A trade union has disputed Waverley Borough Council‘s claim a three-week bins walkout is only a ‘partial’ strike.

GMB members, employed by the council’s waste contractor Biffa, rejected a pay deal on Thursday and immediately commenced the first day of picketing.

Waverley later said the strike action is only “partial” and urged residents to put out their bins as usual, with reports that many collections in the Farnham area had been completed as planned.

But a union spokesman has told the Herald the GMB are “definite” that the majority of workers are out on strike.

They added: “If there were refuse collectors going out on rounds, these would have been agency staff.

“By our calculations though, 12 of the 19 rounds were not carried out, so around two thirds.”

The Herald has asked Biffa to clarify how rounds are likely to be affected in coming days.

The dispute centres around pay, with members unhappy with the pay offer their employer has made, which they say falls “well below” the current rate of inflation.

The industrial action will affect kerbside collections within Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere, Cranleigh and the surrounding areas.

It is set to continue until November 23, with street cleaning services also affected.