Residents are being warned that 'waste chaos' could be looming after a union vowed to fight "tooth and nail" against changes to Leicestershire tips. GMB said it is balloting members over strike action in response to new summer opening hours at waste sites across the county. 

The union claimed the move, which is intended to save hard up Leicestershire County Council (LCC) cash, will by extension leave some employees around £1,300 worse off, adding staff are 'rightly furious'.  

The county council approved a number of changes to the way its tips operate earlier this year. 

They include the closure of the Somerby site near Oakham and different opening days at a number of other tips, while summer hours will be cut by two hours on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays across all.  

A spokesman for Leicestershire County Council has said the local authority does not expect 'significant disruption' at any of its sites if members vote to strike, contrary to union claims, and plans would be "put in place to ensure that most waste sites can remain open as scheduled". 

He added the council is "open to further dialogue with GMB to try and resolve this situation and minimise any impacts on waste site staff". The council is not making any redundancies as a result of the changes and only employees who work more than the council's standard full-time hours of 37 hours a week will be impacted, the spokesman continued. 

Leicestershire County Council consulted residents and staff over the plans. The spokesman said 58 per cent of public respondents supported the reduction in summer opening hours. 

David Warwick, GMB Organiser, said: 'These workers are facing an impossible situation, with council bosses unilaterally imposing huge pay cuts on them. There could be overflowing waste in the county's tips within weeks if council bosses refuse to row back on these damaging plans. 

'Workers are rightly furious at the plans, which would have a huge impact on them and their families. They should not be expected to pay the price for the council bad financial planning and our union will fight these cuts tooth and nail.' 

The LCC spokesman said: 'The county council has noted the union's intention to ballot for industrial action and open to further dialogue with GMB to try and resolve this situation and minimise any impacts on waste site staff. Should industrial action be voted for, no significant disruption is expected, and plans will be put in place to ensure that most waste sites can remain open as scheduled. 

'Due to upcoming changes in the opening hours of waste sites from April 2025, modifying the working patterns was necessary. There will be no redundancies. A formal consultation with affected staff and the unions was carried out between 1st July and 9th September 2024, listening to feedback and making changes where possible.' 

The council currently faces an £85 million budget gap by 2028 if it does not make savings. Councils are legally bound to balance their books every year. The waste site adjustments are expected to save £300,000 a year. More information on the changes can be found here. 

GMB said around 50 employees are expected to take part in the ballot. The council said it has 121 members of staff in waste management roles, but these are not necessarily all based at its tips.