RUBBISH collections will be taken a day late for some households because of a public sector strike - but the council doesn’t know which.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union, GMB, the National Union of Teachers, the Public and Commercial Services Union, Unison and Unite will stage a national walkout on Thursday, affecting council services.

They are striking against performance-related pay, pension cuts and what they perceive to be the running down of public services.

This will lead to some rubbish collections taking place the following week instead, though a council spokesman said the authority would not know which households would be affected until the strike had started.

He said: “We will try to keep disruption to a minimum but it will not be possible to provide some services, such as household waste and recycling collections.

“Bagged side waste, for households affected, will be taken on the next collection day - Thursday 17 July.

“In some cases we will not know how a service will be affected until the day of the strike.

“We are planning around this to ensure essential services continue.”

Unite regional officer Paul Travers said members were striking over “poverty pay” and an “insulting” offer of a one per cent pay increase.

He said: “Our members in Thurrock have endured four years of pay cuts in real terms and they have now voted overwhelmingly to strike tomorrow to drive home the message to ministers that ‘poverty pay’ in local government must end.”

However Thurrock Conservatives deputy leader Rob Gledhill said the strike was causing unnecessary disruption for working people.

He said: “This not only affects people’s rubbish collections but also mums who have to stay at home to look after their children who aren’t in school because teachers are striking over a one per cent pay increase cap.

“There are private sector workers out there who haven’t had a pay increase at all or have even had a pay cut but whenever public sector workers get a pay increase, that has to come from somewhere, and that’s the taxpayer’s pocket.”