NEWRY, Mourne and Down District Council has apologised to householders as industrial action by staff begins that is set to cause significant disruption to bin collections and other services.
Members of the Siptu, Nipsa, GMB and Unite unions have agreed to work to rule from Monday in a dispute over pay and conditions.
In a joint statement, the unions said the council's lowest paid staff members were being asked "to take pay cuts during a cost-of-living crisis".
Union spokesperson Kevin Kelly said members "have lost confidence in management", prompting the industrial action between Monday and July 30.
"They are making staff redundant and offering severance packages while at the same time they are recruiting staff into similar positions," Mr Kelly said.
"They need to know this will not be tolerated by our members and we will take whatever action is required to ensure our members suffer no further hardship than already faces all workers at this time."
Read more: Unions members to be balloted on strike action in Newry, Mourne and Down
A previous work-to-rule campaign by union members at the council took place in April.
A spokesperson for Newry Mourne and Down District Council said there would be no missed bin collection service until July 30, and urged householders whose bins were not collected to remove them from the kerbside until the next collection day.
They added recycling centre opening times would be "impacted" along with the opening and servicing of public toilets.
"Further updates will be provided on our website and social media channels should other services be impacted," the spokesperson said.
"We are very sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused to residents."
The council has said negotiations with the unions over the issue are set to begin in "early August", facilitated by the Labour Relations Agency.
