Strike action: Pickets outside Number One Riverside

Pickets outside Number One Riverside

Members of the Unison and Unite trade unions - on strike today (Thursday 10 July) - formed a picket line outside Number One Riverside in Rochdale town centre.

Sam O’Brien, Communications officer for the Rochdale branch of Unison, said: “Since 2010 we have lost 18% of our wage and if we agree to the terms being offered to us that will increase to 20%.”

Due to the strike action, a number of schools and public services across the borough were affected.

Sam added: “We do difficult, dangerous and sometimes dirty jobs to ensure that the council services run efficiently and that our children are educated and we believe that deserves a fair wage.”

As well as demanding "fair pay", the trade unions want to see the government bring in a living wage for all employees.

“The living wage is the minimum that you are allowed to work for and a lot of our employees in Rochdale are working for less than that. We want to see this brought in for everyone as it is only fair,” said Sam.

All together, 10 unions were striking across the country. As a result of strikes in Rochdale seven libraries and fifteen schools were closed. Out of the remaining schools 36 remained open with 35 being partially open.