Agenda item

Councillor Redfern proposed the following motion on notice:

“This council notes:

Local government has endured central government funding cuts of more than 50% since 2010. Between 2010 and 2020, councils lost 60p out of every £1 they have received from central government. Councils across England are now facing a collective funding gap of £2.4bn for the financial year 2023/24 and a cumulative funding gap of £4.08bn for 2024/25 according to UNISON research.

Councils led the way in efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a huge range of services and support for our communities. Local government has shown more than ever how indispensable it is. But Covid has led to a massive increase in expenditure and loss of income, and as we emerge from the pandemic, local authorities need far more support from Westminster.

Council workers kept our communities safe through the pandemic, often putting themselves at considerable risk as they work to protect public health, provide quality housing, and look after older and vulnerable people.

Since 2010, the local government workforce has endured years of pay restraint with the majority of pay points losing at least 25 per cent of their value since 2009/10. Staff are now facing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, with inflation hitting 10% and many having to make impossible choices between food, heating and other essentials. This is a terrible situation for anyone to find themselves in.

At the same time, workers have experienced ever-increasing workloads and persistent job insecurity. Across the UK, 900,000 jobs have been lost in local government since June 2010 – a reduction of more than 30 per cent. Local government has arguably been hit by more severe job losses than any other part of the public sector.

There has been a disproportionate impact on women, with women making up more than three-quarters of the local government workforce.

Recent research shows that if the Government were to fully fund the unions’ 2023 pay claim, around half of the money would be recouped thanks to increased tax revenue, reduced expenditure on benefits and tax credits, and increased consumer spending in the local economy.

This council believes:

Our workers are public service super-heroes. They keep our communities clean and safe, look after those in need and keep our towns and cities running.

Without the professionalism and dedication of our staff, the council services our residents rely on would not be deliverable.

Local government workers deserve a proper real-terms pay increase. The Government needs to take responsibility and fully fund this increase; it should not put the burden on local authorities whose funding has been cut to the bone and who were not offered adequate support through the Covid-19 pandemic.

This council resolves to:

Support the pay claim submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council workers, for an increase of RPI + 2%

Call on the Local Government Association to make urgent representations to central government to fund the NJC pay claim

Write to the Chancellor and Secretary of State to call for a pay increase for local government workers to be funded with new money from central government

Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and consider practical ways in which the council can support the campaign

Encourage all local government workers to join a union.”

Councillor Brady seconded the motion.

Councillor Cutting reaffirmed that the council appreciated the efforts of all employees regardless of their role and responsibilities. He said that all pay negotiations went through a national framework and all councils were invited to offer their views through consultations. He said the negotiation for the 2023/24 pay award was underway with two national bodies. Councillor Cutting said that the current pay offer contributed to an overall increase of 22% since April 2021.

Councillor Goldspink said she supported the motion and said that if employees were not happy with what was being offered and the council thought the settlement was not fair, that more should be done. She said that if the government funded the pay increase they would be able to recoup more money through increased income tax payments and a reduced dependency on benefits and other support. Councillor Goldspink said that if staff were not happy with their pay, they would soon look for jobs elsewhere and then the council will be reliant on agency workers who were more expensive.

Councillor Wilson said he supported the motion and echoed Councillor Goldspink’s comments about staff leaving for the private sector. He said that public sector workers need to feel valued to keep them in their roles.

Councillor Dumont said that he was confused by Councillor Cutting’s comments and the channels to negotiate pay when the motion set out a resolution not what the council did or did not agree with.

Councillor Kemp said that it was the place of national negotiators for employers and employees to come to a solution and it wasn’t for the council to guess the outcome of the negotiations.

Councillor Redfern said that words did not pay rent and words of thanks did not buy food. She said the motion was about a fair pay increase for real people and she said she felt very passionate about it.

The motion, having been proposed and seconded, was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared LOST.