BRIGHTON'S binmen will go on strike over the weekend of Pride, a union has confirmed.

The GMB has today issued a notice to Brighton and Hove City Council announcing Cityclean staff will stage full-day walkouts on July 29, as well as August 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The announcement comes after refuse and recycling staff downed tools and went home without pay on Friday in an unofficial one-day strike - not sanctioned by the union.

The dispute centres around whether GMB official Dave Russell should be allowed to return to work at the depot in Hollingdean or be restricted to working from the union's offices.

The GMB has accused the council of "anti-trade union behaviour".

Brighton and Hove City Council said: "We’re very disappointed that the GMB has decided to issue dates for industrial action in two weeks’ time and running through August, including Pride weekend.

“We’re still fully committed to resolving any outstanding issues through the ACAS talks to ensure the service we provide for our residents and businesses is maintained and not disrupted.

“During talks between the council, the GMB and ACAS there has been clear agreement on most of the issues that the union has concerns about, and another round of talks are due to take place this Thursday.

“We take seriously the allegations of anti-trade union behaviour and are investigating this.

"We’re also very disappointed that trust between the council and GMB has broken down, but we’re confident this trust can be rebuilt to the benefit of the service.

“The council has received a number of allegations and counter allegations which need to be investigated and we’ve agreed with the GMB to appoint an independent person from outside of the council to review this.

“The council has clear standards of behaviour to ensuring everyone is treated with dignity and respect at work, and it is important that when there are allegations these are investigated appropriately and fairly through our procedures.

“The staff member involved can continue to undertake their role, but at different site to allow a fair investigation to take place.

"There is no loss of GMB representation for GMB members at the depot and union members have full choice about who represents them.

“We would therefore hope the union still meets on Thursday with ourselves and ACAS and seek to resolve the issue and avoid industrial action.”

A statement from the union issued today said: "It has always been made very clear that GMB members' red lines on the most serious issues were not on a pick-and-mix basis, [the council] either agreed to all or none.

"GMB have issued what will be the first of a series of industrial action notices to Brighton and Hove City Council over the coming weeks as talks over council anti-trade union behaviour reach deadlock.

"GMB have issued the required two weeks' notices on behalf of the city’s street cleansing, refuse and recycling services. "Tripartite discussions chaired by Acas and attended by BHCC, Labour leader Nancy Platts and Green Party Convenor Phelim MacCafferty have been unable to reach a solution that all sides could agree to.

"This is after senior council officers including chief executive Geoff Raw and director of finance and resources David Kuenssberg added new additional concerns and issues when a solution looked likely.

"The notices issued to the council, at the sudden conclusion of what has been a difficult process at times, are the first in a series of dates under consideration for the coming weeks and months, lay out the first day of full strike action as Monday, July 29, and simultaneous notice of the commencement of an extended overtime ban running through until August 5, additional days consisting of full day walk outs are planned for August 2, 3, 4, and 5, with further strike action by the department's vehicle workshop and maintenance staff on July 30 and August 1.

"Further dates will be added over the coming days and weeks leading to possible further disruption of services to the city provided by Cityclean until GMB can be assured that council officers continued attacks against both the GMB and its representatives have ceased and that proposals, even if only tentatively agreed, are then not varied or removed from scope."

Mark Turner, GMB branch secretary said: "It’s been very much a case of one step forward, two steps back by council officers in the meetings facilitated by Acas.

"Several times we thought that a settlement to the dispute was imminent as we seemed to agree on much more than divided us and that we were at the stage where simply changes to some wording in the working document was the only final stumbling block to avoid.

"We couldn’t have been more wrong as agreements we thought were signed off by all three of the city’s political parties were then revoked by the council officers and further vexatious claims against representatives of the GMB union suddenly appeared, leaving the officers demanding that the GMB rep’s exclusion from the Hollingdean depot continued, even after agreeing that he should return to the workplace.

"It has always been made very clear that although we could discuss all other issues to seek a consensus and way forward that GMB members' red lines on the most serious issues were not on a pick-and-mix basis, they either agreed to all or none.

"Those red lines were that their rep must be returned to the depot and that the unfair persecution and anti-trade union behaviour he was subjected to cease, along then with allowing GMB members their statutory right of access to the union representative of their choice at all times should they need to.

"There is a further meeting planned to meet with council officers, councillors and Acas scheduled for Thursday 18 and GMB will attend in the spirit of seeking a resolution of avoiding the need for industrial action as we have all along, but right now we have no faith and trust in what the Council officers say or agree to at the meeting because it seems they then change their mind upon returning to the larger exec team meaning that we can't be assured of an agreement ever being reached. But maybe they will prove me wrong."