Penrith's two week bin strike beginning on Monday, could become four

First two weeks of October could see Penrith’s bins go unemptied after the GMB put their workers into industrial action.

Dozens of staff at Urbaser, who hold the contract for refuse collection, will take industrial action from October 2 to 13.

It's now been revealed by a union representative the strike could be extended to four weeks, however they have until Monday to fully decide.

Workers including drivers, loaders and cleaners are calling for a pay rise to help ease the cost-of-living crisis.

Michael Hall, GMB Regional Organiser, said: "All these workers are asking for is fair pay. They deserve a decent wage for the vital work they do.

"The only realistic way to achieve this is to bring the service back in house, but Urbaser bosses don’t want to hear it.

"We are happy to talk anytime to resolve this dispute. We urge Penrith council/the employer to speak to us and sort this out."

In response to the strike, Andy Turner, Regional Operations Manager at Urbaser said: "The GMB Union has officially notified us of an impending strike at our Eden depot due to a pay dispute, scheduled to start on 2nd October and running for two consecutive weeks.

"We are proactively taking measures to address this situation. Resources will be deployed on a daily basis to minimise any inconvenience; therefore, our advice to residents is to continue placing your blue bags out for collection as per your regular schedule.

"If by chance your bag is not collected by day's end, kindly leave it in place, if it is safe to do so, and we will aim to have it collected the following day.

"We hope to reengage in constructive discussions with GMB Union in the near future, but in the meantime, we wish to reassure residents that our main priority remains the continuity of front-line services."

Westmorland and Furness Council also issued a statement on the industrial actions.

"We are obviously disappointed that the recent negotiations on a pay deal between the union and the contractor have not been resolved and that this has resulted in strike action.

"This action may result in some disruption to our contracted waste and environmental services and we appreciate that this will be frustrating for our residents in the Eden area of Westmorland and Furness.

"At this stage, the advice to residents in the Eden area is to continue putting out your blue bags for collection on your scheduled collection day. Urbaser have informed us that they are prioritising services to ensure collections of residual waste (blue bag) during the industrial action. If this situation or advice changes then further information will follow.

"Please note that this industrial action does not impact recycling or green waste collections in the Eden area as these are provided under a different contract.

"The action also does not impact waste, recycling or green waste collections in the Barrow or South Lakeland areas of Westmorland and Furness.

"Council-operated recycling ‘Bring Sites’ and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will continue to open and operate as normal during the period of industrial action."

((News))