Agreement has today been reached on pay awards for local government services  (‘Green Book’) employees and local authority Chief Officers. 

As it did last year, Unite has declined to have its details included in the circular because its members voted by 78 per cent to 22 per cent to reject the employers’ offer. This is disappointing but does not prevent a collective agreement from being reached and implemented by employers as a majority on the Trade Union Side was in favour of reaching agreement. Unite has announced its intention to launch local campaigns to secure pay increases and improved T&Cs.

Just as a reminder on the situation regarding pay negotiations for other national bargaining groups:-

Local authority Craftworkers (‘Red Book’)
Unite and GMB have rejected (“by a large majority”) the National Employers’ final offer. We await formal written confirmation and details of the unions’ next steps.

Local authority Chief Executives
ALACE, the body that represents Chief Executives, described the National Employers’ final offer as “exceptionally disappointing” and on 20 October submitted a revised pay claim that sought, “…“a minimum percentage increase pitched at 3.5 per cent or 4.0 per cent…in order to retain at least some comparability with other groups in the public sector”. The National Employers rejected ALACE’s revised claim and reaffirmed the final offer they made on 25 July. A meeting between lead members of the National Employers and ALACE has been scheduled for later this month.

The National Employers’ final offers to Craftworkers and Chief Executives should not be implemented before formal collective agreements have been reached. This is because of legal issues arising out of the cases of Kostal UK Limited v Dunkley and INEOS Infrastructure Grangemouth Limited v Jones.

We will keep you informed of any further developments regarding national pay.