THE THREAT of strikes today hangs over one of Southampton's largest employers, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Staff voted by a landslide to take industrial action in a row over pay.

Union leaders have warned bosses to come to the table with more money or face a "bitter and protracted" dispute.

Staff, who earn an average of £30,073, will begin working to rule on Monday.

Members have rejected a two-year final offer of 3.8 per cent in the first 12 months and 3.6 per cent in year two.

Unions claimed the deal would leave "large numbers" of staff at the national mapping agency with below inflation rises.

OS, which employs 1,200 people in the city, said it was "disappointed" at the outcome of the ballot and that it considered its offer to be "fair, realistic and affordable". It is the first serious unrest faced by the mapmaker's chief executive Vanessa Lawrence, who saw her pay increase by £10,000 to £175,000 last year.

More on this story in today's Daily Echo