Pay pressure is beginning to pay off – but there ’ s so much more to do

In the past few days, attention has returned to the government’s painful and pointless pay cap. Rumours have begun to circulate that the Westminster government might be about to scrap the cap, and at long last move towards real pay rises for public sector workers. Meanwhile in Scotland, the SNP government has confirmed plans to lift the 1% cap. Of course, it’s great to see that the pressure we’ve been putting on the government is beginning to pay off – especially after a summer of intensive work on our Pay Up Now campaign. But I certainly won’t be taking the kind words of Tory MPs or unsourced briefing to right-wing journalists as evidence that the era of austerity is over. UNISON members will only believe the political spin on pay when they see real pay rises on their wage slips. And UNISON won’t stop fighting for better pay until every public sector worker has had a proper pay rise. We won’t stand for pay rises for some public sector employees while others, especially in areas like local government, are made to wait. We won’t stand for regional pay, or a focus only on those in uniform, because we know that everyone working in public services is vital, no matter what grade they work at, what their profession is or what job title they have. That’s why we’ve been making the case for years – and particularly in recent months – for the senseless attacks on public sector pay to come to an end. We’re not satisfied with ending the pay cap. We want to see ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: General secretary's blog News pay pay cap pay up now Source Type: news