A UNION warned East Dunbartonshire is facing "a summer of discontent" after over 1000 members voted overwhelmingly for a walk out in a dispute over terms and conditions cuts including slashing staff holidays.
Around 97 per cent voted for strike action to the largely female workforce – employed by East Dunbartonshire Council (EDC) and its offshoot East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust (EDLC).
It comes after hundreds GMB workers in East Dunbartonshire last month voted for strike action over the same dispute in what the union said was the authority's "latest instalment of austerity shame".
READ MORE: East Dunbartonshire council workers vote for strike action in austerity row
Unison held the ballot amongst 1300 members following what it called an "attack on terms and conditions by the Liberal Democrat/Conservative-controlled council" which would see three days cut from holiday entitlement; scrapping of enhanced overtime rates; reducing the time when unsocial hours payments apply and slashing the payments to employees who volunteer for redundancy.
Staff balloted include school support staff, care staff, social workers, administration and clerical officers and managers. The EDLC workers included leisure assistants and librarians.
The union said of the proposed holiday cut: "It means less time off for members to spend with their family and friends – this is effectively a pay cut and means staff work longer for the same money."
Simon Macfarlane, Unison regional organiser, has warned that they are now expecting to take strike action across four days.
He said: “Unison members have voted in large numbers to take strike action to resist these dreadful cuts.
"This shows the incredible strength of feeling in this dispute and these workers – most of whom are female and many low-paid part-time workers – deserve much better from their employer. These employees are struggling with the impact of needless austerity daily, they have suffered years of real-terms pay cuts and have stretched themselves physically and mentally to try and maintain vital services which have been cut to the bone.
READ MORE: East Dunbartonshire left in turmoil as SNP group walks out
“Instead of praising them, the Lib Dem/Tory administration is attacking its own workers. Cutting three days leave means less time for our members to spend with their loved ones and will add stress and strain to those with caring responsibilities. Their children will bear the brunt of the financial impact, not to mention the time they’ll miss out on with their parents as the cut in leave is equivalent to two and half months less with mum or dad in the life of a child from birth to 18.
“The decision to move to industrial action hasn’t been taken lightly. But with employees facing such massive cuts they have been left with no other option.
“Our members have returned this result in the knowledge that, if we need to call them out on strike, we will be looking to take action across four days – action that will be massively disruptive to services and will result in lost wages for our members.
"We don’t want to strike, however, our members are clear that they will bear the pain to stand up for what is right. Even at this late stage there’s still time for councillors to think again and agree to reverse their decision on these devastating cuts to terms and conditions.”
Last month three-quarters of GMB members who took part in an East Dunbartonshire ballot backed strike action, with the turnout for the vote 97 per cent.
The union said it now had a clear legal mandate for workers delivering services such as bin collections, street cleaning and home care to go on strike.
The council said at the time it hoped a strike could be avoided through negotiations.
Unison ballot results
In March the NASUWT teachers union began strike action by at three schools in East Dunbartonshire.
The union said the strike was over management practices including administrative tasks and class cover at East Dunbartonshire Council.
The schools affected were Kirkintilloch High School, Lenzie Academy and Bearsden Academy.
The council failed to secure an interim interdict in the Court of Session to prevent the action.
Members of the EIS and the SSTA were not involved in the strike.
The NASUWT said it planned to target Scottish councils that failed to support teachers to improve their workload and working conditions.
East Dunbartonshire Council were approached for comment.
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