BREAKING: Planned strike action impacting Tipperary deferred

Planned strike action that would have seen bins in Tipperary go uncollected has been deferred.

Workers at Bord na Móna Recycling voted in favour of strike action over what they said were the company's attempts to privatise the company.

Bord na Móna Recycling is the country’s last publicly owned domestic waste collection service.

Now, SIPTU members employed by the recycling company have voted to defer the planned strike action, which was set to begin on April 2, following acceptance by management that their conditions of employment must be protected in any proposed sale of the company.

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SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “Following acceptance in principle by management of the concerns our members raised in relation to the protection of their terms and conditions of employment if a proposed sale of the company takes place, they have decided to defer strike action scheduled to take place next week.

"The decision was made following a meeting of Shop Stewards... and has now been relayed to management. The deferral period will allow for talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in relation to ensuring our members will maintain their current terms and conditions of employment if any sale of the company goes ahead," Mr Kane said.

Mr Kane added: "We believe the most appropriate way to ensure our members terms and conditions of employment are protected is through the establishment of a Registered Employment Agreement.

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"It remains the position of our members that selling the last remaining publicly owned domestic waste collection service into the private sector is a backwards step in relation to the future of the industry in Ireland," Mr Kane said.

"We continue to seek a meeting with the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien, to discuss the wider context of this dispute and the best way forward for the domestic waste collection sector," he said.