Kerbside collections across the borough will be suspended for three weeks from this morning
GMB, the union for refuse workers, have announced that London Borough of Richmond will be the facing a bin worker walkout as of this morning [17 October].
The union members, who are employed by the council’s waste contractor Serco, are taking action over pay after being offered a rise which falls well below their expectations as well as being significantly below inflation.
The strike will last for an initial three weeks, after a whopping 98% of members voted to take action in the ballot, and an improved offer was turned down by the majority of members this morning.
Paul Grafton, GMB Regional Officer said:
“Our members aren’t asking for the moon, just a pay rise that reflects how hard they work every day, come rain or shine.
“This is physically demanding work that nobody notices until it doesn’t get done.
“The members don’t want to take strike action, but this their last resort if they want to secure an hourly wage which will ensure they’re not worse off than they were last year.”
