By Paul. Wozny, JEAN GELDART, Joint-Chair of UNISON's Local Government Executive got a rough ride from delegates at a Southern Region "consultation" meeting on Tuesday, 28 June.
The "insulting" pay offer, working out at 3.2% over two years, is the lowest offer in the public sector. Delegates blamed the weakness and incompetence of the national leadership for the disastrous offer.
National negotiations will resume on July 6. Management are not expected to substantially improve their offer. UNISON members must be on their guard, the national leadership may use any concession as an excuse to accept the offer.
The Southern Region of UNISON demanded a fighting response to the offer. Key demands include:• A flat rate pay increase of £750 for this year, no two year deal.
• A recall Local Government Conference to decide on a programme of industrial action.
• Separate balloting of the manual and whitecollar sections, for industrial action.
Most UNISON members want unified pay and condltions for the two sectors. Unfortunately, the UNISON leadership have been playing the sectors off against each other in order to sabotage any potential action.
Although the pay offers for the two sectors are identical and the settlement dates are nolgo Time to fight again for public sector pay due to be equalised in 1996, there has been no move to unify the national conditions for the two sectors or any strategy by the national leadership to bring it about.
UNISON's leadership are cynically manipulating the manual sector. They are using a separate consultation procedure for the different sectors to postpone any possible ballot for industrial action until after September 1, the current settlement date for that sector
NEIGHBOUTHOOD SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 66, July 1994, Page 5 Still fighting on: Birmingham benefits