Trade unionists to join strikers in Wigan at town hall

Staff from Addaction - which is now known as We Are With You - will gather at 4.30pm, ahead of a full meeting of Wigan Council.

Among the speakers will be Unison’s general secretary Dave Prentis, North West regional convenor Rena Wood and North West regional secretary Kevan Nelson.

The support workers in Wigan and Leigh have now taken a total of 16 days of strike action for pay rises they say they were repeatedly promised by their employer.

They are also aggrieved that bosses spent £140,000 rebranding the organisation, rather than awarding a pay rise.

The workers claim We Are With You reneged on a promise to ensure their pay – as former NHS employees whose roles were transferred to the charity – kept pace with health service employees doing similar jobs.

The long-running dispute saw employees take strike action for 11 days in 2019.

A ballot in January returned 100 per cent support for more strikes to secure fair pay and address management failings affecting the quality of care clients receive, trade union Unison says.

The current strike started on Thursday and runs until today.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who has been campaigning to become Labour leader, and Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue braved the wind and rain to join the striking workers on the picket line on Friday.