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Council strike dates announced for July

24/06/2008

Trade union Unison is recommending council workers stage a 48-hour walk out on July 16th and 17th.

Unison is recommending its 600,000 local government members strike in mid-July over a 2.45 per cent deal, which the trade union says is below inflation and is therefore unacceptable.

A strike committee meeting on Friday will make the final decision as to whether the industrial action will take place.

Unison head of local government Heather Wakefield said: "It is a tough decision to take strike action but our members have shown that they are willing to fight for a fair deal. Once the dates are finally agreed we will be going all out to mobilise maximum support around those strike days.

"We are of course always willing to meet the employers. The solution to this is in their hands. They must know that we mean business and they must know that our members cannot afford to take another pay cut this year."

Yesterday, the union announced members had voted 55 per cent to 45 per cent in favour of a programme of sustained strike action over the proposed pay offer.

The union's pay claim was for a six per cent rise in pay, or 50p and hour, whichever was the greater.

However, the government is keen to keep pay deals low to control inflation and chancellor Alistair Darling has urged workers to moderate their pay demands this year.