Street scene operators at Wrexham council angry over changes to working patterns
Bin strikes could take place in Wrexham later this year, including the August bank holiday and over the busy Christmas period, as over 100 Unite members are being balloted to take industrial action.
The dispute comes after Wrexham council changed the way workers in the street scene operation team were given overtime. Street scene operators include refuse workers as well as those working on parks, gardens and highways.
Previously, they were given additional days off over Christmas and can volunteer to work overtime. However, the council forced through changes without any consultation with workers or Unite, which means they now have to compulsorily work Saturdays and are threatened with disciplinary action if they do not attend.
This is a choice by the employer to extend the working week without agreement and means every worker would lose half a day's pay.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "The way Wrexham council has attempted to force through these changes to working patterns, without any negotiations, is nothing short of a disgrace.
"Unite will always fight to protect our members' conditions at work and they will have our full support throughout this dispute."
The changes implemented by Wrexham council will also see Unite members’ pay reduced for overtime without agreement with workers or any negotiations with Unite. The affected workers have already endured years of below inflation pay rises as well as this year's below-inflation offer of 3.2 per cent.
The union has also expressed disappointment in the lack of engagement from the council’s new interim chief executive, Alywn Jones, who has failed to engage with Unite following an initial meeting to resolve the dispute.
The ballot closes on 5 August and industrial action could take place in late August. Unite members are also considering any potential strike action to take place over Christmas, when households usually have more rubbish needing to be removed than usual.
Unite regional officer Simon Ellis said: "Any bin strike in Wrexham would be extremely disruptive and we know people living in the city will not be pleased to hear about this potential action.
"This is entirely the fault of  Wrexham council. This is an easy dispute to fix, by maintaining our hardworking members' currently-agreed hours and overtime pay and we urge the council to come back to the negotiating table before it is too late."