Bin strike talks marred by planned demonstration

The industrial action started in May

A council in dispute with waste collection workers has accused them of "pre-empting" the outcome of a conciliation meeting by planning a protest for the following day.

Weekly bin collections in part of west Cumbria have been disrupted since May in a disagreement over pay by Allerdale Waste Services (AWS) workers in the Unite and GMB unions.

AWS said it was "incredibly disappointed" that Unite was proposing to hold the demonstration.

The union said it was in response to AWS hiring strike cover on short-term contracts.

The dispute follows local government changes in 2022 in which two new unitary authorities replaced Cumbria County Council and six district councils.

Unions say workers in the other two areas that form the new Cumberland Council - Carlisle and Copeland - have better holiday entitlement and sick pay and they want parity.

'Prolonging the strike'

AWS, Cumberland Council and both unions are meeting the conciliation service ACAS on Tuesday.

But AWS said "it would appear that Unite are pre-empting the outcome of the reconciliation meeting, prolonging the strike and have no intentions of coming to any agreement to bring the industrial action to a close".

In turn, Unite accused AWS, which is owned by the council, of "seeking to circumvent" a High Court ruling that employers can no longer use agency staff to cover striking workers during walkouts.

AWS announced last week that temporary drivers and loaders were to be recruited on short-term contracts to provide cover.

The union said this decision was revealed "shortly prior to peace talks" at Acas on 3 August.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Allerdale Waste Services and Cumberland Council need to stop playing games and prolonging the strike action."

However, AWS said the meeting on 3 August had not been intended as a negotiation but merely as an "initial scoping meeting, facilitated by Acas, to map out and agree how to proceed".