STRIKE action is set to continue in Wrexham for a further six weeks, Unite has confirmed.

Unite has announced that strike action at both Wrexham and Cardiff councils will continue uninterrupted for a further six week period, prolonging the strike action until the end of November. 

Workers at both councils are already undertaking five weeks of strike action resulting in huge disruption to council services, in particular refuse collections.

Unite members have previously overwhelmingly rejected the local authority employers’ pay offer of just £1,925, a real terms pay cut for workers. 

When the current three weeks of previously announced strike action ends on October 13, workers will remain on strike for a further six weeks, until November 24 in Wrexham.

The announcement from Unite came on the same day Wrexham Council called on the union to end the strike action, with discussions set to take place later this week. 

READ MORE: Wrexham Council issue update on bin collections amid strikes

A Wrexham Council spokesperson said: "Unite asked Wrexham Council to listen to their issues.

"As a result, a formal meeting and individual meetings to listen to Unite have been arranged this week.

"After agreeing to these meetings but before meeting, Unite have put in place a further... weeks industrial action. This action feels like individual trade union representatives are not acting in the interests of council employees.

"The council announced it was facing a £23m financial pressure this year in part due to national pay rises not being funded by national governments.

"In spite of this and because the council recognises the pressures employees are under in a cost of living crises, the council locally put an extra £600k into supporting improvements in (additional) local pay for employees, including removal of lower pay grades in previous years. This was agreed as part of the council's budget setting process in February of this year, and will be in pay packets for the first time in October.

"The national pay offer this year is currently £1,925 which is approximately an 8-9 percent increase for those on lower pay grades.

"The council has also improved the annual salary for trades staff in housing through the move from Red to Green book terms and conditions, which was a further additional £400k cost this year, and will also receive the benefit of the wider change in October.

"For next year the council faces a budget forecast that could see a further gap and pressure of £20m.

"If the council were to agree outside of normal negotiation processes to a further change to local pay and conditions before national pay negotiations for this year are concluded, this £23m plus £20m pressure totalling £43m at present would increase further, and will also mean the council is negotiating outside of agreed social partnerships with all three trade unions.

"The only way the council can address this gap is to cut services and lose jobs across all services in the council, as otherwise it won’t be able to fund these pressures in any other way.

"Meetings were arranged this week to listen to Unite’s concerns and to discuss how to balance loss of jobs with pay increases. However, it is clear Unite are not prepared to discuss or listen given the announcement of strikes before these discussions.

"The council asks Unite to discuss and listen by: concluding national pay negotiations properly, entering into local discussions through recognised processes, and calling off the proposed further... weeks strike until both these processes are completed.

"The council is prepared to listen to the difficult issues employees and the council as a whole faces, as are other trade unions who are meeting without or in advance of any industrial action. Why is Unite not prepared to do this?"

Simon Ellis, Unite full-time official responded by saying: “Unite have been requesting a formal meeting with the Wrexham Chief Executive for over 6 weeks, this was only finally agreed following the intervention of the WLGA and the First Minister.

"Unite is taking this industrial action extremely seriously and we will enter into any meeting with Wrexham Council in good faith. However, we do not feel that WCBC are seriously committed to resolving this dispute, due to the fact that they only initially allowed 30 minutes for a meeting with us this week.

"Following our insistence that this was insufficient to allow a meaningful negotiation they have now extended it by a further 15 minutes. This is still obviously inadequate and a reflection of their insufficient commitment to finding a resolution to end the strike. Following the meeting this week we do not have any further meetings planned between the Chief Executive and Unite."

"Our members are incensed that WCBC have ignored their calls to try and resolve this dispute. Our members should not pay the price for the council’s mis-management of their finances, particularly when they see colleagues in Flintshire earning an average of £1,500 per year more for doing the same job.

"Unite feels WCBC are being disingenuous in their press release regarding council finances as Mark Pritchard previously stated in February 2023 that Wrexham’s budget was the best he had seen in a long time and that there would be no cuts to council services or redundancies.

"Our members are keen to see meaningful and constructive face to face dialogue, rather than responding to inaccurate press releases.

"It is important to note the chief executive has currently also rejected his NJC pay proposal that would see his salary increase by more than double the offer currently rejected by our members."