BIN collections in Somerset will suffer ‘widespread and significant disruption’ if workers walk out this month.

Members of the Unite union are set to go on strike between Wednesday and Friday each week, from July 12 to August 4, in a row over pay.

The union rejected an initial 5.8% pay offer from the council’s contractor Suez UK, with a further 8% offer also declined.

Unite says the offers are ‘in reality’ a pay cut for workers.

Now, waste crews have voted in favour of the further action, with the walkouts set to begin on July 12.

The council said talks continue to resolve the dispute, but contingency planning is underway to try and limit the impact on residents if it goes ahead.

It said efforts would be made to limit the impact, but residents could expect industrial action to cause widespread and significant disruption affecting the majority of households.

As well as walking out on the designated days, crews would also decline to work overtime or be involved in catch-up collections, for example on Saturdays, causing further issues.

The council said three-weekly refuse collections would be prioritised when crews are working, along with clinical waste collections and collections from communal locations.

However, they could not guarantee the collections would take place on time.

Recycling collections would be affected ‘to a much greater extent’, the council said, as those crews would be redeployed to support other collections.

It could see some residents could go ‘multiple weeks’ without recycling collections, it added, with the impact on garden waste collections unknown.

Mickey Green, executive director for climate and place at the council, said: “Talks are ongoing and we very much hope that industrial action can be avoided or resolved quickly.

“We know cost of living pressures are affecting everyone, including waste collection crews, but this action would have a big impact on residents across the county.

“We will continue to support Suez as it works to resolve the dispute, assisting where we can.

“If action is taken, we will make as many collections as possible, but some services will have to be prioritised at the expense of others and we would ask for the public’s patience.”

Sharon Graham of the Unite union

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Our members play a crucial frontline role keeping Somerset clean and tidy. They are simply not prepared to accept low pay any longer. The Suez offer in reality is a real terms pay cut.

“Suez is a wealthy company that can fully afford to make a fair pay offer but it has chosen not to do so.

“Unite is solely focussed on the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the workers at Suez will receive the union’s unbending support.”