Coventry bin lorry drivers 'reject' pay talks offer

The first strike was set to start on 21 December for four days

No household waste collections will take place in Coventry after Christmas after pay talks between bin lorry drivers and the council collapsed.

The drivers recently called off planned industrial action postponing it until January, but talks since have led to no agreement, the city council said.

There will be no collections during the Christmas and New Year period.

"Generous" offers had been made, but rejected, the council said. Trade union Unite was not available for comment.

Four drop-off points have been set up across the city where residents can drop off securely bagged non-bulky waste between 08:00 and 16:30 GMT from 29 December.

In a statement, the council said: "The council has made a number of what we believe to be generous offers to address 52-week working that focused around collections during the week between Christmas and New Year and additional pay.

"Our offers have now been presented by the union to its members, but unfortunately these were not accepted."

Although the authority said it was committed to negotiations, it had "limits" to what could be offered as it was "mindful" of the possibility of future equal pay claims within its 4,500 workforce.

Strike action is due to go ahead on 5 and 6 January and all week from 11 January.

Talks between the council and Unite are due to start again on 4 January.