Council strikes to hit bin collections in East and South Ayrshire next week

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Bin collections in East and South Ayrshire will be hit in a fortnight’s time after unions formally set dates for strike action..Unite union waste services members will begin striking on Wednesday, August 24 for a week after claiming the authorities had failed to improve on a ‘pitiful’ two per cent pay increase for council staff.The GMB has also indicated two shorter strikes, from Friday, August 26 to Monday, August 29 and again from Wednesday, September 7 to Saturday, September 10.Trade union members had voted for action in waste services last month.In addition, catering and cleaning workers in East Ayrshire schools also agreed to strike.

However, this action has not been confirmed at this stage and would be likely to take place at the start of September.A South Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We are currently working on measures which will limit the impact of any strike action on our waste services.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.“We will communicate these plans to residents when they have been finalised.”A spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council also confirmed it was determining the level of impact on bin collections.They said: “This strike action will have an impact on bin collections within East Ayrshire and the council will be communicating with our communities as quickly as possible to outline alternative arrangements.Unite general secretary Sharon