Barnet Council Nursery Nurses say ‘No to Term Time Pay ‘

23rd February 2009 admin Uncategorised

‘Fair deal for nursery nurses campaign’

This afternoon saw the launch of the ‘Fair deal for nursery nurses campaign’

Over the last five years schools support staff have been taking on increased roles and responsibilities as part of the governments workforce remodelling agreement.

This afternoon a joint UNISON & GMB meeting agreed unanimously to oppose the proposal to move nursery nurses to term time pay.

Our members were informed that renewed negotiations will take place on 4 March. UNISON has carried out an indicative ballot with an overwhelming vote to oppose term time pay. GMB reps explained that they would be balloting their members shortly.

Nursery nurses were clear and unequivocal that they were not prepared to be moved to term time pay.

Pay 2009/10. 10 good reasons why Barnet local government staff should have a pay rise

13th February 2009 admin Uncategorised

10 good reasons why Barnet local government staff should have a pay rise.

Because we deserve it. (this should be enough of an argument alone)
The economic situation is not of our making, we did not cause this crisis, so why should we have to pay for it.
The economic situation is unstable some would say chaotic. So we need a pay rise which is not just above inflation, but has a sufficient buffer above inflation to protect our real incomes against the wild fluctuations that are coming our way.
Our bills have gone up and are due to go up even more. FUEL Average household bill rose by £381 to £1,293 last year. FOOD Prices rose by 11% last year[MSN Money] COUNCIL TAX Bills could rise by 3.5% on average [Local Government Association]
Government measures of inflation (CPI and RPI) systematically under-estimate real price inflation as experienced by working people. The highest price rises are for essentials such as food and utilities, and we spend much more of our income on these things than higher earners.
The demands on our wages are not being ‘moderated’ because of the recession. Landlords are not saying “I’ll let you off your rent this month, what with the economic crisis”!
A low pay rise would have real and distressing consequences for us. Local Government workers would/could face stress, home repossessions, debts, and will struggle to support ourselves and our families.
If the government can afford billions of pounds to bail out the banks, then it can afford to pay public service workers such as ourselves a decent wage rise.
The Gordon Brown/ Government policy is to stimulate an economic revival. They want us to spend more. To do that, we need more money. Lower pay rises will work against this policy
Self-sacrifice on our part will not save a single job in local government or any other industry.