UNISON & UNITE Local Government Strike – Today and Thursday.

Watch the excellent video by Heather Wakefield, the UNISON head of local government on why people are on strike.

I’ve set this post to be published at 04:00 The first picket lines would have usually started about now at Council depots across the country. Some lines have been going since 00:01.

Refuse collectors, street cleaners, transport and cleaners will usually be the first out.

Add your support to the strikers by either an on-line message, by phone, by text, by phone picture or video, by Flickr or by YouTube! You can also post a message of support on a Google earth Map.

All UNISON and trade union bloggers are asked to past the above banner code to their blogs. It was quite easy. If you use blogger go to settings, add page elements then simply paste HTML/Java scrip. It is not that difficult – honest.

From UNISON website

Mortgages up 8% Petrol up 22% Bread up 9% Milk up 17% Fuel bills up 15% Inflation up 4.3%
But council workers are being offered a pay rise of just 2.45%. Take inflation into account and it's a pay CUT. Coming on top of 10 years below-inflation pay rises, it's no wonder we think this is the last straw.

So we are striking on 16 and 17 July.

Not because we want to. Many UNISON members are low-paid, part-time women workers, struggling to pay the bills - losing two days pay for strike action is not something we do lightly.

We are striking because the employers won't even consider talking to us about a better offer.

We know that the services we provide are essential to our community, and that shutting them down for two days will cause disruption and we're genuinely sorry if you are inconvenienced. We just can't afford another pay cut.

and unless we get a fair settlement on pay, local communities will suffer too.

Services will simply get worse as councils continue to lose committed staff and struggle to find new employees prepared to work for such low pay.

We empty your bins, clean your schools, conduct your marriages and civil partnerships, care for your parks, check the safety of your food and look after your children in nurseries, schools and in care.

And so much more.

In exchange, all we are asking for is your support for a fair pay settlement.