Unions have found themselves at odds over whether to settle or strike over this year's local government pay settlement.
Earlier this month UNISON announced it would be negotiating a settlement with council leaders in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, after months of dispute.
The union had previously threatened industrial action in response to employers’ "full and final" offer, made in February, of a £1,925 rise for staff earning up to £49,950 and a 3.88% increase for those on higher salaries.
However, despite the biggest social work union planning to settle, Unite and GMB are persisting with the dispute. Unite has announced a series of strikes, the first of which took place on 29 and 30 August, and GMB has plans to ballot members over doing the same later this month.
Two of the three unions need to agree for a negotiated settlement to go through.
The offer was due to come in force on 1 April 2023, but has been delayed due to the dispute.
Based on a Community Care poll, which gathered 1,508 votes, most practitioners (60%) would prefer unions settled, finding a better offer “unlikely”.Still, 40% of respondents urged unions to “keep fighting for a better deal”.
'People need the money now'
Opinion was equally divided in the comments section of our article announcing UNISON’s plans.
In many cases, social workers expressed frustration over the timeline of negotiations and the unions’ delayed action.
“I genuinely think more members would’ve voted for strike action if the unions hadn’t dithered for months ‘confirming their data’,” said Jay.
“It feels like momentum has been lost and people are just desperate for their pay rises now.”
This was echoed by Rob, who said: “It’s appalling how long this dispute is taking. The offer was put to them back in February, yet GMB has not yet even held a ballot on industrial action, nearly seven months on.
“People need the money now!”
Another reader, Kerry, said the pay rise was more urgent now as “people have bills and mortgages to pay, and mouths to feed”.
“When [practitioners] have been paying higher mortgage rates for five months, [and facing] astronomical food prices, not to mention the energy prices, they just want to survive.”
Bobby urged unions to settle and “start working towards next year’s increase”.
“Summer’s nearly over, so gas bills will be going up. This should have been resolved and tabled during a time in the year when people are struggling less. As we get closer to winter people [will be] willing to take anything no matter how small.”
'An appalling offer'
However, some practitioners advocated holding out, with one calling the £1,925 offer “insulting”.“It’s an appalling offer compared to other public services,” said Wolfie. “Campaigning among all trade unions (those representing more social workers than Unite, UNISON and GMB) for better working conditions, including pay, requires a long and hard fight. £1925 is insulting.”
“I will fully support strike action for social workers,” said Linda Young. “The majority of us would not accept the pay rise on offer and need and deserve a well-earned increase following years of doing without one.”
One reader, Dave, also backed fighting for a better offer, calling the employers’ side secretary Naomi Cooke’s recent comments “patronising”.
Cooke had said that leaders were aware of the “cost-of-living pressures [staff were] experiencing” and so the pay offer “should not be subject to yet further delays”.
“Typical patronising approach from employers,” said Dave. “ The working class were never given anything, we have had to fight for every inch. I will hold out for further.”
