A NATIONAL union boss has accused the city’s council leader of putting his holiday before “the decent people in Southampton”.

As bin collectors announced another walk-out next week and with piles of rubbish growing across the city, Councillor Royston Smith was jetting out to an Egyptian Red Sea resort for a short break.

Council chief executive Alistair Neill was also understood to have left the city for a week’s holiday in the UK.

Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey, visiting the city yesterday to rally his members, said city leaders should be back home settling the festering dispute over pay cuts.

He told the Daily Echo: “I came to the city hoping to meet the city council leader but I was told he was not available to meet.

“If he is on holiday then obviously he regards that as more important than the services to the decent people of Southampton.”

Mr McCluskey said the local authority was stalling talks at the ACAS mediation service until July 6, even though that meant weeks of more industrial action.

He spoke out before talking to more than 500 members who marched to a rally through the city centre waving placards and flags and chanting slogans.

The Daily Echo was not allowed into the joint Unite and Unison meeting held in the Above Bar Church. Unison deputy general secretary Keith Sonnett was also there speaking to his members.

But Mr McCluskey said afterwards there was “anger” among his members, who include bin men and parking wardens.

He said: “Southampton’s workers have time and again proposed a better way forward to an employer that refuses to listen.

“We were in negotiations when they began handing out dismissal notices.”

About 4,300 workers have been threatened with dismissal if they do not sign up to a new contract that cuts their pay by as much as 5.5 per cent.

Mr McCluskey accepted people had a right to be angry at disruption by the industrial action but insisted it was their fight too.

He said: “They have to defend their services and make sure central Government and the Toryled council don’t make them pay the price for something that was not their doing.”

But Cllr Smith, speaking to the Daily Echo from Egypt last night, refuted claims that he was avoiding talks and said he had prebooked the family holiday, which was his first in more than two years.

He said: “Even yesterday I was down at Town Depot trying to meet with the bin men.

“I’m going to be here for a few days and that’s it. I have my mobile phone and Blackberry with me.

“The chief executive and I have been in communication with the council the whole time together.

“Jeremy Moulton [the city council’s deputy leader] is completely capable and has my full confidence and is doing everything I would be doing if I was there.”

Cllr Moulton said last night: “We are arranging to meet with unions as soon as possible but they must bring a constructive approach to the table and be prepared to compromise.

“In the meantime, I call on the unions to stop all industrial action. This action is achieving nothing but inconvenience and cost for the people of Southampton.”

An official statement released from council said: “The council wants to meet with ACAS and the unions as soon as possible. Any delay is purely down to the logistics of getting all parties from ACAS, the unions and council together.

The council is ready to meet at the earliest opportunity.”