Bank of England is facing first strike action for half a century

Bank of England workers are to stage a four-day strike in a dispute over pay.

Members of Unite will walk out from July 31.

The announcement follows a 95% vote in favour of action.

Unite members working in the maintenance, parlours and security departments will go out.

The union warned if the bank fails to resolve the pay row it will be consulting its members across other departments as part of a plan to escalate the dispute.

Unite said staff were angry at being given a below-inflation offer for a second year, while up to a third will get no pay rise in 2017.

“The Bank of England now faces its first strike action in over 50 years when staff in vital services across the country will be taking action because of the bank’s total refusal to accept that their workforce are struggling to meet their costs of living,” regional officer Mercedes Sanchez said:

“The result of the bank’s unwillingness to negotiate fair pay will be that the bank’s sites, including the iconic Threadneedle Street in the City of London will effectively be inoperable without the maintenance, parlours and security staff.”

A Bank of England spokeswoman said: “The Bank has been informed of industrial action being called by Unite the union. The union balloted approximately 2% of the workforce.

“Should the strike go ahead, the Bank has plans in place so that all sites can continue to operate effectively.

“We will continue to have discussions with Unite and hope that there will be a positive outcome.”

Picture: PA. The Bank of England’s headquarters in London.