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Unions Hit Back – “We Can’t Afford Three Years of Pay Cuts” Local government trade unions in Scotland have rejected a derisory three-year 2.5% a year pay offer from their employers. The trade unions representing 220,000 staff in local government in Scotland submitted a joint pay claim for one-year of 5% or £1000 whichever is the greater. In addition to the pay element of the claim, the trade unions also want an increase of 3 days annual leave (both at basic level and after five years service) and an extra one day public holiday. With inflation (RPI) at around 4%, average private sector earnings up 4.5% and house price inflation in Scotland at 14% the claim is just. With fat cat executives and big business leaders awarding themselves double figure percentage increases at the same time as over half of local government workers in Scotland have earnings of less than £16,000 the claim is modest. The Scottish Local Government employers, COSLA, which is now an effective coalition of the SNP, New Labour and the Lib-Dems, responded by making an offer that spanned three years, proposing rises of 2.2% in 2008, 2.3% in 2009 and a further 2.2% in 2010. When this was rejected by the joint trade union side the employers varied their offer to 2.5% per year for three years. There was no offer to increase holidays. The negotiators view is that this is the final offer from the employers. In the face of current inflation and the uncertainty of how the economy and inflation will work out it would be foolish to accept such a three year offer. Unfortunately the unions have now gone their separate ways on how to respond. GMB and Unite have decided to ask their members what they think of the offer. UNISON is going to ask its members whether they wish to reject the offer and take some form of action. This absence of a firm united leadership will have an adverse effect on the workers morale. What we need is a determined lead from all the trade union leaders to initiate decisive industrial action to force a change of mind on the part of the employers. The unions should organise joint local mass meetings of the entire workforce to explain the case for rejecting the offer and preparing for a fight. Immediately plans should be drawn up at local level for coordinated decisive industrial action. Consideration will have to be given to all out strike action without cover should the employers current intransigence continue. What is sure that in the face of the SNP led Scottish Government intention to seek "efficiency savings" from local government and the Labour UK Government setting of a public sector pay policy of no more than 2% then the members need to be led into action to overcome both of these hurdles. Building the confidence of the workforce to fight for decent living standards is the task of all trade union activists. The mood of anger against the offer is there. It needs to be translated into action. We can’t afford to do otherwise. By Ronnie StevensonUnison Convenor, Glasgow City Council Social Work Services. (Personal Capacity)
No to Labour’s Doubling of tax on Low Paid Workers.
Tax the Rich and Big Business
Gordon Brown and New Labour are carrying out daylight robbery against the lowest paid workers. From the end of this month our wages will be taxed at 20%, following the abolition of the 10p-starting rate of tax. That means a doubling of the tax burden and a wage cut for millions of especially young workers. The rise in income tax will affect the living standards of many young workers who will suddenly find themselves out of pocket. The minimum wage at its full rate or 'development rate' is already a poverty wage without the government stealing more of it off us. In work places that pay above the minimum wage or where gains have been made the tax increase will be come as a bitter blow. In my call centre the union has won a 3% pay increase from management but because of the increase in tax we are worse off now than before the pay increase. We say that instead of increasing taxes on the lowest paid the government should reverse the 5% cuts in corporation tax it has made over the last decade and close the taper tax loop holes which allows the super rich to claim £4.5 billion in tax relief each year.
The government tries to defend the tax increases by saying that tax credits will cover the increase and some families may be slightly better off. But working tax credits cannot be claimed by under 25's unless you have children meaning that many young workers will be worse off. Even when someone does qualify the process of claiming the credits is so tortuous it puts people off. Less than 20% of people who are eligible for working tax credits claim them. The government can create all the figures it wants showing how some families will be better off once credits are included, safe in the knowledge that most will never claim them.
Mean spiritedness and greed is at the centre of this government. They have carried through a policy of cuts and privatisation in the public sector, looking at schools, hospitals and job centres with an eye to see what can be sold off or rented out to increase the profits of the private sector.
We desperately need change! The parties in Westminster and Holyrood represent the interests of big business and the rich. With the coming recession they can only promise us that things will get harder. If we want better wages, public services or working conditions we'll need to fight for them ourselves. This includes organising and unionising our work places but it also means organising politically to fight for a world free of the anarchy of the free market and the poverty it creates - a socialist society where the world’s resources are used democratically to provide a decent standard of living for everyone.
Tom Penman
CWU member and Call Centre Worker Dundee
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