A COUNTY-WIDE strike by classroom assistants could be on the cards following Cheshire County Council's decision to force through a pay structure.

Education chiefs at County Hall in Chester have infuriated bosses at the authority's main union, Unison, by agreeing to implement a new pay and grading Single Status structure without their agreement.

Unison is now consulting with its solicitors and this week warned the authority that they could now have a mass walkout out on their hands.

All non-teaching council employees were informed of the authority's decision to force through the Single Status changes in a newsletter sent with their November pay-slips.

About 1,900 teaching assistants - currently earning less than £14,000 and already viewed as significantly underpaid - face cuts of more than £2,000 per year as a result of Single Status. Many professional staff face pay cuts of nearly £6,000 per year.

Cleaners and administration staff may also face pay cuts and are in talks with Unison over a strike next spring.

Teaching assistants are not expected to feel the results of the pay change until next summer but other staff could be affected in March.

Linda Hands, 46, who lives in Moulton and serves as education convener for Unison, has been touring the county to speak to teaching assistants.

She said: 'We have had a lot of people suddenly joining Unison as a result of this. I have been handing out questionnaires and one of the questions asks what sort of action members would be prepared to take. Most are saying they are willing to strike.

'It's not just teaching assistants, it's administration staff as well, because they will not come out terribly well under Single Status.'

Classroom assistants currently receive salaries in a series of scales, Scale 15 being the highest (£13,000+) and Scale 4 the lowest (£10,278), based on experience and years of service. But Single Status would change how classroom assistants are paid.

Most currently work 32.5 hours a week, are classed as full-time and are paid for 52 weeks of the year. But under the new deal, assistants say they will be classed as part-time and will be paid for 45.6 weeks of the year if they have worked for five years or more, or 44.5 weeks for five years or less.

Classroom assistants say being classed as part-time will affect pension rates and cost them £2,000 a year.

'The county council has suggested classroom assistants working extra hours and getting paid overtime, but I can't see anyone willing to take on extra hours for less money that they get at the moment,' said Mrs Hands.

'At the moment we are waiting to see how the county council is going to play it. We don't want to start disrupting school life unless it is absolutely necessary.'

Mrs Hand said teaching assistants would lobby councillors in February at the county council's full meeting.

Keith Bradley, of Unison's Cheshire branch, said: 'We've reached a stalemate with the council. All options are being looked at - including strike action.'