Council workers to strike?

Mark Hannaby The Politics Show Wales

Council workers may strike over what has been called a "derisory, insulting and inadequate" pay offer.

Will refuse collection be affected?

Council services across Wales, from refuse collection to home care and from social work to nursery nursing, may be affected by industrial action.

Employers have offered people working for local authorities a rise of 0.5% for 2009 - 10.

Other public sector workers, such as teachers, nurses and police officers will receive rises of over 2%.

Pay rise 'unaffordable'

But the Chief Executive of the Welsh Local Government Association argues 0.5% is all that can be afforded if council jobs are to be saved.

GMB delegates met in Cardiff to discuss the employers' offer. They are upset and angered by it and are in the process of deciding how to oppose it.

Senior Organiser John Phillips told the meeting: "The initial position that the trade unions have taken nationally is that the offer was inadequate, totally inadequate.

"It didn't meet any of the aspirations or justifications for pay this year and we were unable to recommend it.

"Probably by the end of next Friday we'll be in an informed position as to what GMB members want to do in response to this derisory, insulting and totally inadequate offer that the local government employers have made."

Union 'discontent'

Trade union officials like UNISON's Dominic MacAskill are particularly upset about what they see as the aggressive negotiating stance taken by the National Employers for Local Government Services, who are based in England.

Social Care could be at risk

Unions have been told that if they don't accept the 0.5% offer by 01 June 2009, it will be withdrawn and workers won't get any increase.

Dominic MacAskill, Head of Local Government for UNISON Cymru Wales, believes that the offer is a "politically motivated act".

Mr MacAskill said: "What's happened is the Local Government Association, which is the England-based and at the moment Tory-controlled organisation, had tabled a 0.5% pay offer, which in terms of the pay offers which have been in place for other public sector workers is completely out of sync".

Trade union Unite also say their members are incensed by the pay offer, especially when it's considered that Scottish council workers will get a 2.5% rise next year, NHS workers will get 2.75% and teachers and MPs will get 2.3%.

But the Welsh Local Government Association's Chief Executive argues 0.5% is now all that can be afforded if council jobs are to be saved during the recession.

Budget cuts

Steve Thomas says the Welsh Assembly's budget will be cut by £216m in 2010, which will mean harsh cuts to councils' budgets.

He denies the pay offer is a politically motivated attack on the public sector, and points out that the employers' negotiating team includes several prominent Labour Mayors.

Mr Thomas said: "The pay offer is determined both by context and it's determined by affordability.

"The people making this offer are not just the Conservative Party in terms of the LGA.

"There's a range, there's a cross party organisation in the LGA and this goes across the political spectrum."

Jobs lost

Mr Thomas added that the pay settlement offered is necessary to try to preserve local authority jobs.

He said: "There were 700 redundancies in the Welsh context (2008). There are a further 2000 possible job losses in Welsh local government in the next 18 months to two years.

"I think what we've got to try and do at the present time is not so much concentrate on pay, but concentrate on employment."

As the employers have put the 01 June 2009 deadline on accepting their offer, all three unions are consulting their members about future action.

John Phillips said: "We cannot discount the possibility of industrial action being contemplated during the course of this particular pay round."

The WLGA's Chief Executive said the organisation is always concerned at the prospect of industrial action and tries to avoid it at all costs, but that he doubted the public sector workforce currently had "an appetite" for industrial action.

Mr Thomas said: "I would urge the unions to come back to the negotiating table so we can have meaningful discussions around this.

"There is no chance of a significant increase on the offer that's already put down."

The Politics Show for Wales, with Jon Sopel and Felicity Evans on Sunday at 1200 on BBC One.

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