COPELAND workers will go on strike next week in a long-running row over cuts to services which a union says could cause "real hardship" to residents and claimants.

Copeland Borough Council staff who work in departments including benefits, revenues and customer services will be taking industrial action on Thursday February 16 from 7.30am to 1pm.

Unison – the union that represents workers in public services – is calling for the mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie and the council to take urgent action to restore the level of staffing across support services, with a particular focus on revenues and benefits.

The union says many staff have already been made redundant over the past two months, and as a result there is a mounting backlog of work.

Jenny Martin, regional organiser for Unison North West, said: "Mayor Starkie's dogged pursuit of financial savings has led to cuts that are starting to bite – and it is the public, service users and staff who are suffering as a result.

"For people going through a difficult time, delays in receiving benefits can cause real hardship.

"The cuts will make it harder for everybody to contact their council to access services, and the cuts in revenues are a false economy that could jeopardise the ability of the council to fund services in future.

"Council staff have chosen to give their working lives to serving the people of Copeland and Mayor Starkie should listen to them.

"Staff are upset about the falling quality of local services and the growing backlog of work they face.

"Mayor Starkie is not employing enough staff to do the job and there is an urgent need for more resources to be invested.

"Unison have suggested alternative budget proposals as well as requesting the intervention of ACAS to resolve this dispute but our proposed solutions have been rejected by the council.

"While council staff have seen their real wages fall in recent years, Mayor Starkie has enjoyed a career in financial advice and has had a 67 per cent pay rise since he became mayor.

"Instead of ploughing ahead with his own pet project, the mayor should listen to the true public servants."

READ MORE: Union claims Copeland Borough Council is set to axe up to 28 jobs

The strike on Thursday will come exactly a week before voters in Copeland go to the polls to decide their next member of parliament following the resignation of Jamie Reed who is taking up a role in the nuclear industry.

Responding to the latest strike, Mr Starkie responded: "For the second year running we are delivering a budget with no cuts to public services, and this year we are actually improving services, by investing more into waste and recycling with the recruitment of an additional crew and the purchase of a new wagon.

"There is also a significant investment into IT to help the council modernise – as it must. My belief is that the residents of Copeland would applaud the measures that have been taken to improve the services we provide and the way the significant financial challenges have been addressed.

"We have worked tirelessly with all of the trade unions during the changes. Unison continue to advocate industrial action for a limited number of employees, that is their right, but it will not increase our funding.

"We cannot spend what we don't have, indeed, delays incurred have already cost the council £50,000 which the people of Copeland can ill afford."

Just before Christmas, unhappy workers at Copeland Borough Council staged a Dickensian themed protest outside the authority's Whitehaven Market Hall offices, carrying placards which called for no job losses.

They then went on strike for half a day on Thursday December 22.

The council's executive will next meet when it discusses the authority's budget later this month.