Adur and Worthing bin strike: 'Preliminary talks' to bring industrial action to an end

Adur and Worthing Councils said the GMB union leadership has 'agreed to have preliminary talks about issues surrounding the current bin strike'. It comes after the councils wrote to all of staff in the refuse, recycling and cleansing department to 'confirm exactly how much they will be paid'.

Council staff will sit down at Worthing Town Hall today (Thursday, March 23) with 'recognised union' UNISON and officials from the GMB to 'discuss issues including the strike' by its members at the refuse, recycling and cleansing service.

A councils spokesman said: "We welcome this decision by the GMB to be part of this process. We have been asking for talks from the beginning of the strike, pledging that we would listen to all staff whether represented by any union or not.

"However we have also been clear that in these talks it was essential UNISON were in attendance because it is recognised by us as the union representing staff across all departments, not just in this service.

"We are pleased that the GMB has now agreed to this and we will work tirelessly to find a way to resume our waste collection service to residents."

Binmen have been on strike since Monday, March 14, and it had been threatened that industrial action could last up to four weeks.

The GMB Union said it 'cautiously welcomes' the 'first step talks' with the councils.

It said the aim of the meeting is to set out an agreement that could see GMB 'finally accepted by senior council officers as 'legitimately able to put forward striking council workers’ pay claim'.

GMB said 'hopefully the way forward suggested' becomes the 'basis for formal negotiations'.

Mark Turner, GMB B50 branch secretary, said: "GMB have always because of the strength of our membership with the waste management depot and the current industrial action said that the council needed to deal with us as the union of choice for their staff should they wished to end this current ongoing dispute.

"Well, this meeting is possibly the first step to that happening, and we are of course pleased that the council, our sister Union are able to sit down with the GMB to discuss potentially making that a reality .

"But to be clear it is only the first step, and the substantive pay issue once this first part of talks are out of the way, is going to be no small matter to resolve looking at the current disappointment of our members around the current offer on the table being talked about by the council."

The GMB has demanded that 'hard working and undervalued' waste, streets, and recycling team staff at the Lancing-based depot have a pay rise 'more reflective of the service they provide'.

They said they should receive a rise by both a full pay band and to the top of the incremental scale for that pay band rate within the council's current pay scales.

The councils initiated a review into the 'whole service' in October last year which involved talking to staff and UNISON.

So far, this has led to staff being given a pay rise in the first year of more than 6 per cent on top of a national backdated pay award of 1.75 per cent.

The councils' HGV drivers have been given pay rises of more than 12.7 per cent.

"All of these proposed rises are permanent additions to salary scales and not one-offs," a councils spokesperson said.

In total, 65 members of staff have been moved up a pay 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, the council said.

The spokesperson added: "In the middle of the review the GMB union contacted the councils in December threatening industrial action if there was no meeting.

"Councils have said they respect the wishes of staff to be represented by the union of choice or none at all. However under industrial relation laws there are procedures towards official recognition that must be followed."

Gary Palmer, GMB regional organiser, said industrial action 'could potentially be scaled back' at 'sometime soon'.

He added: "Whilst we of course maintain it’s not required in law, GMB will always seek to compromise if we can and if it allows us to move towards achieving our members pay expectations, as it's within the council's gift to offer GMB a voluntary recognition agreement quite easily if they wish to as part of any overall resolution.

"But to be clear it’s our members determination and resolve to take the ultimate action by striking to improve their Lives and to get the sort of pay rise they deserve which will in the end win the day with GMB’s backing, with or without recognition.

"Let’s see how things develop over the next week or so and who knows if talks are productive, industrial action could potentially be scaled back at sometime soon hopefully, we wait to see though."

The councils thanked the cleansing crews, who collect waste in public spaces such as parks and the seafront, who have been 'working throughout the industrial action'.

Click here to read more about the bin strike, and why it is happening.

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