Bank of England staff vote on strike

Staff at the Bank of England have started voting on whether to hold a strike this year in protest at below- inflation pay rises.

Unite, Britain’s biggest union, is consulting members on whether to take industrial action at the 323-year-old bank, which employs around 3,600 people, after they were awarded a 1% pay rise for this year.

The union, which represents workers in security, catering, legal, human resources, and other services at the Bank of England, said the pay offer was “derisory” and the second year in a row that employees have faced a pay offer that is lower than inflation, resulting in a fall in income in real terms.