Council workers walked out this week in a dispute over pay.

The 48-hour walkout began at midnight on Wednesday .

Around 30 staff joined the Unison picket line outside Medway Council’s HQ in Gun Wharf, Chatham.

A rally was also held at The Command House nearby.

Unison, which represents public sector workers across the UK, called the national strike in protest at the government’s pay offer of 2.45 per cent. They are demanding six per cent, saying anything else amounts to a pay cut given rising inflation and increased bills for food and fuel.

With no sign of an agreement in sight there is likely to further strike action in the weeks ahead.

Brain Kelly, Unison branch secretary for Medway, said: “We will have, if necessary, indefinite action to achieve our goal.

“The two days of action this time are a day more than we would usually take and there are already planned strikes for the future to follow on from this.

“Local government have got to be aware that if they do not settle on this issue then it is inevitable that local government workers will link with teachers and civil servants, who are all fighting for the same thing and that will be difficult not just for Medway but for the country as a whole.”

Sympathise

One striker who only wanted to be known as Sarah said: “We would hope everyone would sympathise with us.

“We all came into the public sector to provide a good service and we should be valued for that. This action was not taken lightly and was a last resort.”

Joe Parsons, a library worker, said: “If we took the pay offer we would end up worse off.

“We are often criticised and never praised and undervalued by the government.

“This is something we really need to stand up for and send a message to them for future years.”

There was minimal disruption to front line services with libraries the only major casualty. Strood, Twydall, Rainham, Wigmore, Cuxton and Grain libraries plus the mobile service were shut.

Some schools were affected with non-teaching staff answering the strike call, but temporary staff helped to keep classes running. Unison say council building maintenance staff, social workers, planning department and housing staff also downed tools.

Medway council says every effort was made to ensure critical services were maintained during the strike.

A spokesman said: “We have procedures in place to ensure services are maintained, where possible.

“Temporary staff were placed on standby to ensure there were sufficient numbers available to cover the posts of colleagues who decided to take industrial action.”