A LABOUR leader has accused the council of being “absent” in their response to an ongoing bin crisis, after being contacted by residents about rats.

Councillor Rebecca Cooper said that the party had called on Worthing Council to get around the table with the GMB to end the dispute, but that there had been a lack of a strong response by the administration.

She said: “The Conservatives have been quite absent in their response, I haven’t seen a strong Conservative response.”

Cllr Cooper said she had had reports of rats by overflowing bins by residents.

“We’re all local residents and we’ve all got very full bins these days, and I’m concerned about the public health aspect of having bins not being emptied,” she said.

Ms Cooper’s comments come as the bin strike enters a fourth week as the GMB and the council fail to find a solution to the dispute over pay and working conditions.

Cllr Cooper said that Labour is “very mindful” of workers who are struggling on low wages in the middle of the cost of living crisis, and said communication is key in ending the strike.

She said: “Those issues need to be resolved, and we’ve been saying time and time for both sides to come round the table and resolve these issues.

“The people on the picket want the strike to be resolved - they want to talk about their working conditions and how they can do their job to the best of their ability.

“There is a way forward but it’s all about communication.”

Worthing Council last week met with the GMB, alongside mediation service ACAS, with the aim of a joint agreement with the union and UNISON - who the council have a recognition agreement with to negotiate pay and conditions across all services.

The council said that the GMP have so far “refused requests to pause the strike while this process is underway”, and that “a large pay claim from the GMP, on top of what we consider an already generous offer, might have to be paid for by cuts to services or increases in council tax”.