Wealden district set to be affected by upcoming bin strike

The strike will take place on Thursday, June 1 as waste collection contractor Biffa informed Wealden District Council that its GMB union members intended to strike over ‘workplace and managerial issues.’

Strikes were previously threatened in May as GMB said it had carried out an industrial action ballot with 90.70 per cent of balloters ‘prepared to take part in strike action’ in April.

GMB Union members working for Wealden councils waste contractor Biffa’s Municipal services had voted for strike action over ‘the company’s failures to address ongoing bullying and harassment by local managers together with failures over promised changes and consultation over long-standing kerbside collection rounds issues and imbalances within the contract.’

In a statement following the announcement of the strike, Wealden District Council said: “Our waste collection contractor, Biffa, has informed the Council it has received formal notification from the GMB union that its members intend to take strike action at the depots operating services in Wealden from Thursday 1st June 2023 over workplace and managerial issues. Biffa is in on-going discussion with the GMB union to try to resolve this dispute ahead of the intended strike action.

“The council is disappointed by this decision of the GMB Union and, as this is a local issue between Biffa as the employer and the union, we encourage both parties to escalate their talks to avoid potential disruption to waste collection services.

“In the meantime all waste and street cleansing services continue to operate as normal so please continue to put your bins out on the scheduled collection day.

“Should Biffa and the GMB not reach an agreement there may be some disruption to services from Thursday, June 1. Please be assured the council will inform residents of what is happening with their collections through regular updates on our website, our Wealden Weekly e-newsletter and social media.

"Residents should continue presenting their bins as normal. Biffa is in active and ongoing negotiations with the unions and remains committed to reaching a solution as quickly as possible.”