23/07/2014

Local Govt And School Support Workers To Strike Again

Local government and school support workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to hold a second day of strike action on Tuesday 30 September, according to Unison.

The announcement follows the strike on 10 July, which saw around a million public service workers walk out in an increasingly bitter dispute over pay.

The union is calling on the Local Government Association to engage in further talks to resolve this year's pay dispute. The current offer would see 90% of local government and school support workers receive a 1% increase, on the back of three successive years of pay freezes and below inflation rises in 2013 and 2014. Pay has declined by 18% since 2010 and most councils have also imposed severe cuts on conditions such as unsocial hours payments.

UNISON Head of Local Government, Heather Wakefield, said: "Despite four years of vicious government cuts, they continue to educate and support children in schools, maintain crucial local services, keep our communities clean and safe places to live and protect the homeless and vulnerable."

(CD/JP)

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