By Adrian Mullan

a.mullan@ulsterherald.com

The two-day NIPSA and Unison strike by public servants working in councils, education boards and other bodies had a somewhat inauspicious start in Omagh on Wednesday morning. All of the district council's services continued to operate as normal despite the fact that staff had been called out by the unions to strike for a pay increase.

There has been a suggestion that a greater number of white-collar council staff came out on strike but many blue-collar workers were on duty in defiance of the union call.

The unions have rejected an offer of a 2.5% pay increase which is below the rate of inflation, now running at between 3.3% and 3.5 %.

A spokesperson for the council said it was hard to say how many staff had heeded the union's call to strike because this is traditionally the holiday period and many people are already off on annual leave.

Nevertheless, Omagh Leisure Centre, the council's bin collection service and the civic amenity site were all running as normal, as were all of the other departments and functions of one of the main public service employers here.

Only about six members of staff manned the official picket line at the council. However, the timing of the strike rather than staff sentiment may have had more bearing on that.

There was also a picket line at the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) in Omagh and it was reported that the strike was much better supported there.

A WELB spokesperson said, "Seven libraries, one teachers' centre, one district office and the Technology Education Centre were closed as a result of strike action in the WELB area."

Anton McCabe, a spokesman from Omagh Trades Council welcomed the response by education sector workers and claimed also that more local government staff had turned out than Omagh council was admitting. He said that the council was running on a skeleton staff.

"It is a disgrace that staff are having to take this action for a 50p an hour increase," he said. "There is also the danger that if the government gets away with treating unionised public service workers so shabbily, employers in the private sector will put the boot in totally."

A NIPSA spokesman said that the strike had been well supported in Derry with a large contingent of staff at the North-west College turning out, with some two dozen people on the picket line. Likewise, at Derry and Strabane council offices the pickets numbered over a dozen.

Speaking on behalf of council employers in Northern Ireland, Councillor Jimmy Spratt said "Council employers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been in discussions with the trade unions regarding pay for some months now and have proposed increases in pay that are at the limit of what we can afford. The action by those unions that have voted for industrial action is particularly regrettable in light of the fact that only about 7% of employees covered by this pay offer have actually voted to strike".

He went on to say "The pay offer that has been made, we believe, maintains local government as an attractive place to work whilst still being affordable to the ratepayer. The offer of 2.45% with £100 extra for the lowest three pay grades is at the limit of affordability and represents our best, and final, offer."