Councils banking on low rises until 2011

Council leaders are assuming that local government pay will increase by 2 per cent a year until 2011, well below the current 4.2 per cent inflation rate.

A paper presented to the Local Government Association last week said the LGA assumed pay deals would match the government’s inflation target of 2 per cent throughout the period of the next comprehensive spending review, 2008 to 2011.

Local Government Employers, which handles industrial relations, is expected to offer about 2 per cent to staff for 2007-8. However, unions want 5 per cent or £1,000, whichever is greater.

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