Wiltshire's bin strikes are over, with members of the GMB Union accepting a new pay deal. 

Hills Municipal Collections has received confirmation that employees who are members of the GMB Union will cease strike and return to work on Friday, March 18.   

The announcement came following GMB Union’s discussions with members today when they agreed to accept a version of an offer that had been previously discussed with GMB Union prior to strike action.

A spokesperson for Hills Municipal Collections said: “Although pleased that the action will now finish, we are frustrated that to all intents and purpose, we have gone full circle, that said, we are pleased that GMB Union members have agreed to accept the deal offered at 7.1 per cent which includes a minimum 2 per cent pay rise backdated to April 2021 and a 5 per cent pay rise from 1 April 2022 with the next annual review in April 2023.

“We look forward to welcoming our colleagues back to work.  This has been a stressful time for everyone involved, including ourselves as employers, striking employees, and employees who have not gone on strike, together with our client Wiltshire Council and all the residents of Wiltshire who have not received the level of service they have come to expect.

"We now have important work to catch up with the recycling services that were suspended.”

Household recycling collections will resume on Monday, March 21 and residents should put out their black box and blue-lidded bin on their scheduled day. 

If recycling bins are not emptied on their scheduled day people are asked to leave them out, and they will be collected as soon as possible.

Any additional recycling materials stockpiled during the disruption will be collected. People are asked to put those items in non-black bags or containers (such as a plastic crate) next to their recycling bins.

Household and garden waste collections continue as normal and people are asked to put those bins out on their normal collection day. There could still be slight delays so people are asked to leave their bins out until collected.

Councillor Dr Mark McClelland, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Waste, said: “We are extremely pleased that this industrial action has now come to an end, and I’m sure residents across the county will echo that sentiment.

"Our focus now is to get all waste collection services back on track and I’m confident that will happen very quickly. However, there still may be some delays to collections, and any bin not emptied will be done so as soon as possible.

“Before the industrial action took place our new collection rounds were running so smoothly, so we’re looking forward to picking up where we left off and continuing to provide great services for our residents.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding during the industrial action.”