Union confirms new strike dates as Welsh local authority dispute escalates

The trade union Unite has confirmed its members in Cardiff and Wrexham councils will strike for a further three weeks from 25 September to 15 October.

Workers at the local authorities are currently in the middle of their first round of industrial action which end on 17 September.

Workers at Gwynedd Council have also started a week of continuous strike action from today (12 September) which will run until next Sunday.

The industrial action follows Unite members overwhelmingly rejecting the local authority employers’ pay offer of just £1,925, which the union says is real terms pay cut.

Decimated

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Local Authority workers in Wales have seen their pay decimated in recent years. Despite this, their employers think it’s acceptable to propose what amounts to real terms pay cut, when workers increasingly can’t make ends meet.”

“There has been silence from local authority employers during this strike action. Our members are not backing down and we will now escalate the industrial action until Local Authorities start negotiating with us. Unite will be providing our members with its complete support during this dispute.”

Unite has members working across every department within Welsh Local Authorities but in particular strike action is set to have a major impact on refuse collections and recycling centres.

Peter Hughes, Unite Wales Regional Secretary said; “These strikes are about the scourge of low pay within local authorities. It can’t be acceptable for council workers who provide essential public services to be earning salaries that are barely above the national minimum wage.”

“Welsh councils must stop hiding behind the position of the Local Authority Pay Body and see what they can do to improve our members terms and conditions at a local level. Until they do this our industrial action will continue”.