As numbers swell for this summer's town hall strikes, unions warn the Government that undervaluing council staff comes at a cost to services. Both Unison and Unite members have now voted for industrial action over the Government's pay offer of 2.45%. Unite members voted by three-to-one in favour of action last week. Unison's local government spokeswoman, Heather Wakefield, said: ‘Without our members, there is no service. There is no improvement. Despite being at the heart of councils' markedly-improved performance since 1997, the message for 10 years has been that they really are the public sector's poor relations.' Unison has also launched a scathing attack on the LGA for its ‘My council' campaign at its annual conference in Bournemouth. General secretary, Dave Prentis, said: ‘The LGA poster campaign shows just how difficult working for the council can be. What it doesn't tell you is just how little those people get paid for doing jobs that most people would run a mile from.' Local government employers' chairman, Brian Baldwin, said any strike action ‘could have serious implications for some of the most vulnerable in society, and would not change the fact that our last offer was our final offer.'
