Coventry bin strikes: Union members to be balloted for strike extension

Unite's general secretary, Sharon Graham, visited striking lorry drivers on Thursday

Industrial action by refuse workers could continue into the summer after the Unite union announced plans for a new ballot.

About 75 bin lorry drivers in Coventry have been staging an all-out strike in the city since 31 January in a stand-off over pay.

The dispute between the council and union has become increasingly bitter.

A mandate for the current action is due to end on 23 March and Unite said it would be again balloting members.

The city council said it was "disappointed" by the move.

Several temporary drop-off sites to allow residents to dispose of their rubbish, have been operating in the city.

The local authority is also carrying out fortnightly collections using council-owned private contractor Tom White Waste.

On a visit to the city on Thursday, the union's general secretary Sharon Graham criticised the council for paying "telephone number" salaries to their top executives, she said, while refusing the drivers a fair rate of pay.

"The incompetence of Coventry council leaders and the greed of senior officers is simply staggering," she said.

"They have lined their own pockets while wasting in the region of £3m on a dispute that could be solved now for just £250,000."

Nine drop-off sites have been operating to deal with waste during the strike

The city council said it had been in dialogue with the union for a number of months to "lawfully resolve the issues they have raised," and making "generous offers" to resolve the issues around pay.

"Our HGV drivers compare favourably with similar HGV drivers across the region and we have offered to raise the starting salary to make Coventry driver pay even more competitive - offers Unite have rejected," the authority said in a statement.

Both parties are meeting with independent arbitration service Acas on Friday "to conclude the independent evaluation of the current HGV driver job role," said the council.

"Both have agreed to be bound by the pay grade that comes out of this," it added.

Responding to Ms Graham's remarks, the council added it would have expected her to be aware that "legislation prevents the council's political leadership from being involved in decisions on employees' pay or terms and conditions".

"This is why they are not directly involved in the negotiations or decisions to resolve this dispute lawfully," it added.

The ballot to renew strike action beyond 23 March will open on 7 March and closes on 14 March, said the union.

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