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This follows a meeting that took place yesterday (Thursday 7 April) between North Somerset Environment Company (NSEC), North Somerset Council’s supplier of recycling and waste services, and the GMB union. ACAS, the UK's industrial mediation service, also attended to support the negotiation process.
A jointly agreed revised and improved offer has been determined. To allow a ballot to take place of GMB members, the GMB has agreed to suspend planned strike action on the following four days this month:
- Tuesday 12 April
- Wednesday 13 April
- Saturday 16 April (Easter weekend)
- Sunday 17 April (Easter weekend)
North Somerset’s three recycling centres (Backwell, Portishead and Weston-super-Mare) will also open as normal over this period.
Recycling services are still suspended on Thursday 21 April and Friday 22 April. Residents are therefore being asked not to present their recycling containers on those dates.
North Somerset’s three recycling centres (Backwell, Portishead and Weston-super-Mare) will also close on Thursday 21 April and Friday 22 April.
Residents who have their recycling collected on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will not be impacted. It is planned that black bin waste, garden waste and clinical waste collections will continue on Thursday 21 April and Friday 22 April as usual.
Residents can check their usual day for household (black bin) waste, recycling or garden waste collections on the council’s website (www.n-somerset.gov.uk/calendar).
The overtime ban imposed by the GMB remains in place for the period between Tuesday 12 and Saturday 30 April. This means that during those dates, GMB members will not be able to work extra time to help NSEC catch-up with any backlog.
Councillor Mike Solomon, North Somerset Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and community services, said: “It’s encouraging to hear that talks are progressing well using ACAS’ mediation service and I’d like to thank GMB for their willingness to engage. I’d also like to thank the team at NSEC for their efforts and the professional way that they are dealing with the industrial action process. Thanks must also go to our crews and those working in the recycling centres for their continued hard work while negotiations are ongoing.
“It’s a relief that next week’s strike action has been called off so residents will continue to receive collections and recycling centres will be open as usual.”
"While negotiations are going well, we must remember that residents who have recycling collected on a Thursday and Friday are still impacted the following week. The situation certainly isn’t over yet but we’re working really hard to limit the disruption.
“I’d like to repeat my thanks to residents for their patience, understanding and cooperation during this very challenging time. I also encourage residents to check our website homepage and social media channels for the latest updates as the situation is evolving at pace.”
Brian Veale, Managing Director at North Somerset Environment Company, said: “Significant progress has been made and I’m pleased with how negotiations are developing. While I can’t disclose the details of the package, I can say that our focus remains on providing staff with a package of measures to give them stability. This also allows NSEC to focus on developing, growing and maturing through its second and third years of trading.
“I hope that there will be a positive outcome from the GMB member ballot – there really are no winners when industrial action takes place.”
For the latest updates, please visit the council's website (https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/waste) and the Recycling and Waste Team’s social media accounts – Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nsrecyclingandwaste) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ns_recycling).