Sandwell Council building workers to strike causing delays in home repairs

Residents in the borough's 28,000 homes will be hit by longer waits for repairs as the workers walk out for 14 days.

Unite the Union announced today carpenters, bricklayers, roofers, glaziers and painters and decorators are angry that an agreement made in August last year to pay a market supplement of £2,900 that the council itself calculated has been reneged upon.

Negotiations for the market supplement had been ongoing for months before August 2023, with the workers increasingly frustrated that Sandwell council has still not resolved the issue after more than a year.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members have had enough of Sandwell’s disgraceful behaviour. It is refusing to honour an agreement it made over a year ago and making flimsy excuses. These are skilled workers who fully deserve a market supplement in recognition of the higher wages they could earn elsewhere. They are absolutely right to strike and they have Unite’s full support in doing so.”

The workers will strike on February 5, 9, 12, 15, 19, 23 and 26 and March 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18 and 22. Further strike action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved.

The industrial action will seriously impact council property repairs and cause ongoing delays to its maintenance schedules.

Unite regional officer Lee Wiggetts-Clinton said: “Unite has given the council every opportunity over the last year to resolve this dispute. Strike action can still be avoided but that requires the council to pay what it promised.”

A spokesperson for Sandwell Council said: “Housing repair officers provide a vital service for our tenants, ensuring that our stock of more than 28,000 council homes across Sandwell are maintained.

“We understand the concerns Unite have raised on behalf of their members. We will continue to work with them to find a resolution to the dispute and hope that industrial action can be avoided.”