living Wage, new research has shown. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
