Industrial Action – possible disruption to services
September 5, 2022
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council has been notified by Unite the Union that continuous strike action is planned to take place from Tuesday 6th September.
Whilst the Council will make every effort to ensure that the impact on essential services is minimised as far as possible this is very challenging and we anticipate disruption.
Regulations do not permit authorities to engage additional agency workers to cover gaps in service caused by industrial action so disruption will be likely and will be difficult to manage.
For all information relating to service impacts, please visit https://www.lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk/industrial-action-updates
This website will be updated frequently as required during the strike action and updates will be posted on council social media platforms.
A national pay offer for 2022/23 of a salary increase of £1,925 for all staff on NJC terms and conditions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is currently with the trade unions for consideration. The national pay offer is in response to requests by the Trade Union side of the NJC (namely Unite, Unison and GMB) dealing with national living wage challenges and inflationary pressures (cost of living). If agreed, this represents an average increase of over 7.7% with staff at the lowest grade receiving an uplift of over 10%. In addition, this offer includes an increase of one day to employees’ annual leave entitlement from 1 April 2023.
At a local level the Council’s recognised trade unions, UNITE, NIPSA and GMB have made additional demands of Lisburn and Castlereagh Council that are over and above the national Trade Union demands. It is clear that anything over the national pay offer will create additional significant local financial pressure which will inevitably lead to increased charges for council services and may lead to a significant increase in rates. Our Elected Members are currently considering what is feasible and sustainable.
The local pay demands from unions, on top of the national pay offer in addition to the rising cost of energy, gas and other pressures council faces could lead to an increase of more than 10% on the district rate element of rates bills for households going forward.
The council has always had a positive working relationship with our trade union colleagues and whilst disappointed at the action notified by Unite the Union, we are keen to continue to work to address this matter and minimise the impact on our residents and service users.