Rats fear as Warrington bins left unemptied during strikes over pay

Jacqueline Barnes says she supports the strikes but worries about the increase in rubbish attracting rats

A resident in a town which has not had bins emptied for more than a week as refuse collectors take part in industrial action has said she fears being overrun by rats.

Unite union members at Warrington Council are taking part in a two-week walkout in a dispute over pay.

Another strike is due to start on 24 October after a pay offer was rejected.

Jacqueline Barnes,of Warrington, said she supported action but was worried, adding: "I've already seen rats."

Unite said on Wednesday more than 50 workers rejected the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925 as it was "below the rate of inflation and amounts to a real terms pay cut".

The council said: "This dispute is linked to national pay negotiations. It is not about local conditions in Warrington."

Stafan Thorpe says his pay packet in "real terms" has been reducing for 13 years

The authority said the current industrial action had caused "considerable disruption" to residents and businesses and the second strike "will cause even more inconvenience and disruption".

But the union argued the council could agree better terms and conditions if it wanted to.

Residents have spoken out about the impact of the walkout.

Ms Barnes said: "I'm worried about rats. I've already seen them in the area."

However, she said she was supporting the strike.

"My son was a bin man and they deserve to be paid better," she said.

Gayle Evans says she has been flattening her rubbish to get it in her bin during the strikes

Another resident Gayle Evans said: "It's cruel because people will just dump rubbish everywhere."

She added that she had been flattening her rubbish as advised to get as much as she could into her bin during the strikes.

Workers from the picket line said they had been forced to take industrial action.

Not a single bin has been emptied during the "rock solid" strike, the Unite union says

Kevin Jolley, who is a driver and loader, said: "Bins need be emptied and we understand that but we have to go out on strike because we need fair pay for public sector workers.

"We all have bills to pay and families to look after."

Stefan Thorpe, a team leader, said while the cost of living had shot up - it had not been reflected in his pay packet.

"I can't buy as much in the shops as before and pay has in real terms gone down over the past 13 years," he said.

Kevin Jolley says he has no choice but to strike for "fair pay"

The union's regional officer Brian Troake urged the council to get around the negotiating table with Unite to resolve the dispute.

He claimed the council could intervene in the nationally agreed pay deal.

"Unite has negotiated pay increases locally with a number of councils in recent weeks," he said.

"Warrington Council is choosing to ignore its workers who are struggling to pay the bills."

He said the strike was "rock solid" with "not a single bin" being emptied so far during this dispute.

More than 50 workers are taking part in industrial action, Unite says

Warrington Council said it did not agree with the industrial action.

"Unite are choosing to take strike action based on a national pay claim that has not been agreed by the national negotiating body for local government," it said.

The authority said its two other recognised trade unions for refuse collectors Unison and GMB were not taking action.

"It is clearly not appropriate for us to try and negotiate locally just with Unite, in response to the pay claim they made collectively with other trade unions on a national basis."

On the announcement of another two-week walkout, it said:"The second strike by Unite means many of our plans to catch-up with waste collection following the current strike are now at serious risk."

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