More than 300 Dundee City Council workers have voted to strike as they fight plans to outsource services.

Unite the union said 95% of joiners, plumbers, electricians, labourers and scaffolders had vote for industrial action, which is due to begin next month.

All-out strike action is scheduled to start on 4 April for three weeks, which will be followed by rounds of daily action until 23 June.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘This huge vote in favour of strike action demonstrates that Unite’s members are not going to accept Dundee City Council’s plans to outsource trades services.

‘There is overwhelming evidence that privatisation of public services only makes things worse for workers and the public.

‘The council now needs to drop this ruinous proposal.’

Unite industrial officer George Ramsay added: ‘The plans to outsource will only profit private contractors.

‘Unite will not allow these plans to go unopposed and we will fight them every step of the way.’

A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: 'We are aware of the ballot and continue to engage constructively with trade union representatives.

'It’s important to stress that none of the 320 roles at Construction Services is at risk from being outsourced.

'The council is focused on supporting Construction Services’ modernisation and is investing heavily in staff development through its training and apprenticeship programme, by creating permanent jobs locally in Dundee, modernising IT systems to deliver a better customer service and investing in working conditions within its depot.

'The telematics system is in place to safeguard our staff, manage our fleet as efficiently as possible and ensure best value in terms of service delivery to the residents of Dundee.'

This article was originally published by The MJ (£).