HCF-STORY1A-110825-JPW-Wrexham set for months of bin strike disruption

Local TV

Unite members as part of Wrexham’s street scene operations team will take industrial action over the next few months in a dispute over pay schedules and overtime rules. The local council have said it is disappointed after ‘lengthy and prolonged’ discussions. The strikes are set to take place on specific day between August and November.

Transcript

00:00Wrexham could soon be facing months of disruption to bin collections, park maintenance and other

00:06street services as more than 100 council workers prepare for strike action in a row over working

00:11patterns and overtime pay. Unite members in the council's street scene operations team,

00:16which includes refuse collectors, highway staff and parks and gardens workers, will walk out on

00:21multiple dates from late August through to mid-November. They've also announced an overtime

00:25ban for the same period meaning even on non-strike days services could still be affected.

00:31The dispute centers on changes introduced by Wrexham council earlier this year. Unite says the

00:36authority scrapped long-standing arrangements that allowed staff to volunteer for overtime

00:41including over Christmas and replaced them with compulsories to have today working

00:44with threats of disciplinary action if staff don't attend. The union says overtime rates have also

00:51been cut and that every bank holiday will now mean a loss of a half day's pay. They argue this is

00:56effectively an extension of the working week without agreement. After years of below inflation pay

01:01rises, workers are feeling the squeeze more than ever. Wrexham council says it's disappointed at

01:07Unite's decision to strike, pointing to what it calls a lengthy and prolonged consultation during its

01:12latest budget setting process. The authority says all public services are under severe financial pressure,

01:18with rising council tax bills already needed to plug funding gaps and protect essential services.

01:23If the dispute isn't resolved, residents could face significant disruption, especially if, as Unite's

01:28warning, further action is taken over Christmas, when household waste is at its peak. With the first

01:33walkout scheduled for the 23rd of August, the clock is ticking for both sides to find a resolution before

01:38the bins and tensions begin to pile up in Wrexham. James P. Watkins, Boughton for Local TV.

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