NJC Pay Campaign 2025 for Council and School Workers
"Learn about the 2025 NJC pay claim, including proposed increases and improvements for council and school workers. Explore the background, cost comparisons, inflation impact, and the importance of raising pay points to address real-terms declines in wages."
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Presentation Transcript
NJC Pay Campaign 2025 For council and school workers
Our 2025 NJC pay claim is for: An increase of at least 3,000 on all pay points In addition: A clear plan to reach a minimum pay rate of 15 an hour One extra day of annual leave for all staff A reduction in the working week by two hours, with no loss of pay The ability for school staff to take at least one day of their annual leave during term time, with no loss of pay
Background to our claim Household costs have overtaken NJC pay increases Members have lost 25% from the value of their pay since 2010 The lowest NJC pay point will be just 5p above the legal minimum by April 2025 Inflation and cost of living rises have made calls for a 15 per hour minimum rate stronger than ever Low pay is routinely given as a reason for leaving by staff Women in English local authorities are paid less than men Local government has an ageing workforce
Background to our claim Core household costs in 2024 overtook the NJC pay award: 2024 Household cost increases Vs 2024 NJC pay increase 18.80% 20.00% 18.00% 16.00% 14.00% 12.00% 10% 8.70% 10.00% 8.10% 7.40% 8.00% 4.90% 6.00% 4.30% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% Mortgage interest payments Typical houshold energy bill Monthly rent for new tenancies Water charges Childcare Council tax NJC Pay Increase 2024-25
What about inflation? Inflation measures the change in prices of goods and services in the economy Inflation exploded over 2021 and 2022, hitting the highest rates seen in four decades Over most of 2023 and 2024, rates began to fall But rates have begun to rise again the current RPI inflation rate is 3.6 % (Jan 2025) A falling rate only means that prices are rising more slowly Any pay increase (historic or current) that is below the level of inflation makes you worse off in real terms
Comparing NJC Pay NJC pay points 2 and 3 fall below the 12.60 per hour UK Foundation Living Wage rate Our claim would lift NJC pay point 2 to 13.82 per hour surpassing the Foundation rate From April 2025, the legal minimum wage will climb to 12.21 per hour (just 5p behind current NJC pay point 2) Members are suffering and so are councils and schools - local government is unable to attract and retain staff as pay continues to fall in real terms
A 15 Per Hour Minimum Rate Many organisations are calling for a 15 per hour minimum wage There are currently 13 NJC pay points that fall below 15 an hour Our claim asks the employers to set out a clear plan to reach this target as soon as possible This would undo the damage done to low paid members by the cost of living crisis and historic lost value in their pay
Across the pay spine Staff across the whole pay spine are losing out: 2009/10 Annual 2024/25 Annual Value of pay lost since 2010* Occupation 12,489 14,733 15,444 16,440 16,830 26,276 28,636 31,754 30,011 38,961 23,656 24,027 24,404 25,183 25,183 35,235 37,938 41,511 39,513 49,764 *When measured against RPI/the cost of living -4.80% -13.4% -16.1% -18.7% -20.6% -28.8% -29.7% -30.6% -30.1% -32.2% Cleaner Customer Services Officer Refuse And Recycling Collector Library Assistant Teaching Assistant (Level 2) Librarian Environmental Health Officer Access to Housing Officer Social Worker Children s Residential Manager
What is our pay claim worth? Annual and hourly increases on selected pay points: 2024-25 2025-26 SCP Annual 23,656.00 24,404.00 25,183.00 26,835.00 29,093.00 31,586.00 39,513.00 49,764.00 52,805.00 Hourly 12.26 12.65 13.05 13.91 15.08 16.37 20.48 25.79 27.37 Annual 26,656.00 27,404.00 28,183.00 29,835.00 32,093.00 34,586.00 42,513.00 52,764.00 55,805.00 Hourly 13.82 14.20 14.61 15.46 16.63 17.93 22.04 27.35 28.93 2 4 6 10 15 20 30 40 43
Our claim is affordable The total cost of meeting our NJC pay claim is 1.83bn The net cost would be 892m - after deductions for money the government recoups in taxes/reduced benefit payments This means just over half the cost of this pay claim would be recouped by the government This reinforces our calls for proper local authority funding for pay from central government The NJC unions are asking the national employers to join us in directly making that case to central government
2025 NJC Pay Claim in summary Historic low pay has eroded NJC pay by 25% since 2010 Members household costs have become unaffordable NJC pay does not meet the 12.60 Real Living Wage Staff across the whole pay spine are losing out A new government means a new opportunity for the employers to join us in making the case for decent pay Our headline claim for at least 3,000 is fair and appropriate - and would be a key first step in restoring the 25% lost from NJC pay since 2010
What happens next? The NJC pay claim was submitted on 31 Jan 2025 The Local Government Association will consult employers over February and March The Employers' Side meets in March and April and we hope to receive a pay offer soon after their meeting on 22 April UNISON s NJC committee will consider any offer and determine the strategy going forward Branches will be kept updated on any offer and plans for future consultations/ballots
Get involved in the campaign Access our latest pay campaign resources at: www.unison.org.uk/lgpay This will include leaflets and posters, plus: Model motion for councils in support of our pay claim Social media/website/email graphics Campaign communications and short videos Model pay claims for other employers Remember to keep checking in - our campaign website will be updated as new resources are produced
Three things to do right now Tell other members about the claim you can find all the details on our webpage www.unison.org.uk/lgpay Check your membership details - it s important that we have the right information: my.unison.org.uk Spread the word about our pay claim on social media using #BetterPay2025
