Melbourne Councils Hit by Garbage Strike

0:00It's April 15th. From your city to your ears, this is Sydney News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Garbage collection chaos is hitting three Melbourne Council's hard, Mary Beck, Hume, and Derivan after last week's 24-hour strike. Union workers are now skipping bins on random streets indefinitely to demand a 24% pay rise over four years. Residents won't know if their block gets hit until collection day passes. This ramps up Thursday when unions pick even more spots to ignore. They're aiming for 10% in year one than three years of four percent each to match rising living costs. About 100 workers are leading the charge across these areas. Folks are feeling the sting, big time. One mom and had field dealt with a rotting organic bin full of food scraps, keeping her toddler inside to avoid the stench. A carer in Meadow Heights struggled with extra incontinence waste, piling up in the backyard after just one skipped week.

1:01Meanwhile, action spreads wider, library book returns could halt from Thursday plus bands on graffiti cleanup, public bins, and minor pothole fixes in. Eight councils total. Unions release street lists, but only north of Bell Street and Mary Beck is fully targeted so far. Examples are telling residents to pull in empty bins and hold tight, while negotiating in good faith. Workers say the disruption highlights their essential role, urging locals to push councils to settle fast and in the mess.