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Cabinet Office sets out plan for bringing services like cleaning and security back in-house
URGENT talks are expected after unions representing council workers rejected a 1.5 per cent pay offer today.
Unite, Unison and GMB all slammed the proposal as “insulting,” stressing it falls well short of the restorative 10 per cent increase demanded earlier this year after a decade of Tory cuts.
Bosses negotiating pay on behalf of 350 local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland said the offer would cost £279 million, applying to 1.5 million people, including social workers, school support staff and refuse collectors.
After years of austerity and denial under a new Reform UK council, a failing Send service was pushed into the spotlight by staff, unions and parents — culminating in a £1.3m funding boost and a 50% increase in front-line workers. MARTIN PORTER explains
Roger McKenzie talks to general secretary of Unison CHRISTINA McANEA about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on members, the local government funding emergency and the threat of Reform UK
