The trade union Unite has notified Coventry City Council that it will ballot 55 refuse workers for strike action and action short of a strike.
The union has accused the council of ‘attacking’ the workers’ terms and conditions.
Coventry said it had been unable to agree a position with trade unions to remove ‘task-and-finish’, which allows refuse workers to leave early if they have finished their round.
The local authority said it was ‘absolutely non-negotiable’ that task-and-finish must end.
A council spokesperson said: ‘It is important that we protect the council from any potential future equal pay claims.
‘It is not an attack on crews who empty bins, no matter how the union tries to present it.’
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: ‘What we need is action to ensure decent pay and conditions – what we will not accept is cuts.
‘Coventry council need to learn from its mistakes and quickly negotiate and end this dispute.’
Refuse workers will begin voting on industrial action on 10 October, with the ballot closing two weeks later.
The other unions who were involved in the talks on 'task-and-finish', Unison and GMB, have not proposed ballots for industrial action.
If this article was of interest, then check out our feature Righting the wrongs of equal pay.
