Striking workers take to picket lines outside Wolverhampton waste plant

The GMB reported all the workers on industrial action manned the picket lines at the Crown Street plant.

The three-day strike action was sparked over a dispute with Wolverhampton Council over pay as well as union fears over safety.

Workers at the site, which processes over 100,000 tonnes of household waste each year, are angry at facing a pay freeze since April 2022.

The GMB claims the council is currently breaching the terms of its contract which guarantees annual pay negotiations. Workers at the site are expected to transfer over to a new employer, expected to take place next month

Tom Warnett, GMB regional organiser, told the Express & Star: “This first day of strike action was a success. They were forced to take the plant offline which is what we wanted. We did not want untrained workers trying to replace us.

"All the workers in dispute with the council walked out and were outside the plant on the picket lines. We expect the next two days to be the same."

The plant was constructed in 1998 to burn in the region of 115,000 tonnes of local domestic waster per annum of local domestic refuse, generating electricity for the local community.

The site was saved from closure last year, which would have led to the loss of 30 jobs, when the council struck a deal with North Midlands Operations Limited.

A Wolverhampton Council spokesman said the authority "is disappointed by their decision to take this action following discussions with GMB on pay issues over the last few months".

“The council and its management contractor have plans in place to ensure that the action does not impact the safe operation of the plant, and that no other council services will be affected.”