Cornwall Council industrial action 'not ruled out'

26 January 2011

Future industrial action by staff at Cornwall Council over redundancies and cuts cannot be ruled out, a union says.

Members of the Unison union have voted to accept changes to workers' terms and conditions proposed by the authority.

But the union's Stuart Roden said anger at cuts meant industrial action could still be considered.

The council said it was glad union members voted to accept the proposals and the agreement would help save £6m in the next year and 200 posts.

'Unfairness and unjustness'

Of Unison's 5,000 members at the council, 55% turned out to vote.

Of the voters, 69% accepted the proposed changes, about 1,900 people.

The vote means travel, unsocial hours and subsistence payments will be affected, and there will also be a total pay freeze for next year.

Unison regional organiser Mr Roden said that although the vote meant industrial action was not imminent, it could not be ruled out for the future.

He said: "I think that, as people see the consequences of these cuts, there is more and more anger growing out there.

"It's not just local government workers, it's the health service, it's higher education.

"The more this feeds through and they see the unfairness and unjustness of it all, the more people become more angry."

The council's chief executive, Kevin Lavery, said he believed the vote was "a very good thing because it safeguards services and safeguards jobs".

He said: "Many councils up and down the country are imposing deals on their staff.

"We're really pleased we've managed to do it with agreement from our staff. It really is the least worst option."

The council wants to make the changes to help deliver savings of about £6m in the next financial year.

It is also aiming to save a total of £170m over four years, with about 700 jobs expected to go.