Refuse Workers In Adur & Worthing Begin 14 Days Of Strike Action

The GMB Union representing refuse workers in Sussex, have begun 14 days of strike action in Adur and Worthing this morning, demanding better pay and conditions.

The union has stated that it wrote to Paul Brewer at Worthing & Adur Council on Friday, urging him to negotiate with them, but he hadn't responded.

So far, "a strong picket line" has formed at the gate of the depot, which is stopping drivers leaving to perform their duties.

In response to threats of action, the council has stated that's it's been in negotiations with Unison, which they say is the "recognised union" who have negotiated a pay rise for staff at the depot "of more than 6% on top of a national backdated pay award of 1.75%. The Councils’ HGV drivers have been given pay rises of more than 12.7%.

"The pay rises follow a review involving the recognised union, UNISON, which found that staff were already receiving base pay that was comparable to local authorities."

The GMB has asked for larger pay rises than those announced.

The council says that the GMB is accusing them of not speaking to GMB representatives but it is in fact "the GMB that refuses to talk to the councils about its concerns."

The council says it has been working on a contingency plan but isn't sure how badly refuse collections would be affected until strikes begin this morning.

They have produced a section on their website which will attempt to answer all questions residents might have and give daily updates. It can be found here https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/bin-strike/ Their social media platforms will also be updated daily.

An Adur & Worthing Councils spokesman said:

“From today, Adur and Worthing residents will suffer because of a decision by the GMB which we believe to be completely unjustified.

“The pay rises we have negotiated with staff and UNISON are a good deal for our workers but the GMB appears to want nothing to do with them because it wasn’t involved in the negotiations. The GMB continues to claim that we are ignoring it but this could not be further from the truth. 

“The offer on the table, already accepted by most staff,  is better than one negotiated and accepted by the GMB recently at another local authority. It might seem that the strike action is about the GMB trying to push UNISON out of the service - not about getting a good deal for its members - and we hope that common sense can still prevail.”

The council have also released this statement with regard to the pay review:

In October last year Adur & Worthing Councils commenced an internal review into the pay of 109 members of staff in its refuse, recycling and cleansing department. As a result of the review, 65 members of staff have been moved up a grade and a further 40 who are required to drive HGVs regularly as part of their role will get a permanent annual £2,700 specialist skills supplement. Four more will get both the annual specialist skills supplement and be moved up a grade.

Additionally, Adur & Worthing Councils’ review is continuing, including work to rebalance refuse and recycling rounds to deal with the demands of new housing. Staff are being offered the opportunity to gain an HGV driving qualification while there will also continue to be discussions about ways to improve the working environment.