Council pay talks continue

Talks are continuing today over the pay dispute between council workers and local authority employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Workers claim that their responsibilities have increased over time while their pay has remained unchanged during the same period - with some full-time workers earning less than £10,000 a year.

A new pay offer from employers to the unions was reported to have been put on the table at Friday's meeting, but details of the proposal have yet to emerge.

However, it is expected that if a settlement is not reached then a second national strike will go ahead on August 14. The first strike took place late last month when hundreds of thousands of workers took part in a staged walk out. A third strike is also set for September if an agreement is not reached.

Employers first offered 3%, but the unions want this figure doubled. Talks held last week ended with unions suggesting that employers had reneged on a deal to offer a £5 minimum wage.

Local authority employers say the unions' claim for a pay rise of 6% is equivalent to £80 a year on council tax bills and is therefore unaffordable without substantial job losses and cuts in services.

Around 277,000 council employees in Northern Ireland, England and Wales currently earn less than the £5-an-hour threshold.

(MB)