AS many as 31 primary and five secondary schools throughout the borough have now confirmed they will close due to public sector strikes tomorrow (Wednesday).

Only 18 of Hillingdon’s 69 primary schools will remain fully open and six secondary schools will be partially open because of national industrial action over pensions, workload and pay.

South Ruislip Early Years and Children’s Centre will be closed, as will all day centres for people with learning disabilities.

Waste services will also be affected, as the waste and recycling centre in South Ruislip will be closed for the day.

Residents are advised to use their Hillingdon Firstcards to access the Harefield site on New Year’s Green Lane.

The benefits, council tax and housing needs services will all be operating as normal but with reduced staff.

Brunel University confirmed that some of its staff will be taking part in industrial action.

“Most services and operations should run as normal, although there may be disruption in some areas, ” said a statement.

The university also urged staff affected by action elsewhere to avoid bringing their children into work. They said staff should make prior arrangements or make up work hours at another time.

Council leader Ray Puddifoot said: “The strikes are a futile gesture. It will cause some discomfort to some of our residents, and those residents can do absolutely nothing to affect the case of the union people on strike.

“It won’t make any difference. Will the Government take any notice? No they won’t.”

Cllr Puddifoot questioned how representative the ballots for action had been.

“I think public sector pensions are unsustainable,” he said. “There can be no exception for the public sector. They cannot justify the rest of the working population working longer and paying more to keep public sector pensions at the current rates. How do they think that is fair?”

Labour group leader Mo Khursheed said that, while he could understand the reasons for striking, he did not think it was the right way to solve the issue and that Hillingdon Conservatives would not listen anyway.

Hillingdon Against Cuts secretary and former Labour councillor Wally Kennedy said public sector workers had been forced to take industrial action.

“It makes little difference what Hillingdon Council has to say,” he said. “But the Government has to listen. If you look at the opinion polls, nearly 80 per cent of all young people support a one-day strike tomorrow and nearly two-thirds of all the population support the strikes.”

A rally and march will take place in Uxbridge town centre at noon and there will be picket lines outside public buildings.

More than 24 unions with three million members are expected to strike in the UK tomorrow in what is expected to be the biggest day of industrial unrest since the Winter of Discontent in 1979.

A full list of Hillingdon schools and services affected are on http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=24084