Strike day chaos (From Barry And District News)

Strike day chaos

BARRY children were forced to miss a day's education yesterday as a 24-hour strike caused council services to grind to halt.

Many schools were closed, the library and leisure centre stayed shut and bin bags piled up in the streets.

And locals were told they could face an average £80 increase in council tax if the strikes over a 3 percent pay offer were successful.

But UNISON, the UK's largest union, defended the action.

They claimed Vale of Glamorgan Council staff had been forced to strike by employers' refusal to budge from a "derisory" pay offer, which gave 15p an hour extra to over 270,000 members earning less than £5 an hour.

Officials also stressed that while there was some disruption, many vital services continued as normal.

These included home care, care home staff, respite care centre staff and meals on wheels for vulnerable clients. Emergency cover was provided for certain highways functions.

UNISON general secretary David Prentis told the News: "They (the government) should stop sticking their heads in the sand and pretending this strike has nothing to do with them."

Many local councillors supported the day of action.

Cllr Bob Wilkinson, who represents Court Ward, said: "I'm supporting industrial action. As an elected representative I'm quite prepared to stand on the picket line."

But Vale Council leader Cllr Jeffrey James said: "The three percent pay offer is nearly three times the inflation rate, is the same as the average pay rise within the whole economy and keeps the lowest pay rates 20 percent above the national minimum wage."