Adur and Worthing Councils' confirm cost of extra waste collections during strike
Additional money had to be spent during the five-week refuse workers strike
Adur and Worthing Councils have confirmed the extra cost of clearing rubbish during a five-week worker strike.
Around 60 refuse, recycling, and street cleansing workers went on strike over pay on March 14.
GMB, the union representing the workers, announced a pause to strike action following an improved pay deal and collections resumed on April 12.
During the strike, the councils employed contractors to ‘skim’ rubbish from ‘high risk’ areas such as communal bins in care homes and blocks of flats.
Skimming bin stores cost £68,950, commercial waste skimming cost £17,040 and extending tip opening hours cost the councils £15,730 – a total of £101,720.
The chief executive had to tap into council reserves to pay contractors – something finance officers had warned against doing at the start of the year – as no budget was available.
Costs have been split based on the number of households with 36 per cent (£36,619.20) charged to Adur and 64 per cent (£65,100.80) charged to Worthing.
Between March 17 and April 14 contractors cleared 98.1 tonnes of rubbish from homes.
An extra 95.8 tonnes of commercial waste was collected during the same period.
Four tonnes of municipal roll waste was collected by contractors over a three day period in April.
The costs will be discussed by the joint strategic committee in June.