Trooping the Colour to be marred by heaps of rubbish?

The annual Trooping the Colour ceremony could be affected by the Royal Parks gardeners strike.

The GMB union – Britain’s general trade union – has warned that its members who look after the parks are planning to stage a 48-hour strike in a dispute over pay on Friday (12.06.15) meaning the parade from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and back again on Saturday (13.06.15) could be marred by heaps of rubbish.

The Queen is expected to attend the ceremony – which marks her official birthday – but according to a GMB spokesman up to "36 hours’ worth of rubbish" may be visible in the parks when the parade begins, unless the strike is called off.

The spokesperson added: "Things won’t be as shiny and pristine as they would normally be."

The GMB revealed approximately 50 to 60 of its members work in the Royal Parks doing jobs such as looking after gardens, street cleaning, sweeping and rubbish collection on the roads and pathways through the parks for contractors OCS.

Gary Carter, GMB Organiser for Royal Parks told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "OCS wish to move staff from weekly to monthly pay, but intend to do so in a way which withholds money staff have already earned under current arrangements, leaving staff out of pocket. GMB members in the royal parks have already takeN solid strike action over the issue.

"This dispute can be resolved if management are willing to negotiate, compromise and look at everyone’s best interests and not simply their own."

A spokesman for The Royal Parks said: "It is the responsibility of landscape maintenance contractors to ensure continuity of service. We will liaise with OCS to ensure contingency plans are in place to cover key services."