26 April 2002
The ballot will run for four weeks and the result will be known on July 5. The other two unions involved in the dispute, the GMB and the TGWU, are expected to follow suit. The decision was taken after the Employers' Organisation made clear it would not better its 3% flat-rate pay offer.
Unison's head of local government Malcolm Wing said: 'The situation is critical. If the employers are not interested in coming back to the negotiating table, industrial action is certain.'
The unions are demanding a 6% pay rise or £1,750, whichever is greater, for their 1.2m members working in English and Welsh local authorities.
The two sides were supposed to hold talks on April 22, but the meeting was cancelled after the EO reiterated its stand that no new money would be offered.
A spokesman for the organisation said that it would distribute briefing material to local authorities to try to persuade staff to vote against the strikes.
PFapr2002
