Union to ballot over Christmas bin strike in Coventry

[rebbonk]

What happened to the extra bin liners they normally deliver this time of year?

I've still got last years' Dutchman.

Having just checked, I'm unlikely to get my bin emptied before 20th January. - I think that'll be about 5 weeks since it was last emptied. This isn't going to bother me, but for a family, it'll be an absolute disaster.

[dutchman]

18th where I live!

This is when bins will be collected again in Coventry after strikes



A new calendar has been released which shows when Coventry's bins will be collected again after the strike action.

The strikes are going ahead after Coventry City Council failed to negotiate a deal with trade union Unite over their pay and working conditions.

Sites will also be opening from tomorrow (December 29) where you can dispose of your rubbish.

There are no household bin collections this week - Tuesday, December 28, until Friday, December 31 - and the strike will take place from January 5 until January 14.

Recycling bins (blue lid) will not get collected again until the week commencing January 24.

During the strike, on Tuesday, January 4, only people who live in flats and use a chute will have their bins collected as well as assisted bins.

On Friday, January 7, residents who usually have their household waste bins collected, will have them emptied.

From January 18, all household waste will be collected again on your normal day - unless further impacted by future strike action.

Garden waste (brown lid) is suspended until February 1.

In the meantime, four sites across the city will be open for you to drop rubbish off starting from tomorrow (Wednesday).

These are:

• Cheylesmore car park (off New Union Street)
  
• War Memorial Park (main car park)
  
• Hearsall Common (off Beechwood Avenue)
  
• Sowe Common car park

They will operate seven days a week (except bank holidays) between 8am and 4.30pm.

[dutchman]

At first they said there'd be an extra collection on the 7th "whether it is your usual collection day or not" then they said it will only be those for whom it is their usual collection day.

They also suggested using a blue or brown lidded bin as temporary storage but that only works if there's an extra collection which we're not having this year.

Citizen Housing provided us with empty skip but that was quickly filled by fly-tippers from other parts of the city.

[dutchman]

Coventry residents slam council for rubbish drop-off points during bin strikes

Hundreds of people across Coventry have hit out at the "ridiculous" drop-off points available to residents during the bin strikes.

It comes as the strikes are set to go ahead after Coventry City Council failed to negotiate a deal with trade union Unite over their pay and working conditions.

CoventryLive previously reported that a new calendar had been released which shows people when their bins will get collected again, along with sites people could drop their rubbish at in the meantime.

Four sites across the city opened on Wednesday (December 29) - but hundreds have raged as three are all on one side of the city.

A spokesperson for the city council said: "These four sites were carefully chosen by the council. They were chosen because they have the access points that are required in order for the facility to function and are located in places where using them doesn’t cause further disruption to the wider public.

"After listening to feedback we are continuing to look for locations for additional sites to ensure we have a good spread across the city. We hope to make an announcement on additional sites in the coming days.

“While these sites can be accessed by people on foot, we appreciate that they are more convenient for people with a car. We hope that most people who don’t drive will have a family member who does – or a friend or neighbour willing to help them out.

“We’d like to thank residents for their patience and support.”

[dutchman]

The communal bins weren't emptied yesterday despite what it said on the calendar.

[dutchman]

Tens of thousands of cars descend on Coventry rubbish drop-off sites amid bin strike chaos



Thousands of Coventry residents have been forced to use rubbish drop-off sites set up by the council after they failed to negotiate a deal with trade union Unite over the pay and working conditions of bin drivers.

Four pop-up waste disposal sites opened on on Wednesday, December 29, with a further two due to open later this week.

Council data reveals that since opening, 19,557 cars (totalling 11,000 residents) have used the disposal sites.

As we reported in our Coventry newsletter, 3,442 cars visited the waste disposal sites on its first day of operation last Wednesday.

Many complained that the sites were all on one side of the city - causing the council to announce they would open a further two later this week.

Reports of overflowing bins are already emerging - and are likely to become a common sight on city streets from today onwards.

In one of the latest developments Coventry City Council revealed that talks with the trade union Unite, which were set to get under way yesterday (Tuesday January 4), were halted.

The council said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the decision by Unite to cancel the talks.

The strikes are due to take place today and tomorrow (January 5 and 6), followed by a further four days of strike action from Tuesday, January 11 ending on Friday, January 14.

The problem seems likely to get worse before it gets better, although hopes remain that a settlement with the bin lorry drivers can be reached.

[dutchman]

Overflowing bins on Coventry streets on first day of strikes



Bin strikes across Coventry have started today (January 5) and bins are already overflowing.

Pictures of Foleshill Road show rubbish pouring over the top of bin lids and dumped on the floor.

There are concerns over whether workers will take the excess rubbish once the strike is over, as they normally only take what's in a closed-lidded bin. Coventry City Council has been contacted about this.

People haven't had their bins collected since the week commencing December 20, because of the Christmas break last week, and won't have them emptied now until January 18.

Recycling bins (blue lid) will not get collected again until the week commencing January 24.

However, according to the bin calendar from the city council, residents who usually have their household waste bins collected on a Friday will have them emptied this week (January 7).

From January 18, all household waste will be collected again on your normal day - unless further impacted by future strike action.

Garden waste (brown lid) collections are suspended until February 1.

In the meantime, six sites are now open across the city, for you to drop rubbish off to.

These are:

• Cheylesmore car park (off New Union Street)
  
• War Memorial Park (main car park)
  
• Hearsall Common (off Beechwood Avenue)
  
• Sowe Common car park
  
• Wyken Slough (opening tomorrow, January 6)
  
• Leicester Row (opening tomorrow, January 6)

They will operate seven days a week (except bank holidays) between 8am and 4.30pm.

[dutchman]

'Nightmare' gridlock fears as new Coventry waste site opens next to busy primary school



Local parents are concerned a new waste site that has opened today (January 6) near a Coventry primary school will cause drop-off chaos.

Thousands of Coventry residents are now using rubbish drop-off sites across the city after the council failed to negotiate a deal with trade union Unite over the pay and working conditions of bin drivers.

Four pop-up waste disposal sites opened on Wednesday, December 29, with a further two opened today (January 6).

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told CoventryLive: “The school run is a nightmare here anyway because there are two primary [schools] and a secondary school all very close.

“This means traffic and parking is already shocking.

“So now people who usually use the slough car park are having to use the roads or parking on the pavement, which is making it tougher and more dangerous to other drivers and people walking their kids to school.

“Surely the council could have found somewhere less likely to have an impact?

“I know people will say we should be walking our kids to school and most of us do, but for some walking isn’t an option - if you have a disability or have to go straight on to work after the drop off.”

[dutchman]

Having just checked, I'm unlikely to get my bin emptied before 20th January.

18th where I live!

Or perhaps not as the case may be?

Coventry bin strikes set to continue into March after union says talks have collapsed

Bin strike action in Coventry is set to extend into February and March in a dramatic escalation over a pay dispute that is seeing rubbish flow out of city bins.

The Unite union has confirmed the news this afternoon following a number of strike days over the Christmas and New Year period. The union has announced an additional 19 days of industrial action on top of the previously planned strikes between January 11 and January 14.

Bin drivers have been striking in the city over issues regarding pay and working conditions and an extension of the industrial action is now set to run until the final week of March.

Bin collections were set to resume as normal on the week beginning January 18.

Strike action will now be taking place on:

• January 18, 21, 26 and 28
  
• February 2, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 23 and 25
  
• March 2, 5, 9, 11, 16, 19 and 23

Unite say the decision to extend the strike was made after the council refused to make an improved offer to the drivers and that an offer previously rejected by workers was no longer on the table during negotiations on Tuesday (January 4).

[dutchman]

Extra rubbish will NOT be collected once bin strikes finish, council confirms

People in Coventry are being affected by bin strikes and streets have already seen rubbish overflowing.

Yesterday, Thursday, was the second day of the strike after Coventry City Council (CCC) failed to come to an agreement with trade union Unite over pay and working conditions for drivers.

And now, CCC have confirmed any "extra side waste" will not be disposed of once the strike is finished, and normal collections start again week commencing January 17.

It comes as those who cannot access drop-off sites were concerned over the amount of extra rubbish they would put out on collection days as bags not in the bin are never taken.

Six drop-off sites are currently open across the city to give people the chance to dispose of any waste as bins haven't been collected since the week leading up to Christmas (December 20).

A CCC spokesperson said: “For the time-being we will not collect extra side waste but we will be prioritising the collection of household waste (green-lidded bins) first once drivers are back at work.

"For most people, this will be the week beginning 18 January 2022. This is so we can collect food waste first. However, we remain committed to resolving the ongoing dispute with Unite to ensure that services can resume as quickly as possible. In the meantime there are now six pop up waste disposal sites open 8am to 4.30pm seven days a week.”

CoventryLive were previously told that residents wouldn't see a reduction in council tax as they only pay around £130 a year for their weekly bin collection, "which works out at around £2.50 a week" .

CCC said they believe "this represents outstanding value for money" and reminded people they have a "legal obligation" to pay after hundreds questioned if they would see a cheaper tax bill next month.