Refuse workers plan strike action

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Refuse collectors have voted to strike over plans to bring in new shift patterns in Cardiff.

The GMB said 90 of its 100 members in the city voted to stop work next Monday in protest at council plans which could see them working until 10pm.

It follows the introduction of new weekly food waste collections.

The council, which wants workers to work two new shifts from 0600 to 1400 and 1400 to 2200, said it was "disappointed" with the decision.

The union said it wanted to negotiate with the council this week.

The refuse workers were balloted about strike action on Monday and will walk out next week on the same day the council's food waste collections are due to start.

The union said the council has been notified of the plans and had made it clear that the workers are not opposed to the new collections.

It said it had asked for a meeting to start negotiations again in a bid to bring the dispute to a close and prevent the strike going ahead.

The offer of a one-off-payment was fair and reasonable and it is important to remember that any additional payment has to be funded by the taxpayer Councillor Rodney Berman

It said the council was making unilateral changes to the workers' contracts of employment and that it was seeking legal advice about this issue.

It also said that it may lodge grievances on behalf of individual members about the planned changes to their contracted hours.

The workers currently work a single shift pattern from 0700 until 1500 with the new shifts set to accommodate the council's new weekly collections of raw and cooked food, tea bags and dairy products for composting from 140,000 homes.

The union added that the council had offered no extra money to staff for working after 2000 and said that from next week staff would continue to work their existing shift patterns.

However, the council has offered workers a one-off payment of £750 each for working the early shift and £1,250 for working the late shift. The offer was rejected by the GMB.

The council has said it has taken on temporary staff to counter the strike threat and ensure its new service is rolled-out as planned.

'Disappointed'

Council leader Councillor Rodney Berman said the authority was willing to talk to the GMB and was "disappointed" with the ballot result.

"The council is disappointed with the result of the GMB ballot, especially since this change in working patterns is creating 34 new jobs," said Cllr Berman.

"The offer of a one-off-payment was fair and reasonable and it is important to remember that any additional payment has to be funded by the taxpayer.

"I am disappointed that this offer was rejected but we have to be realistic that funds are not unlimited.

"As a contingency plan, the council has already recruited new temporary staff to help manage the transition to the new service."