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Published:
March 28, 2006
Council-run
services in Burnham and Highbridge disrupted by strike
Scores
of council staff in Burnham-On-Sea
and Highbridge
joined a nationwide strike
in protest at changes to their pensions on Tuesday.
Several
council-run services were
disrupted when workers walked out for 24 hours in protest at changes
to the local government pension scheme, but the towns were not
severely affected.
 Street
cleaning was not performed along Burnham's seafront and the council
offices in Highbridge were closed, where staff set up a picket
line, as pictured above.
A
sign appeared on the door of the district council's cash office
in Highbridge explaining why it was closed.
However,
unlike Bridgwater, where one school was forced to close, all secondary
and primary schools in Burnham-On-Sea stayed open.
Mr
Kerry Rickards, Chief Executive of Sedgemoor District Council,
told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "The
Council is sympathetic to the position adopted by Unison and other
unions and it certainly is not 'business as usual' given that
so many staff feel strongly about their pension."
"Nevertheless,
the council has prioritised where services should be delivered
and with a lot of goodwill amongst those who remained in the work
place, priority areas have been covered; however, this cannot
be sustained over the longer term."
Nine
public worker unions voted for the action after talks broke down
over plans to scrap a rule allowing workers to retire on a full
pension at 60.
One
of those on the picket lines in Highbridge on Tuesday was Shaun
Cahill, a council housing officer. He told Burnham-On-Sea.com:
"There are very strong feelings about this issue."
"I've
contributed for more than 28 years to our pension scheme and want
to retire after 40 years service, but under the new plans I won't
be able to do that. I'll have to work longer - everything has
been changed."
RELATED
LINKS:
Council
says strike won't disrupt Burnham too heavily
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