UNIONS are expected to announce details of more strike action tomorrow as further talks with council are planned this week.

Street cleaners have returned to work today after a week long stoppage that has left litter strewn around the city centre and bins overflowing in pedestrian precincts.

The council was forced to hire large 11,000 litre bins for the public to use to prevent the unsightly streets becoming a health hazard.

Striking bin men will end a two-week walkout on Wednesday which on top of two earlier stoppages has left rotting rubbish piling up. Some wheelie bins have not been emptied for five weeks.

You can read the full archive of stories about the strikes in our In Depth section.

But while some rubbish posing a fire risk at tower blocks is being cleared by a lone dust cart crewed by non-union drivers, council leader Royston Smith said the council would only break the bin men strikes by bringing in external contractors if rubbish outside homes became a widespread health hazard.

Up to 2,400 council workers are continuing to refuse overtime or use their own cars as work to rule industrial action over pay cuts for 4,300 staff runs into its fifth week. Strike action could start again as early as Monday next week.

Council and union leaders will decide today when they will next meet after nine hours of talks through the mediation service ACAS on Thursday broke up without an agreement.

Cllr Smith said “some progress” had been made but union leaders said they were “very disappointed” they ended without a deal and accused the council managers of a lack of commitment.

The unions say they will halt industrial action if the council suspends dismissal notices threatening workers with the sack on July 11 if they don’t sign up to pay cuts of between two and 5.5 per cent to help make £25m of budget savings.

Cllr Smith said: “If it looks like we’re making progress towards an agreement we would not rule out suspending the notices.”

But he urged the unions to come up with a “grown up sensible offer” that would allow the council to make the £65m savings it needs to find over the next four years.

Unite regional organiser Ian Woodland said the unions were committed to getting round the table as soon as possible to resolve the dispute.

He said: “We are looking at talking to restart on Wednesday.

I’m not sure whether the council wants to pull them forward. We remain available should they want to do so.”