Unions turn up the heat on Tory council

Members of Unite and Unison at Southampton City Council will take seven days of strike action in the latest stage of a campaign of industrial action by employees.

Unite officials said the action by traffic wardens will lead to a revenue loss of £100,000.

Refuse collection workers have already taken industrial action and have planned to take part in another strike on Saturday, with their unions warning of a growing backlog of uncollected waste.

And industrial action short of strikes such as the removal of private car use to provide services, overtime bans and working to rule, is continuing throughout the entire council as the battle against wage cuts continues.

A mass meeting of Unite and Unison is taking place on Thursday and those in attendance will be addressed by officials, including Unite general secretary Len McCluskey.

Unions said that council staff have been told to accept a pay cut with some care workers reported to be facing double-figure cuts of up to 17 per cent.

Royston Smith, leader of the Conservative-run council, said: "I am confident that the majority of people will abide by the parking rules in the city next week.

"Southampton residents are law-abiding, honest people.

"Anyone using council parking facilities next week is required to pay for parking."

He asked residents to remember parking was an important source of council income, bringing in about £100,000 a week.

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