Shropshire council sacks all staff

(06/07/2011) UNISON members in Shropshire are considering balloting for industrial action after the council sent letters to all 6,500 of its staff, sacking them and saying that it will re-hire them - if they agree to a pay cut.The council says that staff who do not agree to the moves will be dismissed without any compensation.The move came after talks between the union and the Conservative council failed to produce any agreement.UNISON spokesman Alan James told the BBC: "We are advising our members to write into the authority refusing the new contracts and do nothing with the proposals which have arrived through the letter box."We have some time on this and I think the authority has gone about this the wrong way."And he continued: "People are scared and intimidated by the tone of the letter and the way it's been delivered by the authority."