Councils, buses and schools will be all affected from April 25

The Unite trade union was yesterday finalising dates for strikes by council staff that are likely to see bins go uncollected, dumps closed and disruption elsewhere for a two-week period from April 25.

Precise strike dates for all councils had yet to be made official last night and are expected to vary across the 11 areas.

The entire Translink bus network, meanwhile, is also set to be brought to a standstill from the same April 25 date as drivers in the Unite and GMB trade unions strike over pay amid the cost-of-living crisis.

And Education Authority workers, including bus drivers and other staff involved in transport, are also to go on strike for a series of dates from April 26.

In a further sign of growing discontent amid soaring inflation, the strikes also co-incide with industrial action and ballots by workers in the private sector.

Caterpillar workers in Belfast and Larne were on picket lines yesterday, and the strikes are set to reconvene after Easter.

Unite official Kieran Ellison, speaking to the News Letter, said: “The cost-of-living crisis is here and now.

“People are struggling right now.”