NJC Pay
Local government staff keep communities safe, clean and accessible, often for little to no recognition.
With the cost-of-living skyrocketing, it’s time to stand together and demand better pay.
Council and School Pay 2024
The National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services covers the largest group of employees for collective bargaining purposes in the UK.
We asked the employers for a pay increase of £3,000 or 10%, whichever was greater. The offer of £1,290 falls far short of this.*
We consulted members on this offer, and following the strong reject vote we received, our NJC committee has decided that we will proceed with an industrial action ballot.
Voting for, and taking, industrial action will send a clear message to employers that you need a better pay rise.
Council and School Pay | Campaigns | UNISON National
The Ethical Care Charter
The over-riding objective behind the Charter is to establish a minimum baseline for the safety, quality and dignity of care by ensuring employment conditions which:
a) do not routinely short change clients and
b) ensure the recruitment and retention of a more stable workforce through more sustainable pay, conditions and training levels.
Rather than councils seeking to achieve savings by driving down the pay and conditions that have been the norm for council – employed staff, they should be using these as a benchmark against which to level up.
The Ethical Care Charter | Care workers: your rights | UNISON National
Bringing Services Home
UNISON believes that public services belong in public ownership. It’s time to bring services home.
UNISON members have seen first-hand the negative impact of outsourcing on service quality, staff terms and conditions and investment.
Bringing Services Home | Campaigns | UNISON National
Save Our Services
Local authorities keep our communities together and protect the most vulnerable. We’re calling on our leaders to end the cuts and save our services.
Libraries are shutting, waste collections are reducing, and social services are shrinking. More and more essential services that we all rely on every day are crumbling away.
Local services need proper funding to ensure their resilience. Right now, even our most basic services are facing cuts as a result of chronic underfunding.
Staff working in local councils are finding their budgets slashed to the bone; after 14 years of constant cuts, there’s not much left. We face the very real risk of the number of councils declaring effective bankruptcy growing rapidly.
We desperately need to save our services.
Save Our Services | Campaigns | UNISON National
Migrant Workers
Migrant workers working in the UK should receive equal pay to British workers doing the same job and must be paid at least the national minimum wage.
They are protected by UK employment laws, have the right to be paid annual leave and statutory sick pay, and must pay tax and national insurance.
Migrant workers are people who come from other countries to work in the UK. Migrant workers include seasonal workers, full-time and part-time employees, and contract or self-employed workers.
Migrant workers | Vulnerable workers | UNISON National
Mental health at work
Mental Health at UNISON is a growing concern.
Motions raised at our National Delegate Conference over the past few years have shown a growing from anxiety from our members on how our own mental health is affected by work.
Stress is a major pre-cursor to worsening mental health, and after years of austerity and being asked to do more with less, our members are at crisis point
A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development study highlighted the impact that mental ill health can have on organisations.
The study found that:
- 37% of sufferers are more likely to get into conflict with colleagues
- 57% find it harder to juggle multiple tasks
- 80% find it difficult to concentrate
- 62% take longer to do tasks
- 50% are potentially less patient with customers/clients.
Mental Health First Aid
There has been a huge drive in support for “Mental Health First-Aid” at work – not just from employers bust from activists alike, as a solution to the growing concerns around managing mental health at work.
UNISON believes that the concept of immediate “mental” as well as “physical” first aid is laudable; the “physical” first aid concept is much further forward – with legislation and organisational infrastructure behind it.
Our concern is that employers will train Mental Health first aiders and see them as the answer to the issue when in fact the issue could and should be addressed directly; with metal health first aiders as support as opposed to the complete solution.
Mental Health First Aiders should also have some level of mental health support themselves as well as recording options and supervision to ensure that they do not become overloaded due to role they are undertaking.
Mental health at work | Health and Safety campaigns | UNISON National
End Violence at Work Charter
Has your employer made the commitment to end violence at work and signed UNISON’s charter?
To qualify for the UNISON Violence At Work Charter mark, employers must meet the following standards:
- The employer has a written violence and aggression at work policy, which is available to all staff. The policy should also cover lone working.
- Responsibility for implementing these policies lies with a senior manager.
- Measures are taken to reduce staff working in isolated buildings, offices or other work areas to a minimum.
- Staff are encouraged to report all violent incidents and they are told how to do this.
- The employer collects and monitors data on violent incidents on a regular and ongoing basis.
- Where they are in place, union safety reps are able to access this data and are consulted on solutions to issues relating to violence in the workplace.
- Thorough risk assessments are conducted for staff placed in vulnerable situations.
- The employer has support pathways in place for staff who are victims of violence at work, so that they know where to turn for advice and support.
- Training to ensure staff are aware of the appropriate way to deal with threatening situations.
- Where appropriate, independent counselling services are available to staff who are the victims of violence at work.
End Violence at Work Charter | Local government | UNISON National
Green UNISON
The climate emergency is happening now. And it’s directly impacting UNISON members, their workplaces and the crucial services they provide.
The UK Committee on Climate Change has said the next decade is critical in preventing climate breakdown.
As a union, we have a vital role to play in campaigning for greener politics, working with employers to make workplaces more sustainable.
By harnessing the collective power of our membership, we’ll ensure a safe, healthy and thriving future for generations to come.