Council and school workers on verge of taking strike action

Thousands of council and school workers were on the verge of taking strike action after members of the UNISON public services union voted to reject a pay offer of £1,290 from the local government employers.

UNISON said it would begin balloting 360,000 members across England and Wales, with Northern Ireland to follow later, from next month.

The Unite general union also warned of a “stinking Scottish summer” after its local government workers’ committee rejected the latest COSLA Scottish council employers’ 3.2% pay offer. Unite says the COSLA offer equates to an increase of just £800 or 41p per hour.

The £1,290 offer by the National Joint Council to workers in the rest of UK equates to a rise of 67p per hour or 5.2% for a council worker earning around £25,000 based on a 37-hour week.

The GMB Scotland general union warned that a repeat of strike action during the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival is likely this year after its members in waste services in 13 Scottish councils achieved a mandate for strike action.

Strike action by GMB and PCS public and commercial services members employed by G4S as security guards in Jobcentres continued last month.

GMB national officer Eamon O’Hearn said the multinational G4S had been “handed millions” by the previous government, “yet our members can barely afford to feed their families".