And, the Unite Union have said pay rates which once couldn’t have been envisaged are now the norm warning that “employers have no choice if they wish to recruit and retain staff”.
In the last few months, strikes have taken place in Ardur and Worthing, Coventry, Eastbourne, Solihull and Wiltshire. These have been led by both the GMB Union and Unite.
The GMB union represents many waste HGV drivers, who are demanding higher pay to match some of those seen in the private sector, as the driver shortage led to a spike in pay rates.
And, with many refuse workers playing an essential role through the pandemic, many refuse crews are now demanding greater rates of pay.
‘Underpayment’
Adding to this, the GMB union says the strikes are taking place as “workers seek to readdress the underpayment they have suffered for many years”.
A spokesperson for the GMB said: “There is no doubt that employers have taken advantage of the availability of labour, low inflation, and suppression of wages across the country for many years.
“Now that the labour market has completely changed this was highlighted by the shortage of HGV drivers which is affecting all parts of the economy, workers are quite rightly demanding not only pay increases above current inflation, but also to readdress the underpayment they have suffered for many years.
“Workers are now understanding the value of their employment and the options that they have and are willing to fight for pay justice”.
Objectives
Meanwhile the Unite Union has also stated that their members “want to be paid a fair rate for the job they do”, with the emphasis on both drivers and loaders. It also told letsrecycle.com that an acceptable pay level for the members to decide.
This demand for more pay to reflect the worker’s importance is “leading to so many members taking action”.
Unite listed several other objectives such as permanence of the jobs offered, pointing out that services shouldn’t be staffed by temporary staff on a long-term basis.
“We also want the job to be safe and to see contractors offering terms no less favourable to those offered to staff employed by the client,” Unite added.
‘No choice’
Wiltshire refuse workers, who are GMB members, began collections yesterday (21 March) after accepting a revised pay offer of 7.1%, which included a minimum 2% pay rise dated back to April 2021 and a 5% pay rise from 1 April 2022 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Recycling collections had been suspended for nearly two weeks by then, which continues to be the case in other areas.
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