UNISON’s national strike ballot for local government workers has closed. At Hampshire County Council 70.91% voted for strike action on a 25.49% turnout, this is broadly in line with the national average (75% voted for strike action on a turnout of 31.4%).

As the ballot was disaggregated, strike action can be taken at those employers where UNISON passed 50% turnout threshold imposed by the anti-union laws. However our local government committee have agreed to wait for the outcome of the Unite strike ballot before deciding next steps.

A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered to call members during the ballot, and to everyone who voted and raised awareness with colleagues. Although we need significant improvement in our turnout to take action in future, progress has been made since our 2021 ballot where turnout was only 12.5% (less than half of what we achieved this time round).

We’ll keep you posted as soon as the branch hears more, if you have any questions contact unison@hants.gov.uk

In solidarity

Callum Williamson

Branch Secretary

Hampshire UNISON