Bin strike council recruits staff

The bin strike in Leeds is now in its eighth week

Temporary staff are being recruited to help clear the backlog of uncollected rubbish during the ongoing strike by refuse workers in Leeds.

Waste collectors and street cleaning staff have been on strike since 7 September in a dispute over pay.

The council said it was advertising for staff in order to meet its target of a fortnightly black bin collection.

Council leader Richard Brett said the authority was determined to provide as normal a service as possible.

Last week the striking workers rejected a new pay offer by the council which would have meant an annual pay cut of £231 for refuse collectors, whereas they originally faced a £4,491 salary drop.

Unions said some of the productivity targets which formed part of the offer were unachievable.

One of the unions representing the workers has called for more talks with Mr Brett, but he said the rejected offer was the council's "best and final deal".

Mr Brett added: "We are determined to do all we can to provide a bin service for the people of Leeds, despite the strike, and ensure that disruption for residents is kept to a minimum.

"The council has done everything it can to bring this strike to an end and by making sure our own staffing is up to full capacity, we are determined to [provide] as normal a service as we can."