Unison has urged its members to ‘ratchet up the political pressure’ on the Local Government Association after union pay claim talks were brought forward.
The trade union has emailed MPs and councillors asking them to raise the issue of pay in advance of talks on March 20.
Unison national secretary for local government, Heather Wakefield, said the union understood that the pay claim came at a time of ‘unprecedented cuts in local government funding by central government’.
But she continued: ‘However, there are political choices that can be made.
‘Since 2010, the local government pay bill has been reduced by 25% and council reserves have increased to £19bn.
‘We are told large reserves are needed for investment - some of this must be for investment in staff.’
Trade union GMB have warned industrial action over pay is ‘inevitable’.
