Council workers to vote over possible pay strike

Workers at several councils across England will vote on whether to strike in a dispute over pay.

The ballot will be for about 1,000 members of staff who are part of Unite the Union, mainly involved in housing maintenance work, like plumbing and heating engineering.

Initially the vote will be for those at Durham, Leeds, Stoke-on-Trent, Dudley, Southwark, Newham and Bristol councils - however Unite has said it is possible that more local authorities could follow.

The union has rejected a 3.2% pay offer, a spokesperson said.