Jonathan Werran 05 November 2013

Unions demand Living Wage for low-paid council staff

Trade unions representing more than 1.6 million local government workers have called on council employers to put their lowest paid staff on the Living Wage by increasing the lowest wage rates by £1 an hour.

The joint demand from the GMB, Unison and Unite unions follows yesterday’s announcement of the new Living Wage rate of £7.65 across the country and £8.80 in London.

According to the unions, more than half a million council staff earn less than the Living Wage, and around a million are on salaries which fall below the Coalition’s low-pay threshold of £21,000 a year.

‘We are calling for fair pay for local government workers,’ said Unite national officer, Fiona Farmer. ‘The claim for £1 an hour will raise the pay of 500,000 of the every lowest paid to the Living Wage.’

GMB national secretary, Brian Strutton, said council staff are ‘demanding that they no longer be used as austerity cannon fodder’.

‘The claim we are lodging today is just the start of our campaign to win a fair deal for council staff,’ he said.

Heather Wakefield, Unison’s head of local government, said she would meet today with LG Employers to formally lodge a pay claim seeking a minimum increase of £1 per hour, ahead of next year’s National Joint Council 2014/15 pay talks.

‘The gap between council bottom pay rate and Living Wage risen to £1.25. That's what UNISON will be seeking from the employers,’ she said.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: ‘We have received the claim and will consider it in the usual way.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Registered Building Inspector (Band 2/Grade 7)

Health and Safety Executive
£60,760 - £65,776
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is transforming building safety regulation across England. United Kingdom / various Locations
Recuriter: Health and Safety Executive

Revenues and Recovery Team Leader

Ashfield District Council
£37,938 - £40,476 per annum (pay award pending)
We have an exciting opportunity for a Revenues and Recovery Team Leader Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Recuriter: Ashfield District Council

Housing Options Officer

Ashfield District Council
£31,067 - £33,366 per annum (pay award pending)
Do you want to make a real difference to the lives of residents in housing need? Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Recuriter: Ashfield District Council

Building Services Operative

Ashfield District Council
£25,584 - £27,269 per annum (pay award pending)
The Facilities team are looking to recruit an enthusiastic individual Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Recuriter: Ashfield District Council

Street Cleansing Technician (CDC)

City Of Doncaster Council
Grade 5, £24,397 per annum (pay award pending)
Do you enjoy working outside, as part of a team that make a direct difference to the communities of Doncaster? Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Recuriter: City Of Doncaster Council
Linkedin Banner