Message from Mike Short, UNISON's Head of local government:

Dear Member,

As you know, UNISON has been working on securing a fair pay increase for council and school workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the start of this year. The local government employers submitted a final pay offer of £1,925 on all NJC pay points (pro rata’d for part-time and term time only staff). The three NJC trade unions (UNISON, GMB and Unite) met on Wednesday and have agreed to accept the pay offer for 2023. Information about the full pay award can be found here.

The pay award will be backdated to 1 April 2023. If you have moved employers since that date, you can contact your old employer directly to enquire about receiving back pay, however please bear in mind that this will be determined at the employers’ discretion.

We want to thank you for your patience while we have worked to resolve this year’s pay dispute. We appreciate that the wait has been difficult and while this year’s pay award is not as high as we would like, it is our immediate priority to get money into the pockets of our hardworking members as soon as possible. With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to affect us all, every penny counts – especially at this time of year.

The local government employers have been informed and are now working to get this pay award implemented as quickly as possible - the exact timing will depend on your local employers’ payroll deadline dates.

If you have any queries, please contact your branch directly.

We are now looking ahead to building a strong pay campaign for 2024 and restoring council and school pay to a fair level after years of erosion.

Thank you,

Mike Short
Head of local government