'Aggressive' management blamed for Sheffield bin strike

The GMB said further strikes could follow if a deal is not reached with Veolia

Union bosses have blamed "aggressive" management practices for a planned bin strike in Sheffield.

Refuse collectors across the city are set to stage a 24-hour walk out from 06:00 BST on Friday.

The GMB union, which represents 95% of about 180 workers, said the majority of members had voted in favour of industrial action.

Employer Veolia said it was disappointed with the GMB's decision to take industrial action.

The company, which runs waste management for Sheffield City Council, added it had been "working closely" with the union and its employees.

The GMB said about 92% of its members vote for action.

Peter Davies, from the union, said the dispute centred around what he called the "aggressive" use of disciplinary procedures and said there had been 96 gross misconduct cases in the last 12 months.

He said talks had taken place but a deal to rewrite disciplinary rules had not been agreed.

"It is a one day strike and we are hoping this is enough to get the company round the table, if not it will be followed by more strikes," he added.

A spokesman for Veolia said that in the event of a strike extra crews would be working on Saturday and Sunday to complete any missed collections

He said: "We ask residents to leave out their black bins or blue bins and boxes if they haven't been collected on Friday, for collections to be made as soon as possible."