11/18/2006

Equal pay - Something else the government won't fund for local councils

Council tax could rise to cover the costs of bringing women's pay up to the levels men earn, according to the LGE (local government employers) and reported on the BBC today.

No doubt people will seek to blame their local councils when council tax goes up, but this is another example of central government making a decision which affects local government, but then local government foots the bill.

Don't get me wrong, I support equal pay (I have to say that, my wife works in local government and she would kill me if I didn't say it !), however, with local government expected to making efficiency saving under the Gershon rules, this is going to result in more cuts to front line services as the government has again threatened to cap councils who go over 5%.

Isn't it about time government stopped letting local councils take the rap for their decisions ?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Not so fast Nick.

You, Norfolk councillors, have known about underpayment for ten years.

You have actively gone about putting it right for the last three years.

All the time, you knew you were paying less than the going rate.

Someone has stuck up for the workers for the first time and you lot create hell up.

Get on with it and pay up 10K each to all those affected.

But be careful, Management have gone into bullying mode due to their pay decrease.

It's rife, believe me.

Gary

Pages