Despite heavy rain, there was a strong picket line closing off the Council yard and amenity site at Loughanhill Industrial Estate in Coleraine on Thursday morning. Many had been there since before 7am and the gates remained closed throughout the day, as they had been on Wednesday.

Speaking to the Coleraine Times, William Bradley, shop steward for the street cleansing staff and Laurence Daly, shop steward for refuse collection staff, said that their members, all in the Unite union, would continue to take strike action until their pay demands have been met.

William said: “The men are all willing to stay out for as long as it takes.” He says that another strike could be on the cards next month, perhaps for four days.

“The government has to realise that people have to live and keep their families. If we don’t get this resolved now, attitudes are going to harden.”

The pay offer is not acceptable says Laurence. “We have members taking home less than £180 a week. A 2.45% rise is less than £5 per week. We want 6% or 50p an hour.

“We are out in all weathers dealing with all sorts of rubbish and we just want a fair wage, we just want to break even. 2.45% of very little is not a lot. It will be interesting to see what percent increase MPs and those who set our wages get on their enormous salaries.

Both men speak for all the striking workers when they say everything is going up in price and the government has to do something to help.

William points out that there is a real cost to the striking workers. “Not only do they lose a day’s pay for each day on strike, they later have to make up their pension payments or risk losing out in the future.

“We know that the public are suffering, but we hope that they will realise what is at stake and support us.”

On the other hand, speaking on behalf of Council employers in Northern Ireland, Belfast councillor Jimmy Spratt said: “Council employers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been in discussions with the trade unions regarding pay for some months now and have proposed increases in pay that are at the limit of what we can afford.

“The pay offer that has been made, we believe, maintains local government as an attractive place to work whilst still being affordable to the rate-payer. The offer of 2.45% with £100 extra for the lowest three pay grades is at the limit of affordability and represents our best, and final, offer”.

Across the Province support has been strong but patchy. Local government services have been affected in most council areas. There have also been large scale rallies in Belfast and Londonderry to highlight the plight of the workers.