Council elections: A testing time for party alignments
Like it or not, the council elections will be dominated by an issue that has nothing to do with local government, says Mark Whitehead.
Council employees balloted for strike action
15/04/2019 Newham council workers are threatening the council with strike action after the authority proposed a new pay structure that would lead to cuts. |
Council property firm records losses
10/04/2019 The property company run by Barking & Dagenham LBC has reported losses of almost £4m in its first year of operation. |
Teaching union rejects pay offer from councils
22/02/2019 The 9% pay increase offered to teachers in Scotland has been rejected by members of trade union EIS. |
Council staff should be better protected against sexual harassment
18/02/2019 Council staff should have better protection against unwelcome advances by people using public services, Unison has warned. |
Birmingham's winter of discontent
15/02/2019 With a series of one-day strikes to go ahead in Birmingham, Mark Whitehead explores what led to this long-running dispute over waste collection. |
Union refused an injunction over ongoing bin dispute
15/02/2019 A series of one-day strikes by refuse collectors in Birmingham is set to go ahead next week after a legal challenge by the Unite union failed. |
Glasgow approves £500m equal pay deal
07/02/2019 Glasgow council’s long-running equal pay dispute has finally come to an end as councillors formally approve a multi-million pound compensation deal for claimants. |
Union seeks injunction against Birmingham in long-running bin dispute
07/02/2019 Unite is taking high court legal action against Birmingham City Council for operating refuse vehicles without safety critical role. |
Half of councils failing to ensure care workers are paid travel time
30/01/2019 More than half of councils across England and Wales are failing to ensure homecare companies pay their staff for travel time, new research has revealed. |
Education union blasts Whitehall for ‘broken’ funding promises
08/01/2019 The UK’s largest education union has criticised the Government for ‘failing to match’ their promises on school funding. |
Top 100: Our most popular local government stories of 2018
11/12/2018 From council pay rises to troubled outsourcing firms, here is our countdown of the 100 most popular stories on LocalGov during 2018. |
Vulnerable children at risk due to school support staff cuts, union warns
23/11/2018 A quarter of school support staff go home worried every day having spoken to pupils about the issues that trouble them, according to their union. |
Council pay offer rejected as union moves towards strike action
09/11/2018 The 3% pay offer for council workers in Scotland has been rejected by members of Unison Scotland. |
Glasgow - peace on the horizon?
05/11/2018 Mark Whitehead explores the complexities of an equal pay dispute that led to thousands of women striking last month in Glasgow. |
Glasgow and unions agree meetings to resolve dispute
26/10/2018 Talks following the two-day strike by more than 8,000 women in Glasgow this week were described as positive and constructive by both sides. |
Council workers borrowing money to cope with low pay
25/10/2018 Council staff are being forced to rely on credit cards, pawn possessions and borrow money from friends and family due to low pay, a new survey has revealed. |
Hopes emerge as talks resume following Glasgow strike
25/10/2018 Mark Whitehead explores what led thousands of council staff to strike in Glasgow this week. |
Equal pay strike closes council facilities and hundreds of schools
24/10/2018 Unions were today claiming the strike by 8,000 women staff in Glasgow over equal pay was solid and council facilities had shut down as other workers refused to cross picket lines. |
Council staff to strike over equal pay claims
22/10/2018 Thousands of women at one of the UK's biggest councils are set to walk out on strike for two days this week over equal pay. |
Local government workers: an uncertain future
19/10/2018 With some councils forcing staff to take unpaid holiday leave in an effort to save money, Mark Whitehead explores what impact this will have on the workforce. |
Public sector workers doing '40 million hours of unpaid overtime'
24/09/2018 Support staff in the public sector are doing more than 40 million hours of unpaid overtime a year, according to local government union Unison. |
Unions offered new pay rise to avert strike action
14/09/2018 A new pay offer has been put forward by councils in Scotland in a bid to avert industrial action. |
Council staff urged to reject 3% pay increase in Scotland
10/09/2018 Unison is calling on its local government members to reject the new offer of a 3% pay rise. |
School support staff warn of 'intolerable workloads'
04/09/2018 Cuts in funding are having a 'devastating effect' on school support staff, according to trade union Unison. |
Parents ‘struggling’ with childcare costs, TUC warns
03/09/2018 Working parents with children under five have seen nursery fees increase three times faster than their wages over the past decade, trades unions have revealed. |
Unison appeals against reversal of £400m sleep-in shift ruling
08/08/2018 Unison has lodged an official appeal against the ruling that social care providers will no longer be required to pay £400m in backpay to carers doing sleep-in shifts. |
Council facing £5m equal pay bill
26/06/2018 Fife Council has been warned it could face a £5m bill from a new round of equal pay claims. |
A cry for help?
21/06/2018 With a survey suggesting half of council workers are considering quitting their jobs, Mark Whitehead considers how important it is for managers to ease the fears of the local government workforce. |
Half of council staff considering quitting their job, survey finds
18/06/2018 Half of council workers are thinking of leaving their job for less stressful work elsewhere, according to a new survey by trade union Unison. |
Councils must do more to protect workers’ rights globally, union says
18/06/2018 A public sector union has criticised local authorities for ‘not doing enough’ to protect workers’ rights globally. |
Union members to strike at Scottish council over 'savage cuts'
07/06/2018 A third union has voted to take industrial action at East Dunbartonshire Council over proposed changes to terms and conditions including cuts in holiday entitlement. |
A clash of cultures?
16/05/2018 Mark Whitehead considers if the local government workplace has suffered due to councils adopting a more market-friendly approach. |
Unions submit pay rise claim for youth and community workers
14/05/2018 Unions have submitted a pay claim for youth and community workers they say would narrow a growing gap between falling wages and rising costs caused by austerity. |
Council to take pay dispute to Supreme Court
10/05/2018 Nottingham City Council is to take a dispute with its staff over incremental pay rises to the Supreme Court. |
Scottish council staff urged to reject ‘unacceptable’ pay offer
13/04/2018 A Scottish trade union has urged its members to reject the offer of a pay increase up to 3%. |
Update: All three unions accept council pay deal
10/04/2018 A two-year pay deal for more than one million local government workers is set to be rubber-stamped following decisions by all three unions involved to accept it. |
Unison accepts 2% pay rise for local government staff
10/04/2018 A two-year pay deal for more than one million local government workers looks likely to go ahead after the biggest of the three unions involved decided to accept it. |
Union members vote to accept 2% pay rise for council staff
12/03/2018 The vast majority of GMB members have voted to accept the 2% local government pay offer. |
Public sector workers responsible for ‘a third' of all unpaid overtime
23/02/2018 Public sector employees are responsible for more than a third of all unpaid overtime despite only making up a quarter of the workforce. |
150,000 children of public sector workers ‘pushed into poverty’
15/02/2018 Over a hundred thousand extra children of public sector workers have been pushed into poverty due to pay restrictions and benefit cuts, trade unions say. |
Council faces legal action over outstanding equal pay awards
13/02/2018 Fife Council is facing fresh legal proceedings over the non-payment of equal pay awards, a trade union has warned. |
Union warns of 30% job losses under council transformation plans
02/02/2018 A union has raised concerns about a transformation programme currently being implemented by Taunton Deane and West Somerset Councils which could result in staff reductions. |
A better pay deal for local government?
24/01/2018 With all three unions rejecting the pay offer to local government staff, just what chance do they have of winning more money for council workers? Mark Whitehead explores. |
Unison narrowly rejects pay offer to council staff
23/01/2018 The union with the biggest membership among local government workers has voted to reject the 2% pay offer made by the employers late last year. |
Reforms to free school meals would leave children hungry, warn union
15/01/2018 A leading union has dismissed government proposed reforms to free school meal entitlement as 'a cut disguised as a kindness.' |
Unions call for 6.5% pay increase for Scottish council workers
15/01/2018 Trade unions representing local government workers across Scotland have called for a 6.5% pay rise for Scottish council workers. |
Union urges council staff to reject pay offer
15/01/2018 A trade union is calling on local government members to reject the offer of a 2% pay rise this year. |
Unions make 5% pay increase claim for local government craft workers
11/12/2017 Unions have submitted a pay claim for increases of at least 5% for local government craft workers who mainly carry out housing and maintenance work. |
Half the cost of a 5% pay rise for council staff would be offset in tax, says union
16/11/2017 Half the cost of a pay claim for council workers would be offset by increased taxes and other factors, according to local government unions. |
Mental health cuts leaving carers vulnerable to violence, survey reveals
09/10/2017 Cuts to mental health services are leaving carers vulnerable to violence from patients and are exacerbating the staff retention crisis, public sector union warns. |
Union claims pay cap is stripping billions of pounds from council budgets
13/09/2017 A major union has accused the Government of stripping billions of pounds from the local authorities, schools and police forces to enforce a cap on public sector pay. |
Birmingham bin strike to resume after council issues redundancy notices
01/09/2017 Bin workers in Birmingham are back on strike today after an agreement reached with the city council appeared to fall |
Long-running bin strike in Birmingham is called off
17/08/2017 The seven-week bin strike in Birmingham has been suspended after trade union Unite agreed to further negotiations with the council. |
Care workers ‘exploited en masse’, unions say in wake of gig economy review
11/07/2017 Home care workers are still being ‘exploited en masse’, union leader says in the wake of a major review into modern employment practices. |
Union commits to moving council pension schemes away from fossil fuels
23/06/2017 Local Government Pension Schemes should be divested from fossil fuels within five years, Unison has argued today. |
Care workers warn the dignity of residents is being compromised by cuts
19/06/2017 Severe staff shortages in residential care homes are denying elderly people the most basic levels of care, according to a survey of care workers. |
Unions call for 5% pay increase for council staff
15/06/2017 Local government workers should be given a 5% pay rise following eight years of government-imposed pay restraint, trade unions have argued. |
Education under threat from £3bn of cuts, union warns
05/06/2017 Parents and teachers are concerned about the impact of nearly £3bn in school funding cuts on the quality of education in the UK’s schools. |
Pupils ‘at risk’ from cuts to school support staff, union says
02/06/2017 The safety of pupils is being put at risk by school cuts, public sector union claims as survey reveals school office employees are carrying out tasks that go beyond their remit. |
Council strike averted under new trade union rules
02/06/2017 Industrial action in Scotland over local government pay has been scuppered after a ballot by Unison failed to reach the minimum threshold of the new Trade Union Act. |
Public sector pay freeze causing recruitment ‘crisis’, warns union
22/05/2017 Public sector recruitment hovers on the ‘brink of crisis’, union says as think tank warns the squeeze on public sector pay may force workers to move to the private sector. |
Public sector pay cap will ‘cost economy £16bn by 2020’
12/05/2017 The 1% cap on public sector workers will cost the UK economy £16bn by 2020, new figures from GMB have revealed. |
Thousands of council staff consulted over pay
09/05/2017 Hundreds of thousands of local government workers are being consulted on the latest pay claim. |
Union puts 85 MPs 'on notice' over public sector pay cuts
02/05/2017 GMB has warned that 85 Conservative MPs could be at risk in upcoming the General Election due to the squeeze on public sector pay. |
Trade union ballots members over strike action
11/04/2017 Scotland’s largest local government trade union is to ballot its members over possible strike action after rejecting the latest pay offer from town halls. |
GMB Scotland votes to accept local authority pay deal
10/04/2017 Trade union members have voted to accept this year’s offer on local authority pay in Scotland. |
Councils paying staff £15m for trade union time
14/03/2017 Councils are spending more than £14.5m a year on providing ‘facility time’ for trade union reps, according to new research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA). |
Staff win employment tribunal against Brighton Council
03/03/2017 Museum workers at Brighton and Hove Council have won their case that reductions in their pay before the end of the agreed protection period were unlawful. |
Welsh councils welcome proposed trade union Bill
16/01/2017 Welsh council leaders have welcomed plans to introduce a new Bill to help reverse the ‘damaging and divisive’ effect of the UK government’s Trade Union Act. |
Schools facing 'relentless' cuts under funding proposals warn unions
16/01/2017 Nearly all (98%) of schools in England will see a funding reduction for every pupil under the proposed National Funding Formula (NFF), six unions have warned. |
Top 100: Our most popular local government stories of 2016
16/12/2016 See our countdown of the 100 most popular stories on LocalGov during 2016, with council pensions, the impact of Brexit and election fiascos dominating the headlines. |
Mental health patients face ‘long waits’ due to cuts
21/11/2016 Mental health patients face bed shortages, long waits and reduced support due to Government cutbacks, union warns. |
£2.4bn in unallocated business rates could 'ease social care crisis'
16/11/2016 Councils should be given the £2.4bn in unallocated business rates to support social care services, a trade union has argued today. |
Adult social care cuts leaving ‘trail of destruction’
11/11/2016 Cuts to social care budgets have left a ‘trail of destruction’ leaving older people vulnerable, says union. |
Violent attacks on public service staff double in past decade
21/10/2016 Violent assaults on public service workers in Scotland have doubled in the last decade, according to new figures. |
Derby council ‘pointlessly escalating’ pay dispute, union claims
21/10/2016 A union has accused Derby council of ‘inflaming tensions’ over a pay dispute with school support staff, while teaching assistants vote for industrial action in Durham. |
Youth and community workers welcome protection to terms and conditions
23/09/2016 Youth and community workers have voted to accept a two-year pay deal after employers agreed to retain the joint negotiating committee (JNC) terms and conditions. |
Oldham Council consults staff over potential redundancies
20/09/2016 Oldham Council has warned the equivalent of more than 65 full time jobs could be lost as part of proposals to save £20m in 2017/18. |
First county to back 'Dying to Work' campaign
18/08/2016 Nottinghamshire has become the first county council to sign up to a new charter helping employees with terminal illnesses stay in their job. |
Home care services at 'breaking point' in Scotland warns union
17/08/2016 Care provided to vulnerable people at home is being affected by cuts and privatisation, according to the findings of a new report by Unison Scotland. |
Millions cut from youth services spending warns Unison
12/08/2016 More than half of all councils have cut youth services in the last year, trade unions have warned. |
Union threatens strike action over council’s ‘culture of bullying’
09/08/2016 Trade union GMB is threatening industrial action against a town council over what it describes as a ‘culture of bullying and intimidation’. |
Number of staff striking fell to an all-time low last year
02/08/2016 The number of workers taking part in strike action fell to a record low last year, according to official statistics. |
Protest planned over ‘hypocrisy’ of council bosses’ pay rise
19/07/2016 Dorset council bosses guilty of ‘rank hypocrisy’ over planned large pay rises, union says as it calls on its members to stage a demonstration. |
Councils not using reserves should be ‘exposed’ says union
12/07/2016 Councils should be held accountable for their use of cash reserves and track how money is being utilised, according to trade union Unite. |
West Berkshire Council agrees cut to redundancy pay
01/07/2016 West Berkshire Council has approved proposals to reduce redundancy pay-outs for staff by 25%. |
Brighton Eye paying ‘poverty wages’ despite council being living wage employer
22/06/2016 Brighton Council must intervene to ensure those working at the city’s new observation tower are not paid poverty wages, union says. |
Stress levels of council staff reaching ‘breaking point’
22/06/2016 Government cuts have led to ‘unprecedented’ pressure and stress for local government workers, according to the results of a new survey. |
Jobs 'under threat' from academisation plans
21/06/2016 Thousands of union members could face job and pay cuts as schools are transformed into academies, union delegate says. |
British unions stronger within a pan-European framework, delegates told
20/06/2016 ‘We are fighting for a different view of Europe!’ These were the fighting words of the general secretary of a pan-European federation of unions speaking against Brexit. |
Row breaks out over council pay deal
20/06/2016 Unison has been bitterly divided by a motion to censure the national joint council (NJC) over the acceptance of a two-year pay offer. |
Delegates call for reform of local government pay spine
20/06/2016 More than a third of local government pay scales are likely to be deleted by 2020, delegates at Unison's annual conference have heard. |
County accused at 'shedding staff' via parking charge
20/06/2016 Somerset County Council has been accused of forcing staff to leave the authority under plans to charge staff to park at its headquarters by a trade union. |
Two-year pay deal offered to council youth workers
16/06/2016 Council youth workers have been offered a two-year pay increase. |
Council supports ‘Dying to Work’ campaign
15/06/2016 Sandwell Council is the first local authority to back new campaign supporting terminally-ill employees in the workplace. |
Unions highlight 'shocking' fall in youth worker pay
14/06/2016 Trade unions have urged the Local Government Association not to abandon the national bargaining agreement for youth and community staff, warning it will ‘seriously undermine’ staff terms and conditions. |
Councils urged to stop using firms who blacklisted workers
06/06/2016 Councils and other public bodies are being urged to stop giving work to companies who were found to be involved in blacklisting construction workers. |
North Lanarkshire settles equal pay dispute
01/06/2016 A Scottish council has resolved a long-running dispute over equal pay claims in what it describes as a ‘major milestone’. |
Glasgow council workers vote to strike over new conditions
20/05/2016 Members of the GMB union at Glasgow City Council have voted to strike over changes to working arrangements which they say could cost them up to £500 a year each. |
Durham approves new contracts for teaching assistants
17/05/2016 Durham County Council has approved plans to dismiss 2,700 teaching assistants and re-employ them on different terms and conditions. |
The March issue of Local Government News explores alternative funding channels that are available to councils beyond the Public Works Loan Board, what hurdles merging councils face in coming together, and how local government is handling GDPR.
This issue also has a special highways and street lighting section exploring how councils can use lighting to embark on their smart city journey and using IoT technology to weather the storm.
