‘No bins will be collected at all’ says trade union as strike goes on

There was serious disruption to council services in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area yesterday as the Unite, GMB and Nipsa trade members staged a mass walkout following the breakdown of negotiations on pay and terms and conditions last week.

Unite have already notified the council of its plans to strike for a four week period, while Nipsa members are set to move to industrial action short of an all-out strike from today — although Nipsa has said it is keeping the option of further strike action on the table.

The GMB trade union, meanwhile, had notified the council of its plan to strike for a seven-day period starting yesterday.

It has now set out its plans for at least another week on strike unless a deal can be reached with the employer.

Councillors, meanwhile, held a meeting yesterday to discuss the strike action but it is understood the purpose of the meeting was for an update from officials on the disruption rather than focusing on negotiations with the unions.

Speaking to the News Letter, GMB official Alan Perry said: “We are serving notice for a further week’s action — all out strike action. We are out this week and that notice is for a further week, from next Monday. That means we will be out for two weeks at a minimum.”

He continued: “Ultimately, it is regrettable that we are set for more of the same in terms of a complete shutdown of services or at the very least services that will be severely impacted.

“The guarantee is that there will be no waste or amenity sites open for the duration that GMB and Unite are on strike.

“There wil be no bin collectiosn at all. It’s quite clear that there will be no bins lifted at all, along with the closure of the amenity sites.”

Mr Perry, speaking on Monday morning, added: “I’m happy to go on record atthis moment in time that there are no indications that management are prepared to re-enter negotiations.”

In a statement on Friday, a council spokesperson urged trade unions and staff to “reconsider their position” and insisted its offer had been “substantial”.

Yesterday, in an update on the impact of the strike the council acknowledged that bin collections would be “impacted across the borough” but encouraged residents to continue to leave bins out for collection as normal.

The council update also confirmed the closure of all dumps, and several leisure centres due to the strike.

Street cleaning, building control, planning, dog control, animal welfare and other services were also disrupted yesterday.

The Market Place Theatre, FE McWilliam Gallery, Navan Centre and Armagh County Museum were all closed yesterday. Parks and open spaces remained open, but cleaning and facilities faced disruption.