Bin collection strike action in Dover and Folkestone and Hythe called off after pay offer

Bin workers have called off strike action after accepting a pay rise of up to 21% for some.

The decision by members of the GMB trade union lifts the threat of rubbish left piling up in the districts of Folkestone and Hythe and Dover this summer.

The members employed by the councils’ waste and recycling contractor, Veolia Municipal Services, have agreed a one year pay offer.

This will see increases between 11% and 21% for waste drivers and operatives, backdated to last January 1.

The latest pay proposal was set out at a meeting on June 8, chaired by the conciliation service ACAS. It has now been ratified by GMB members across the joint councils’ shared waste management agreement.

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A majority of GMB members have since accepted the offer.

Frank Macklin, GMB regional organiser said: “Our GMB workplace representatives and members all agreed early on what they wanted.

“They supported each other throughout negotiations, and very importantly voted strongly for better and were prepared to stand together when it looked like strike action was going to be required.

“The result at Dover and Folkestone can be replicated anywhere, as workers are beginning to value themselves in the workplace, by deciding on the pay increase they want, joining a union and organising together to get it.

The GMB had confirmed on June 2 that 96.6% of its members in the Dover and Folkestone and Hythe districts voted by ballot to strike.

The union was seeking wage increases which would see HGV drivers have their hourly rate increased by 48% to the £20 per hour mark, and loaders’ wages rise by 47% to £15 per hour.

Organisers leading the fight on behalf of their members have previously described these hourly rates as the “minimum standard” workers should be paid in 2023.

Gary Palmer, a regional organiser for the GMB, had said the June 8 meeting was a “last chance” by management to avoid walkouts otherwise rubbish would be “left to pile up in the streets.”

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No strike dates had been provisionally announced for Folkestone, Hythe and Dover.

Earlier this month, a two week strike by refuse workers in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay was called off amid fears bin collections across a district could be heavily disrupted.

Industrial action by bink workers in Thanet was also dropped in May.