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The last three months of walk-outs by bin men, social workers and social care staff over pay cuts of up to 5% have yet to result in a deal which will keep both staff and council managers happy.

The council has got to save £75m over the next four years. The pay cuts contribute towards this and will save 400 jobs, according to council leader Royston Smith.

However, it has been three months since the dispute started and I fear that momentum may be falling away from those wanting to protect their current pay rate.

The reality is that Smith's actions appear to have a reasonable degree of public support. A quick look at the comments this story receives on the local newspaper's website show much distain for those on strike. And why wouldn't the public support him? They get to keep much of their council services, without having to shoulder the big rise in tax or charges, which would surely be necessary to cover the budget gap if pay was not cut.

So the public keep their services, taxes stay low and 400 people, who would otherwise be out of job, get to remain in employment. It seems like an ideal scenario.

Don't get me wrong, if I was facing a pay cut of around 4% while inflation ran at 5% I'd probably be thinking about striking too, but in the political arena Smith's logic seems pretty rock solid.

With that in mind it's difficult to see much prospect for a full scale reversal of the pay-cuts.

However, why aren't the unions trying to leverage their members' loyalty to the council? They could, I assume, go on striking for some time yet as long as negotiations are making little headway, something which isn't in the interests of the council, public or staff.

But if they agreed to take the hit their loyalty may have a financial value to the council.

What I haven't heard suggested is a clause in an agreement, which accepts the pay cuts, which would commit the council to restore pay levels as a matter of first priority when budgets increase, which surely must happen at some point in the future (although the prospect of a double-dip recession would seem to push this further down the calendar). I would also argue those staff who stuck with the council through that period should get an increase in their pay at the same time, to at least make up for inflation.

This sort of loyalty bonus, or share holding type scheme, which sees staff rewarded in good times for taking a pay cut in the bad times would be fairer and more equitable than a straight cut. I suspect many people's biggest fear is that any wage cut will never be reversed.

It would also send the message that council management really do value their staff. That is powerful message to send and one which might just diffuse the dispute.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Social workers and social care workers at Shropshire council will begin to receive ballot papers from tomorrow on whether to call a strike over plans to cut pay by up to 5.4%.

If the strike action goes ahead they would be the second set of council social care staff to strike following weeks of action at Southampton council.

The council has not come forward with any alternatives to its pay cuts of up to 5.4% since it was informed of the union's intention to ballot members last week, according to Unison.

The ballot closes on 8 September.

Only 1,000 of 6,500 workers at Shropshire council have signed up to a new pay deal which cuts pay by up to 5.4%, the Shropshire Star reports.

Unfortunately a breakdown of how many social workers or social care workers are within that number is not available.

Unions in the region said the result was a "disappointment" for the council. However, the council's corporate head of organisational development, Jackie Kelly, said: "We expect plenty more to do so throughout September when the summer holidays are over."

It looks like they are not much closer to seeing eye-to-eye and avoiding strike action.

What a difference a week makes. Only last week David Cameron chose a youth centre in his leafy constituency of Banbury to set out his stance on looters a rioters and England's major city.

One assumes he chose the local youth centre to highlight just the kind of services which he thought could make a real difference.

But today youth workers in his own constituency are striking budget over cuts, which the union Unite argue will result in 80 job losses, the Independent reports.

You'd have to be naive in the extreme to claim that those cuts at a local level are not connected to those made at a national level by Cameron. It'll be interesting to see if Cameron, as the local MP, will make any effort to intervene.

Image by David Hartley/Rupert Hartley/Rex Features

There is a rather interesting piece by Jonathan Parker, director of the Centre of Social Work & Social Policy at Bournemouth University, over at Huffington Post this morning.

In it he says:

"Social work has constructed an edifice of anti-oppressive practice sometimes decorated with the inanities of political correctness that hampers its position to mediate and negotiate a pathway that re-engages individuals with their society. By a misplaced refusal to judge behaviours and actions, or to remove services, in common language 'to punish', those who traverse, often at great cost to others, the rules of engagement with that society. What the riots indicate for social work is that personal behaviour and actions are not to be equally valued if a society is to function and serve its members appropriately. Perhaps for too long social workers have been content to stand outside of the policies and workings of society when it suits, whilst still being employed, in the main, by local government."

Do you think the riots indicate that social workers are too disconnected from society and that they should perhaps be a little more value based in their decisions?

I'm not sure I do. Perhaps it is more simple than that, maybe there just aren't enough of them or funding for the support they hope to provide.

Southampton council will bit hit by a second wave of strikes from social workers, angry at pay cuts of around 5%, tomorrow as talks remain deadlocked.

Unions and the council have not made any progress since social workers staged a one day walk out last week. Although the local paper reports a deal may have been brokered in preparation for tomorrow's mass meeting of union members, when I spoke to union officials earlier today they were downbeat on the prospect of a deal. However, they may have just been doing that so as not to be pressured to reveal any details ad both parties have agreed to keep talks confidential.

Though I dare say accusations by the council leader that strikers are only walking out because they are on full pay from the unions, are doing little to smooth over the situation.

However, the local paper also reports today that an employment tribunal hearing over the mass dismissal and reemployment of staff has been postponed at the council's request, so maybe there is progress.

A meeting of all union members is scheduled for tomorrow to discuss further action.

In case you missed it here's our podcast on last weeks strikes.

Lib Dem MPs queued up to praise David Cameron's Big Society agenda (above) at the party's annual conference in Liverpool today.

Children's minister Sarah Teather said the qualities of "localism, pluralism and diversity are what the Liberal Democrats are all about", she said at a fringe event on the issue.

"I don't care which party it might have come from, the Big Society is a liberal concept."

Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, was cautiously optimistic and said it was important to capitalise and build on existing social networks, such as community councils and housing co-operatives. 

He was most concerned that local authorities, police forces and other statutory organisations should welcome volunteers as part of their workforce.

"We must change the culture that says you have to have paid people in public services."

Meanwhile poll results from IPSOS Mori found views among the public were mixed. Half of people said they had heard of the Big Society and half said they hadn't, while 54% said they thought it was a good idea in principle but wouldn't work in practice. More than half (57%) it was an excuse by government to save money by cutting back services.

Ben Page, chief executive of IPSOS Mori, said there was a high level of volunteering during the Labour government but failed to rise, despite the investment made in trying to increase it.

Speakers and delegates were generally upbeat about the chances of the Big Society prospering, but Page closed his presentation with a warning.

Some people thought they should get involved personally, according to the poll, but more widespread was the view that "people liked the idea of other people getting involved".

Disabled people's minister Jonathan Shaw has lost his Parliamentary seat in Chatham and Aylesford in the 2010 general election.

The former social worker was beaten by Conservative candidate Tracey Crouch, who is a daughter of a social worker and insurance broker.

Shaw told the Medway Messenger he was proud of his contribution to the local community after 13 years' service, particularly in improvements to the NHS, public buildings and higher education.

He joins other Labour ministers Angela Smith, Bill Rammell and Vera Baird to find themselves out of jobs after a poor show for the party in the election.

The essential attributes for those advising the government on bodies such as the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs are expertise and independence of any political party. Such bodies are only useful if they review the science around the issue with an understanding greater than lay people (including politicians).

It was therefore, to me, profoundly shocking to hear Home Secretary Alan Johnson criticise the sacked chair of the advisory council Professor David Nutt for speaking out against government policy.

Care services minister Phil Hope certainly put in the miles for this year's National Children and Adult Services Conference in Harrogate. On Wednesday he had planned to speak at a number of events. He managed to give an interview to Community Care and take part in a double act on the Adult Green Paper.