Coventry Christmas bin strike rescheduled for January
A Unite-organised strike amongst Coventry waste workers, initially scheduled to take place from December 21, has been postponed until the week starting 4 January.
The decision comes after ongoing talks between union representatives and Coventry City Council, which has also seen the withdrawal of ‘pop-up drop sites’ that were intended to open this week in order for residents to take securely bagged waste missed due to cancelled collections.
Industrial action, as originally planned, was set to run from December 21 through to December 24, with additional measures expected to take place after Christmas. Four pop-up sites were arranged to open across the city in order to alleviate the surplus waste accumulated throughout the period – these will now be opened in accordance with the amended strike schedule.
The locations of the four sites, as previously announced, will be War Memorial Park Car Park, Hearsall Common, Cheylesmore Car Park, and Sowe Common Car Park. They will be open seven days a week, from 8AM to 4.30PM, if strike action continues to go ahead.
Previously stated procedure of the pop-up sites expressed that booking is not required, though height restrictions for vehicles are to be set in place, with transit measuring over 2.05m in height not being permitted entry. Visitors are advised to double-bag waste, wear gloves when handling refuse, and refrain from bringing bulky items as they will not be accepted – bulky items should, instead, be disposed of at the Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) on London Road.
Once at the site, visitors will be directed by the facility’s team to unload bagged waste into a designated holding area, before being dealt with by the team.
The local council also originally advised residents to use brown-lidded bins as an ‘additional storage facility’ to place surplus waste, as they are currently out-of-use due to garden waste collections being placed on hold until February.
In the run-up to the initially scheduled industrial action, a spike in verbal abuse directed towards bin crews was noted, particularly towards rubbish collectors, who had not voted to strike. The council is doubling down on its zero-tolerance approach to abuse, in light of these claims.
