UNITE has confirmed that its membership in construction and some environmental services in Dundee City Council are to be balloted for industrial action, and action short of a strike.
The union said more than 500 workers will receive a ballot due to the ‘imposition’ of a council policy on compulsory redundancies, limits on flexible retirement, and reductions in the pay protection for staff moved to lower grade posts without the agreed consultation taking place.
Unite and other unions involved in the dispute will host a demonstration in the City Square on 3 June to protest against these changes. Unite added that if the industrial action ballot is successful, strike action and an overtime ban is expected to take place from early July to the middle of October 2019.
George Ramsay, Unite regional industrial officer, said, “All Dundee City Council workers want to be respected and treated with dignity. However, the council have breached all their agreed procedures including the Fair Work Charter through the implementation of these changes. As we warned a few months ago, unless the council reversed their decision, which was passed with zero consultation, then Unite would ballot all our members across the whole authority. The construction and some environmental services workers are the first in a series to receive ballots for industrial action which will allow workers to clearly demonstrate their anger at the attack to their terms and conditions.”
