A council waste contractor has defended its decision to pay non-striking binmen a £700 ‘bonus’ for their extra efforts during industrial action impacting a Kent district.

The one-off payment has landed in the banks of refuse collectors in Canterbury who are working longer hours as colleagues remain on the picket line.

Some 30 grounds maintenance staff have also received the cash for picking up rubbish sacks on top of their normal duties.

GMB union bosses argue the near-£60,000 pot could have been used to meet the wage demands of its members, who walked out in early July and continue to hold out for a better deal.

But Canterbury City Council-owned Canenco says the funds have come from savings made by not paying striking binmen and is a reward for the “flexibility” of those still working.

It comes as members are set to remain on the picket line until October 1 after rejecting a deal that would see them paid what they have asked for – £12 an hour for loaders and £15 for drivers – but not until January.

GMB regional organiser Frank Macklin says he was stunned to learn of the payment made to staff still working.

“We have seen the evidence that Canenco are paying this bonus to workers, but if I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.

“What Canterbury Council and their contractor are paying workers to break the strike exceeds what it would cost them to resolve the dispute.

“This Labour council is trying to starve our members back to work, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re just Tories in disguise.

“I’ll say it again – if [council leader Alan Baldock] and his friends at Canenco can find the money to pay this bonus, they can pay our members the £12 and £15 rates they have already agreed to, just from now and not next year.”

Three separate pay deals have so far been rejected by GMB members. prolonging the strike action until next month at least.

As a result, recycling bins across Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay will continue to go uncollected as smaller crews focus on picking up household and garden waste.

Grounds maintenance staff have also been collecting purple sacks in addition to their daily duties.

In total, 67 staff – 37 of them working on waste collections – received the £700 pro-rata payment, which was taxed.

Canenco has defended the £57,600 bill for what it calls a “one-off recognition” payment, saying it has “never been prouder” of the staff who “continue to work incredibly hard while some GMB members have been on the picket line”.

A spokesman added: “They are doing their best throughout the very hot summer months when the children are off school to minimise the disruption to residents caused by their colleagues and to empty as many bins and collect as many purple sacks as they can each day.

"They are working rounds they are not familiar with, emptying bins that are much heavier than usual and working longer hours from different work locations.

"The payment, which is to recognise the flexibility they have shown rather than a bonus, has been paid for from some of the savings made from not paying striking workers' salaries and goes some small way to recognising this.

"We thank them for their continuing efforts.

"We urge the GMB and its members to accept the incredibly fair 12.2% offer on the table for 2023 and get back to work.”