Three-week bin strike to begin amid ongoing dispute

The GMB union has announced that strike action will begin on 2 July

Three weeks of further disruption to bin collections is set to begin as part of an ongoing dispute.

The GMB union said refuse workers in South Tyneside had voted to strike on 2 July over bullying allegations.

Strike action was temporarily paused in May to provide a "period of respite and stability" in order to resolve the dispute, South Tyneside Council said.

The authority said it was "unacceptable" that GMB had decided to strike again on the basis of the "unfounded allegations of bullying".

The council added that it is "well documented and independently supported that there is no evidence of any bullying".

The latest action has been announced after the GMB balloted its workers about a separate dispute after one of its workplace representatives was suspended by the council pending an investigation.

The union's regional organiser Mark Wilson, said: "The ballot came back in favour of another dispute.

"However, any industrial action related to this dispute would only be triggered if any disciplinary action was taken against our rep by the council."

He said the latest action was linked to the original bullying complaint.

'Unjustified disruption'

A council spokesperson said: “For the GMB to threaten the council publicly with removing this service from residents again, pending the outcome of a live HR process for a single member of staff, is unprecedented and appalling."

The council urged the union to reconsider its position and said it would update residents if the strike went ahead.

The spokesperson added: "The unjustified disruption to this crucial service by the GMB has now gone on for over seven months, despite a huge amount of effort by the council to improve and change things."