Four months of 'extremely disruptive' bin strikes loom

HOUSEHOLD rubbish collectors have voted for a series of bin strikes in Wrexham.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor [e-mail]

An initial 13 days of industrial action have been pledged with the possibility of more over the Christmas holidays.

The Unite union said the strike action is over “salary reductions” and changes to working patterns. It claimed Wrexham Council had “behaved disgracefully” in pushing through the changes and that the looming industrial action was “completely their fault’

In a vote, 71% of the around 100 affected Unite members voted to strike, with non-collections accompanied by an overtime ban. Unite said that, should the dispute remain unresolved, its members were also considering further action over Christmas when more rubbish is usually collected.

Wrexham Council said it was “extremely disappointed” with the union’s stance following “prolonged consultation” over cost-saving measures needed to ensure the local authority remained financially solvent.

The planned strike days are as follows:

August 23 and 30 September, 6, 13, 20 and 27 October 4, 11, 18, and 25 November 1, 8 and 14. Those taking part are Unite members who work in the street scene operation team at Wrexham Council. As well as refuse workers, the vote affected other street scene staff working in parks, gardens and highways.