Council support staff declare strike over salary grades
26/07/2024 Around 200 support staff in Lancashire County Council’s social work team today began strike action in a dispute over salary grades and working arrangements. |
Unions threaten ‘stinking’ summer after rejecting pay offer
22/07/2024 Residents in Scotland will be faced with a ‘stinking Scottish summer’ unless local government employers improve their pay offer to workers, union says. |
COSLA offers 3.2% pay uplift
18/07/2024 Local government employers in Scotland have made a new pay offer in an effort to resolve the ongoing pay dispute. |
Public sector productivity hampered by payroll and HR software limitations
18/07/2024 Nearly half of all public sector organisations across the UK and Ireland are wrangling with payroll and HR systems that are not fit for purpose. |
Care sector needs 540,000 workers by 2040
18/07/2024 The care sector will need 540,000 additional social care posts by 2040 to cope with the aging population, care workforce body Skills for Care estimates. |
King's Speech: Waiting lists, prevention and mental health top health agenda
17/07/2024 Reducing waiting times, prevention and improving mental health provision topped Labour's agenda in today's King's Speech but there were no social care reforms. |
Four-day working win
16/07/2024 Cllr Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambs DC, reflects on the results of the council’s four-day week trial and calls on Labour to back the shorter week. |
Councils stuck in social care and hospital ‘doom loop’
16/07/2024 Over-stretched councils are struggling to meet the increasingly complex social care needs of people being discharged from hospital, a new survey has revealed. |
Unite members ‘overwhelmingly’ reject pay offer
12/07/2024 A substantial majority of Unite members have voted to reject the latest local government pay offer. |
GMB accepts local government pay offer
12/07/2024 The GMB has split the union response on sector pay after coming out in support of the offer from employers for this year. |
South Cambs’ four-day week trial shows ‘positive’ results
08/07/2024 A report into South Cambridgeshire DC’s controversial four-day week trial found the majority of key performance indicators had improved or remained the same. |
Bin strikes could hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival, union says
02/07/2024 Waste and recycling workers in Scotland have voted to go on strike during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of an ongoing pay dispute. |
School staff strike over new pay structure
27/06/2024 Teaching assistants at a school in East Yorkshire have walked out amid a dispute with the council over pay and conditions. |
Refuse workers’ strike escalates
26/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London Borough of Redbridge are to escalate their industrial dispute with a ban on overtime working, trade union Unite has announced. |
UNISON: Over 90% of council workers reject pay offer
17/06/2024 Thousands of council workers in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to reject a pay offer from local government employers. |
UNISON: To whoever forms the next government…
14/06/2024 Christina McAnea, general secretary of UNISON, tells LocalGov.co.uk what the sector’s biggest union hopes to see from the next government. |
Council workers strike over pay cuts
11/06/2024 Nearly 150 council employees in Greenwich are striking this week over the local authority’s plans to reduce their pay. |
Unite warns of strike action in escalating pay dispute
29/05/2024 Unite has served industrial action notices to 29 councils in the escalating pay dispute between local government employers and employees in Scotland. |
South Yorkshire mayor could receive £30k pay boost
29/05/2024 The mayor of South Yorkshire could be in line for a pay rise of nearly £30,000. |
Council workers’ incomes ‘cut to the bone’, warns union
29/05/2024 Unite has recommended its members reject the latest local government pay offer for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. |
Greenwich council repairs staff declare strike
28/05/2024 Nearly 150 workers employed by Greenwich council will go on strike today after the local authority brought in plans to cut their wages. |
COSLA makes 2.2% pay offer
24/05/2024 Local authority employees in Scotland have been offered a 2.2% pay increase from 1 April. |
Union recommends council staff reject pay offer
23/05/2024 Unison has advised local authority employees to reject an offer of a pay increase of at least £1,290. |
Council employees offered 5.8% pay rise
16/05/2024 Council employees have been offered a pay increase of at least £1,290, which equates to a 5.8% rise for the lowest paid. |
UNISON: Council employers ‘miles away’ from acceptable pay offer
13/05/2024 Local authority workers in Scotland are considering strike action because ‘employers are miles away from offering anything staff are likely to accept’. |
Oracle project costs soar from £3m to £40m
09/05/2024 The budget for replacing an IT system with Oracle has ballooned from £2.6m to almost £40m, councillors in West Sussex have heard. |
Wages below 2008 levels in two thirds of council areas
29/04/2024 Real wages are still below 2008 levels in nearly two-thirds of UK local authority areas, a new TUC analysis has revealed. |
Unison warns of looming strike as it awaits pay offer
22/04/2024 Scotland’s largest local government union has warned that strike preparations could begin next week amid growing tensions over pay. |
Government urged to fund council pay claim
22/04/2024 Forest of Dean District Council has called on ministers to fully fund trade unions’ pay claim for local government workers. |
Campaigners publish council ‘rich list’
09/04/2024 Campaign group TaxPayers’ Alliance has published its annual ‘town hall rich list’ today as it continues to raise the issue of public sector pay. |
EXCLUSIVE: No pay offer until after local elections
14/03/2024 Local government employers will not make a pay offer until after the upcoming local elections in May, The MJ understands. |
Unions call for 10% wage hike
04/03/2024 A 10% wage rise is the ‘only way to maintain the staff levels necessary to deliver services’, Unison, Unite and GMB say. |
Surrey apologises for £30m payroll problem
01/03/2024 Surrey County Council has apologised after a problem with their new £30m payroll system left staff out of pocket. |
Future of four-day week in limbo
21/02/2024 South Cambridgeshire councillors have been advised to continue the authority’s four-day week trial until the Government offers more detail on plans to ‘disincentivise’ the practice. |
Chiefs: Sector can afford senior pay hike
20/02/2024 Council chiefs have insisted their pay settlement must match the award for local government staff after years in which senior wage rises have fallen behind. |
Rayner floats three-year pay deal
14/02/2024 An incoming Labour Government could throw its weight behind a longer-term pay deal for the sector to avoid the embarrassment of strikes, well-placed sources have suggested. |
Birmingham councillors back 18% pay rise delay
08/02/2024 Councillors at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council have voted to delay pay increases for members. |
Council set to halve sick pay
26/01/2024 Southend Council is planning to halve the amount of sick pay given to staff in a move Unison has described as ‘callous’. |
Fitness instructors flex muscles in pay dispute
25/01/2024 Council-employed yoga, aerobics and Pilates instructors in Colchester are voting on strike action after nearly a decade without a pay rise, says Unison. |
Council denied injunction to stop bin strikes
04/12/2023 Warrington Borough Council has lost a High Court bid to stop its refuse workers going out on strike. |
Unions plan for January pay claim
30/11/2023 Local government trade unions are aiming to submit their next one-year pay claim in January, The MJ understands. |
Unison members accept ‘long overdue’ pay offer
27/11/2023 Council chiefs in Scotland have welcomed a decision by Unison members to accept the latest offer in a long running pay dispute. |
New offer in pay dispute
03/11/2023 More money has been offered in the hope of averting strike action by Scottish Unison members. |
South Cambs issued Best Value notice over four-day week
03/11/2023 The Government has issued a non-statutory Best Value notice to South Cambridgeshire District Council ‘following concerns about its trial of a four-day working week’. |
Council chiefs to receive 3.5% pay increase
02/11/2023 Local authority chief executives will receive a 3.5% salary increase backdated to the beginning of April after agreement was reached on this year’s pay award. |
School staff strike amid pay dispute
01/11/2023 Schools in parts of Scotland were closed on Wednesday as non-teaching staff went on strike in an ongoing dispute over local government pay. |
Four-day week trial continues despite DLUHC guidance
31/10/2023 South Cambridgeshire will continue its four-day week trial after new government guidance said councils employing the practice should ‘cease immediately’. |
DLUHC advises councils on four-day week
26/10/2023 The Government has issued guidance for English councils on four-day weeks and said it is exploring other measures ‘to ensure the sector is clear’ that the practice should not be pursued. |
Unison rejects Scotland’s 10% pay offer
16/10/2023 Unison members in Scotland today rejected local government employers’ latest pay deal, which would have seen the lowest-paid staff receive a 10% wage boost. |
Haringey housing staff to strike
10/10/2023 Housing repair workers employed by Haringey Council will strike this winter in a dispute over pay. |
Social care should be top of manifestos, forum says
28/09/2023 Adult social care reform should be prioritised on the agendas of all political parties, the National Care Forum (NCF) has said. |
EXCLUSIVE: Unions delay next steps discussion
27/09/2023 Trade unions have agreed to reconvene to discuss their next steps on the ongoing pay dispute within days of GMB’s strike ballots closing, The MJ understands. |
Unite and council reach deal to end waste strike
27/09/2023 Waste service workers and street cleaners return to work today after negotiations between Tower Hamlets Council and the trade union Unite put an end to industrial action. |
Unite suspends strike
22/09/2023 The trade union Unite has suspended a planned three-day strike across education and local government in Scotland after receiving a ‘serious’ pay offer from employers. |
Brighton settles 10-year equal pay issue
20/09/2023 Brighton and Hove City Council will adjust bank holiday pay for more than 800 staff in response to calls from Unison. |
Providers set out ‘pragmatic’ social care plan
19/09/2023 A plan for adult social care with recommendations for the next Government has been put forward by Care England. |
Care sector ‘stifling’ the economy, report says
18/09/2023 Properly funded social care would power growth and unlock jobs, according to a report published today. |
Nottinghamshire waste staff to strike
15/09/2023 The GMB union has announced a week-long strike at waste recycling plants in Nottinghamshire. |
Unions reject latest COSLA offer
14/09/2023 The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has warned trade unions face a choice between ‘real cuts to jobs and services’ and increased pay. |
Council expands four-day week trial after fresh call to end it
14/09/2023 A 12-month four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council will expand next week, despite local government minister Lee Rowley again calling on the council to end it. |
‘Cinderella’ care sector staff facing poverty
29/08/2023 Most care workers are earning less than the real Living Wage and left ‘struggling to survive’, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned today. |
Councils urged to check pay policies following tribunal
24/08/2023 Councils could be at risk of breaking the law on pay to senior officers in the wake of Croydon LBC’s recent tribunal loss, employers have warned. |
Employers reject fresh unions' pay bid
24/08/2023 Local government employers have knocked back a bid from the unions for an improved pay offer, insisting it remains ‘full and final’. |
School staff at 10 Scottish councils to strike
18/08/2023 Local authority employees in schools and early years provisions across Scotland will strike for two days next month, GMB Scotland has announced. |
‘Mass exodus’ claims at North Lincolnshire
14/08/2023 North Lincolnshire Council is facing a ‘mass exodus’ of senior staff, opposition members have claimed. |
Thousands of education workers vote to strike in Scotland
07/08/2023 Thousands of workers in education and early years services across 10 local authority areas in Scotland have voted to go on strike. |
Pay dispute to stretch into autumn
07/08/2023 The local government pay dispute is destined to stretch into the autumn as trade union Unite warned ‘coordinated industrial action’ was ‘inevitable’. |
Northumberland exit payments were unlawful
25/07/2023 Six severance payments totalling more than £1m made by Northumberland Council to senior officers were unlawful, the council’s section 151 officer has concluded. |
Public sector pay increases do not add to inflation, think tank says
18/07/2023 Increasing pay for public sector workers by 10% would not add much to inflation, according to a new report by the think tank IPPR. |
‘Woefully out of date’ mileage rates costing workers thousands
14/07/2023 Public sector staff are being left thousands of pounds out of pocket because ministers have failed to update national mileage rates, according to UNISON. |
Harlow DC reaches pay deal with 300 housing staff
12/07/2023 Over 300 staff responsible for Harlow District Council’s housing stock have ended strike action after a pay deal was reached. |
Care providers accused of breaching minimum wage laws
15/06/2023 Unison has accused care staff employers of effectively breaching minimum wage laws by failing to pay workers when they travel between home visits. |
Council chiefs call for pay ‘clarity’
14/06/2023 Local authority leaders have called for ‘clarity’ on pay increases for staff working in non-NHS provided services will be fully funded. |
Case for better pay ‘clear cut’, union says
13/06/2023 The case for better pay in local government is ‘compelling and clear cut’, according to Unison general secretary Christina McAnea. |
Unite in summer strike warning
02/06/2023 Trade union Unite has warned summer strike action will hit key events after talks with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) collapsed. |
Chiefs reject pay offer
31/05/2023 Senior officers have formally rejected the ‘full and final’ pay offer tabled by employers. |
More than 360,000 frontline workers vote on pay strike
23/05/2023 More than a third of a million council and school support staff in England and Wales have started voting on a possible strike over pay. |
Tower Bridge could close due to pay strike
19/05/2023 Several major London tourist attractions could be forced to close after members of the GMB union voted to strike. |
'Widespread industrial action' warning
10/05/2023 Unite has warned the Scottish Government and employers there ‘could be widespread industrial action’ without a ‘significant increase’ to the current pay offer. |
Unions move closer to summer strike action
03/05/2023 Unite members working for councils have rejected a pay offer from local government employers and the union will now ballot on strike action. |
Council accused of ‘ripping workers off’
21/04/2023 Strikes by more than 300 low paid staff at Harlow council will continue into next month because the council is ‘ripping workers off’, union says. |
Number of council staff earning over £100k down post-pandemic
19/04/2023 The number of council staff receiving more than £100,000 is nearly at 2,800, according to campaigners, which is down slightly from last year. |
Watchdog staff start work to rule in pay dispute
17/04/2023 Hundreds of staff at the Care Quality Commission were starting a work to rule today in a dispute over pay. |
Staff propped up care system during pandemic, study finds
13/04/2023 Many care home staff worked overtime without extra pay to prop up the system during the pandemic, according to a new study. |
South Gloucestershire social workers announce pay strike
05/04/2023 South Gloucestershire Council said it was committed to engaging with Unison after the union announced a strike by social workers and occupational therapists. |
Unfunded NHS pay rises could lead to cuts, council chiefs warn
23/03/2023 Local authorities might be forced to cut vital public health services if the proposed new NHS pay rises are not properly funded, council leaders warn. |
Teacher vacancies nearly double
23/03/2023 Vacancies for teachers have nearly doubled this year compared to before the COVID pandemic, according to the latest figures. |
Camden first to publish pension gender gap
07/03/2023 Female Camden LBC employees receive a quarter less from their pensions than male employees, according to first pension gender gap report by a council. |
Local government pay offer amounts to 10% cut, union says
07/03/2023 Unite has decided to recommend rejection of the local government pay offer arguing it amounts to a real terms pay cut, and warns of 'growing anger'. |
Social care regulator staff vote for strike action
07/03/2023 Staff at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have voted to take strike action over pay, their union has announced. |
Grievance forces Scottish councils to increase pay for chiefs
03/03/2023 Scottish councils have been forced to axe the pay cap on chief executives after a successful grievance was raised. |
How local authorities can fight payments fraud
02/03/2023 Ilija Ugrinic of software solutions provider Proactis looks at how councils can fight payments fraud. |
Lowest paid council employees offered 9.42% pay bump
23/02/2023 Council employees have been offered what the Local Government Association describes as a ‘full and final’ pay increase of at least £1,925 from 1 April 2023. |
Councils benefit from Holyrood windfall
22/02/2023 Scottish authorities are to receive an extra £100m funding in a last-minute addition to Holyrood’s Budget. |
Pay spine review 'inevitable,' employers admit
21/02/2023 A redesign of local government’s pay spine is ‘inevitable,’ employers have admitted privately. |
Teaching unions’ rejection of pay offer ‘disappointing'
16/02/2023 Local government leaders in Scotland have described the teaching unions’ rejection of their latest pay offer as ‘very disappointing’. |
Scottish council leaders agree new teacher pay offer
15/02/2023 Council leaders in Scotland have agreed on a new pay offer for teachers which it hopes will end the current industrial action. |
Unions call for ‘inflation-busting’ 12.7% pay rise
01/02/2023 Three public sector unions have submitted a pay claim that calls for an above inflation 12.7% pay rise for council employees and school staff. |
Councillors split on solution to workforce crisis
26/01/2023 The LGA’s executive advisory board considered a survey that found more than nine in 10 councils were experiencing staff recruitment difficulties. |
EXCLUSIVE: Unions poised to submit inflation-busting pay claim
26/01/2023 Local government trade unions are considering an inflation-busting pay demand for 2023-24, The MJ understands. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.