The leaders of Unison, Britain's biggest trade union, are considering a call by activists for co-ordinated strike action across public services.

The union has 1.3 million members in a wide range of sectors, including council services, education and health.

Its national executive is studying an amendment to a motion up for debate at its annual conference in Brighton next week, which argues that "consistency across the sectors in submitting pay claims strengthens our hand in each sector".

It concludes that "to truly obtain the benefits of such common claims, there should be a far greater degree of discussion and co-operation between the sectors over the later stages of any disputes, particularly looking to co-ordinate, where practical, legal and authorised industrial action across more than one sector".