Adur and Worthing bin strike: Union reveals demands as borough council leader speaks out

Councillor Kevin Jenkins, the Conservative leader of the borough council, asked binmen on strike to 'stop and reflect on the fact that work is underway to resolve this dispute', adding: "The pay award is already in their salary, a pay award far higher than many others across all those other public sector roles.

"A pay award in-line or higher than agreed elsewhere in Sussex. This is now the time to pause the strike, as they are doing untold damage to their own reputation amongst Worthing residents and losing the massive goodwill they so strongly built up over the last two years."

A meeting on Thursday morning (March 24) involved officers from Adur and Worthing Councils, 'recognised union' UNISON and the GMB — whose members are in the second week of a strike.

The councils had seemed optimistic and 'welcomed signs of a positive approach' in talks 'aimed at ending the bin strike'. However, according to the GMB Union, 'recognition was discussed but pay wasn't'. Members then voted to continue with the strike action.

The council described the union's refusal to pause the bin strike as ‘hugely disappointing and unfair' on residents and businesses.

A spokesperson added: "The councils initiated a review into the whole service in October last year which involved talking to staff and UNISON, which represents staff across all councils' services.

"This was two months before the GMB contacted [the] councils threatening industrial action in its first communique.

"The result of the review so far is that all staff had been 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

"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.

"A deal on a joint recognition agreement would allow the GMB to join UNISON in the ongoing review of the service."

What do GMB members want?

Speaking to the Herald, GMB regional organiser Gary Palmer said the meeting on Thursday was 'purely to set the stall out about how talks would look', adding: "We've not discussed anything about their pay yet."

Outlining members' demands, he said: "The GMB is saying is whatever band, the member is on, they go up one band. They then all go to the top of whatever that new band is.

"At the moment, the deal accepted by the other union's members does not allow every member of staff to have a pay rise. Ours is to do that.

"A lot of work will need to be done to make that happen but we are willing to sit down and negotiate that.

"Eventually they will have to stop name calling and get us in a room. The ball is in their court."

What else did the borough council leader say?

Mr Jenkins said he was 'pleased' that the council, UNISON and the GMB were 'finally' able to get around the table to talk and listen to each other.

He said this is 'the only way' that this dispute will be resolved.

He said: "Clearly there is a lot more work to be done, but all parties have agreed to work together towards a resolution.

"We fully accept that staff within our waste, recycling and cleansing service have chosen to join the GMB, we now need to work with both unions in a collaborative process to establish how this new arrangement will work going forward.

"We cannot simply rip up one union recognition agreement and impose another, it must be re-negotiated.

"Can you imagine the response by the GMB, if UNISON came along and started doing this, I wonder if they would have simply sit-by and let it happen or whether we would have another strike situation to contend with.

"In March all our staff were awarded permanent pay increases and these are being paid now, irrespective of their union membership and will be in their next salary payments in April, with back payments where appropriate.

"We are determined to find a resolution to this matter and will be working hard over the coming days to achieve this, but it does require goodwill on all sides, it is hard to see that at this time from the GMB whose members remain on strike, causing misery to thousands of residents and businesses across our area.

"Residents may be interested to learn that the strike action is directly supported by the GMB who, after day two, pay their members a proportion of their core salary at times of strike to stand on the picket line.

"I fully acknowledge the staff's comment that they worked throughout the pandemic, delivering an unfaltering service to residents and for that we are all grateful.

"But so did many other key workers across all sectors of our society, from the NHS, care workers, police, fire, shop workers, teachers, the army of volunteers who stepped up unpaid to help out, we were all in it together."

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

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