Councils face ‘dire’ cash crisis totalling more than £3.5bn

Huge funding gaps mean job and service cuts are inevitable

Local councils have a hole in their finances exceeding £3.5bn collectively for the coming financial year, making it extremely likely they will have to make huge cuts in essential services and jobs, says a report published today (Friday) by UNISON.

The latest iteration of our council cuts website was launched in late September. This coincided with the publication of our latest research showing that councils across England, Scotland and Cymru/Wales are facing a collective funding gap of over £3.5bn for the next financial year.

A key part of the council cuts website allows for people email to their MP/MSP/MS to call for more funding for council services via the email action tool.

To date, only around 1,500 emails have been sent calling for more council funding. Given the dire state of local council funding we urgently need to encourage more members to use the website and send off emails.

Updating your UNISON membership details

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moved
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UPDATE REGARDING PAY

Webinar - NJC Pay - Come and hear the latest about your pay.

Earlier this year, UNISON (alongside Unite and GMB) submitted a pay claim for those on NJC contracts. This covers council workers, a lot of members in schools, and many other employers who undertake work for Local Government.

We are inviting you to join a webinar to hear about the latest on your pay.

If you have not received an email with the information to join the meetings, please update your communication methods and contact the branch so we can then email you the details.

The headline’s in our pay claim were

Increase of 10% or £3,000, whichever is the greater

A commitment to reach a minimum rate of pay of £15 an hour over the next two years, with a clear plan for how this will be achieved

We have received a pay offer from the NJC Employers’ Side. The key points are:

£1290 on all pay points from 1st April (that’s equivalent to 5.77% on point 2 and 2.5% on point 43)

2.5% on all pay points above 43 and below chief officer level

2.5% on all NJC allowances

Rejection of our demands for a shorter working week, extra day of leave, £15 an hour minimum rate by 2026

Offer of pay gap data discussions

Re-committed to reviewing the pay spine