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May 16, 2008
PROBATION PAY BALLOT: YES, WE CAN.
You may have heard that holding public sector pay down to 2.5% for the next five years is for a greater good - keeping inflation low. That is not true. There is no such connection. Inflation now is caused by energy and food prices. All the pay ceiling does is impoverish public sector workers whilst pay in the private sector rises twice as fast. Look around: see the pace at which food and energy prices are rising, see the ever-rising profits that companies like BP, Shell, Tesco and Sainsburys are reporting...and laughing all the way to the bank...
THIS BALLOT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE TO THE EMPLOYERS.
PROBATION PAY BALLOT: HAVE YOU VOTED YET?
Extract from Pay Bulletin 6:
"We know that Ministers are watching developments with interest and have asked to be briefed on the outcome of our indicative ballot. It is vital therefore that we get a strong turnout from members and a clear vote in favour of industrial action. This will help strengthen our hand in negotiations and increase the likelihood of a positive resolution.
It is not only Ministers but also our Employers who are keenly watching this ballot. We have many new Employers on Probation Boards who don’t seem to understand the history of pay in the Service and seem to think they can shove us around. They also seem to want to ignore the fact that the 2005 Pay and Modernisation Agreement involved some “give and take” on both sides.
Any attempt on their part to effectively renege on their part of the deal, by trying to lengthen the time taken to progress up the pay scales, must be strongly resisted".
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.” Alice Walker
Posted by Hampshire at May 16, 2008 09:27 PM