Staff at Reading Borough Council could go on strike over a pay dispute.

Public sector workers who work for councils throughout the country are in negotiations for better pay amid what some staff call 'real term pay cuts'.

Pay packages for public sector workers are negotiated between unions and an organisation that sets annual pay called the National Employers.

The organisation offered a pay increase of £1,290 which equates to 5.77 per cent increase for the lowest-paid employees and 2.5 per cent for those in the top payment bracket from April 1.

The unions GMB, Unison and Unite had requested a £3,000 increase or a 10 per cent pay uplift -  whichever amount would be higher - when they submitted a payment claim earlier this year.

While GMB accepted the offer in July, both Unison and Unite members voted to reject it.

READ MORE: Council workers face industrial action ballot after pay offer rejected

Unite represents staff who work in a range of roles, including waste collection, the council's housing team and care staff.

Now Unite is beginning to ballot its members on whether to take industrial action. If staff at the council who are members of Unite vote to take action, strikes could begin later this autumn.

A Reading Borough Council spokesperson confirmed that it is aware of the dispute and has contingency plans in the event of a strike.

The spokesperson said: “Pay increases at the council are subject to national pay bargaining.

“The council is aware that following the rejection of the national pay offer, some unions have taken the decision to ballot their members on taking industrial action.

“It remains to be seen what the outcome of these ballots is and how the pay bargaining process progresses.

“The council has well-developed contingency plans in place should they be necessary to ensure that service delivery is maintained for residents in the event of strike action being taken.”

Reading council is one of 23 local authorities where Unite workers are being balloted.

Clare Keogh, Unite officer for local government warned that council staff may leave the public sector if the payment settlement is not renegotiated.

She said: "Our members are heavily invested in the communities where they live and work.

 "But more than a decade of real terms pay cuts mean that many are being forced to vote with their feet and seek employment elsewhere, as council pay has become so low that they can’t pay their bills."

Members of the Unison which also rejected the latest pay offer are set to vote on whether to take industrial action or not as well.