Council workers stage pay protest

No bins will be collected in some areas of Blackburn

Council workers have gone on strike in Blackburn in protest at a pay review they say has left some of them up to £50 a week worse off.

About 200 members of the Unite union, including refuse collectors, street cleaners and gardeners, demonstrated outside the town hall.

It means homes with bin collections on a Wednesday or Thursday will not have their bins emptied.

The council apologised and said it was trying to keep disruption to a minimum.

The dispute follows a job evaluation process at the council which has seen hundreds of the council's staff facing wage cuts.

Members of the Unite section of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) want the council to come up with a better deal.

Union talks

Protestor Paul Newton, a street cleaner, said the council was effectively "ripping up" an employment contract he signed in 2003.

"If we don't make a stand now what happens in the future? Are they going to rip it up with the pension? Are they going to rip it up with the holidays? Are they going to rip it up with the sickness? Working conditions? Time?

"When all's said and done we have to make a stand now. It's an attack on our workforce. It's an attack on the principles of signing a contract."

Striking workers chanted "No pay cuts" during the protest outside Blackburn Town Hall on Wednesday.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are working to keep any disruption to a minimum and have informed residents what to do in the event their bin is not collected today or tomorrow.

"We remain in discussions with all trade unions, including the TGWU, and are hopeful that they will choose to follow the other trade unions and choose to discuss these issues with us rather than take further industrial action."