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| Council workers vote for strike | Council workers vote for strike |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Council workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay, the union Unison has announced. | Council workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay, the union Unison has announced. |
| Members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted by 55% to strike, after rejecting a 2.45% pay offer. | Members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted by 55% to strike, after rejecting a 2.45% pay offer. |
| Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said this was "a clear message" to employers "that our members are willing to fight for a decent pay rise". | Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said this was "a clear message" to employers "that our members are willing to fight for a decent pay rise". |
| The union's negotiators will make a decision about what action to recommend to the national strike committee later. | The union's negotiators will make a decision about what action to recommend to the national strike committee later. |
| 'Indisputable' | |
| Mr Prentis said his members were "fed up and angry they are expected to accept pay cut after pay cut while bread and butter prices go through the roof. | |
| "Most of them are low-paid workers, who are hit hardest by food and fuel price hikes, and they see the unfairness of boardroom bonanzas and big City bonuses." | |
| The members have voted for a programme of sustained and escalating strike action because they are sick of being treated as the poor relations of the public secotr Heather WakefieldUnison | |
| The union says 250,000 council workers earn less than £6.50 an hour and most of them are women. They are demanding a 6% pay rise or 50p an hour extra, whichever is greater. | |
| Almost 600,000 workers were balloted, including school dinner ladies, classroom assistants, cooks, social workers, architects and refuse collectors. | |
| Heather Wakefield, Unison's head of local government, said: "The employers should be in no doubt: the members have voted for a programme of sustained and escalating strike action because they are sick of being treated as the poor relations of the public secotr. | |
| "Their case for a realistic pay increase is indisputable." | |
| The vote comes after Chancellor Alistair Darling said he wanted people from the "boardroom to the shop floor" to take pay rises "consistent" with the government's 2% inflation target. | The vote comes after Chancellor Alistair Darling said he wanted people from the "boardroom to the shop floor" to take pay rises "consistent" with the government's 2% inflation target. |
| David Cameron urges government to be strong with unions | David Cameron urges government to be strong with unions |
| Mr Darling was speaking after the government's preferred inflation measure, the Consumer Prices Index rose, to 3.3% in May, with the Bank of England warning it may reach 4%. | |
| The wider Retail Prices Index measure of inflation - the one used for many pay negotiations - is already at 4.3%. | |
| Conservative leader David Cameron warned the government it was going to have to be "extremely tough" on unions to avert a wave of strikes. | Conservative leader David Cameron warned the government it was going to have to be "extremely tough" on unions to avert a wave of strikes. |
| He said Labour was "so reliant" on unions for funding they felt they had a "stranglehold" over the party and could "dictate terms". | |
| And he backed tough action on strikes as they "rarely achieve their goal", he said. | And he backed tough action on strikes as they "rarely achieve their goal", he said. |