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| Council staff to strike in October over pay row | 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. | 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. | 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. | They say workers have taken a 20% real-terms pay cut since 2010. The strike will take place on 14 October. |
| A spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA) called on union leaders to accept the pay offer. | |
| The LGA has said the offer would increase the pay of most employees by 1%, while those on the lowest salaries would receive increases of between 1.25% and 4.66%. | |
| 'Paltry' offer | 'Paltry' offer |
| The latest strike comes after several unions took part in a day of action 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". | |
| Unions organising the October strike said their local government workers included care workers, librarians, cleaners, environmental health officers, street cleaners and teaching assistants. | |
| "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. | "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. | 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. |
| However, the LGA spokesman said the government expected the "majority" of people to be in work as normal on 14 October. | |
| 'At the limit' | |
| "Most local government staff did not vote to strike and the vast majority did not take part in strike action earlier in July", the spokesman said. | |
| "This is at the limit of what councils tackling the biggest cuts in living memory can afford. | |
| "The sooner Unison, Unite and GMB accept this pay offer, the sooner this money can reach our employees who have been waiting for it since April," he added. | |
| The union announcement 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. | 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. | 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. |