Thousands of council workers could walk out on strike after their union vowed to ballot members over what it called an ‘unacceptable' pay offer.
Unison warned that, with inflation forecast to hit 3.5% by the end of the year, the 3.3% offer amounted to a real terms pay cut.
The union said local government workers have lost around a quarter of their pay since 2010.
Unison general secretary Andrea Egan used her address to the union's local government conference in Brighton yesterday to urge up to 200,000 staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to back strike action if employers refused to improve their offer for 2026-27.
Egan told delegates: ‘Strike action is our leverage. It's our way of saying to employers we won't just accept crumbs from the table. We won't accept lower wages, and we won't accept real terms pay cuts.
‘Staff are fed up of being expected to do more for less in their pay packets. They deserve fair wages and properly funded services that restore the communities they serve.'
Balloting begins next month.
