More than a thousand local government craftworkers are set to walk out later this month in a dispute over pay and threatened changes to their working conditions.
Workers employed at Bristol, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Newham, Leeds, and Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils – who predominantly carry out housing maintenance and repair – will strike on 17, 18, 23 and 24 June.
The dispute centres on the 2025 pay offer to craftworkers, which proposed a 3.2% pay rise while simultaneously seeking to remove apprentices from the national agreement and introduce job evaluation – a process Unite says would leave craftworkers worse off by failing to recognise their skills.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said years of poor pay rises and freezes had undermined earnings and driven down living standards, adding that attacks on the national agreement were ‘totally unacceptable.’
Unite national officer Jason Poulter warned the action would cause significant disruption to council tenants needing repairs and called on employers to enter negotiations.
Unite said further councils could join the dispute in future.
A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesperson said: 'This is a dispute between Unite, working in several parts of the country, and the national employers’ association. We are disappointed the matter is not yet resolved and urge both parties to bring the matter to a swift conclusion.'
