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Council staff to strike in October over pay row | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will strike in October in an ongoing row with the government. | |
Unison, Unite and GMB, which between them represent more than a million local government workers, said they had decided to "escalate" the pay dispute. | |
They say workers have taken a 20% real-terms pay cut since 2010. The strike will take place on 14 October. | |
The Local Government Association (LGA) has not yet commented, but previously said strike action was "disappointing". | |
Several unions took part in a strike on 10 July after which the LGA said it would "not change the pay offer we have made", saying it was the "fairest possible deal". | |
The unions organising the October strike said their local government workers included care workers, librarians, cleaners, environmental health officers, street cleaners and teaching assistants. | The unions organising the October strike said their local government workers included care workers, librarians, cleaners, environmental health officers, street cleaners and teaching assistants. |
'Paltry' offer | |
"Local government workers have suffered three years of a pay freeze, followed by a below inflation pay deal and have now been offered a paltry 1%," the unions said in a joint statement. | |
Unions have said no further talks have taken place since the last strike, despite offering to go to the government's arbitration and conciliation service. | |
It comes as health workers are currently being balloted for industrial action in a separate row over pay, which could lead to strikes in October. | |
It also follows an announcement by the Fire Brigades Union that firefighters are to walk out in a separate row over pensions next month. | |
Tax workers from the Public and Commercial Services union have also said they are continuing a three-day walkout in an ongoing dispute over job losses and office closures, which began on Wednesday. |