Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council strike to go ahead after talks collapse

The council said all services will be affected by the action

A strike at one of Northern Ireland's largest councils will go ahead from Monday 15 August after last-minute talks failed to reach agreement.

More than 1,000 council staff at Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council will take part in the strike in a dispute over pay and conditions.

A strike had originally been planned to start on Wednesday 10 August, but was postponed to facilitate the talks.

The council has said all services will be affected.

It also said it was disappointed by the move.

Members from all three trade unions, GMB, Nipsa and Unite, will be involved in strike action.

In a joint statement, the unions said the strike had been avoidable.

"We have asked management to address the serious and real cost-of-living crisis being faced by our members," it said.

'Pay equality issue'

"We sought and proposed reasonable and varied solutions. This included incremental progression for all grades of staff and one-off payments to alleviate the immediate hardship staff are facing.

"Other councils and the private sector are offering these payments and solutions, yet the council rich in reserves and capital are leaving their staff to suffer."

"It is a pay equality issue," it continued.

"We are just asking for some recognition of our members' contribution since the establishment of the new council."

Further strike action and action short of strike will continue over the following four weeks.

A spokesperson for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council said it had made a number of offers to staff which had been rejected by the trade unions.

These include, it said, an enhanced offer of an organisational-wide pay and grading review, an extra payment to all staff in 2022/23, a commitment to addressing issues of staff structures and a yearly national pay award for all staff.