Durham County Council workers are due to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.
Members of Unite at the local authority will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action after the union rejected a 3.2 per cent pay offer.
Around 30 workers are involved in the dispute, including those working in the housing maintenance sector, such as plumbing and heating engineering.
Workers in Durham will be among 1,000 people balloted in Leeds, Bristol, Stoke and councils in London.
Unite said the latest pay offer is unsatisfactory.
The dispute comes after the Local Government Association, which handle local council workers’ pay, put forward a full and final offer below inflation of 3.2 per cent for 2025 without any negotiations.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The way the LGA has conducted pay negotiations has been nothing short of a disgrace.
“Craft workers who do difficult and highly skilled jobs deserve better than the LGA playing politics with their livelihoods and imposing a poor pay offer without negotiations. They will have Unite’s full backing throughout this dispute, which is of the LGA’s own making.”
Unite warned that strike action could disrupt key services involved in maintaining people’s homes.
Jason Poulter, national officer for construction, said: “Craft workers play an essential role in maintaining council homes and deserve to have these skills recognised with a fair pay offer.”
Ballots will open from February 19 and close in March.
Paul Darby, Durham County Council’s corporate director of resources, said: “We are aware that seven local authorities across the country are being balloted for targeted strike action linked to the national pay dispute.
“The ballot is expected to close on March 27, after which we’ll have a clearer understanding of how we will be impacted.”
Bill Edgar
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
