A COUNCIL has said it is "disappointed" by a decision by refuse workers to take industrial action next month.

The GMB union announced that binmen will walk out across Adur and Worthing for 14 days from March 14 in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

However, a spokesman for Adur and Worthing Councils said that the union has not been in discussion with them about what the concerns of its members are.

He said: "We're very disappointed that a small number of our staff have voted to strike.

"The GMB has refused to explain to us what the issues of its members are, so we are still unclear as to why the strike has been called and how it can be avoided.

"We would encourage the GMB to tell us what the issues are, so that we can try to resolve them to prevent the lives of residents being disrupted.

"In the meantime, we will continue working on our current review of the service to ensure our staff have fair pay, terms and conditions and the best possible working environment."

The councils are conducting a review of their waste, recycling and cleansing service, which is looking into pay and terms of conditions of staff in the service, with initial findings due to be reported back to staff in the coming weeks.

The councils also said they have been working on contingency plans to minimise the effect of the bin strike, although they still hope strike action can be avoided.

GMB members, who work as refuse, streets and recycling operatives and drivers, are demanding an across-the-board pay rise, in addition to increases in allowance rates for overtime and shift patterns, and a review of operating and management practices.

Gary Palmer, regional organiser for the union, said: "Continued belligerence by council management will see residents’ rubbish uncollected and the streets dirty for a sustained period of industrial action.

"It needn’t be this way, but our members’ perfectly legitimate concerns need addressing; not through informal methods offered by the council, but via formal negotiations with their chosen trade union.

"GMB union will use all means at our disposal to ensure we get a decent deal for our members, and though it is always a last resort, this includes industrial action."

On Twitter, the union also warned that strike action in Hastings will be announced on Friday.

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