Adur and Worthing bin strike: Collections resume as union agrees pause

About 60 refuse workers took to the picket line in Lancing

Bin collections in parts of West Sussex have resumed after GMB union members agreed to pause strike action ahead of talks with two councils.

About 60 refuse and recycling workers in Adur and Worthing have been taking action in a dispute over pay.

The GMB union said members voted for the pause after talks with the councils over the weekend and on Monday.

The councils said there was "still a lot to work through" but "for now we can start to get the backlog cleared".

The two sides said they would meet on Wednesday to begin substantive talks on pay and conditions.

'Complex issues'

In a joint statement, Adur & Worthing Councils and the GMB said: "We have today agreed that there will be a pause in the strike which will allow for waste collections to resume and for work to remove the backlog of waste to begin.

"To recognise the extra work needed a one-off payment will be given to staff to help ensure all backlog work is completed as soon as possible."

A spokesman for the councils said they had been working to find a way for bin collection rounds to resume while the "very complex issues" were discussed.

He said: "Clearly this is not the end of the matter and there's a lot to work through but for now we can quickly start to get the backlog of refuse cleared."

The councils said crews were out collecting waste from communal bin stores such as at blocks of flats on Tuesday morning.

From Wednesday, residents will be asked to put bins out on their normal collection day and side waste will also be taken.

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