Little recognition has been given to the local government workers who have been working round the clock – often unpaid – to deal with the shocking aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and gruelling council cuts. The same goes for their pay.

While the public sector pay cap has been debated and slated in Parliament and elsewhere, little has been said about the parlous state of pay and conditions for council and school support workers covered by the NJC for Local Government Services.

Since 2010, the 1.3 million NJC workers have suffered a three-year pay freeze, followed by 1% below-inflation increases for most since 2013. That’s a one-year ‘freeze’ more than firefighters, NHS, civil service other public sector groups. In real-terms, they have suffered a cut in basic pay alone of 21%. Some 78% of them are women. Over 60% work part-time or term-time too.