BIN operators Allerdale Waste Services have refuted claims from Unite as union officials say they will only 'intensify' the strikes.

Refuse workers employed by Allerdale Waste Services, which is 100 per cent owned by Cumberland Council, have been on all-out strike action since May 16 in a dispute over pay rates.

From today, June 19 members of Unite said they will visit the area affected by the refuse collection strike and engage with local residents via door-knocking about the issues behind the dispute and how local people can assist in resolving it.

Unite say they are aware that there are now parts of the local area where the dispute is occurring, including parts of Cockermouth, which have not had their bins emptied for four weeks.

Unite regional officer Ryan Armstrong said: “Local residents will be very frustrated that this dispute remains unresolved.

"This is entirely the fault of Allerdale Waste Services and Cumberland council. Unite is totally committed to entering honest negotiations to resolve this strike and it remains willing to meet for fresh negotiations at any time.

“Unite fears that Cumberland Council are to move the service to fortnightly from every week, and the protraction of the dispute is a presumed justification.”

The union alleges that last week peace talks aimed at resolving the dispute collapsed after the management at Allerdale Waste Services refused to consider the union’s proposals to resolve the dispute, 'as it was not on the agenda'.

However, Allerdale Waste Service have refuted these claims, saying they last met with the union on June 6 and no meeting was held last week.

They also say that the union has not yet laid a formal offer on the table and refused to take up the offer from the waste services.

Charles Holmes, managing director of Allerdale Waste Services said: “Despite indicating that they have a proposal, the Trade Unions have not put a formal offer on the table and refused to do so in the last meeting.

"This significantly hinders the progress towards a resolution as constructive dialogue requires both parties to put forward proposals and engage in meaningful negotiations.

“We implemented a prioritisation system as part of our contingency plans whereby any properties that do not receive their weekly collection are prioritised for collection the following week, allowing for any accumulated excess waste to be collected as well.

"This means that in effect, these properties have received a fortnightly collection to ensure that their waste is eventually collected.

“We are aware that there may be a small number of properties experiencing missed collections for more than two weeks.

"We kindly request that anyone in such circumstances report these to the Customer Services Team.

"By doing so, we can prioritise the collections for these properties and make appropriate arrangements to ensure more frequent collections moving forward.”