Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged to tackle poverty wages for local government workers at the GMB conference yesterday — but refused to support planned strike action over the issue.

Up to two million public workers could go on strike over pay and conditions on July 10, including members of the GMB, Unison, Unite, NUT and PCS.

Mr Miliband said that dialogue was the only option despite the GMB confirming that the authorities were refusing to engage in talks.

He told GMB delegates in Nottingham that Labour and the trade unions shared an agenda to reinstate “the vital link between working people’s family finances and the wealth of the nation.”

“There’s a low-pay epidemic in this country. It has not happened overnight. It has been coming for generations. And it shames us all.

“Let’s today congratulate the 26 Labour councils which are already leading the way in moving to a living wage.” he said.

But  Mr Miliband refused to support the planned industrial action by hundreds of thousands of local government workers struggling on poverty wages.

He said: “The answer has got to be to carry on discussions between the Local Government Association (LGA), between the councils and the workforce.

“That is the only answer because you’ve got Labour councils and other councils facing these cuts from Westminster and you’ve got low-paid workers who are in incredible difficulty.

“We’ve got to see what we can do for those low-paid workers, we’ve got to keep these discussions going.”

GMB national officer Brian Strutton announced on Tuesday that local government members of the union will vote at the end of the week on whether to take industrial action on July 10.

He said the GMB weren’t the ones who stopped dialogue.

Mr Strutton said: “The problem with what Ed had to say was that it isn’t us who have walked away.

“We been told there’s no point in anymore discussions. If Labour can have some sway of the LGA and get the talks going again that would be very welcome.”