PARKING wardens in Reading are among those striking over pay through December and January.
Unite Union has announced that there will be a free parking “bonanza” in the coming weeks as union members who are part of the Modaxo parking enforcement teams are set to stage industrial action.
Reading Borough Council is among those who outsource some of its parking protection to the Modaxo, with nearly 40 civil enforcement officers set to strike.
Modaxo is the transport-focused division of Constellation Software Inc – a publicly-traded global technology company with $4 billion in consolidated revenues.
The dispute is in relation to what Unite calls Modaxo’s failure to address concerns around rates of pay.
Civil Enforcement Officers are currently on £12 per hour, which Unite says is significantly lower than the rate they would be paid if they were directly employed by the council.
Industrial action is set to take place from December 16-21 and from December 26 to January 1.
Only parking officers outsourced to the company will be on strike, and in-house parking enforcers employed by the council will not be on strike.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Modaxo is a huge multinational conglomerate making billions in revenue and yet sees fit to penny-pinch and pay poverty wages to our members in Reading.
“These workers will have the full support of Unite in this battle for fair pay.”
Unite regional officer Richard White added: “Modaxo relies on its workers to bring in revenue from parking enforcement. Without them, Reading will turn into a parking free-for-all over the Christmas period as pay-and-display areas will see almost no enforcement.”
