This week’s Sefton Council meeting (Thursday 22 April) saw Labour councillors propose and vote through a motion supporting a ‘minimum of 10% pay uplift’ in council officers’ pay from April.
But, warned Lib Dem councillor Simon Shaw during the debate, it would come at a massive cost – around 8% or 9% extra on council tax bills.
“So rather than the 5% increase in council tax Labour landed us with in March, they would have needed a 13% or 14% increase in our annual council tax.”
“Labour will claim that their motion says it wants the Government to fund this 10%+ pay award in full but we all know that this would never happen. But their support for the massive proposed pay increase is unconditional. So even when the Government says ‘no’ Labour-controlled Sefton Council still says it supports it”
Councillor Shaw points out that Sefton Council middle managers on £45,000 pa would see an increase of around £5,000 if Labour had their way. At the top end senior council bosses pay could soar by up to £15,000.
“People doing important jobs whether in the public, private or voluntary sectors deserve to be properly paid. However a pay rise for council officers of over 10% is just not living in the real world,”
The full text of the Labour motion is to found at: https://modgov.sefton.gov.uk/documents/s102424/NJC%20Pay%20Rise%20-%20PL.pdf
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