Pay Up Now! Come along to the March on 7th October and tell the Scottish and UK Governments we need a pay rise now!

Following months of UNISON pressure, the Scottish Government has said they will lift the 1% pay cap on public service workers.  That’s a welcome start, but what does it mean?

1.2%?  1.7%?  2%?  Inflation is 2.9%, so that’s still a real terms pay cut.  And what about all the pay we’ve lost over the last 10 years?

See just how much you’ve lost with our pay cut calculator www.unison.org.uk/our-campaigns/pay-up-now.

And who is it for? The Scottish Government has mentioned nurses and teachers. But what about all the rest of us. Council workers are amongst the lowest paid and local government has taken the biggest hit of job losses.

Sign UNISON's Pay Up Now Petition on the UK Parliament website. If our colleagues south of the border win a pay rise then more cash will come to Scotland for ours. It's easy to sign. Please do it now.

Don't leave it to someone else to fight for your pay
Council  workers,  NHS staff, and UNISON members from across the service groups along with their friends and families from all over Scotland, will gather at Holyrood on Saturday 7 October to show we’re serious about getting a proper pay rise.

Without you and your fellow workers there, we won't have the strong voice we need.  The government will say workers didn’t turn up, so there’s no real demand by staff for a decent pay rise.

The fun bit – Coach transport will be free, and there’s going to be free t-shirts, goodie bags for the kids, face painters, children’s entertainers, and 500 free tickets to Dynamic Earth.  What’s not to like?
Bring your kids, bring your partner, bring your granny, or just bring you!

Coaches are free, but you must book in advance.  Just call the UNISON Resource Centre on 01224 620624.  Spaces are limited, so get in touch by Monday 25 September.

Coach pick up points are:

Place	Time	Pickup point
Elgin	06.30	Town Hall
Inverurie	07.30	Town Hall
Aberdeen	08.00	UNISON Office, Alford Place

Place	Time	Pickup point
Fraserborough	06.30	Leisure Centre car park
Peterhead	07.00	Academy Bus Park
Ellon	07.30	Opposite New Inn
Aberdeen	08.00	UNISON Office, Alford Place

Coaches should be back in Aberdeen around 6pm, and after for places further north.

We will provide bottled water, but please bring a packed lunch for the day.  We will have a collection to raise money for the local CFINE Food Bank (www.cfine.org).

UNISON Pay up Now campaign - March with us on 7th Oct for fair pay for all public service workers

UNISON's Pay up Now campaign is calling for an end to the pay restraint imposed by UK and Scottish governments which has affected members in all service groups from the NHS to Local Government to colleges and universities to police staffs and the community and voluntary sector and more.

The branch is fully behind the campaign and is calling on all our members to get down to the March and Rally on 7th October in Edinburgh. Buses are running from Aberdeen and you can book your place by calling the UNISON Resource Centre on 01224 620624.

Branch Secretary, Inez Kirk said, "For years now all public service workers have seen their pay held back by government in the name of austerity. First a freeze then a cap, resulting in public sector pay, across the UK, rising by just 4.4% between 2010 and 2016 while the cost of living rose by 22%.

"That’s no way to treat hardworking people who play such a vital role in looking after us and holding our communities together – keeping us safe, healthy, educated, and cared for."

Click here for the UNISON UK calculator and find out what your wages should have been to keep up with inflation.