4 years no pay rise. what action can employees take?

tir21

my company hasnt issued any pay rises for 4 years and have told me there probably won't be any rises in the foreseeable future

i have been expressing my general unhappiness at this but as a lone voice i can obviously be easily ignored

the problem is the company has to bid for contracts from the nhs. i asked if the effects of inflation on staff wages were a factor in the last round of contracts we tendered for and was told no. and it wont be a factor when the contracts are up for renewal. they want to put in the very cheapest bid they can and obviously any envisaged pay rise will increase the bid amount

without committing a sackable offence, what can i do to let the company know its not just me concerned about this tendering policy?

could i start a petition. what group action could i try to instigate?

thanks

ILW

Leave and go elsewhere.

scooby088

Can say as long are you are being paid nmw then I'm afraid your employer doesn't have to give a pay rise. It has already been said if you don't like it start looking for other work.

Sinhanada

I wouldn't argue - the majority of workers in the NHS haven't had a pay rise since the recession began. I would agree with the ethos of your company in not trying to raise their prices.

I worked for the NHS for five years and did not begrudge the lack of pay rises. I realised that in doing so the NHS is helping to make a valued contribution to society by keeping costs as low as possible and not overinflating prices to make profits. I eventually left for another role and find it rewarding - but it was not the wage freeze that made me leave, it was for a position which suited me better.

All in all, if you're unhappy - try and find another role.

tir21

what about the petition idea

if a company were informed that say 90% of staff were unhappy isnt there a possibility this could have some effect?

Cycrow

If there is no money available for pay rises, then a petition would be useless. They cant pay what they dont have.

besides, if a petition would really work then everyone would be doing it to get more money, afterall, whos going to refuse a pay rise

colino

If your company is tendering for public sector work, just be grateful they are still winning them. I've been involved with some recently that the tender winners are clearly not paying NMW or their figures just do not stand up.

tir21

I would agree with the ethos of your company in not trying to raise their prices.

fair point but there is also the ethos of keeping staff motivated

ILW

tir21 wrote: »

what about the petition idea

if a company were informed that say 90% of staff were unhappy isnt there a possibility this could have some effect?

Are 90% of the staff unhappy enough to resign?
If they did could the employer replace them at a similar or lower wage level?

elsien

tir21 wrote: »

what about the petition idea

if a company were informed that say 90% of staff were unhappy isnt there a possibility this could have some effect?

Isn't that what unions are for?

There are a lot of employees in a lot of companies who have not had a pay rise for a long time. Welcome to the world of economic recession.
My company is similar but as all other companies in the field round our way pay almost the same, and otherwise they're a good company to work for, we can ask till we're blue in the face, the reality is it's not going to get us anywhere.
And if it's a choice of keeping the contract on no pay rise or a payrise, losing the contract and possibly losing the job, I know what I'd vote for.

ILW

tir21 wrote: »

fair point but there is also the ethos of keeping staff motivated

If the tendering argument is true, how would you suggest the employer would fund pay increases?