South West Water managers say they don’t expect there to be any noticeable impact on services in light of the decision by some union members to take industrial action by limiting overtime for unplanned or emergency work from Saturday, July 16. 

In a statement, SWW said: ’Our priority is to continue supplying good, safe drinking water to all our customers and continuing to treat waste water to the highest environmental standards.’

South West Water says the majority of GMB and Unite members of around 300 in operational roles voted against strike action, but in favour of an overtime ban in a dispute over pay after rejecting a 1.8% pay increase and £120 ’goodwill payment’.

The statement said: ’Over the past four years – despite investing heavily, keeping bills down and being one of the most efficient companies in the water industry – we have been able to deliver pay rises to South West Water’s 1,500 employees that are at least or more than the industry average and higher than the Consumer Price Index.  Over the same period, the average household bill has either been frozen or reduced, and is now lower than seven years ago.’

The company believes its pay award for 2015/16 is a fair and reasonable settlement and says it looks forward to progressing overdue discussions with the trade unions on this year’s settlement.