Bin strike called off in Tower Hamlets

A bin strike by refuse workers in Tower Hamlets has been called off.

The union Unite said it's members had accepted an offer that would see then get a one off payment for all permanent staff, increased holiday and all agency workers being brought in house.

Nick West is a regional officer with Unite;

"Our members have voted overwhelmingly to accept an offer put to them by the council after almost two weeks of strike action

Members are expected to return to work on Wednesday and they'll be working overtime to clear the backlog and clear up the borough."

More than 200 workers began strike action on Monday, September 18 after rejecting a national pay offer of a £1,925 rise because they said it was a “real terms pay cut”.

Strike action was due to take place for a total of four weeks until Sunday, October 15 but ended after a pay deal was negotiated between Tower Hamlets Council and their workers.

The impact of the strike saw rotting rubbish spill out onto the streets of London’s East End with residents and business owners complaining about the smell and fearing it would attract vermin and would become a public health issue.

Sunni runs a market stall and told us he's relieved the strike is over

"It's been stinking, it's been terrible, the mountains of rubbish, people were just dumping, just an excuse to dump everything."

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.