We are moving this composite because recent pay negotiations have left us looking timid. Left us looking weak.
In our country, with a Tory Government, with a Tory dominated Local Government Association and with a Tory loving press, looking weak is a dangerous thing to do.
The Tories are like sharks who smell blood in the water. They will keep coming back. They will keep driving down pay and could start slashing national terms and conditions.
People are telling us that they are losing faith in national pay bargaining. Money is tight for everyone and a decent rise seems a long long way away.
We need to act. We need to restore confidence in the system and in the union. We can’t be seen to be sat on our hands as members get poorer and nothing changes.
2017 is too long to wait if we are going to be taken seriously. Writing letters, signing positions and ‘making the case’ is not enough. Our members need action.
This composite calls for just that. It will commit us to making a new pay claim for 2015/16. A decent, fair claim that will deliver for our members.
This motion will show our strength and our resolve. And it will show our members that we are a union that will always try and get them the kind of pay they deserve.
At its best UNISON is a fighting, campaigning union that does all it can for its members. This motion will help UNISON to be the best it can be.
