Wiltshire traffic wardens December strike to go ahead

The strike will cover Saturday, 10 December and the following Saturday

Traffic wardens are to go on strike for one week, covering two busy shopping weekends in the run-up to Christmas.

The GMB union says its members across Wiltshire will start their industrial action on Saturday over plans to remove an unsociable hours payment.

It says the plans were shelved after strikes in May, but the council put them forward again in August.

Wiltshire Council says it offered a "generous four-year pay protection" and says it is still open to talks.

The council has previously denied agreeing to permanently protect the pay for existing workers.

The union claims the proposals would result in traffic wardens losing around £2,000 a year and social workers, who it says are also affected, losing as much as £3,500 a year.

Keith Roberts, GMB Regional Organiser, said: "In the current cost-of-living crisis, actually taking money away from staff is crazy, and even the suggestion of a future pay cut has caused a crisis of retention and recruitment.

"The way forward is clear: Wiltshire council just needs to drop the stupid idea of cutting their key worker pay."

In response, Wiltshire Council said it had held talks with the GMB on Friday, facilitated by ACAS, and had adjusted the terms of its original proposal, changes which had been accepted by the UNITE and Unison unions.

'Generous' offer refused

It said the GMB had come to the talks with "no new proposals" and had made it clear it would not accept anything less than "lifetime protection" for current staff.

Wiltshire Council Chief Executive Terence Herbert said: "We are disappointed this strike action will go ahead and that GMB refuses to work in the best interests of its members.

"Civil Enforcement Officers who strike will see an impact in their salaries in January as a direct result of the GMB's refusal to accept a generous four-year pay protection with an agreement to conduct a pay review during that period."