Rob Pinkham's attempt to dismiss national bargaining in local government had a rather sad ring to it. Rupert Brooke once wondered ‘what man lauds the thing he's thrown away?' and I am tempted to ask whether national bargaining might have remained more attractive for Rob if he could still engage in it. However, he raises some issues which merit a Unison response.

 First of his three reasons for ‘going local' is that the green book, which details conditions of service for local government workers, is unresponsive to local labour markets. This is patently untrue. Incomes Data Services' annual survey demonstrates clearly that councils use the pay spine creatively to respond to local and national labour market pressures. So, for instance, pay levels for many jobs in the tight Greater Manchester labour market are still higher than in some parts of outer London. Within Greater London, pay levels for the same or similar jobs also vary considerably – and some times unjustifiably – but nonetheless the flexibility built in to the green book framework is there for all to see.