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Fighting for fair pay for OT staff in local government and higher education
There has been a lot of focus on the industrial action being taken by occupational therapy staff in the NHS over the past year and by mid-April we should know how union members have voted in the NHS consultation on the government ’ s pay offer in England .
But at the same time , occupational therapy staff have been standing with their colleagues in local government and higher education to fight for better pay across the public sector .
Local government – ballots to come for NJC staff
UNISON has been campaigning for a decent pay rise for council and school workers in England , Wales and Northern Ireland , including occupational therapy staff working for local government ‘ NJC ’ pay scales .
The union submitted a play claim for a substantial increase of inflation plus 2 % on behalf of all its local government members , including occupational therapy staff who have UNISON membership through RCOT . Based on the Treasury ’ s annual forecast for RPI for 2023 , this would amount to 12.7 %.
In Scotland , local government staff were forced to take strike action in 2022 , before the Scottish Government returned with an acceptable offer .
For 2023-24 pay in England , Wales and Northern Ireland , the local government employers have responded with an offer of a flat rate increase of £ 1,925 . In a cost-of-living crisis this simply is not good enough .
UNISON members in local government are experiencing the fastest fall in living standards since records began – over the past 12 years ,
14 OTnews April 2023