Selby bin workers in second four-day walkout over pay

The strike is the second of five planned four-day walkouts by bin workers in Selby

Bin workers in Selby have begun a second four-day walkout in a dispute over pay.

Unite members are striking until Friday, with three further strikes planned in the coming weeks.

The union previously said staff at the North Yorkshire depot were paid "some of the lowest rates in the country for doing a difficult and unpleasant job".

Urbaser, the firm contracted to empty bins on behalf of North Yorkshire Council, was approached for comment.

Unite said Selby's bin loaders and grounds workers were paid £10.64 an hour, while lorry drivers, who required a HGV licence, were paid £12.51 an hour.

Staff had been offered a rise of 8% plus a bonus, which Urbaser previously described as "a fair wage increase", but the union said it amounted to a real-terms pay cut.

Unite rep Andrew Woodhead is asking for Urbaser to get back around the negotiating table

Andrew Woodhead, a Unite union rep, said members had received "no communication from Urbaser whatsoever" since the union made a counter-offer in late May.

"It's very difficult to know how to progress when somebody won't talk or communicate with you," he told BBC Radio York.

"We will persist in what we are doing. We're hoping to get Urbaser round the table to talk about it."

The four-day walkouts are taking place on weeks when non-recyclable waste is collected.

Mr Woodhead added: "Unfortunately, it's the public who are suffering because of this and they don't deserve that."

Urbaser's contract with North Yorkshire Council is set to an end in April 2024, when the local authority plans to bring collection services in-house.