The bins strike affecting Filton is still showing no sign of ending – leaving households having to deal with their own recycling.
A 9% pay deal has been offered to workers but Filtonvoice understands the Unite union is holding out for 10%.
And the impact from the strikes by around 150 workers employed by Suez emptying bins on behalf of South Gloucestershire Council is set to worsen after a High Court ruling banning agency workers.
Unite regional officer Ken Fish said: “Suez has been put on notice – no more agency workers after 10 August. Our members’ resolve remains rock solid and they will strike everyday throughout the summer if necessary.
“The impact of the strikes, which are entirely the fault of the company’s greed, will worsen. Suez can afford to table an offer our members can accept and that is what needs to happen.”
A spokesperson for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “We originally offered our teams working on our South Gloucestershire Council contract an 8% pay increase for 2023 which, when combined with the similar pay increase agreed in 2022, delivers pay increases of 15 – 16.75% over 2 years.
“In recent pay negotiations our offer was revised to 9% for 2023, however, this was rejected by Unite. We are continuing discussions with the union over the coming weeks and hope to progress negotiations with the aim of coming to a positive solution.
“Industrial action is the very last outcome we wanted to see and our goal is to reach an agreement that would bring this to an end.
“With just over 40% of our people in South Gloucestershire continuing to work, we are able to provide a limited collection service that prioritises collecting black bin waste and opening the larger Sort It centres.
“We’re also developing arrangements for recycling to cover the union’s proposed strike over the summer, such as some Sort It centres opening earlier with dedicated space for food waste and extra recycling and temporary deposit points.
“We’d like to apologise to our residents in South Gloucestershire for the disruption from the strike action and thank them for their patience.”
The company’s South Gloucestershire bin loaders earn £11.53 per hour.
A South Glos spokesperson said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns around recycling and food waste not currently being collected and have made special arrangements for deposit points at a number of locations across South Gloucestershire.
There are 6 temporary deposit points, which are open every weekday between 8am and 2pm including at Stoke Gifford Park and Ride (Parkway station) – Hunts Ground Road, BS34 8XX; and SGC North Way site, Filton, BS34 7QG