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Mr Mark Williams MP
32 North Parade, Aberystwyth,
Ceredigion, SY23 2NF
Dear Mr Williams,
I am writing to you concerning the ongoing industrial dispute in Local Government and I am seeking your assistance, as my local MP, in
obtaining a fair pay settlement for all Local Government workers.
Due to the Coalitions Governments public sector pay restraint policy, and the huge reductions in funding for Local Government, myself and my
work colleagues have suffered from 4 years of real terms cuts to our wages. The cumulative impact of these wage cuts means that I have lost
almost one fifth of the wages that I was earning when your Government came into power. That is the equivalent of around 10 weeks wages for
me, and I am sure that you can appreciate the financial strain that this reduction in wages has caused for me and my household. You will also,
no doubt, be conscious of the wider economic effects of this rapid slide in wages for the employees of one of the County’s biggest employers.
My trade union, UNISON, submitted a pay claim that sought to achieve the ‘living wage’ for the lowest paid Council employees and an
equivalent across the board rise for all other NJC staff in order to redress the losses in wages that we have suffered over recent years. The
response of the Local Government Association was a below inflation 1% pay rise that would mean that I would have to manage with another
real terms pay cut and that my wages would continue to decline. That offer was firmly rejected by a ballot of all UNISON’s Local Government
members, yet the Employers have refused to return to negotiations with my union. The LGA have also refused to allow ACAS to arbitrate in
this dispute, despite the fact that arbitration through ACAS is a requirement of the NJC Green Book constitution (our sectors collective
bargaining arrangements) if either party requests it. My trade union is open to, and has requested, further negotiations, yet the Employers
refuse to meet.
I am also concerned by recent comments that were made by Cabinet Office Minister and Paymaster General Mr Francis Maude, who indicated
that it would be his Governments intention to continue with the public sector pay restraint policy until 2018, which, if current trends were to
continue, would mean that the value of my job will have been halved in less than ten years! Surely you cannot agree to this policy that is, and
will be, of such drastic detriment to such a large number of your constituents and can only help to contribute to a running down of wages
across the board?
I hope that you will recognise the fairness of my trade unions pay claim and the necessity of ending the policy of year on year public sector pay
cuts. I work hard for the Council, and so do my colleagues, in delivering the public services that the whole community relies upon; all we are
asking is that we are treated fairly and that our wages keep pace with inflation. As I said earlier, I am seeking your assistance, as my local MP,
with this matter and, if you would be obliged, I would like to request that you could do the two following things to help me:
1) Publically call on the Local Government Association, by way of an open letter, to return to negotiations with the trade union side or seek
arbitration through ACAS;
2) Personally lobby Mr Francis Maude MP and your Liberal Democrat Cabinet colleagues, calling on them to reconsider the public sector pay
restraint policy, stressing the hardship that this policy is causing for your constituents who work in the public sector, and the wider economic
impacts that this policy is having in pushing down wages across the board, and so mitigating against a recovery in the UK economy.
I hope that you will be able to help me in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you shortly,
Yours Sincerely,