UNISON protest over pay freeze

Protesters outside Rochdale Town Hall

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Members of UNISON gathered outside Rochdale Town Hall this evening (Tuesday 22 June 2010) to protest against the coalition government’s budget decision to freeze public sector pay.

Around 40 people turned up waving placards reading ‘No cuts in Rochdale,’ ‘Tax the bankers’ and ‘We are not in the same boat.’

Members chanted ‘Our futures, our jobs, our lives, not for sale, put the bankers in the jail.’

Helen Harrison, branch secretary for UNISON in Rochdale explained that the protest wasn’t about Rochdale Council it was about the national picture, she said: “A two year pay freeze will create such hardship and deprivation the impact is impossible to contemplate. I’d also like to put into perspective what the reality of public sector pay is. The average worker employed full time in local government earns less than £18,000 per year. Many, many employees are part time or work reduced hours and so earn far less than £18,000.

“We are not ‘Fat Cats’ sitting in plush offices with little to do all day. We are not too expensive. I would love to see those who talk of pay freezes live on a low paid part time workers income perhaps with the top up of a tax credit if they’re really hard up. I’d like to see them do this for a sustained period of time, not the patronising, publicity seeking examples of the past when Government Ministers have managed to survive on low pay for a week or two to “show us how it’s done.” All we ask is a fair days pay for a fair days work and a pay freeze will never achieve that.”

One protester who didn’t want to be named described the public sector pay freeze as ‘shameful.’

“The public sector provides vital services and we are under attack. I live in Rochdale and as a resident and an employee I am very unhappy.

“People who are paid grossly over inflated salaries should have their wages cut not us basic workers,” said the protester.

UNISON’s Helen Harrison, added: “We have been told that job cuts in public services are inevitable but why? Do we need less people delivering public services? Will our children, our elderly, our disabled people, our sick, our vulnerable members in society and the young people unable to find work need less help? Of course they don’t. Job cuts in public service will not regenerate the economy in fact it will decimate it even further. For every £1 earned by a worker over 85p goes back into the economy. If we are not earning we can’t spend.

“Rochdale borough is one of the most deprived areas in the land. Putting hundreds or thousands of public sector workers onto the dole will cause more hardship for every member of our communities. That 85p+ we put back into our local economy won’t be there. Even more shops will close, and then even more people will lose their jobs. Rochdale will become more deprived. Statistics then prove crime will increase, the health of the population will decline and the benefits bill will be huge.

“What this Government should be thinking about is investing in public services not slashing them. We need more teachers, nurses, care worker’s, social workers etc not less and then we need the support workers that are not so obvious to enable the so called “front of house” to do their jobs properly. We need to build more affordable social housing. This would create much needed work for those in the building trade. We need this Government to be more positive about public services not blame us for the economic crisis.”

Other trade unions were also invited to the protest, including the UNITE union.

UNITE’s Assistant Branch Secretary, Steven Veevers, described the current conditions as ‘disgusting’ he said members were very unhappy that alongside the public sector pay freeze there would also be several redundancies.