Council Staff say We are "Worth It"

Read More about UNISON's Worth It campaign and tell your story

Dozens of staff in Woodhill House and Gordon House showed pride in being a public service worker by signing up to UNISON's "Worth It" campaign.

Branch activists, some dressed as key council workers, such as school crossing patrol staff and road workers, held events in Woodhill House on 26th March and Gordon House on 27th March as part of the TUC Fair Pay fortnight, to highlight the very important work that public service workers do, and to remind staff that they are worth decent pay, terms and conditions, and that Aberdeenshire residents are worth decent public services.

Morag Lawrence, Mike Rogers, Inez Teece, Kathleen Kennedy and Kate Ramsden at Woodhiill House

They also thanked UNISON members forthe work they do for the people of Aberdeenshire, by giving out UNISON cupcakes.

Inez Teece, Branch Secretary said, “It was great to see that so many people working for the council, were keen to sign up to say that "We ARE worth it!"

"Public services have taken a beating as a result of government cuts. Jobs have been lost and our members are working harder than ever to provide good quality services to the people of Aberdeenshire.

Ann Gray and James Mulholland at Gordon House

“We wanted to give a message to all staff that the job they do is essential and worth decent pay. We also wanted to say a big thank you to our UNISON members for all the hard work that they do.”

Inez added, “We are very pleased that Aberdeenshire Council has heeded our calls, and is now paying the Living Wage to all council staff. We are now calling on the council to spread the Living Wage wider, to include our members in the Community Sector, as part of the procurement process.”

Steve Gray, Kate Ramsden and James Mulholland in Gordon House

Kate Ramsden, Branch Chair said, “The latest labour market statistics show that inflation is still rising around twice as fast as average weekly earnings and so the household budgets of many of our members are still tightly squeezed. Even if wages start to pick up, the real pay gap that has opened up looks set to take years to close.

“In contrast, top pay is increasing rapidly, demonstrating that we are far from all being in this together.”

Click here for the press release

You're Worth It

Worth It is UNISON’s UK-wide, cross service group campaign on pay. It aims to raise the profile of pay within the membership, with influencers and the wider public, and to find a new way of talking to people about the impact of the continued pay injustice - making pay about people. To do this, we need members to share their experiences and to show the real reasons why pay matters.

The facts
Your pay is frozen while prices are going up all the time, meaning a real-terms pay cut

• You have less money to spend and may be struggling to make ends meet

• Your public services are being closed or cut, it’s not as easy to use them, waiting times increase and the quality of the service falls

• Your local shops and businesses are feeling the pinch and may close, which has a huge knock-on effect for local communities

The reality
We want to be able to illustrate the real-life experiences of public service workers in Scotland. To do this, we need to know your story.

Please email us with a few lines on how the issue of pay and increased cost of living affects you - click here to send your story to worthitstories@unison-scotland.org

What others have said:

• You pay your debts and you pay your rent. Mobile phone unfortunately is a necessity. I end up counting on my tax credit for the shopping.
  
  
• I'm a dedicated public sector worker, but I've been subject to a pay freeze and even a 1% pay rise this year hasn’t nearly matched the increased cost of living.
  
• I don’t have enough money to go to a restaurant or to treat myself or my kids sometimes.
  
  
• To add insult to injury, I've just found out that my electricity and gas bills will go up by 9.2%.
  
  
• This year we won’t have a holiday.
  

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