Council workers staged a rally outside Brighton Town Hall yesterday in protest at pay rises.

About 50 staff gathered to gauge opinion on the offer of a 7.7 per cent pay rise over two years. Unison branch representative for Brighton and Hove, Steve Foster, said: "The offer has been in for ten days and it is clear people are not happy. They are not going to roll over."

Sandra Goodair, who works in the council's finance department, said: "I'm not happy with the offer. I hope we reject it."

Ken Bodfish, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "I am aware of the pressures employees face with the high cost of living and working in the city. The reality is we could only afford to pay staff higher wages than nationally agreed if we reduced the size of the workforce.

"Our first priority will always be the provision of top-rated services for the people of the city. Our employees are central to this but we have to be realistic about the resources we have to reward staff and, above all, to provide residents with services."

Yesterday's scheduled strike was suspended by agreement while unions and employers decided whether the offer was acceptable.