Eastbourne bin strike: Refuse drivers begin 11-day strike
- Published
Refuse truck drivers in Eastbourne have begun the first of 11 planned days of strike action as a row with the local council continues.
Eastbourne Borough Council says 19 of its 88 staff walked out at the Courtlands Road depot in a dispute over pay and conditions.
It says GMB Union members "unlawfully blocked" vehicles driven by non-striking workers leaving the depot.
The union previously said the council's pay offer was "below market value".
This latest action follows three previous days of strikes. The first was held on New Year's Eve, and members also walked out again Friday last week and Monday.
The council say its offer of a 7% pay increase remains the same, but the union is holding out for an offer closer to 20%.
It said that in 2019 all staff received a 4% increase in pay, with a further increase of 2.75% in 2020.
Annual leave had also been increased from 20 days to 25 days for all staff, it added.
A GMB spokesperson suggested if talks on Monday were successful, action could be suspended from Tuesday onwards.
The union has been approached for further comment.
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, external, on Twitter, external, and on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.
Related topics
- Published10 January 2022
- Published2 January 2022
- Published29 December 2021