COUNCIL employees will hold a rally on the town hall steps to call on the authority to increase their pay by £1 an hour, across the board.

The public sector union Unison, which represents Bolton Council’s 11,000-strong workforce, has organised the demonstration on February 4 as part of a national pay claim.

In the draft budget for the next financial year – which will be debated by councillors in February – deputy chief executive Steve Arnfield assumes a pay award of one per cent for public sector works for each of the next three years.

But under Unison’s proposals, council employees on the minimum wage would see their pay go up by 15.5 per cent.

Branch secretary Bernadette Gallagher said workers have put up with pay freeze and one per cent rises for too long – and that they deserved better, adding: “We have people struggling to pay bills and turning to food banks.

“A large proportion of our members are low paid and often women workers who are struggling to keep the wolf from the door. Enough is enough. We need action to tackle the growing cost of living crisis.

“We are not asking for the huge increases and bonuses of Britain’s executive board-rooms.”

The rally takes place between 12.30pm and 2pm on the steps of Bolton’s town hall square on Tuesday, February 4.