WORKERS in a bitter pay dispute with council bosses have been issued with strike action ballot papers.

Around 2,000 members of the UNISON union who work for North Ayrshire Council are being balloted on strike action over a pay dispute with Scottish council employers.

The dispute was ignited by the announcement in April that council workers in North Ayrshire would receive a a one percent pay increase.

However, this was deemed by UNISON members to be well below inflation but in line with what was described in a statement as the Westminster government’s “austerity drive”.

The union says that the imposition of the one per cent ignored the bargaining machinery that has negotiated pay rises in previous years.

UNISON negotiators claim they were looking for a £1 per hour increase for all workers and full implementation of the living wage (£7.65 per hour) as a minimum level for all council workers.

However they say that the council’s one percent offer “falls short” of their “very modest” claim.

UNISON branch chairperson Colin Turbett said: “It just seems like its one law for the well off and another for the rest of us.

“The bank crisis was nothing to do with council workers and yet we had to pay with it through job loss, including some 800 jobs in North Ayrshire, and real pay reductions for those of us who are left.

“The employers think that they can get away with this because of a general feeling of insecurity in the public sector as the Westminster Government, aided by the Scottish Government, continue to push through austerity and privatisation.

“Sadly our colleagues in the other main council trade unions seem to have accepted this and we are fighting on our own, but as by far the largest local government union, we have a responsibility to our members.

“We believe there is growing anger and are inviting our members to demonstrate this by supporting our call for action.

“We have no wish to cause hardship but strike action is the only way we can show our feelings on this issue.

“Our ballot closes at the end of September and whilst attention is inevitably focused on the Scottish referendum vote just now, life will not change for low paid workers on September 19, whichever way the independence vote goes.” A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council acknowledged the strike ballot saying: “We are aware of the national strike ballot taking place between September 9-29 and we await the outcome.”