Council services to be affected during strike

There will be some disruption to Shropshire County Council services as a result of the strike called by two public sector unions for Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 July.

Please note: The situation is liable to change, and residents and service users wishing to find out more information about disruption to services can contact the county council’s Customer Service Centre on 0845 678 9000 or visit this website for the latest situation.

On Wednesday and Thursday the council’s headquarters at Shirehall, Shrewsbury, will be staffed by employees who are not on strike. However, Shirehall will not be open to the public and meetings involving members of the public and other organisations have been cancelled.

Schools and school meals
Teachers will not be on strike. However, a small number of schools where significant numbers of support staff are on strike will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday for health and safety reasons (see list below). In these instances, parents have been or will be informed directly by the school.

The following schools will be closed on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 July:

- Severndale School, Shrewsbury
- Mount Pleasant Junior School, Shrewsbury
- Rhyn Park School and Performing Arts College, St Martins
- Cleobury Mortimer Primary School - open to years 2 and 6 only.

Provision of school meals may be affected at some schools. In these instances, schools will contact parents and ask them to provide a packed lunch. However, packed lunches will be provided for pupils who receive free school meals.

Day care services
All day care services will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday as potentially reduced staff numbers mean the health and safety of service users can’t be guaranteed. These services include day care provision for adults with learning disabilities, older people, people with physical disabilities and all mental health services. Service users and their carers affected by these closures have been or will be notified directly in advance.

Home care and meals on wheels services will not be affected.

Libraries
A number of libraries will be closed, and mobile library services are also likely to be disrupted (see attached list). Shropshire Archives in Shrewsbury will also be closed.

Refuse and recycling collections:
Refuse and recycling collection services in the Shropshire County Council area will be unaffected by the strike.

Crews in the districts covered by Shropshire Waste Partnership - Bridgnorth, South Shropshire, North Shropshire and Oswestry - are now employed by Veolia Environmental Services, SWP's contractors. Crews in Shrewsbury & Atcham are not joining the strike.

The household recycling centres in Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Oswestry, Craven Arms, Whitchurch and Ludlow will also be open as normal on both days.

ParkRight
ParkRight parking attendants are expected to be working as normal.

Joyce Barrow, Shropshire County Council’s Cabinet member for human resources, said: "The council regrets any inconvenience likely to be caused to local people as a result of this industrial action, which arises from a national dispute between the unions and the Government.

"However, we will do all we can to minimise any disruption to services and, where services are affected, will do all we can to inform any residents and service users."

Page updated at 9.00am on Wednesday 16 July