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14-Jul-08 11:30 [Pay and Reward]
'Secret billions' could stop Unison strike This week's Unison-led local government strikes could be avoided if councils dip into savings, the public sector union claimed.
Unison stated that local authorities could afford to increase the 2.45 per cent with efficiency savings from the last few years totalling over £3 billion, none of which is earmarked for any plans.
600,000 members of Unison will walk out on Wednesday and Thursday over pay rises that they believe are real-term cuts due to the increase being below the rate of inflation as well as pressures from the current economic situation causing a rise in cost of food, fuel and energy bills.
Unison demands a pay rise of six per cent or 50p an hour - whichever is greater.
General secretary of Unison Dave Prentis said: "These billions of pounds in the bank, put there by the hard work of hundreds of thousands of low paid Unison members, should be used by the employers to settle this potentially damaging dispute."
Today the Argus reported that critical council services in Brighton and Hove will continue with people being exempted from the strike, including those who work with vulnerable citizens.
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