Refuse collectors in Eden have been picketing their Penrith depot.
Members of the GMB union who work for Urbaser are on strike over pay.
The first day of the two-week strike action begins today, Monday, October 2.
Urbaser has the contract for refuse collection on behalf of Westmorland and Furness Council and its workers including drivers, loaders and cleaners are calling for a pay rise to help ease the cost of living crisis.
Westmorland and Furness 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.”
Andy Turner, regional operations manager at Urbaser, said: “We are proactively taking measures to address this situation. Resources will be deployed on a daily basis to minimise any inconvenience; therefore, our advice to residents is to continue placing your blue bags out for collection as per your regular schedule. If by chance your bag is not collected by day’s end, kindly leave it in place, if it is safe to do so, and we will aim to have it collected the following day.”
“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.”
What do I do with my rubbish in Eden?
At this stage, the advice from the council to residents in the Eden area is to continue putting out blue bags for collection on scheduled collection days.
Urbaser is 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, the council said.
The 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 will continue to open and operate as normal during the period of industrial action.
