Peeblesshire News | News | Strike has little impact in Tweeddale

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Friday, 22nd August, 2008 12:30

Strike has little impact in Tweeddale

By David O'Leary

Comments (0)

Print Article

Strike action caused little impact in Peeblesshire yesterday as union members employed by Scottish Borders Council took part in a one-day nationwide strike over pay.

However, Borders region union leaders declared themselves to be satisfied with the turnout and the publicity it gave their cause.

The council estimated that over 500 staff had elected to strike whilst the unions at time of going to press claimed it was too early to confirm the number.

Several schools were closed throughout the region and refuse collection was also affected. However, Peeblesshire escaped the worst of the strike action.

Edith Moody, chairman of Unison, has claimed that further strikes may follow.

She said: “Unison are meeting tomorrow (Friday) in Glasgow and we will devise any future strategy from this. We hope that CoSLA will now come back to the table with a decent offer.

“If they don’t then we will have no option but to strike again. No union member wishes to cause disruption but it is our last resort.

“The 2.5 per cent offer is derisory, as inflation is expected to rise dramatically in the coming years. Also, being tied to a 3-year offer is unacceptable for the same reason, as no-one knows how the economy will perform during that period.”

SBC leader David Parker estimated last week in the Peeblesshire News that only a small percentage of council staff would in fact strike.

However, he does feel that the dispute needs to be resolved to avoid any disruption in future. He believes that given inflation trends perhaps an annual deal might be better than one covering three years.

Comments