|
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
WORKERS TO SUFFER THIRD YEAR OF PAY FREEZE MISERY
UNISON, UNITE and GMB, said
that even more local government workers will fall into the trap of
poverty, as the local government employers confirmed that they would
impose a pay freeze for the 3rd year running. More than 1.6 million
workers will be hit, even those on the lowest wages who will not get
the £250 minimum increase promised to them in Chancellor George
Osborne’s June 2010 budget; for the 2nd year in a row.
A survey by UNISON, revealed that pay in the sector has already been
slashed by 13% in the last 3 years alone, which has contributed to
stripping wages down to 1990’s levels. More than a quarter of the
workforce now earn less than the Living Wage of £7.20 per hour, and
many are forced to rely on benefits and tax credits to keep their
heads above water. Any change in their family’s situation can drag
them into poverty. At the same time, Chief Executive pay in local
government has risen by a massive 59% between 1998 and 2007.
UNISON head of local government, Heather Wakefield, said:-
"Many local government workers are in work, but in poverty. It is a
disgrace that their pay will be frozen for the third year running; forcing even more into the poverty trap. Many of them will be women
working in vital jobs in our local communities; like caring for the
elderly, or for young children, or helping the vulnerable. Not even
the lowest paid in local government will get the £250 increase the
Chancellor promised them; they didn’t get it last year either.
Families can no longer cope. This cannot go on; councils do have
other choices such as increasing council tax, or using their
considerable reserves. The employers must think again, and at the
very least come through with the £250 minimum increase for the
lowest paid."
Unite national officer, Peter Allenson, said:- "Local
government workers are under sustained attack. Staff have endured a
decade of below inflation pay increases and freezes. Now attacks on
pensions, conditions and massive job cuts have heaped misery upon
misery.
It is time that local government employers face the fact that they
have a crisis on their hands. Failure to act will push even more
workers into poverty and damage local government services. Staff
need a substantial pay increase this year. Unite will be meeting its
activists across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and fully
supports its members in any action they are prepared to take for pay
justice."
Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary, said:- "GMB members
will be devastated at the news they have to make ends meet without a
pay rise for the third year running. The Chancellor promised that
low paid public sector workers would get some protection against the
cuts; so will he reign in the Conservative-controlled council
leaders who have made a mockery of that promise? This 3 year
pay freeze is not an austerity measure, it is a deliberate political
choice by local government politicians who want to win votes by
keeping pay at poverty levels to fund council tax freezes. Council
leaders and chiefs who vote themselves ever higher allowances and
salaries are a despicable bunch and rank as the very worst employers
I’ve ever come across." |
 |
Liverpool bids
to be super-connected city
MORE than 100,000 people
will get access to ultrafast broadband in Liverpool if a £25 million
bid to become a super-connected city is successful. The city
council has applied for £9 million from the Government’s Urban
Broadband Fund (UBF). It would be matched by £11 million from a
range of other sources including the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), as
well as bids for around £5 million from other pots of cash.
The delivery of the bid that is intiled:- "It’s Super Connected, It’s
Liverpool"; would form an integral part of the City Deal and
Mayoral Investment Plan which has recently been negotiated with the
Government.
Wireless internet access would be available for over 100,000 people,
4,800 businesses and up to 30 million annual visitors. Areas
to benefit would include the new Enterprise Zone proposed as part of
the City Deal, the knowledge quarter around the universities and
Liverpool Science Park and the central business district.
It is planned that free wireless access would be available at
tourist hotspots such as the World Heritage Site, major cultural
institutions and Liverpool ONE. Visitors to Liverpool will be
able to download specially designed applications loaded with
information about business, leisure and tourism in the city to show
them where to go and what to do.
Homes would get access to speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second,
while another 3,000 businesses would be able to access speeds of up
to 1 gigabyte per second. It is estimated the project could
help generate an additional £56 million for the local economy and
create up to 1400 jobs by targeting parts of the city which would
see the greatest return in terms of employment and business growth.
Council Leader Joe Anderson said:- "This is an ambitious bid
which would put Liverpool at the forefront of the digital
revolution. If we are serious about competing with the biggest
and best cities in the world, we simply have to invest in the right
infrastructure to deliver what is needed.
We are a growing city with plans to substantially increase the
number of employers and visitors to our city through the Mayoral
Development Zones and schemes such as Liverpool Waters. We live in a
world now where broadband is a part of our everyday lives and people
expect to be able get online wherever they are. Increasingly this is
via smart phones or tablets, and we have to put the right technology
in place to meet demand otherwise we will get left behind."
The Office for National Statistics estimates that 92,000 people in
Liverpool have never been online; and a key aim is for the project
to benefit the most deprived areas of the city including Everton,
Kirkdale, Anfield, Princes Park and Toxteth to improve education,
employment and health. It is hoped it will reduce the number
of socially and digitally excluded people from 69% to the national
average of 40%.
It is estimated the ultrafast broadband speeds would be available by
2015 with the aim of getting 50% take up by 2020. The scheme
would see more than 13 kilometres of additional ducting and fibre
laid. And over 1,400 wireless access points would be fitted to
street furniture such as lampposts, meaning roads and pavements
would not have to be dug up to lay new cables. |
