23 August 2023We have been advised of the following statement from UNISON:
“The ballot of council and school members covered by the NJC in England and Wales, on the pay offer for 2023, closed on 4 July. The results were sent out to regions and branches who have worked hard to share the ballot results with members. As this was a ballot of 345,000 members in more than 4,300 employers, the process of getting results out has been a complicated one, and we want to thank you for your patience throughout.
The support during the ballot and pay campaign from UNISON members across England and Wales has been incredible; the turnout was a huge improvement on the 2021/22 industrial action ballot and that groundswell of feeling will only build as we continue to campaign on pay. Due to the Tory anti-trade union laws, we can only take industrial action in employers where we achieved a turnout of 50% or more (with a majority voting for action) and unfortunately while we passed this turnout threshold in a number of employers, most of these were smaller employers. Given the legal restrictions that are in place from the government, we have decided that it would not be effective to ask our members to take industrial action at this time.
We are currently in the process of talking to the other local government unions, GMB and Unite, so that we can now resolve this year’s pay dispute and get that pay increase in your pockets as soon as possible.
While the decision not to take industrial action may be disappointing to you, we are determined to continue our campaign to improve your pay – we want to get on with the 2024 campaign and build from here to the point where we can get the turnouts we need for strike action. We have come a long way and we would like to thank members, branches and regions for all of your hard work and determination in getting the vote out.
The fight continues and we will keep demanding fair pay for the vital work that you do.”
We await news of their discussions with the other unions involved, the GMB and Unite. We will of course keep you advised of further developments.
