1 August 2024You may recall that on 15 July we set out that while one union (GMB) had accepted this year’s offer, it had been rejected by the two other unions, UNISON and UNITE.
Both organisations are now moving to a ballot for industrial action of their members. UNITE have advised that their ballot will begin on 27 August and end on 15 October while the UNISON ballot will start on 4 September and finish on 16 October.
Therefore, the pay award from 1 April 2024 will AGAIN be delayed until mid to late October at the earliest.
The national employers advise very strongly against imposing any pay offer before the collective bargaining process has concluded. To do so would not only fragment the unity of the employers’ position but would also leave councils vulnerable to questions being asked by auditors about why, in the absence of a national collective agreement, expenditure has been unnecessarily incurred. There are also legal considerations and previous caselaw on this question.
Earlier this week the government announced a pay increase for the public sector of 5.5%, this being the figure recommended by various pay review bodies. However, this level of pay increase cannot be imposed on local government and the process for agreeing the 2024/25 pay award will remain as above, irrespective of what happens in other parts of the public sector.
