GMB

Members of UNISON, Unite and the GMB are being consulted on the new offer which was made after their previous "final" offer of 2.5% following the well observed industrial action.

UNISON, the largest union is recommending members reject the offer.

Following one of the UK's biggest strikes in years, when half a million council workers walked out for two days against a sub inflationary 2.45% pay offer, unions have blocked further action.

Union members had hoped local council body Cosla would offer a new one year deal taking inflation into account. However, Cosla said increasing the pay offer in the current economic climate would result in service and job cuts. Meanwhile, hundreds of other civil and public servants voted for strike action which could cause serious disruption to the justice system.

At Gatwick, 318 Swissport workers will walk out for 24 hours, halting services at some airlines and a second strike is planned for Friday 29 August.

They overwhelmingly agreed on Thursday to take strike action on 20th August after the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) refused to improve a pay offer of 2.5 per cent a year for the next three years.

The lorries were turning up at the site at Lamby Way only to find the weigh bridge blocked by workers. The workers took the action in support of two members of staff who had been disciplined. One of the men has now been moved to another job by management, amounting to a demotion, and it is this move which sparked the walk out.

If their decision is confirmed by the 450,000 NHS workers in Unison next week, the government may be forced to abandon its attempt to reach a long-term settlement.

The action disrupted both refuse and recycling collections throughout the city affecting 15,000 households. Workers at the Queenslie and Eastern depots took the un-official action, claiming the council had failed to meet overtime payments of up to £4000.

Employer attacks on workers' pay is the main issue at stake.

Teachers in the NUT are walking out over their pay deal which was supposed to be revised when inflation rose, but the government refused: effectively cutting their wages.

Council workers will be protesting against the new pay and grading system imposed by Birmingham council last week, affecting 40,000 staff.

UNISON has branded the structure discriminatory. Though it was designed to end wage inequalities, some workers will lose up to half their pay.