UNISON today confirmed that its local government and school support staff members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be taking one day of strike action on 10 July in support of better pay. The decision was taken following a yes vote in a strike ballot, announced earlier today.
Local government employers have offered a 1% pay rise.
UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
“We have a clear majority for strike action so a one day strike will go ahead on 10 July. We expect to be joined in that action by other unions in local government and will be campaigning amongst our members for maximum support on that day.
“Many of our members are low paid women earning barely above the minimum wage, who care for our children, our elderly and our vulnerable and they deserve better treatment than they have had at the hands of this Government. The employers must get back into talks immediately to avoid a damaging dispute.”
Local government workers have been condemned to three consecutive years of pay freezes, followed by below-inflation rises in 2013 and 2014, leaving their pay reduced by almost 20% since the Coalition came to power.