HALTON youth workers launched a day of industrial action after claiming staff are getting a raw deal over pay and working conditions.
Bob Allen, national president of the Community & Youth Workers Union (CYWU) and its Halton branch vice-chairman, told the Weekly News that up to 50 front line youth workers - representing a large proportion of the youth workers employed in Halton - joined a national strike in a 24-hour stoppage on Tuesday.
But that morning, David Howard, operating director for the Connexions service, formerly the Government's career advisory service, disputed the figure and said just a handful of workers took action on the day.
Yet striking employees claimed that Connexions could not know how many people were on strike as the numbers and identities of union members numbers were confidential and said that numbers had increased by the afternoon.
Strikes took place at Connexions on Albert Road and at Grangeway, Runcorn, as well as in Warrington.
The union's Halton branch is joining national demands for a range of measures to improve the service to young people and their own working lives.
They claim that youth workers are being expected to pull out the stops to meet Government targets without an increase in pay and more staff to share the extra burden.
Mr Allen said that the borough needs a further 11 youth workers to meet the Government target of one worker to every 400 young people aged 13-19. They claim to have identified a shortfall in the funds available to the Youth Service.
Mr Allen said: 'The current position of too much being done by too few for too little has to end. We are demanding a substantial pay rise and improved salary structure for the skilled and demanding work we do with young people.'
