Bin and street cleaning workers have voted to strike in Great Yarmouth as part of a pay dispute with the council.
Unite the Union says workers in the dispute would ‘not earn the minimum wage’ if they accepted the current 3.3% offer from Great Yarmouth Services (GYS Ltd), a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Yarmouth Council.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called the pay offer a ‘slap in the face’ to workers.
Great Yarmouth Council denied that any employee of GYS earns below minimum wage and said this would remain the case with any pay offer.
“Pay increases at GYS are negotiated with the national unions through the established annual process, and those negotiations are still underway,” a spokesperson for the council told Circular Online.
The spokesperson claimed that, when GYS Ltd was set up, it was agreed that pay must match the National Joint Council (NJC) award, a national system that decides increases.
They continued: “Our priority remains to reach a fair and affordable agreement that recognises the valuable contribution of our workforce, protects local jobs and ensures GYS can continue to provide high-quality, cost-effective services for the residents of Great Yarmouth.”
Unite allege that ahead of the vote workers were told they could lose their jobs if they took industrial action and that strikes would not have any impact because agency staff would be brought in.
The spokesperson for the council denied that any staff had been told they could lose their jobs if strike action were to go ahead.
Unite regional officer Claire Lees commented: “Great Yarmouth council will have to answer to residents, businesses and tourists about why it has caused a stinky summer by mistreating workers.”
“The petty attempts at intimidation and interference have just made the situation worse. The only way this dispute will end is to stop disrespecting our members, sit around the table and negotiate an acceptable offer.”