Unison drives pay campaign

SIGN here . . . local organiser John Sharp, Janet Evans, who signed the petition, branch secretary Julie Finnigan, and Unison member Wendy Bradbury

PUBLIC sector workers nationwide are campaigning for an increase to their wages.

Unions Unite, Unison and GMB all protested for a pay rise yesterday while in Oldham, Unison set up a petition stall in the town centre.

The demonstrations are part of a campaign launched last October for a minimum increase of £1 an hour to raise the bottom rate of pay in local government.

Julie Finnigan, Unison branch secretary for Oldham, explained that a one per cent increase wouldn’t make a difference to most workers.

She said: “A lot of our members are struggling to make ends meet. Childcare, petrol, and the cost of living is going up but wages are frozen, and one per cent is not that much.

“We’re very pleased that Oldham Council is looking at the Unison charter and looking towards private companies to make sure staff get paid a living wage.”