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Industrial action is looming for town halls across the country, despite employers tabling a last-minute, improved pay offer. Town hall union leaders expressed disappointment after the Department of Health revealed a pay deal of 2.75% which, they say, will increase the disparity in public sector pay. Local government employers returned to the negotiating table last week with a final pay offer of 2.45% – up on the initial 2.2% rejected by trade unions – with an extra £100 for those on the bottom three points on the pay scale. Unison made it clear its members were prepared for ‘substantial' industrial action, and described a separate NHS deal as ‘regrettable'. National secretary, Heather Wakefield, told The MJ: ‘Part of our claim was some progress towards equalising local government pay with the rest of the public sector. Local government workers have got by far the worst pay and conditions.' She argued that care workers employed by a council were doing the same job as NHS carers but for less money. ‘People are increasingly working alongside colleagues in the NHS to deliver services, and this simply says they are not valued as their equivalents in the NHS,' she said. Ms Wakefield also highlighted other jobs which paid more. ‘The bottom rate in retailer Tesco is now £6.25 an hour, so highly-skilled workers doing vital jobs in our public services are being paid less than supermarket workers.' GMB national secretary, Brian Strutton, called it a ‘cheapskate offer', while Unite public services national organiser, Peter Allenson, said: ‘This is the pay policy of the madhouse'. All three unions will be consulting on industrial action, with an announcement due by mid-May. Chair of the Employers' Side of the National Joint Council, Brian Baldwin, said local authorities could not go any further. He said: ‘Any settlement has to be affordable, both to the taxpayer and councils, while at the same time, making sure that local government continues to be an attractive place to work. This final offer is fair, affordable and consistent with the Government's current public sector pay policy.' A walkout was only narrowly avoided last year because the GMB and Unite accepted the employers' offer, and Unison members only voted by a very narrow margin in favour of strike action. The deal comes against a backdrop of redundancies as councils look to reduce their headcounts, particularly through shared services agreements with other authorities. Ms Wakefield said: ‘We are under no illusions. We knew this year was going to be tough. But people will have a mind to what colleagues in the NHS have been offered and will wonder why, despite having the same commitment to public services, they are not equals.'

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FINANCE

Unions crank up threat to strike

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