Branch Consultation on 2012 pay claim

Date: 17 August 2012

To Lambeth UNISON members covered by the NJC national pay negotiations

Dear Colleagues,

Consultation on the pay claim for next year

Monday was pay day for those of us employed by Lambeth Council and Lambeth Living. It’s the day on which I realise that we haven’t had a pay rise since 1 April 2009. At that time the Retail Price Index stood at 211.5, in June this year it stood at 235.2. This means that prices have increased by 11.2% since our pay last increased – they will have increased further before our next pay claim date of 1 April 2012.

The national union is asking branches to consult members on next year’s pay claim, based upon the decision of the national negotiators to recommend that we submit a claim for a “substantial increase” and for “an end to attacks on conditions of service.” The national negotiators thought that it would not be “realistic” to ask for the 11% which would be needed to put our spending power back to where it was in April 2009.

To get back to where we were then, the increase which would be required would be;
£2,290 at the bottom of Scale 4
£3,025 at the top of Scale 6
£3,730 at the top of PO1
£4,240 at the top of PO3
If you have been on any of those points in the pay spine since 1 April 2009, that is how much worse of you are as a result of the pay freeze imposed upon us by the employers and the Government.

These are hard times, with many jobs at risk and an attack upon our pensions – but for how many more years can we go on letting our standard of living fall as prices go up (currently at 5% a year) while our pay is stuck?

Whilst the national union is only asking us to consult you as to whether or not you agree with what the negotiators have already decided, the Branch proposes to seek members’ views on various options for the pay claim.

Because we have to respond to the national pay consultation by 9 September, over the holiday period, we are asking for responses from members by email to an address set up for this purpose - lambethunisonpay2012@gmail.com. Please reply by 8 September at the latest.

The full national circular has been circulated. The options on which the branch is seeking your views are as follows;

Option One The recommendation from the national negotiators – a claim for a substantial increase on all pay points which recognises the hardship being suffered by local government workers - in particular the lowest-paid.

Option Two The claim which would be necessary to restore the spending power of our pay, on all points, to the level we were at on 1 April 2009 – a claim for an increase of an 11% increase on all pay points.

Option Three A claim to restore the spending power of anyone earning the top of Scale 6 (£27,000), to address low pay by levelling up for those below that level and to offer some increase on all points – a claim for a flat rate increase of £3,000 on all pay points. I

n addition to considering these three options, the national negotiators recommend that we support the inclusion in the national pay claim of a demand for an end to attacks on terms and conditions.

Please bear in mind that the employers are unlikely to make any pay offer next year, just as they made no pay offer this year. To break the Government’s pay freeze policy and secure any increase in pay for any local government workers is likely to require national strike action, whether our initial claim is for a “substantial” increase, a percentage increase or a flat rate increase.

If you do not believe that we should consider industrial action to improve the living standards of local government workers you should support Option Four.

Option Four Not to submit a claim for a pay increase but to accept a further decline in our living standards until at least 2013.

Shop stewards are encouraged to organise meetings so that members can discuss this consultation exercise before responding.

Alternatively if you have any comments or questions, you can make them by posting a reply to this message online.

Please do take the time to respond to this message.

Many thanks,

Jon Rogers BRANCH SECRETARY