SECRETLY planned talks aimed at ending strike action in Southampton have been called-off by the council, unions claim.

Talks through the independent mediation service ACAS had been pencilled in for this afternoon but the council insisted it made clear the meeting was not confirmed.

Unison regional organiser Andy Straker said: "This demonstrates that Southampton City Council never wanted to negotiate with the trade unions.

"With rubbish piling up on the streets and further strike action due to take place from Monday all the council chief executive and leader can do is sit in their offices and sulk.

"This city needs leadership from its civic officers and all it gets is silly games from grown men acting like silly boys."

Up to 2,400 Unite and Unison members at the council are in the seventh week of industrial action over proposed cuts to pay and conditions.

Council staff have been threatened with dismissal if they don't sign up to the new contracts coming in on Monday.

Two and a half days of talks collapsed in stalemate two weeks ago, despite a final offer from the council to remove half of its staff from proposed pay cuts of between two and 5.5 per cent.

Unions said today they had offered to drop a pre-condition requiring a withdrawal of dismissal notices for negotiations to re-open around savings.

But the council chief executive Alistair Neill this morning insisted the final offer did not require a further meeting for it to be accepted.

The council says the pay cuts will protect 400 jobs as it seeks to make savings of more than £65m over the next four years.

Council leader Royston Smith said: “A further meeting with the unions and ACAS was considered but has not been arranged.

"The unions have so far refused to remove their precondition which prevented them from entering into any meaningful dialogue in the earlier meetings.

"Without this precondition being removed there is little point in meeting.

"The council has also made a final offer which remains on the table and which the unions and our staff understand.

"We do not need a meeting to discuss this offer but would happily meet to talk about implementing our proposal.”