Further strikes planned by Hunts refuse workers

Huntingdonshire District Council says it's "disappointed" to hear of further strike action in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Refuse workers, customer service staff and planning officers at the council are due to strike from Monday for five days, with a further four-day strike threatened from August 29th.

The union Unison said 76% of its members voted to support the action.

The council had offered staff a 4% pay rise and a one-off payment of £1,000, with a further payment in December.

It said this "addressed one of Unison's core requests" to make sure "all contracted staff [were] receiving at least the 'real living wage' in 2023 to 2024".

Unison's eastern regional organiser, Cameron Matthews, said:

"The fact staff are taking industrial action shows how seriously they're struggling.

"Council workers are only asking for enough pay to keep their heads above water.

"Prices aren't going down, so one-off payments simply won't help in the long term."

The first planned industrial action is scheduled for five days from Monday 21st August, and will be limited to interruption to the green bin collection service.

Martin Hassall, executive councillor for corporate and shared services, said he hoped the action could be avoided.

"We apologise for the inconvenience that this will cause people but contingency planning is under way," he said.

"Arrangements are in place to ensure we offer our important front line services to residents as best as we can on the affected days."