Birmingham braced for school strikes

Council's delay to settling equal pay claims to blame.

GMB Union has today announced that workers at Birmingham City Council have voted in favour of supporting strike action.

The outcome comes as Council bosses have been slammed for delaying the settlement of equal pay claims made by low paid women workers at the council.

Workers at thirty-five city schools have voted to back the action, with 96 per cent supporting industrial action.

Strike dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Alice Reynolds, GMB Organiser, said:

"Almost a year since Council bosses admitted an equal pay bill as high as £760 million, not one single women worker has received the money they're owed

"Birmingham City Council owe GMB members money after years of stolen wages, the equal pay crisis only ends when our members claims are settled.

"This is no longer about sending messages; workers are now taking matters into their own hands.

"Birmingham's schools cannot run without our members and this strike action will have a huge impact.

"Council bosses are fast running out of time to fix this."

Birmingham Schools where GMB members have voted to back strike action are:

Colmore junior school

Minworth J & I school

Colmore infant & nursery school

Chad vale primary school

Bordesley green east nursery school

Hodge hill girls school

Newtown nursery school

Nelson Mandela school

Jakeman nursery school

Arden primary school

St. Benedicts infants

Yardley primary school

Marsh hill nursery

Forestdale primary school

Kings heath primary school

Lozells junior & infant school

James watt primary

Clifton primary school

Worlds end junior school

Cherry orchard primary school

Bordesley green primary school

Benson community school

Wheelers lane primary

Stanville primary school

Beeches junior school

St. James c e primary school Handsworth

Redhill primary school