The City of York Council has welcomed a decision by union members not to go ahead with strike action over the single status agreement.

A ballot of Unison members yesterday yielded what a union leader described as a "disappointing" result, with 621 voting against industrial action and 316 voting for.

The council's chief executive, David Clark, said: "I am obviously very pleased that staff have decided not to take action.

"Single status was always something we had negotiated with Unison and I was sorry they felt they needed to consider taking strike action."

He added: "I now hope we can settle down and do what staff at the council do so well - delivering quality services for the city."

Chris Appleton, deputy general convener for the York branch of Unison, said: "This was a disappointing result for us.

"I am against cutting the pay of low-paid workers, but ultimately it's up to the members to decide."

She said the branch committee would be meeting on Monday when it would consider its next step.

She said the union was still advising members not to sign contracts.

Single status aims to impose the same pay and working conditions on blue- and white-collar workers and to reduce working hours from 39 to 37 for manual workers to bring them in line with office staff.

But the implementation cost of £800,000 for the council will mean cuts of up to £400 a year for some white-collar staff.

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