Workers at troubled council to be balloted on strikes

More than 700 jobs have been axed at the troubled authority, which is battling to make £71m of savings and is under Government supervision.

It is understood up to another 500 jobs could go this year, and campaigners have claimed vulnerable people will be the ones who suffer.

The union Unison has written to chief executive Rob Vincent notifying him of the intention to ballot its 5,000 members for strike action over cuts to services, jobs and workers conditions.

Jim Board, Doncaster Unison branch secretary, said: “Enough is enough. The council’s threat of further redundancies and attacks on the pay and conditions of thousands of mainly low-paid women workers will have a devastating effect on the front-line services our communities rely on.

“The last thing our members need is to be forced to bear the brunt of Government cuts in job losses and pay cuts to pay for the mess created by the banks.

“Just as important though, is that the last thing Doncaster needs is to see thousands of public sector workers forced from their jobs onto the dole – every one a taxpayer, a home owner, a parent and a contributor to the local economy.”

Mr Vincent warned that cuts were “inevitable”. “The council is faced with making £71m worth of savings and it is inevitable that some of the cuts will affect both staff and residents directly,” he said. “We have been, and continue to look, at which areas we can make the necessary savings.”

Coun Mick Jameson, chairman of the Labour party on the authority, said: “I do not think that a strike would be the correct answer on this occasion, as a local authority we currently do not have a say on the cuts that we are being forced to take.

“Clearly it is right for the trade union to sound out their members but I do not think that strike action will change the situation.”