Agenda item

8.1

It was formally moved by Councillor George Lindars-Hammond, and formally seconded by Councillor Josie Paszek, that this Council:-

(a)      believes that keyworkers have kept the city’s essential services going, working alongside communities, mutual aid groups, voluntary services, faith groups, businesses and schools to provide support to those in need;

(b)      believes that thanks and gratitude should be given to all keyworkers, not just those at the NHS, but also the city’s teachers, police, bus drivers, postal workers, and shop workers – plus many more;

(c)      believes it is inexcusable that the Government have frozen public sector pay for at least a year, and that whilst they clapped for key workers on the steps of Downing Street the Government are now turning their backs on them at the first opportunity;

(d)      notes that public sector workers have already seen their pay decrease in real terms over the last decade – due to pay freezes first enacted by the coalition government from 2010;

(e)      believes that, like all the city’s key workers, care workers have given so much during the pandemic and we should all be grateful for their dedicated work;

(f)       notes that the city’s carers often work in difficult working conditions with inadequate pay, and believes that care workers deserve a pay rise and, therefore, welcomes that from April this Administration is investing £4.2 million into the care sector to enable Sheffield’s care workers to receive a pay rise;

(g)      notes that this investment is the first step in this Administration’s ambition to achieve pay, conditions and a career path in line with NHS Healthcare Assistants, and the Council will work with the city’s care providers to deliver this;

(h)      believes that all our workers are public service super-heroes - they keep our communities clean and safe, look after those in need and keep our towns and cities running, and that without the professionalism and dedication of staff, the council services our residents rely on would not be deliverable;

(i)       believes that local government workers deserve a proper real-terms pay increase, and the Government needs to take responsibility and fully fund this increase and should not put the burden on local authorities whose funding has been cut to the bone, and who have not been offered adequate support through the Covid-19 pandemic;

(j)       notes that since 2010 there is a £475 million shortfall for council services due to central government funding cuts and increased service pressures – this is a huge 50% of the budget – and this is not even considering the current pandemic of which the full impact on council finances is not yet known;

(k)      resolves to support the pay claim submitted by GMB, Unison and Unite on behalf of council and school workers, for a substantial increase with a minimum of 10 per cent uplift in April 2021, and calls on the Local Government Association to make urgent representations to central government to fund the NJC pay claim;

(l)       commits to writing to the Chancellor and Secretary of State to call for a pay increase for local government workers to be funded with new money from central government;

(m)     commits to meeting with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and consider practical ways in which the Council can support the campaign; and

(n)      encourages all local government workers to join a union.

8.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Mike Levery, and formally seconded by Councillor Joe Otten, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of paragraphs (g) to (n) and the addition of new paragraphs (g) to (q) as follows:-

(g)      resolves to re-consider providing funding for the vocational development and training of frontline staff who provide direct care to those with physical and mental health needs or disability, which would additionally help improve the quality of care and the retention of staff;

(h)      believes that this Administration’s ambition to achieve a pay, conditions, and a career path in line with other sectors should apply to all Council employees;

(i)       notes that the Transfer of Undertakings for the Protection of Employment (TUPE) was designed to protect employees’ terms and conditions when outsourcing to a service provider, and also applies when insourcing back to the original parent company; however, should the outsourced employees adopt the outsourced company’s terms and conditions, there is invariably a mismatch when returning to the parent company;

(j)       supports the trade union view that equal pay for comparable jobs is a standard requirement in the public sector, particularly within an organisation like Sheffield City Council;

(k)      believes that the Repairs and Maintenance Service is performing poorly despite the Kier contract having been insourced over four years ago and the workforce still operating on the Kier terms and conditions which are designed for the world of contracting, not an in-house service provider;

(l)       believes other insourced services’ employees have not been given the option to take harmonised terms and conditions since being insourced;

(m)     believes the former Sheffield Futures staff were unable to be offered pay increases for many years leading up to being insourced, due to the financial constraints within the contract, and that this has led to significant differentials in pay with comparable staff, and no plan to redress this issue;

(n)      believes that the Administration needs to get its own house in order before demanding a proper real terms pay increase from central government;

(o)      resolves to support the trade union view on pay harmonisation for insourced activities, and introduce a policy objective to achieve this within the foreseeable future;

(p)      believes that improved decision making on insourcing activities needs to be made, including proper best value assessment and a full understanding of average pay of the outsourced activity so a robust financial case can be made for offering harmonisation of terms and conditions to the incoming employees in line with TUPE law; and

(q)      believes that our workforce, whether directly employed or on a contract basis, are a valued asset and decisions that affect their future should ensure that they are not demotivated by decisions that are driven by political expediency.

8.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Martin Phipps, and formally seconded by Councillor Paul Turpin, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (l) to (n) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (l) to (n) as new paragraphs (o) to (q):-

(l)       resolves to support the demands of the grassroots NHS Workers Say No to Public Sector Pay Inequality and Nurses United campaigns, including a restorative 15% pay rise for health and care workers on Agenda for Change contracts and for outsourced services in the NHS to be brought back in-house;

(m)     resolves to support the ongoing Moving Forwards on NHS Pay campaign, led by 14 trade unions representing more than 1.3 million members, to secure a fair pay rise for health and care workers;

(n)      requests the Chief Executive to write to the NHS Pay Review Body and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with a copy of this motion requesting the above demands are met;

8.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Mike Levery was put to the vote and was negatived.

8.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Martin Phipps was then put to the vote and was carried.

8.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      believes that keyworkers have kept the city’s essential services going, working alongside communities, mutual aid groups, voluntary services, faith groups, businesses and schools to provide support to those in need;

(b)      believes that thanks and gratitude should be given to all keyworkers, not just those at the NHS, but also the city’s teachers, police, bus drivers, postal workers, and shop workers – plus many more;

(c)      believes it is inexcusable that the Government have frozen public sector pay for at least a year, and that whilst they clapped for key workers on the steps of Downing Street the Government are now turning their backs on them at the first opportunity;

(d)      notes that public sector workers have already seen their pay decrease in real terms over the last decade – due to pay freezes first enacted by the coalition government from 2010;

(e)      believes that, like all the city’s key workers, care workers have given so much during the pandemic and we should all be grateful for their dedicated work;

(f)       notes that the city’s carers often work in difficult working conditions with inadequate pay, and believes that care workers deserve a pay rise and, therefore, welcomes that from April this Administration is investing £4.2 million into the care sector to enable Sheffield’s care workers to receive a pay rise;

(g)      notes that this investment is the first step in this Administration’s ambition to achieve pay, conditions and a career path in line with NHS Healthcare Assistants, and the Council will work with the city’s care providers to deliver this;

(h)      believes that all our workers are public service super-heroes - they keep our communities clean and safe, look after those in need and keep our towns and cities running, and that without the professionalism and dedication of staff, the council services our residents rely on would not be deliverable;

(i)       believes that local government workers deserve a proper real-terms pay increase, and the Government needs to take responsibility and fully fund this increase and should not put the burden on local authorities whose funding has been cut to the bone, and who have not been offered adequate support through the Covid-19 pandemic;

(j)       notes that since 2010 there is a £475 million shortfall for council services due to central government funding cuts and increased service pressures – this is a huge 50% of the budget – and this is not even considering the current pandemic of which the full impact on council finances is not yet known;

(k)      resolves to support the pay claim submitted by GMB, Unison and Unite on behalf of council and school workers, for a substantial increase with a minimum of 10 per cent uplift in April 2021, and calls on the Local Government Association to make urgent representations to central government to fund the NJC pay claim;

(l)       resolves to support the demands of the grassroots NHS Workers Say No to Public Sector Pay Inequality and Nurses United campaigns, including a restorative 15% pay rise for health and care workers on Agenda for Change contracts and for outsourced services in the NHS to be brought back in-house;

(m)     resolves to support the ongoing Moving Forwards on NHS Pay campaign, led by 14 trade unions representing more than 1.3 million members, to secure a fair pay rise for health and care workers;

(n)      requests the Chief Executive to write to the NHS Pay Review Body and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with a copy of this motion requesting the above demands are met;

(o)      commits to writing to the Chancellor and Secretary of State to call for a pay increase for local government workers to be funded with new money from central government;

(p)      commits to meeting with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and consider practical ways in which the Council can support the campaign; and

(q)      encourages all local government workers to join a union.