More UNISON strike action in Cheshire West & Chester Council

UNISON members in West Cheshire & Chester Council are staging a 48 hour stoppage this weekend in a third wave of industrial action in protest at cuts to weekend working and other pay allowances.  Regional Organiser Maria Moss condemned the strikebreaking tactics of the Tory-led employer: "Using agency workers and others who were not familiar with clients needs, and paying non-striking staff double-pay has really rubbed salt in the wound for UNISON members who are already very angry." http://www.itv.com/news/granada/2012-05-12/council-workers-walk-out-in-chester/

4 Day Easter weekend strike in Cheshire West & Chester Council

In an escalation of the long running dispute over imposed cuts in pay and conditions at Cheshire West and Chester Council, all UNISON members have been called to strike from 6 April 2012 to 9 April 2012 inclusive. Those on strike include library staff, home care workers, housing network staff, civil enforcement officers, park rangers, central control officers, CCTV officers, streetscene operatives, children's home staff, social workers and family support workers.

GMB and Unite members are also taking part in the action. The Council's threat of an injunction to stop the strike was resisted by the union in the days leading up to Good Friday.

Fightback begins at Cheshire West & Chester Council

UNISON, GMB and Unite members staged a 3 hour strike yesterday at Chester West & Cheshire Council in the opening salvo of industrial action to challenge imposed cuts in pay allowances. The cash rich Tory led unitary council had used the pretext of Government cuts and post-reorganisation workforce harmonisation to ruthlessly cut weekend working and unsocial allowances despite the national agreement requiring any variation to be subject to negotiation and agreement. Hundreds of workers brought services to a halt at 3PM and staged a noisy protest outside the main Council office in Chester: Further escalating action will follow in the weeks ahead, following a strong ballot result which belied employer claims that over 90% of the workforce had acquiesced to pressure to sign inferior contracts: http://www.winsfordguardian.co.uk/news/9529534.Council_workers_walk_out_in_three_hour_protest/r/?ref=rss

Industrial action to hit cleansing services in Chester

Joint action by the local government unions, UNISON, GMB and Unite, is about to hit cleansing services in Cheshire West and Chester City unitary council where a contract dispute has rumbled throughout 2011. Action short of action in the form of an overtime ban in the Streetscene service will kick in over the Xmas bank holiday in response to the Tory led authority imposing inferior contracts such as a 7 day working week rota system which would include removing the enhancements for working weekends and bank holidays, and involve staff having the majority of their annual leave days fixed by management.
A branch wide ballot for industrial action is expected to be held by UNISON early in the New Year:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16315084