The Employers’ Side of the NJC responded on 14th May to the trade unions’ pay claim, with a pay offer of 1.5%, plus completion of the outstanding work of the joint term-time only review group.
The Employers also responded to various elements of the unions’ conditions claim. They proposed exploratory discussions on a national minimum agreement on homeworking policies, a best practice national programme on mental health, and a joint review of maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption provisions.
The Employers made no offer on a homeworking allowance, working hours or annual leave.
After a year in which local government staff showed more than ever how indispensable they are to our communities, going beyond the call of duty and risking their lives to provide services, this offer comes as a shock, and it would be surprising if it goes down well with our members. UNISON is seeking a meeting with the Employers to improve this offer as soon as possible.
UNISON’s NJC Committee meets next week, on Friday 21 May to decide on UNISON’s formal response as well as our next steps for the negotiations and the campaign.
UNISON head of local government Jon Richards said: “This is a disappointing offer, especially after a year in which council staff have done so much to help local communities gripped by the pandemic.
“Council staff will feel that their efforts over the past 15 months haven’t been recognised.
“Unions will now discuss the offer with their national local government committees before formally responding. It’s likely they’ll want the employers to think again and come back and negotiate an offer that better reflects the worth and value of the dedicated school and council workforce.”