Croydon Council staff are a step closer to striking after union members voted to fight plans to cut sick pay, overtime and annual leave.

Members of Croydon’s Unison branch, which represents the majority of union members within the council, unanimously rejected the council’s “bizarre” plan, which also includes slashing compensation for redundancy.

Council staff are bracing themselves for massive job cuts before Christmas, with up to a third of the 4,500-strong workforce believed to be under threat.

Croydon Unison branch secretary Laurie Pocock said the cuts would do nothing to help the council’s expected funding crisis while causing massive damage to its long-term recruitment needs.

He said: “Our consultation on this has been wide ranging and we’ve found no one who supports this package of proposals.

“We are of course aware that due to the banking crisis the government will be proposing further financial restrictions on local authorities, but we don’t know yet exactly what this may mean.

“Croydon seems to be going it alone in the interests of making a name for itself with the government rather than having regard to the staff it employs, as well as the residents of the borough.”

The massive cut in council jobs is expected as part of the Conservative authority’s plan to outsource many of its services to the private and voluntary sectors.

Councillor Tim Pollard, deputy leader of the council, said he could not give specific information about the cuts ahead of the Government’s spending review, which is expected in October.

He said: “We know that if we are in a position where the settlement we get requires us to make 25 per cent savings we have to be far more efficient in delivering services.

“We are not deluding ourselves - we have to face up to the economic reality we find ourselves in.”