refuse collection

The GMB union said its members would be "working to rule" from 27 December, with Unison members doing the same from 29 December.

Dozens of staff were sent home yesterday after a two-hour sit-in at Brighton and Hove City Council’s Hollingdean depot. Amid mounting tension, GMB union officials said it would be balloting its members on industrial action for the new year.

After the unanimous 32-0 vote in the Senate, union leaders announced the end of the four day-strike.

The Senate vote came hours after Chile's lower house rejected a 9.5% wage increase. Following the lower house loss, the government had increased its wage hike offer to 10% and senators approved the sweetened deal.

In the afternoon of Thursday 20/11/08, the residents of Lefkimi in south Corfu staged yet another demo against the construction of the open refuse dump (XYTA) imposed by Athens in the vicinity of their town.

On the 15th of October the residents of Elliniko village near the city of Ioannina, North West Greece, blockaded the construction of the open-refuse dump (XYTA) to which they have been opposed for over 18 months. The response of Athens was to send 19 battallions of riot police forces (MAT), that is about 230 policemen, to open the way for the bulldozers.

On Saturday 9/08 the peacefull protests by residents of Lefkimi against the creation of an open refuse-dump at the periphery of their village were once again met with police repression: the riot-police made extened use of tear gas and disregarded home-asylum laws by attacking residents with battons within their very backyards.

More than 500,000 workers were on strike on July 16 and 17, bringing disruption to schools, town halls, refuse collections and libraries throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"This has been a fantastic response from our members," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. "Local government workers have shown their anger and resentment towards this pay offer.

The lorries were turning up at the site at Lamby Way only to find the weigh bridge blocked by workers. The workers took the action in support of two members of staff who had been disciplined. One of the men has now been moved to another job by management, amounting to a demotion, and it is this move which sparked the walk out.

About 70 workers have downed tools amid claims their city council paymasters have gone back on an agreement to pay them thousands of pounds in back pay. They say they are owed compensation as a result of a salary restructure undergone by the authority and are refusing to go back to work until the outstanding wages are paid.

"The boys are refusing to work until it is sorted," said one binman.

The residents of Lefkimi in the south of Corfu island in greece are opposed to the construction of an Open Garbage-Dump (XYTA) near their town. The residents claimed that their marginalised, underdeveloped area known for its left-wing tradition and defience was being used as a refuse for the tourist-industry produced garbage of the north.

The action disrupted both refuse and recycling collections throughout the city affecting 15,000 households. Workers at the Queenslie and Eastern depots took the un-official action, claiming the council had failed to meet overtime payments of up to £4000.

The Ecological Challenge: Three Revolutions are Necessary
by Alternative Libertaire

Employer attacks on workers' pay is the main issue at stake.

Teachers in the NUT are walking out over their pay deal which was supposed to be revised when inflation rose, but the government refused: effectively cutting their wages.

Council workers will be protesting against the new pay and grading system imposed by Birmingham council last week, affecting 40,000 staff.

UNISON has branded the structure discriminatory. Though it was designed to end wage inequalities, some workers will lose up to half their pay.

The pension reform raises the retirement age for women to 65 and workers in hazardous industries will have to work an extra two years. Many accuse the conservative government of going back on pre-election promises not to cut pension rights.

The government's reforms would mean the merging of pension funds and increasing the pension age for some workers. The government, however, has not made public any details on the size of savings that will accrue from the reforms. The trade unions have also argued that the current pension system could survive if bosses were made to pay their contributions.

Last Wednesday saw a three-hour general stoppage called by the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), during which doctors, engineers, pharmacists and lawyers joined bank workers and rubbish collectors already on strike. The day ended with a march on parliament attended by hundreds of workers.

The striking bin staff had been complaining about management bullying after staff refused to double their workload due to lack of vehicles and under-staffing. As part of what workers called management's "bully tactics", four refuse workers had been moved onto different crews sparking anger amongst the depot and leading to the wildcat action.

Staff at the Hollingdean Depot downed tools on Wednesday morning in retaliation to having tightly-knit crews broken up by managers. Four men have reportedly been moved from one lorry to another as management try to address the problem. Another worker said his cousin, who also works at the depot, had been "punished" for having time off sick by being put onto another shift.