Londoners are being told to braced for potential bin collection chaos as staff from the region's largest tips announce strike action.
It comes as members of the GMB Union at waste transfer sites in Wandsworth and Battersea threatened to walk out over a dispute over pay.
The waste transfer stations only collect commercial and household rubbish before it is sent to landfills or recycled but could see bins pile high.
According to the union, members who are employed by Cory Environmental Ltd have rejected the company’s full and final pay offer as it falls well short of inflation and is, therefore, a de facto pay cut.
The sites at Wandsworth and Battersea are used by all major waste carriers in south London including Veolia, Biffa, Amey, Serco, Continental Landscapes, and the general public.
The union is warning residents of all South London boroughs to expect a knock-on effect on their waste collection services.
As there will be no local waste sites that will have the capacity to store the large volumes of rubbish that may build up.
GMB Regional Organiser Paul Grafton said: “It is a shame that it has come down to industrial action, but Cory have refused to budge.
“GMB has pushed Cory continually for intervention by ACAS. Eventually, Cory caved in and agreed to meet with them, but we don’t hold out much hope of a resolution.
“GMB has announced four days of strikes initially, followed by more frequent dates of action.
“There is a very simple way for all this inconvenience on the general public to be avoided – Cory needs to offer their workers a pay deal that won’t result in them being worse off at the end of each month.”
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