Talks aimed at averting a bin strike in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown area of Dublin have adjourned at the Labour Relations Commission.
No progress has been reported and the talks are expected to resume at the same venue tomorrow afternoon.
SIPTU has threatened to take strike action from this Thursday over a decision by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to outsource its bin collection service to private sector firm Panda from 26 July.
If the strike goes ahead, it could spread to the other three local authority districts of Dublin, which are also being balloted for industrial action.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said it had no alternative but to outsource the service as it was incurring unsustainable losses estimated at €3.5m for this year.
It says its customer base has shrunk from 64,000 in 2006 to 18,500 at present.
The decision was also influenced by a recent High Court ruling that supported unrestricted competition in the Dublin waste market.
It also fears that the cost of landfill disposal will rise in the coming years.
The council stressed that none of the 25 staff would lose their jobs, as they would be redeployed to improving services in other frontline areas, including street cleaning, water and parks.
However, SIPTU has accused Dún Laoghaire County Manager Owen Keegan of breaching agreements, including the Croke Park public sector agreement, to maintain direct labour.
It has claimed that where waste collection is privatised, the cost to consumers increases rapidly after initial reductions.
SIPTU also accuses private firms of cherry picking profitable routes and that householders living in remote locations or on unprofitable routes may be left to dispose of their own refuse.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said the Panda service will be free for the first six months to all domestic households who currently avail of the Council's bin collection services.
The charges from 1 February will be 20% below current Council charges until at least 2014.
They will also operate the existing waiver scheme for low-income households.
