Chichester bin strike threat called off as new pay deal agreed

Members of the union have today (Friday, December 9) accepted an offer from Chichester’s District Council which will add an Environmental Factors allowance uplift of 5 per cent to the recently awarded 10 per cent national pay settlement.

Members had voted to consider strike action in January and February if employer Chichester District Council refused to increase pay.

HGV drivers at the depot will also see their market supplement formally retained for a further two years, together with an 4.1 per cent uplift from January.

The offer also contains confirmation all existing current terms and conditions will be retained and back pay to June 2022 will be paid in December’s pay cycle.

Mark Turner, GMB B50 branch secretary said: “If we combine the recently won NJC pay rises along with this local uplift, it will mean our members will have managed to get inflation-busting pay increases from 13.4 per cent to 15.1 per cent this year.

“As a result of our members returning a yes vote to the council’s proposal, GMB have immediately lifted the threat of strike action for January 2023 in regard to this matter.

“We’re being clear though that the strike is being suspended and not cancelled, and a formal cancellation will only come about once our members are assured that all payment increases have been actioned by management.”

Gary Palmer, GMB regional organiser said: “It’s not the end game as far as the GMB are concerned within public refuse, private refuse, street cleansing or the recycling sector.

“On the contrary, hardworking and normally unappreciated workers as such as those at Chichester Council and at other depots across the Southeast have started a fight that their true value to the community be recognised.

“These key workers are out working out in all elements, carrying out a dirty and difficult role to remove an ever-increasing amount of residents’ rubbish.

“We want decent pay for our members and Councils and employers have a simple choice: be like Chichester District Council and talk to the GMB and our members to negotiate a solution, or ignore us and face the consequences of being the root cause of industrial unrest, leading to upset workforces, full-on disruption to kerbside collections and residents’ rubbish piling up in the streets for long periods of time.

“While GMB hopes everyone chooses to be like Chichester Council, experience tells me they are the exception rather than the rule.

“We now move to prepare for our members’ claims throughout 2023.”

Chichester District Council had been in talks with GMB to avoid strike action over the past couple of months. It rejected GMB’s initial demands but agreed to take the environmental factors of the job into account.

“We hugely value our staff and the work that they do and so we are pleased that they have accepted our offer,” says Cllr Penny Plant, cabinet member for the environment and Chichester Contract Services at Chichester District Council.

“All staff have already received a pay rise this year through the nationally agreed pay award, which amounted to £1,925.

“While the initial pay demands by the GMB Union were unreasonable and unaffordable, we do recognise that our street cleansing and waste collection teams work in challenging conditions, which is why we felt an allowance to recognise the environmental factors of their job was fair.

“We are very pleased that an agreement has been reached and that our waste and recycling services can continue as normal, without any disruption to our customers.”