Bin strikes 'end in sight' says council

Two more weeks of refuse worker walkouts have been called off "amid ongoing discussions", South Tyneside Council said

Further walkouts by refuse workers have been called off signalling an "end in sight" for waste service strikes, a local authority has said.

South Tyneside Council said industrial action, planned for two weeks from 9 July by refuse workers in the GMB union, has been halted.

The announcement comes after strike action originally set to take place this week, the first of a three-week period, was also called off.

The GMB has been approached for comment.

The union previously said refuse workers in South Tyneside had voted to strike over bullying allegations.

The local authority, which has seen on and off walkouts by refuse workers since November, said: “Providing this essential service is a top priority for us."

It also said further industrial action had been called off "amid ongoing discussions".

Stuart Wright, director of place and communities, said: "We appreciate that this has been a long, drawn-out process for all those involved, particularly our residents whose waste collections have been disrupted for so long."

'Back on track'

To tackle the backlog, residents are being asked to put out both their grey household and blue recycling bins for collection from Tuesday to Friday, from 9 July.

Mr Wright added: "Now that we have some stability, at least for the short to medium term, we will be working hard to get collections back on track as quickly as possible - it will take a few weeks."