Refuse workers in Eden to take two weeks of strike action

The strike action will be taken by staff employed by Urbaser, Westmorland and Furness Council's waste and environmental services contractor in the Eden area. 

The strike action is set to commence on Monday, October 2 and will run until Friday, October 13. 

Refuse workers in Allerdale recently took a long stretch of strike action which led to loaders being offered an increase in pay from £10.90 an hour to £11.81 (8.3 per cent) while the drivers saw their pay increase from £11.99 an hour to £13.62 an hour (13.6 per cent.)

Andy Turner, regional operations manager at Urbaser, said: “The GMB Union has officially notified us of an impending strike at our Eden depot due to a pay dispute, scheduled to start on October 2 and running for two consecutive weeks.

"We hope to reengage in constructive discussions with GMB Union in the near future, but in the meantime we wish to reassure residents that our main priority remains the continuity of front-line services.”

The industrial action does not impact recycling or green waste collections in the Eden area as these are provided under a different contract.

The action also does not impact waste, recycling or green waste collections in the Barrow or South Lakeland areas of Westmorland and Furness.

Council-operated recycling ‘Bring Sites’ and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will continue to open and operate as normal during the period of industrial action.

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A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council, said: "We are obviously disappointed that the recent negotiations on a pay deal between the union and the contractor have not been resolved and that this has resulted in strike action.

"This action may result in some disruption to our contracted waste and environmental services and we appreciate that this will be frustrating for our residents in the Eden area of Westmorland and Furness."