WHAT: Council workers stage protest at Local Government Association (LGA) headquarters
WHERE: LGA, 18 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ
WHEN: From 10.00am on Thursday 7 September 2023

Local government workers protest to lay bare the reality of a decade of pay cuts and mismanagement

23 councils and local authority bodies in England and Wales to take strike action over pay.

Workers have rejected a £1,925 pay offer.

Unite members from across local government, who’ve voted for strike action, will meet with members of the Local Government Association (LGA) to lay bare the reality and impact of a decade of mismanagement and pay cuts for workers.

LGA members are attending a briefing in London on local government finances, but workers will remind council officials that the’ve already seen a real terms pay cut of 25.8% on average since 2009. It means workers have lost over £11,000 over the same period.

On top of these cuts, Unite members in local government are facing a cost of living crisis, many already can’t afford to make ends meet amid spiralling food costs and energy bills. A survey of Unite members in local authorities, has highlighted how years of pay freezes and below inflation pay deals has resulted in workers facing desperate financial choices.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “A decade of mismanagement and low pay is the reason why local government workers are ready to take action. Workers who provide vital services to our communities deserve better. They will be putting their case directly to LGA this Thursday. Unite’s local authority members have their union’s complete support.”

Unite members have overwhelmingly rejected the local authority employers’ pay offer of just £1,925, a poorer offer than last year, despite the cost-of-living crisis having worsened. The union has announced strike action across an initial 23 local authorities.

Unite national lead officer, Onay Kasab said: “Local government employers are out-of-touch with the daily financial pressures frontline workers face. We will be at Smith Square to remind them. They need to return to the negotiating table, to make an offer which begins to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.”

ENDS

Contact: Ciaran Naidoo 07768 931 315