Four months of 'extremely disruptive' bin strikes to take place in North Wales county
The Unite union said the strike action is over 'salary reductions' and changes to working patterns. It claimed Wrexham Council had 'behaved disgracefully' in pushing through the changes and that the looming industrial action was 'completely their fault'.
In a vote, 71% of the around 100 affected Unite members voted to strike, with non-collections accompanied by an overtime ban. Unite said that, should the dispute remain unresolved, its members were also considering further action over Christmas when more rubbish is usually collected.
Wrexham Council said it was 'extremely disappointed' with the union's stance following 'prolonged consultation' over cost-saving measures needed to ensure the local authority remained financially solvent.
The planned strike days are as follows:
August 23 and 30
September, 6, 13, 20 and 27
October 4, 11, 18, and 25
November 1, 8 and 14
Those taking part are Unite members who work in the street scene operation team at Wrexham Council. As well as refuse workers, the vote affected other street scene staff working in parks, gardens and highways. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
Unite regional officer Simon Ellis said the strikes could be "extremely disruptive". He added: 'We know residents of Wrexham will be concerned about bin strikes, but this is completely the fault of the local council and their unacceptable behaviour towards their staff.
'Our hardworking members are not asking for extra pay, this dispute is all about protecting their agreed overtime renumeration and working hours. Wrexham Council cannot keep targeting lower paid staff and must roll back on these unfair plans and come back to the table.'
The dispute centres on planned changed to overtime arrangements over Christmas. Previously, staff were given extra days off over the holiday period but they could volunteer to work overtime.
Unite said staff will now have to compulsorily work Saturdays and will be threatened with disciplinary action if they do not attend. The changes, designed to save £100,000, will see every worker losing the equivalent of half a day's pay, said the union.
Effectively, the decision will 'extend the working week without agreement', said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
She added: 'No worker should ever be expected to accept forced-through changes to their working patterns or to lose out on hard-earned pay.
'Wrexham Council has behaved disgracefully and any industrial action is completely their fault. Unite will always fully support our members who are looking to protect their pay and workplace conditions all the way.'
As well as cutting overtime payments, Unite said affected workers have 'already endured years of below-inflation pay rises'. It said the local authority's across-the-board 3.2% rise will be 'almost wiped out' due to the loss of overtime.
Ms Graham pointed out the lowest paid street scene staff earn £25,583. She said all seven chief officers at Wrexham Council are paid more than £100,000-a-year. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Council's position
Wrexham Council was approached for a comment. Previously, the local authority's Interim Chief Executive, Alwyn Jones, said lengthy consultations were undertaken as part of the annual budget-setting process in the 2024/25 financial year.
Cost-cutting measures were taking place against a 'difficult financial position' with Wrexham's residents facing ever increasing Council Tax bills to plug budget gaps and protect public services.
He said: 'The council embarked on an extensive transformation programme in an attempt to negotiate the difficult decisions that are required to ensure we remain financially solvent. All of the recognised trade unions have been party to consultation on the detail of the budget-savings proposals.
'This particular saving, relating to switching refuse collections to Saturdays rather than Bank Holidays, brings in over £100k of savings. The proposal has been through all of the council's processes and committee cycles and consultation processes.
'The department also undertook extensive consultation with the workforce on the proposals with only 19 individual responses amongst a workforce of 245 employees disagreeing with the plans.
'Wrexham County Borough Council has worked hard to save jobs and continue to support in-house delivery of public services especially these frontline services.'
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