Thousands of Unite members working for local authorities across the country are being balloted for strike action after rejecting this year's council pay offer.
Workers turned down a 3.3% pay offer from national employers, arguing it fails to address years of below-inflation pay rises and pay freezes, and represents a real-terms pay cut made without negotiation.
Staff being balloted work across essential council services, including waste collection, street cleaning, street lighting, teaching assistants and home care.
Councils involved include Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Bolton and Southampton, among others (see below for full list). The ballot opens on 16 July and closes on 17 August.
The union also warned that further local authorities could join the pay dispute later.
Local government pay offer rejected by unions
In March, the National Employers offered a 3.30% pay increase from 1 April 2026, described as a ‘full and final one-year pay offer’.
Chair of the National Employers, Cllr James Lewis, said that for the lowest-paid council employees – those earning £24,796 a year – the offer means a pay boost since April 2021 of £7,282, or nearly 40%.
The public sector unions GMB, Unite and UNISON all voted to reject the pay offer.
Stacey Booth, GMB National Officer, said the union had called for pay negotiations and was disappointed to be given ‘a full and final offer’. UNISON head of local government Mike Short added: ‘It’s disappointing that the unions’ fair and affordable pay claim hasn’t been met.’
Last week, around 200,000 UNISON members working in councils and schools across England and Wales began voting on whether to take strike action over pay.
Unite responds to the council pay dispute
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Council workers are struggling to keep their heads above water after over a decade of pathetic pay deals. Employers are again trying to cut the real terms pay of workers instead of investing in our members, who do vital jobs in our communities.
‘Unite will not stand by and allow our members to have another paltry pay deal inflicted on them. They have our full backing in their fight for fair pay.’
Unite national officer for local authorities Clare Keogh added: ‘After years of real-term pay cuts imposed without negotiations, council workers have had enough and see no option but to take action to make their voices heard.
‘Strike action will have a huge impact on the council services communities depend on, but this is entirely the fault of national employers refusing to negotiate.’
Full list of councils affected:
• Great Yarmouth
• North East Lincolnshire
• South Tyneside
• Blackburn with Darwen Borough
• Bolton
• Cumberland
• Knowsley
• Liverpool City Council
• Liverpool City Region
• Oldham
• Sefton
• Warrington
• Westmorland and Furness
• Wirral
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Durham
• Haringey
• Leeds
• Hampshire County Council
• Portsmouth
• Southampton
