The government must intervene to prevent a 24-hour strike by council workers in several regions throughout the UK, the public service union, Unison, has said.

The strike by workers in Northern Ireland, England and Wales is due to take place on Wednesday.

Workers are demanding a pay rise of 6% - twice what their employers have offered.

There comes a point where people have no choice but to stand up and say enough is enough, we need that money.

Kevin O'Brien Unison

Unison spokesman Kevin O'Brien called for increased funding for councils so they can pay their staff a fair wage.

"People have got to live and if you consider just the housing market alone people cannot afford to pay their mortgages," he said.

"It is all very well to say oh, it is local government again, it is the bin men again or whatever but these people have got to live and there comes a point where they have no choice but to stand up and say enough is enough, we need that money."

Last month, more than 1.4 million local government workers voted for a series of one-day stoppages, with the first scheduled for 17 July.

The councils have told the unions that they will not get a higher pay offer by going on strike.

If the stoppages go ahead, they will be the first national council workers' strikes since the 1979 Winter of Discontent that helped bring down the Labour government.

The workers are the biggest bargaining group in Europe and include cleaners, school meals staff, refuse collectors, social workers, architects and housing benefit employees.