South Gloucestershire's bin strikes continue
Action is planned to continue through to September
It should be bin day today for South Gloucestershire residents - but no waste will be collected - due to strike action over pay.
The Unite union says around 150 workers employed by Suez on behalf of South Gloucestershire Council are beginning "indefinite action".
Strikes started earlier this month - when members rejected an 8% pay rise offer, saying it's below inflation.
The Union says Suez earnt profits of £80.8 million pounds in 2021 according to its financial figures, while its bin workers earn just £11.53 per hour.
"The decision to intensify industrial action was taken after both Suez and South Gloucestershire Council ignored repeated requests by Unite to engage in talks to resolve the dispute," a statement from Unite reads.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Despite Suez’s claims about generous pay offers, its workers are on very low wages even though the work they do is heavy, difficult and dirty.
"It is a highly profitable company making tens of millions and can afford to give its struggling staff a reasonable wage increase.
“Unite never backs down from defending our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and Suez’s South Gloucestershire workforce have their union’s full support as they fight for fair pay.”
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the planned industrial action and are working closely with Suez to ensure that they have appropriate plans in place to minimise any disruption to waste services in the area. We will keep residents updated if we become aware of any changes to collections and/or services.”
A spokesperson for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: "We have offered our teams working on our South Gloucestershire Council contract an 8% pay increase for 2023 which, when combined with the similar pay increase agreed in 2022, delivers pay increases of 15 – 16.75% over 2 years. This was rejected by Unite the Trade Union, who are seeking a 15% increase for 2023 alone, which would deliver pay increases in excess of 22% over 2 years.
"Industrial action is the very last outcome we wanted to see and our goal is to reach an agreement that would bring this to an end. Our door is still open and we welcome further discussions with Unite.
"With just over 40% of our people in South Gloucestershire continuing to work, we are able to provide a limited collection service that prioritises collecting black bin waste and opening the larger Sort It centres.