Council strikers take to picket lines
Published Date:
16 July 2008
Council workers striking over low pay have warned more disputes could follow if negotiations don't go their way.
Unison and Unite started their 48-hour walkout yesterday, with thousands of council staff taking to picket lines across Derbyshire.
Hundreds of pupils were affected by the action, as dozens of schools closed their doors across the county.
Both unions have been offered a 2.45 per cent pay rise, but say this amounts to a pay cut when taking inflation into account.
Ann MacMillan-Wood, assistant branch secretary for Unison Derbyshire County Branch, said: "We have got thousands across Derbyshire on strike because they believe in what they are doing.
"If the National Joint Council, the council employers' side, don't come back to negotiate a better pay rise, then future disputes will be looked at."
Unison, the UK's largest public sector union, is demanding a six per cent or 50p an hour wage increase after claiming its members have experienced ten years of below-inflation pay awards.
Across the region council offices and leisure centres closed their doors, with the strike also affecting some refuse collections and burials.
The full article contains 193 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
17 July 2008 8:39 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Chesterfield
