Hugo Pierre, Unison local government SGE member, personal capacity
The Unison Local Government Service Group Executive (LGSGE) met in February nearly ten months after the election of Starmer’s Labour government and with the continuation of a worsening outlook for council services. Just days before, six councils were given permission to raise their council tax levels by more than 4.99%, the upper limit set above which they would normally have to go to a local referendum. Working-class and middle-class families will be hit with a further cost-of-living headache.
But this won’t solve the problem as a wide range of other councils have asked for emergency government funding to stop them reaching unaffordable deficits. In London alone, councils face a deficit of £500 million this year. And councils across the country will have to pay more than half of the employer’s national insurance rise Rachel Reeves announced in November, piling more pressure on after years of government cutbacks to the central Revenue Support Grant.
The LGSGE was presented with a motion to put through to this year’s Unison local government conference. It called for a continuation of the campaigns that were started under the Tories, to fund councils back to 2010 levels and to impress upon Labour the scale of the funding crisis.
I moved an amendment to give the campaign more urgency, and particularly to strengthen the campaigning Unison branches could do to bring together trade unions, community campaigners and councillors opposed to cuts. The amendment also called for urgent support for those councils facing ‘section 114’ notices, bringing them together to demand that the government plugs the funding gap and that the bill isn’t passed on to council tax.
The amendment identified the millions that could be taken from the billionaires to pay for the funding gap. The LGSGE agreed the amendment, recognising that without a mass campaign, thousands of Unison members’ jobs and vital local services are at risk.
This means that the SGE has gone further than it has before in being prepared to stand up to the Labour government, and the strategies needed will be debated at conference.
But we need to go further. Branches will get the opportunity to add more teeth to the motion by putting amendments to be taken at conference. That should include the key questions remaining: to demand that councillors set no-cuts needs budgets, and that the union prepares for national action, including a demonstration and day of action to build a fight to save council services.
2025 pay
The local government unions, including Unison, have submitted the pay claim for 2025-26. The claim is for £3,000; a plan to get minimum pay of £15 an hour; a two-hour reduction to the working week; an increase in holiday entitlement; and the right for term-time staff to take one day’s holiday during term time, without loss of pay. Winning this from Starmer’s government, which has already limited public sector pay to 2.8% with cuts, will require a fight. Unison must start that fight now and prepare to coordinate with other public sector workers on pay.
The following Socialist Party members are seeking nomination to stand for Unison National Executive Council
- April Ashley Black members female seat (standing for re-election)
- Rae Cox South East reserved seat
- Balaka Fell-Holden London reserved seat
- Jim McFarlane Scotland general seat
- Eve Miller West Midlands reserved seat
- Adrian O’Malley Health general seat
- Amy Sage Police, Probation and Cafcass female seat
- Ellie Waple Disabled members female seat
We are also supporting other candidates standing for a fighting union:
- James Robinson North West general seat
- and candidates on the ‘Time for Real Change’ list standing in other seats
