Half Of UK Bins Uncollected As Strikes Set To Go Ahead

24 November 2011

According to union GMB around half of all UK household bins will remain uncollected next Wednesday (30 November) as planned strikes are set to go ahead

GMB, the main union for collection operatives with around 50,000 members, has said at least half of all household bins in the UK will not be collected next week when around 3m public sector workers are set to strike over central government pension reforms.

GMB national officer Justin Bowden said: "I expect more than half of the bins that would normally be cleared on the day of the strike will not get lifted as refuse and recycling workers strike to defend their pensions and jobs.

"In addition to that we expect there are a number of contracts where the workforce are still members of the local government pension scheme. So at least half of all bins will not be collected.

"This will unfortunately inconvenience many millions of households but we believe that the public value front-line public servants like refuse workers, understand they don't get paid a prince's ransom when they retire, and recognise that to ask refuse workers to pay more, work longer and get less pensions - as part of a government-driven race to the bottom - is just plain wrong."

www.gmb.org.uk

Darrel Moore