The Bank of England is on course to face its first strike action in over 50 years as a pay dispute threatens disruption.
The Unite union said its members were to walk out for four days from 31 July in protest at, what it said, was the imposition of a 1% pay pot increase that left those eligible at the mercy of line managers’ discretion.
It said there was 95% support in favour of industrial action among maintenance, parlours and security personnel and it would look to escalate the dispute to other departments unless the Bank resolved the issue.
Unite said the ballot showed staff were angered by a below inflation pay offer for the second year running, claiming up to a third would get no pay rise this year at all.
The union’s regional officer, Mercedes Sanchez, said: “Staff at the Bank of England have made their anger clear by voting for strike action due to their employer’s outright refusal to negotiate a fair pay deal for its workforce.
“The Bank of England now faces its first strike action in over 50 years when staff in vital services across the country will be taking action because of the bank’s total refusal to accept that their workforce are struggling to meet theircosts of living.
“The result of the bank’s unwillingness to negotiate fair pay will be that the bank’s sites, including the iconic Threadneedle Street in the city of London will effectively be inoperable without the maintenance, parlours and security staff.”
A Bank of England spokesperson said: “The union balloted approximately 2% of the workforce.
“Should the strike go ahead, the Bank has plans in place so that all sites can continue to operate effectively.
“We will continue to have discussions with Unite and hope that there will be a positive outcome.”
Source: Sky