Newham bin collection workers vote for week-long strike

Up to 99% of workers who took part in the ballot voted for industrial action

Bin collection workers in east London are set to strike for a week as part of a pay dispute, union leaders have said.

Around 130 Unite members in Newham, including loaders, sweepers and drivers, will walk out from 27 August until 3 September.

Unite said that its workers "did not feel recognised" for their efforts and has demanded a 10% pay rise.

Newham Council said it has offered workers a pay increase between 7.8% and 9.9% in a bid to avoid a strike.

Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz said the pay increase was "in line with the national pay offer agreed with all trade unions".

'Disruption'

About 99% of workers who took part in the ballot voted for the walkout, with a turnout of 81%, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The union has demanded a 10% pay rise on the current £22,850 salary but the council said this would cost an extra £1m per year - money it does not have.

Unite said that its workers "did not feel recognised" for their efforts and has demanded a 10% pay rise

Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz said: "Salaries for council employees, compared against other authorities in outer London, and in line with the national pay offer agreed with all trade unions, will see a £2,229 increase for all staff across the council. For staff working in the waste and recycling service specifically, this means wage increases of between 7.8%-9.9%.

"If the week-long strike action does go ahead, it will cause disruption to refuse and recycling collections for several weeks as the service area catches up with the backlog of collections across the borough."

Steve Edwards, Unite regional officer, said the union's demanded wage increase also reflected pay freezes.

He said: "What we're asking for locally is a payment of 10% of normal wages and that's to take account of various pay freezes that have happened to refuse workers over a period of time.

"They are among the lowest paid on Newham Council and they generally live in and around London which is pretty expensive to do. There has been a bit of feeling building up since the pandemic that they were out in all circumstances doing that job and they don't feel they've been recognised for it."