Delivering Regeneration: How collaborative contracts are transforming place-making
Discover how collaborative contracting is helping councils deliver regeneration more effectively with this free special report from LocalGov and NEC Contracts.
Teacher strikes could loom as formal ballots are confirmed
11/05/2026 A formal ballot for teachers’ industrial action is to be held by the National Education Union (NEU). |
LGA fails to restore collective bargaining for coroner pay
05/05/2026 The Local Government Association (LGA) has been unable to reestablish collective bargaining to agree pay for coroners. |
EXCLUSIVE: 'Illegal' deal to end Birmingham strike risks £200m equal pay bill
30/04/2026 Birmingham City Council could open itself up to equal pay liabilities worth £200m if a proposed deal unveiled by leader Cllr John Cotton goes ahead. |
'End in sight' for Birmingham strike
27/04/2026 After more than a year of industrial action, Birmingham CC's leader John Cotton has tabled an offer he believes will ‘end the strike once and for all'. |
Unite announces rally against cross-border hiring
23/04/2026 Taxi drivers in Leeds are to assemble this weekend to take a stand against cross-border hiring. |
LocalGov Round-Up: Southport inquiry, pay talks and Reform’s savings claim
17/04/2026 Southport inquiry fallout, a pay standoff, record six-figure salaries, a roads funding row and Reform UK's savings claims – it's been a busy week. |
EXCLUSIVE: Two unions reject pay offer
15/04/2026 Trade unions Unison and Unite have both rejected the employers' offer of a 3.3% pay increase. |
Teachers win £15m in compensation claims
02/04/2026 Teachers received over £15m in compensation for successful claims, including one which involved a six-figure payout for a teacher who was hit by a toaster. |
Council workers offered 3.3% pay rise
25/03/2026 Local government workers have been offered a pay increase of 3.30% from 1 April 2026 in what has been described as a ‘full and final one-year pay offer’. |
Unite fined £265k over Birmingham bin strike injunction breaches
18/03/2026 Birmingham CC has welcomed a High Court ruling that fines the trade union Unite £265,000 for breaching an injunction during the long-running bin strike. |
LocalGov Weekly Round Up
13/03/2026 William Eichler, editor of LocalGov.co.uk, reflects on the stories that captured readers’ attention this week. |
Library staff numbers halved since 2010, says UNISON
12/03/2026 Nearly half of England’s library staff have been lost since 2010, leaving services stretched after years of austerity, according to new research from UNISON. |
Unite cuts Labour fee amid Birmingham bin strike row
12/03/2026 Unite has voted to cut the affiliation fee it pays to Labour by 40% in response to the ongoing bin workers’ strike in Birmingham. |
Unite urges reforms to taxi licensing to protect passengers
23/02/2026 Unite has called on the Government to implement the recommendations of the 2025 Casey review on taxi and private hire licensing, citing safeguarding concerns. |
Brum council secures waste depot injunction
23/02/2026 Birmingham City Council has secured a High Court injunction against ‘persons unknown’ aimed at preventing blockading at the authority’s waste depots. |
Local authority craft workers consider strike action
17/02/2026 Over a thousand local authority craft workers are set to be balloted for strike action after receiving what the Unite calls an ‘unsatisfactory pay offer’. |
LGA slammed for failing to take its own advice
11/02/2026 Local Government Association has been accused of failing to take its own advice on employee relations in the aftermath of disastrous restructure consultation. |
Brum bin workers vote to extend strikes beyond local elections
11/02/2026 Striking bin workers in Birmingham have voted to extend their industrial action mandate past the city’s May local elections and into September 2026. |
£2.8bn wages hike looms amid unions pay demands
29/01/2026 Local government’s wage bill would have to surge by £2.8bn to meet the demands laid down in unions’ pay claim for 2026-27, it has been estimated. |
Councils fear exclusion from pay negotiations
27/01/2026 Council chiefs are calling for a formal role in negotiations on the Government’s proposed Fair Pay Agreement for care workers. |
Unite accuses Birmingham CC leaders of misleading scrutiny committee
14/01/2026 Unite has accused Birmingham CC’s lead commissioner and managing director of misleading councillors during a meeting of a key scrutiny committee. |
Birmingham signs ‘historic’ equal pay deal with unions
10/12/2025 Thousands of Birmingham City Council women workers will today find out how much they will receive from an equal payout offer agreed between unions and the local authority. |
Brum bin collections cancelled as agency staff strike
02/12/2025 Birmingham City Council was forced to suspend bin collections this week amid an escalation of industrial action to hit the service. |
Council staff demand pay rise amid rising pressures
01/12/2025 Unions representing council workers have today submitted their joint pay claim for 2026–27, calling for a wage rise of at least £3,000. |
Staff shortages ‘blighting’ children’s education, union warns
28/11/2025 Staffing shortages in UK schools are putting children’s education – and safety – at risk, warns the union UNISON. |
Agency workers join escalating Birmingham bin strike
18/11/2025 Agency workers have now joined Birmingham City Council’s directly employed refuse collectors in the long-running bin strike. |
Editor’s Comment: What local government wants from the Autumn Budget
17/11/2025 As councils face soaring pressures, the Autumn Budget Insights series outlines what local government leaders are calling on the Chancellor to deliver. |
Autumn Budget Insights: A chance to rebuild councils
11/11/2025 Mike Short, head of local government at UNISON, argues that the Autumn Statement is a chance to protect services and staff, and renew local government. |
EXCLUSIVE: Reorganisation should be last resort, says Unison boss
05/11/2025 Local government reorganisation should only be happening where there is ‘no choice’, general secretary of trade union Unison, Christina McAnea, has said. |
Birmingham and unions finalise landmark equal pay deal
14/10/2025 Birmingham City Council and trade unions have reached a final agreement to settle historic equal pay claims. |
GMB: Knowsley equal pay claim could cost council tens of millions of pounds
10/10/2025 Knowsley Council ‘could face tens of millions of pounds’ in equal pay claims, the GMB trade union has claimed. |
UNISON: Councils on the brink as £4bn shortfall looms
09/10/2025 Councils are facing a £4bn funding black hole next year, leaving the most vulnerable paying the price for years of underfunding, warns UNISON. |
Care sector to benefit from £500m fair pay initiative
30/09/2025 The UK Government has announced a £500m investment to establish the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for adult care workers in England. |
COSLA: Zero tolerance for abuse of council workers taking down flags
26/09/2025 COSLA and trade union partners GMB, UNISON and Unite have united to condemn recent incidents of abuse, intimidation and violence directed at council staff. |
Sheffield reaches landmark £36m equal pay deal
23/09/2025 Sheffield City Council has reached a landmark equal pay agreement with the trade unions Unison, GMB and Unite, resolving long-standing pay disparities. |
EXCLUSIVE SURVEY: 'Women are being failed'
18/09/2025 One in 10 local authority female staff have experienced inappropriate touching by a manager, a landmark sexual harassment survey by Unite has found. |
Fire and rehire ban 'burned out shell'
08/09/2025 Union Unite has described the Government's commitment to ban the practice of fire and rehiring workers as ‘now nothing more than a burned out shell'. |
Bin workers in Brum back further strike action
03/09/2025 A vote has seen bin workers in Birmingham ‘overwhelmingly’ agree to extend strike action until spring next year, according to Unite. |
Overstretched schools need clearer roles, says union
02/09/2025 Education staff are carrying disproportionate responsibilities, according to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL). |
Reform UK plan to overhaul LGPS sparks backlash
01/09/2025 Reforming the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales (LGPS) could save taxpayers around £10bn, Reform UK’s deputy leader has claimed. |
Wrexham bin strike called off after deal reached
28/08/2025 A planned bin strike in Wrexham has been suspended after last-minute talks between Unite and Wrexham County Borough Council. |
Lives at risk due to fire service cuts, union warns
22/08/2025 Over 2,000 firefighter positions could disappear due to Government cuts, the Fire Brigades Union has warned. |
Employers and unions agree pay deal
24/07/2025 Local government employers and the Unison and GMB trade unions have agreed a pay deal for the sector. |
BCP Council announces new pay structure
24/07/2025 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has approved proposals for a new ‘fair and transparent’ staff pay structure. |
Peers pass fire and hire exemption
23/07/2025 Councils with financial problems that are placed under government intervention may be exempt from a ban on sacking and then rehiring employees. |
Union ballots Wrexham bin workers on strike action
21/07/2025 Refuse workers in Wrexham are being balloted on strike action, with their union Unite claiming changes in working patterns by the town’s council will see them lose half a day’s pay. |
Employers double down on pay offer
16/07/2025 Council employers have unanimously reaffirmed their April offer of a 3.2% pay increase as ‘full and final' despite unions urging them to better their proposal. |
Rayner suspended from union over Brum bin dispute
11/07/2025 Unite members have voted to suspend deputy prime minister Angela Rayner from the union due to her role in the long-running Birmingham bin strike. |
Unions back Scottish local government pay offer
11/07/2025 Local authority leaders in Scotland have welcomed the decision by Unite and GMB members to accept the latest two-year pay offer. |
Job loses loom as Birmingham bin dispute talks collapse
10/07/2025 Attempts to resolve the long-running waste service dispute between Birmingham City Council and Unite have collapsed with job loses the likely result. |
Unite calls for investigation into Brum commissioners
09/07/2025 Unite has called for an investigation into whether Birmingham’s Government-appointed commissioners have a financial interest in keeping the bin strikes going. |
Union members accept two-year pay offer
08/07/2025 Local government staff in Scotland have voted to accept a two-year pay offer. |
Unions call for ‘better and fairer’ pay offer
04/07/2025 Trade unions representing council staff across the country have called on local government employers to improve on the 3.2% pay offer. |
GMB members vote against 3.2% pay offer
01/07/2025 Members of the trade union GMB have voted to reject a 3.2% local government pay offer. |
Unite set to take Brum bin dispute to Liverpool
30/06/2025 Unite members are set to protest Birmingham City Council’s leader at this year’s LGA conference as part of the ongoing bin strikes, says the trade union. |
Care workers face violence ‘day in day out’, GMB says
30/06/2025 More than half of care workers suffer violence at work including being bitten, headbutted and chocked, a survey has revealed. |
Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ witch-hunts will achieve little
27/06/2025 With council workers under threat, Mike Short, head of local government at UNISON, questions the value of Nigel Farage's unwanted audits |
Unite members reject 3.2% pay offer
24/06/2025 Unite members have voted to overwhelmingly reject this year's pay offer of 3.2%. |
Union gains influx of members from Reform-run councils
20/06/2025 Membership rates for Unison trade union have increased by 205% across Reform-run councils. |
Housing target threatened by planning officer shortage, says UNISON
16/06/2025 The Government’s efforts to boost affordable housing could be derailed if the shortage of planning officers in England is not addressed, UNISON warns. |
Brum bin strikes could last 6 months longer
06/06/2025 Almost 400 Birmingham bin workers voted for continued strike action in a recent ballot. |
Unions demand pay talks
29/05/2025 A union boss has called for employers to come to the negotiating table as they accused bosses of ‘undermining' their collective bargaining agreement. |
Birmingham council secures court order to stop bin lorry protests
25/05/2025 Birmingham City Council has been granted a court order to stop protests outside of its bin lorry depots as the latest move in the long-running pay dispute. |
Union launches Fair Funding campaign to save council jobs
19/05/2025 Unite has launched a campaign calling for an overhaul of how local authorities are funded to prevent further bankruptcies and job and public service cuts. |
UNISON calls on members to reject pay offer
13/05/2025 The UK’s largest union has urged its members to reject the latest local government pay offer. |
GMB urges members to reject pay offer
07/05/2025 The trade union GMB has recommended that its members reject the latest local government pay offer. |
Unite advises members to reject latest pay offer
28/04/2025 Public sector trade union Unite has advised its members to reject this year’s local government pay offer and threatened industrial action this summer. |
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. |
