Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
Mediator called to settle Brum bin strike dispute
24/04/2025 Unite say a deal could be ‘in touching distance’ after agreeing to engage in talks with Birmingham City Council under the auspices of arbitration service Acas. |
Council employee pay offer announced
23/04/2025 Council employees have been offered a 3.2% pay increase from 1 April 2025. |
GMB: Local government workforce cut by 600,000
22/04/2025 Local authorities across England and Wales have lost almost 600,000 members of staff since 2012, a public sector union has found. |
Brum pauses charges for rat infestations
22/04/2025 Birmingham City Council has temporarily waived charges for residents who require help with rat infestations during the bin strikes. |
Union announces strike ballot over pay
16/04/2025 Scottish council workers are to be balloted over strike action in response to what a union has described as a ‘pitiful' pay offer. |
Striking Brum bin workers reject pay offer
14/04/2025 Refuse collection workers in Birmingham have rejected the city council’s latest pay offer in long-running dispute. |
Military planners sent to Brum amid bin strikes
14/04/2025 Military planners have been called in to help tackle the backlog of rubbish in Birmingham that has built up during the ongoing strike. |
Angry reaction to Starmer stance on Brum bin strike
07/04/2025 A war of words has broken out between the Government and union bosses over the bin strike in Birmingham. |
Brum council declares ‘major incident’ amid bin strikes
01/04/2025 Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident to address the impact of the bin strikes in a move branded by Unite as ‘disgraceful strike breaking’. |
Aberdeen council accused of ‘fire and rehire’ threat
28/03/2025 Unite has accused Aberdeen City Council of threatening workers with ‘fire and rehire’ proposals as part of an industrial dispute, a claim the council denies. |
Brum council threatens redundancies to end bin strike
28/03/2025 Birmingham City Council will begin a consultation on compulsory redundancies in an effort to end the bin strike, a move Unite describes as ‘bully boy tactics’. |
Leaders call for tough pay negotiating stance
05/03/2025 Council leaders have warned a tough stance is needed during pay negotiations as local government struggles to meet union demands. |
Union criticises council's 'fire and rehire' plan
05/03/2025 The GMB trade union has criticised Tory-led Devon CC for adopting a rare ‘fire and rehire' strategy for more than 800 jobs. |
Unions brand reunification service closure ‘callous’
19/02/2025 Cambridgeshire CC’s decision to close down a service helping children in care would harm vulnerable children and cost more money, unions warn. |
Unions call for £3,000 pay rise
31/01/2025 Council and school employees in England should receive a wage rise of £3,000, according to trade unions representing public sector workers. |
Union criticises council’s plan to use AI to cut jobs
30/01/2025 UNISON has criticised Dorset Council’s decision to use AI in its transformation programme to help reduce the number of staff it employs. |
The cost of local authority trading companies
30/01/2025 Trading companies provide a model to deliver services under tight financial circumstances, says UNISON’s Paul Bell. But at what cost? |
Unions lodge pay claims in Scotland
24/01/2025 Unions have put in their pay claims on behalf of local government employees in Scotland. |
350 Birmingham workers to strike
20/12/2024 Refuse workers at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council are set to strike in January in a dispute over pay. |
Waste staff ‘furious’ as Veolia accused of backing out of deal
13/12/2024 Trade union Unite has accused Veolia of backing out of a recognition deal for its refuse workers in Sheffield ‘at the 11th hour’. |
Council staff reject ‘insulting’ pay offer
13/12/2024 Outsourced Peterborough City Council employees are considering industrial action after rejecting a pay award. |
Birmingham settles equal pay claim
10/12/2024 Birmingham City Council has reached an agreement over the equal pay claim that pushed it to issue a section 114 notice. |
UNISON: School support staff face daily abuse
29/11/2024 School support staff are subjected to verbal abuse and violence on a daily basis, a new survey has revealed. |
UNISON accepts revised pay offer
28/11/2024 Trade union UNISON has accepted the revised pay offer from local government employers in Scotland. |
Brum staff call for security review
26/11/2024 Birmingham City Council staff have called for a review of security at their offices after three housing staff were injured in a ‘serious incident'. |
Sector pay deals agreed
23/10/2024 Unions have struck a deal with employers on pay increases for chief executives and the wider workforce for 2024-25. |
Sheffield equal pay review after union concerns
08/10/2024 Every job at Sheffield City Council will face evaluation after unions raised concerns over equal pay. |
Union threatens strike action after pay award decision
27/09/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have decided to impose a wage rise prompting UNISON to threaten strike action. |
Starmer defeated in winter fuel payment vote
25/09/2024 The Labour leadership has lost a union-sponsored motion at the party’s conference that called on ministers to reverse the cuts to winter fuel payments. |
CCTV operators in Hounslow call off pay strike
10/09/2024 Strikes by London borough of Hounslow CCTV operators employed by NSL have ended after a deal for the workers’ outstanding 2023 pay claim was reached. |
Social care wage rise call
09/09/2024 Unions have called for wages to rise in social care to resolve the ‘recruitment crisis'. |
£4bn shortfall leaves councils facing ‘financial disaster’
09/09/2024 Failure to address an estimated £4bn black hole in the finances of councils could lead to ‘the widespread collapse of local government’, union warns. |
Unite ‘overwhelmingly’ backs COSLA pay offer
05/09/2024 Unite members have voted to accept the revised pay offer from local government employers in Scotland. |
Union rejects latest COSLA pay offer
03/09/2024 Members of Scotland’s largest trade union have voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest pay offer from local government employers. |
Questions raised over Brum’s decision to issue s114
19/08/2024 A report has raised questions about the reliability of Birmingham CC’s £760m equal pay liability and called for an inquiry into the decision to issue an s114. |
Union submits first tranche of equal pay claims
14/08/2024 Trade union GMB has lodged the first tranche of 400 legal equal pay claims against Brighton and Hove City Council. |
Council worker pay strike suspended
13/08/2024 A strike over pay that was set to hit Scotland this week has been suspended after council leaders made a new offer. |
COSLA makes improved pay offer
12/08/2024 Councils have made an improved pay offer to staff in a bid to avert strike action across Scotland. |
Bin strikes threaten ‘significant disruption’ during Edinburgh Fringe
31/07/2024 Edinburgh CC has urged COSLA, unions and the Scottish Government to resolve the pay dispute to ‘prevent significant disruption’ during Edinburgh Fringe. |
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. |
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. |
Scotland’s bin strikes will create ‘playground for pests’
04/07/2024 Residents in council areas that will be affected by the summer bin strikes in Scotland have been asked to take ‘reasonable steps’ to avoid attracting pests. |
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. |
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. |
Council staff balloted for strike action
25/06/2024 Trade union Unison has announced that Kirklees Council staff at two customer service centres at risk of closure are being balloted for strike action. |
Union announces strike over working conditions
19/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London borough of Redbridge will strike next month over a ‘deterioration’ of working conditions. |
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. |
Union calls out council over equal pay claims
10/06/2024 GMB union has written to Brighton and Hove Council around equal pay claims that could be worth tens of millions of pounds. |
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. |
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. |
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’. |
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. |
Brum council workers vote for strike over equal pay
23/04/2024 Council workers at 35 schools across Birmingham have voted in support of strike action over the ongoing equal pay claims issue. |
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. |
Trade union law ‘nullifies’ right to strike, court rules
18/04/2024 UNISON has welcomed a landmark Supreme Court ruling that found UK trade union law ‘encourages and legitimises unfair and unreasonable conduct’ by employers. |
Social workers’ concerns not addressed, union warns
02/04/2024 Welfare concerns raised by social workers are not being dealt with, putting vulnerable people at risk, a union has warned. |
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. |
Shropshire Council staff offered voluntary redundancy
12/03/2024 Staff at Shropshire Council have been offered voluntary redundancy as part of the local authority's plans to lose 300 full time jobs. |
Brum workers vote for ‘major escalation’ of equal pay dispute
05/03/2024 Workers at Birmingham City Council have voted to strike in what the union GMB describes as a ‘major escalation’ in the campaign to end the equal pay crisis. |
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. |
Union urges prospective MPs to back national care service
21/02/2024 Election candidates in the forthcoming general election are being urged to support the creation of a new national care service in England. |
Flexible-work denied to third of women in public sector
15/02/2024 Three in ten (30%) women working in the public sector have had requests to work flexibly denied, new research from Unison has revealed. |
Migrant care worker family ban ‘reckless’, union says
31/01/2024 The Government’s decision to ban migrant care workers from bringing family over to join them in England could ‘spell disaster for social care’, union warns. |
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’. |
Unions call for school inspections to be suspended
21/12/2023 School inspections must be suspended until Ofsted implements recommendations to reform the system following the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, unions say. |
Brum workers consider strike over equal pay delays
12/12/2023 Thousands of workers at Birmingham City Council will today start a ballot for strike action in response to equal pay claim delays. |
Coventry on collision course with union
05/12/2023 Coventry City Council is on collision course with Unite this month, over controversial proposals to end ‘task and finish’ contracts among waste staff. |
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. |
Council ‘saddened’ by proposed job cuts at rail factory
16/11/2023 A council leader has urged ministers to commit to the industrial sector after the UK’s largest rail assembly factory announced 1,330 jobs are at risk in Derby. |
New offer in pay dispute
03/11/2023 More money has been offered in the hope of averting strike action by Scottish Unison members. |
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. |
Plan to axe 750 council jobs ‘extremely worrying’
19/10/2023 Leeds City Council’s proposals to axe hundreds of jobs to help reduce the local authority’s deficit are ‘extremely worrying’, a union has said. |
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. |
High street facing ‘terminal decline’, union warns
09/10/2023 The high street may be facing a ‘terminal decline’ as more than 420,000 traditional retail jobs have been lost since 2010, the union GMB has warned. |
Coventry refuse workers to vote on industrial action
04/10/2023 The trade union Unite has notified Coventry City Council that it will ballot 55 refuse workers for strike action and action short of a strike. |
Councils face record £3.5bn shortfall
28/09/2023 Research has uncovered a £3.5bn shortfall facing councils over the next financial year, revealing ‘true scale of the dire state of local government funding’. |
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. |
Unions call for £4bn investment in school estate
26/09/2023 In response to the RAAC crisis, trade unions have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to invest £4.4bn per year to improve the school estate. |
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. |
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. |
Brum braced for Government intervention
12/09/2023 Birmingham City Council is braced for a wide-ranging Government intervention to help rescue the authority’s bleak finances, and improve political and officer leadership. |
Union vows to oppose controversial crackdown
12/09/2023 Local government’s largest trade union has warned any attempt to impose a controversial crackdown will be met with strong opposition. |
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. |
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’. |
