Greater Manchester council backs pay increase for workers on par with inflation amid cost of living crisis

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Trafford council is backing a pay claim on a par with inflation for its workers. The authority has resolved to support a pay claim submitted by Unison, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers for an increase of £2,000 or the current retail price index (RPI) rate, whichever is greater.

Councillors are also supporting a bid for a 35-hour working week with no reduction in pay by the three unions' negotiating body, the National Joint Council (NJC).

Proposing the motion of support, Councillor Tom Ross declared himself to be a Unison member. "We are now in the 14th year of a pay crisis which has intensified over the last year as a result of a spike in the rate of inflation," he said. "Workers across the country are now being asked to bear the brunt of global price rises, particularly on energy and food having already borne the hardship as a result of the pandemic and the longest pay squeeze since the Napoleonic wars." READ MORE:GMP special constable assaulted boy, 7, for spraying him with water - then tried to claim self-defence Coun Ross described Trafford council workers as "public service super-heroes".

He went on: "Failure to keep up with the rising cost of living is having a significant impact on working people's daily lives and research shows that lower-income households are suffering most from rising prices." Coun Ross said local government workers deserve a "real terms pay increase" and should not have to choose between food, heating and other essentials, particularly after so many kept communities safe during the pandemic.