Westmorland and Furness Council has been made aware that GMB Union members of the council contractor Urbaser, have voted in favour of strike action.

The first two weeks of October could see Penrith’s bins go unemptied, says GMB.

The strike action will be taken by staff employed by Urbaser, the council’s waste and environmental services contractor in the Eden area.

The strike days have been confirmed as Monday, October 2, to Friday, October 13.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We are obviously disappointed that the recent negotiations on a pay deal between the union and the contractor have not been resolved and that this has resulted in strike action.

“This action may result in some disruption to our contracted waste and environmental services and we appreciate that this will be frustrating for our residents in the Eden area of Westmorland and Furness.”

Statement from Andy Turner, Regional Operations Manager at Urbaser, with regards the proposed strike action in Eden: “The GMB Union has officially notified us of an impending strike at our Eden depot due to a pay dispute, scheduled to start on 2^nd October and running for two consecutive weeks.

“We hope to reengage in constructive discussions with GMB Union in the near future, but in the meantime we wish to reassure residents that our main priority remains the continuity of front-line services.”

Workers including drivers, loaders and cleaners are calling for a pay rise to help ease the cost-of-living crisis.

GMB Regional Organiser, Michael Hall said: “All these workers are asking for is fair pay. They deserve a decent wage for the vital work they do.

“The only realistic way to achieve this is to bring the service back in house, but Urbaser bosses don’t want to hear it. 

“We are happy to talk anytime to resolve this dispute. We urge Penrith council (the employer) to speak to us and sort this out.”

At this stage, the advice to residents in the Eden area is to continue putting out your blue bags for collection on your scheduled collection day.

Urbaser have informed the council that they are prioritising services to ensure collections of residual waste (blue bag) during the industrial action. If this situation or advice changes then further information will follow.

Please note that this industrial action does not impact recycling or green waste collections in the Eden area as these are provided under a different contract.

The action also does not impact waste, recycling or green waste collections in the Barrow or South Lakeland areas of Westmorland and Furness.

Council-operated recycling ‘Bring Sites’ and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will continue to open and operate as normal during the period of industrial action.