Council workers struggle financially

A new Unite general union survey, carried out as the union began balloting thousands of members in local government in England and Wales, found council workers are struggling to make ends meet.

Nearly half of respondents (48%) have struggled to afford heating, electricity and water bills, almost a third (30%) have found it difficult to afford food and clothing, and 17% have had problems meeting rent and mortgage payments.

Meanwhile, almost a quarter (23%) are skipping meals to save money and 6% have been forced to use a food bank.

Its members have rejected a pay offer of just £1,925, which Unite says amounts to an increase of between 4% and 9% depending on individual grades — a real-terms pay cut in reality.

And council workers have already seen their wages decline by over a quarter in real terms since 2010 due to pay freezes and below-inflation pay increases.

Unite and the UNISON public services union are currently balloting their local government members for strike action in support of an inflation plus 2% pay claim.

GMB general union members have already voted to reject the offer. The union said it would move to industrial action ballots unless negotiations were reopened.

A new GMB analysis found the number of public sector workers claiming the Universal Credit state benefit has rocketed by 155% since the start of the pandemic.