LAST week, you printed a letter from the London-based Local Government Employers' Secretary, Charles Nolda about the continuing pay dispute.

He knows nothing about local circumstances and has no idea what local Worcestershire councils can afford.

Council pay, especially that of part-time women, has fallen progressively behind the pay of other workers in the public and private sectors.

Eighty-five per cent of my Unison branch are women, but they earn just 66 per cent of what the men earn.

When average UK earnings are £19,406, two thirds of local government staff earn less than £13,044. People providing vital services in the community - home care assistants, classroom assistants, cleaners, caretakers - are paid less than shelf-stackers and shop assistants.

The recruitment problems in Social Services mean that people are stuck in hospitals - so-called "bed blockers"- while councils are forced to pay for places in private care homes, often paying between £380 and £550 per week.

That does not make economic sense. That's what council taxes are being spent on.

If you want decent, high-quality public services, then the staff deserve a decent living wage. That's why, with some exemptions, so that people are not left in bed all day, we will again be on strike on August 14, unless the employers come up with a better offer.

ADRIAN GREGSON,

Unison Branch Secretary,

County Hall,

Nunnery Wood,

Worcester.