Union leaders speak up for public services

(18/12/07) UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis joined other trade union leaders and public-service workers today to start the fight-back against the government's 2% public-sector pay limit.
Dave Prentis joins TUC general secretary Brendan Barber and public service workers to launch the Speak Up for Public Services pay campaign"A 2% pay limit, for each of the next three years, will mean a pay cut for the UK's six million public-sector workers," Mr Prentis said."It represents a real cut in living standards and could cause long-term damage to industrial relations, recruitment, retention and morale."Launching the Speak Up for Public Services campaign at Westminster, the TUC and its 26 member unions called on ministers to accept in full the next round of recommendations from the various pay review bodies, if they wanted to avoid a repetition of the anger that provoked a wave of strike ballots across the public sector in 2007."The government must remember what a demoralised, under-resourced public sector it inherited from the Tories," Mr Prentis warned. "We cannot go back to those days."UNISON and other public-sector unions will be working together over the coming months to campaign for pay rises that reflect the true cost of living in the UK, he said.The TUC has published a new report, Six million pay cuts, to coincide with today's campaign launch.Debunking the myth that public-sector pay fuels inflation, the report points out that the government's arguments for the freeze do not add up. Holding back public pay will also widen the pay gap between men and women, it says.For more information about the Speak Up for Public Services campaign, read the full text of the statement signed by all 26 member unions of the TUC: Public servants deserve fair pay. Download the TUC report here: Six million pay cuts [PDF] More on UNISON's Positively Public campaign