Council and unions hopeful of bin strike resolution

There have been several strikes in the region in recent months

Long-running strikes by refuse workers in South Tyneside may be a step closer to ending.

There have been several rounds of bin collection strikes in the region over the past few months centred around bullying and mismanagement allegations.

South Tyneside Council and the unions involved in strike action, GMB and Unite, put out a joint statement on Monday saying that they hoped "to reach a resolution in the near future”.

Planned industrial action will still take place this week and no bins will be collected from 20 to 23 February.

The three groups said they have “committed to work hard to rebuild and strengthen relationships” and that "early actions" from recent meetings are currently in progress.

They said a number of recommendations had been made to move things forward, such as "continued investment" in the depot and ensuring a "continued safe and efficient work environment".

The statement also thanked residents for their patience and understanding during what has been a "difficult and frustrating period for the borough".

“Industrial action is never taken lightly, and all parties understand the inconvenience caused and reassure the people of South Tyneside of their utmost commitment to moving forward positively," they said.

Industrial action will continue this week as issues still remain unresolved, the statement said.

Mark Wilson said that he was hopeful for some positive change

GMB's Mark Wilson said senior management had been out with bin crew staff as well as listening to them.

"Clearly things take time from discussion to putting things in place," he said.

"However we’re hopeful that we will see some positive change but we have to have the key measures addressed that we need to resolve this dispute.”