Around 200,000 council and school staff at more than 500 employers across England and Wales began voting today on whether to take strike action over pay, UNISON has announced.
The ballot follows the union's rejection of a 3.3% pay offer from local government employers, which UNISON says fails to restore years of lost pay value. Teaching assistants, social workers, waste collection staff, trading standards officers, housing staff and librarians are among those being balloted.
UNISON says wages across the sector have fallen by around 26% in real terms since 2010, with individual losses reaching thousands of pounds depending on role.
The union also warns low pay is worsening recruitment and retention problems, adding further strain to local services.
The four-week ballot closes on 6 August, with possible autumn walkouts if staff back action.
UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: ‘Council and school workers kept vital services running through years of brutal austerity, with rising demand and relentless pressure. They deserve far better than another pay offer leaving them falling ever further behind.
‘This huge ballot is the direct consequence of employers expecting staff to accept less while delivering more, year after year. That's taken a growing toll on workers, on local services and on the communities depending on them.’
