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North Somerset Council is working with North Somerset Environment Company (NSEC) to minimise disruption to residents in the event of industrial action due to start on Tuesday 12 April.
The GMB has announced that NSEC staff who are union members will take industrial action after not agreeing to the latest offer, which included an improved pay rise and package of other conditions. Strike action is planned on the following six days this month:
- Tuesday 12 April
- Wednesday 13 April
- Saturday 16 April (Easter weekend)
- Sunday 17 April (Easter weekend)
- Thursday 21 April
- Friday 22 April.
Recycling services will be suspended on these days only and residents are therefore being asked not to present their recycling containers on these dates.
North Somerset’s three recycling centres (located in Backwell, Portishead and Weston-super-Mare) will also close on these dates.
Residents who have their recycling collected on a Monday will not be impacted. It is planned that black bin waste, garden waste and clinical waste collections will continue as usual.
Residents can check their usual day for household (black bin) waste, recycling or garden waste collections on the council’s website (www.n-somerset.gov.uk/calendar).
In addition to the six days’ strike, the GMB has imposed a ban on overtime for the period between Tuesday 12 and Saturday 30 April. This means that during this period, GMB members will not be able to work extra time to help NSEC catch-up with any backlog caused by the strike action.
Residents affected are therefore being urged to help by:
- Reducing the quantities of recycling when their collections return. Those with a large amount of recycling are being asked to store what they can and put a little out each week. This will help crews finish their rounds and reach every house.
- Making sure their recycling is well-sorted, so crews don’t have to spend time sorting at the kerbside. It only takes 20 seconds to collect a well sorted box but up to two minutes for a box that is mixed (https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/recycling).
- Parking vehicles courteously so crews can access all roads. This will help to make sure collections are completed – operating services with low staff numbers means that crews will not be able to return.
Councillor Mike Solomon, North Somerset Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and community services, said: “Despite GMB announcing industrial action, talks are still ongoing and we remain committed and open to achieving a resolution to avoid industrial action. I’m pleased that NSEC has instructed ACAS, the UK's industrial mediation service, to support this process.
“The pay being disputed is for the April 2021/22 financial year and our offers have been higher than inflation at that time. Our latest offer package includes a pay rise of 4.5 per cent over two years. We already provide a real living wage. We realise the impact that global events are having on cost of living but people need to understand that the council is also being hit by this and our budget is being put under increasing pressure. We strongly believe that North Somerset Environment Company is acting fairly.
"We’re working really hard to limit the inevitable disruption to residents. We’re today announcing our contingency plans so that residents know how this will impact them and what they need to do.
"I know that residents will share my bitter disappointment that we face a heightened risk of disruption to services due to the increased pay offer being rejected by the GMB. I’d like to thank residents for their patience, understanding and cooperation during this very challenging time."
Brian Veale, Managing Director at North Somerset Environment Company, said: “Industrial action is extremely challenging to plan for as we simply don’t know how many employees will refuse to work until the start of each shift and this may change from day to day. It’s therefore a fluid situation but limiting disruption for North Somerset’s residents is our absolute priority. The GMB has put us in a terrible position.”
For the latest updates, please visit the council's website (https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/waste) and the Recycling and Waste Team’s social media accounts – Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nsrecyclingandwaste) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ns_recycling).