23,500 set to strike in West Midlands over pensions

More than 23,500 West Midland council workers are set to walk out on strike over controversial pension reforms, latest figures showed today.

School dinners will go uncooked, bins will not be collected and roads will be left unswept as councils are forced to concentrate on emergency cover only on November 30. Unions are angry at plans to make public sector staff contribute more to their pensions and to increase the working age. Meanwhile firefighters have called off their strike plans.

The region's biggest public sector union Unison is still intending to go ahead. Union leaders said there had been a surge in people signing up.

It means 7,224 staff at Staffordshire County Council, 5,032 at Wolverhampton, 2,686 at Walsall, 4,379 at Sandwell, 3,442 at Dudley, 219 at Cannock Chase, 200 at Stafford, 192 at Lichfield, 112 at Wyre Forest and 111 at South Staffordshire councils will be expected to withdraw their labour.

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