UNISON have tabled the attached motion and this will be moved at Full Council on Monday 16th October.
Branch Secretary, Paddy Cleary, will speak on this motion and UNISON would encourage members to attend to show support.
Public Sector workers have suffered enough – we need to stand up and demand the pay rise we deserve
Motion in relation to NJC Pay to Councils
This Wirral Council notes that:
• NJC basic pay has fallen by 21% since 2010 in real terms
• NJC workers had a three-year pay freeze from 2010-2012. This was compounded by the fact an agreement was reached to forgo a 1% pay rise shortly afterwards. This puts Wirral Council workers’ pay BEHIND all North West councils who follow NJC pay.
• Local terms and conditions of many NJC employees have also been cut, impacting on their overall earnings, the 4 days unpaid leave amounts to a further 1.6% pay cut.
• NJC pay is the lowest in the public sector
• Job evaluated pay structures are being squeezed and distorted by bottom-loaded NJC pay settlements needed to reflect the increased National Living Wage and the Foundation Living Wage
• There are growing equal and fair pay risks resulting from this situation
This council therefore supports the NJC pay claim for 2018, submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers and calls for the immediate end of public sector pay restraint. NJC pay cannot be allowed to fall further behind other parts of the public sector. This council also welcomes the joint review of the NJC pay spine to remedy the turbulence caused by bottom-loaded pay settlements.
This council also notes the drastic ongoing cuts to local government funding and calls on the Government to provide additional funding to fund a decent pay rise for NJC employees and the pay spine review.
This council therefore resolves to:
• Call immediately on the LGA to make urgent representations to Government to fund the NJC claim and the pay spine review and notify us of their action in this regard
• Write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting the NJC pay claim and seeking additional funding to fund a decent pay rise and the pay spine review
• Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and the pay spine review
Published on: October 5, 2017