Seven-month bin lorry driver strike in Coventry finally ends with a deal, council announces

A seven-month strike by bin lorry drivers in Coventry has finally ended with a deal, the city council has announced.

The 70 HGV drivers it employs who have been striking since January 31, will go back to work after an agreement was finalised today.

The dispute has cost Coventry City Council more than £4 million from lost income and mitigation measures

This included installing rubbish drop-off sites and sub-contracting out driver jobs.

In a statement released this afternoon, the council said it was "frustrated" at the time taken to resolve the dispute as it claimed elements of the deal had been on the table last year.

They said: "This unnecessary delay has meant the council has had to deal with a net cost pressure of more than £4 million," it said, "through a mixture of paying for mitigation measures to ensure Coventry residents continued to receive waste collection services and a substantial loss in commercial waste income."

Andrew Walster, Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, said the council was "bitterly disappointed" at the time it had taken to find a resolution.

He said: "This deal could have been agreed much sooner. The core elements regarding the minimum salary for bin lorry drivers has been on the table since January this year.

"In fact, the changes to weekend working to boost pay for all drivers - which is within the Council's existing terms and conditions - is something that was initially offered in November last year before drivers were balloted.

"The biggest frustration has been the disruption households have at times had to endure because of this action."

More to follow...