Refuse collection employees in affluent suburbs of Surrey have indicated they will go on strike for 20 days next month in a fresh conflict in the industry over compensation.
The GMB said that its members working for Amey in Elmbridge and Surrey Heath will be on strike from August 1 to August 19, which will result in no kerbside trash collection.
This region is comprised of Camberley, Cobham, Esher, Frimley, Walton-on-Thames, and Weybridge; the union issued a warning that additional walkouts are anticipated.
Locals in Surrey should “look forward to what is looking likely to be the hottest and now definitely the smelliest August in recent years,” according to GMB bosses.
They continued by saying that unionized refuse workers are “at least £3 per hour underpaid.”
It coincides with the so-called “summer of discontent,” which has seen the largest rail strikes in 30 years and court disruptions brought on by barristers’ strikes.
‘We have continuously pressed Amey over compensation since April since our members feel they are terribly underpaid and entirely undervalued,’ said Paul Grafton, a regional GMB representative.
‘Our members are at least £3 per hour underpaid, plus they don’t have the same levels of sick pay or pension benefits compared to those who are still working under local council control elsewhere.
‘The waste business has become a race to the bottom when it comes to terms and conditions of employment as they aim to use other waste contractors as comparators to push pay down, something that has been happening for some time now within the entire industry.
Residents of Surrey Heath and Elmbridge Borough Councils may now anticipate what is expected to be the hottest and, based on current indications, certainly smelliest August in recent memory.
“Anyone who lives in the area and is not thrilled by the idea of junk stacking up in their streets and gardens should contact their local councillors to encourage them to lobby their waste contractor Amey to get back around the negotiation table,” advises the local newspaper.
‘It is very regrettable that the GMB and Amey have not been able to come to an agreement on wages and that the GMB have opted to go down the route of strike action,’ said Colin Dougan, portfolio holder for environment and community at Surrey Heath Council.
‘Our emphasis is always servicing our community.
To make sure Amey has backup measures in place, we are working.
The emergency measures are designed to have as little of an impact on residents as possible, but they can’t be finalized until the GMB announces the scope of the strike action.
We may need to temporarily divert resources away from other services like recycling and bulky waste collection and street cleaning in order to safeguard the essential food and rubbish collection services that our people most rely on.
Refuse collection employees throughout the nation have gone on strike this year over pay, according to the GMB.
Joint Waste Solutions, which oversees waste collection for the two councils, said in a statement: “We have been informed that Amey employees working on the waste collection and street cleaning services in Elmbridge and Surrey Heath will take part in discontinuous strike action from Monday, August 1 through Friday, August 19.”
‘The move was approved by GMB union members in a vote pertaining to wage settlement discussions between Amey and the GMB.
“We are attempting to find out more detailed information on the action that will be taken during the next three weeks.
It is currently unknown what form the action will take or how much of an impact it will have.
“We hope it will be feasible to reduce the impact on the service residents receive if the strike action goes ahead and regret any difficulty this may cause,” the statement reads.
“We are presently working with Amey on a range of contingency preparations.”
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn