Strike will affect public services in South Leeds

 

Public services across South Leeds will be affected by a 24 hour strike taking place on Thursday 10 July 2014.

Strike picket line libraryIndustrial action on a range of issues to do with pay and pensions is being taken by council staff, teachers, firefighters and civil servants. Many schools and offices will be closed, bins will not be collected.

Amongst services affected locally, Middleton Leisure Centre will be closed and John Charles will offer a limited programme. The Vale Circles mental health day centre will be closed as will Fulfilling Lives services at Hillside, Middleton Park Cafe and John Charles Centre for Sport. The Belle Isle Centre and St Matthew’s Community Centre in Holbeck will be closed. At the time of writing it was unclear at present whether St George’s Centre or Dewsbury Road One Stop Centre would be open.

Many schools will be closed as teachers, support staff, school meals staff and caretakers take action. Leeds City Council advises parents to contact their school if they haven’t already been informed. Full details of services affected by the strike can be found on the council’s website at www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/Pages/bankholiday.aspx.

Firefighters will be on strike from 10am to 7pm as part of their long running dispute over changes to their pension arrangements.

Moya O’Neill a support worker from Leeds was quoted in The Guardian explaining why staff are going on strike. She said:

“We’re on strike because they seem to think we’re not worth anything. I look after the elderly and people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. They’ve asked us to start working more flexibly. I used to do normal hours, but now I have do the morning and evening shifts till 10.30pm on the same day. We bend over backwards for them, and a miserly 1% pay rise is how they’re going to repay us.”

 

Image by Roger Blackwell used under license.