Wealden faces a bin strike affecting 70,000 homes as GMB begins an industrial action ballot.
More than 40 GMB members working at Biffa’s East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership depots at the Hailsham and Uckfield regional sites are voting on whether to walk out over pay.
Workers demand pay rises across the service, which would see loaders on £12.50 per hour, LGV drivers on £14.50 per hour and HGV drivers on £17.50 per hour.
The ballot - which closes on Friday 25 March – could see strike action as early as mid-April if Biffa management continues to refuse engagement and negotiations with GMB.
Mark Turner, GMB Branch Secretary, said:
“Work dissatisfaction and pay poverty, similar to that which recently left Biffa facing strike action from GMB members in Hastings, has caught up with them now in both the Hailsham and Uckfield depots.
“The ballot and any strike action should be a wakeup call for Biffa.
"Their staff - our members - want pay rises which are not just above inflation but good enough to put cash back in their pockets, so they don’t have to choose between heating and eating.
“Biffa bosses still have time to meet with us to get a deal thrashed out and avoid protracted disruption to Wealdon residents’ refuse and recycling collections.”
