The King’s coronation faces “chaos” as traffic wardens in Westminster have voted to strike on the day of the procession, a trade union has said.
The traffic wardens, who are members of GMB, will take strike action on 6 May, the day of the coronation procession and ceremony. They will also take strike action on 2 and 4 of May, and action short of a strike from 1 to 8 May.
The wardens are employed by the council’s contractor NSL and are striking over pay and conditions. The union says the employer has failed to agree to a cost of living pay award, having forced “drastic changes” onto workers’ terms and conditions in a wide-ranging restructure, the union says.
Alex Etches, GMB organiser said: “This is a great example of a simple truth in the world that is rarely acknowledged: that behind each great historical event are hundreds of ordinary workers working behind the scenes.
“Working people like our members might seem to do unimportant jobs, but they are the engines of history.
“This dispute is simply about working people being paid a decent wage for the physically demanding and very important job that they do.
“If NSL fail to make a sensible offer in time, we’ll see just what an important job our members do as the King makes his way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 6 May.
“This is a company which has grown enormously rich off the public purse, all the while leaving our members doing a difficult and dangerous job for less than they deserve.”
novaramedia.com
www.theguardian.com
