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From The Socialist newspaper, 10 November 2021
Council workers ballot on pay offer that's really a cut
Unison pay strike, photo Paul Mattsson, photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge)
Bill Green, Unison member (personal capacity)
My union branch undertook a survey after 12 months of lockdown. It found that two-thirds of staff were working more than the set 36 hours a week. More than half had experienced stress symptoms, and almost half were actively thinking about changing their jobs. Bullying and inflexible managers were rife.
And that's before we even come on to pay!
After a 'final' offer from the national employers of 1.75%, Unison held a consultative ballot. The offer is, in reality, a pay cut, with inflation running towards 4 %. In my branch, only eight people voted that this was acceptable. We are now gearing up for a national ballot for strike action. There is a feeling that someone, somewhere needs telling how bad things are for many of our very low-paid members - as no one is listening. This strike ballot might just be the way our employers and the government can be made to listen.
The pandemic has brought a new understanding to people of how important their jobs are. Whether you are a care worker, struggling to get around your clients every day, or school support staff, or someone overseeing vaccination and testing centres, or just back-up staff, you now know that your job is crucial to making society work. They can't do it without us. So why are they so reluctant to pay us a decent wage? Because to pay workers a decent wage cuts away at the money this corrupt government is quietly filtering away to their cronies who fund the Conservative Party and deliver worthless test-and-trace and PPE contracts.
This could definitely be the winter where low-paid council workers join with others to force a decent wage rise for their efforts.
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In The Socialist 10 November 2021:
COP26
Capitalism's COP26 failure: socialist planning vital
Thousands march in Glasgow and elsewhere to save the planet
Housing
Socialist planning to meet housing need
75 years after the first new town
News
Council workers ballot on pay offer that's really a cut
Harsh Tory regime for benefit claimants and workers
Tories under pressure in bid to remove pension triple lock
What we think
Sleaze and pay a toxic mix for Tories
Socialism 2021
Why I'm coming to Socialism 2021
Workplace news
CWU conference debates political strategy
RMT AGM: Delegates focus on the looming battles
University workers vote for action in two disputes
Sheffield bin workers strike: "End rubbish pay!"
Support for all-out scaffs strike spreads
Weetabix workers escalate action in crunch dispute
International news
Portugal's government falls: Left must adopt a new course
Review
John Barnes on class and capitalism. What's missing?
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2021