Easter chaos for Adur

A one-day strike has been called nationally for Wednesday by Unison, the council workers' union. The strike follows a national ballot over changes to the local government pension scheme (LGPS).

The government is proposing to introduce changes to the pension scheme, raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 for all staff and increasing employee contributions to the scheme.

The unions held ballots for industrial action, with between 73 per cent and 87 per cent of members voting for all-out strike action across the country. Pickets are expected to be outside Adur council offices throughout the day.

This means rubbish, recycling, clinical and trade waste collections, which would normally take place on Wednesday in Adur, will not happen if the strike goes ahead.

Clinical waste will be collected on the following Wednesday after the Easter holiday but household rubbish and recycling won't be collected until April 1 - the next scheduled day. Separate arrangements will be made for trade waste collections.

The council is asking residents to take their rubbish to tips at Brighton Road, Shoreham, and Halewick Lane, Sompting, and to help their elderly or disabled neighbours by also taking their rubbish.

Last-ditch talks to avert strike action began this week but Unison said it was looking increasingly unlikely a resolution would be reached.

A Unison spokesman said: "It's not a dispute we wanted but it has been forced on us.

"The shortfall in LGPS funding is due to the pensions holidays employers took in the early nineties and when the government raided fund surpluses when the poll tax fell apart. Why should the staff pay for these abuses? We will fight for what is rightfully ours, the pension we have paid into through our working lives."

The Civic Centre in Ham Road, Shoreham, and other council offices will remain open, with limited services.