Striking binmen will no longer march through a city centre today after a Kent council agreed to meet workers' pay demands.

Canterbury City Council yesterday agreed to pay refuse drivers £15 an hour and loaders £12 an hour at its environment company Canenco.

Workers at the firm walked out on July 5 triggering a succession of roundtable talks, with a march planned through the city starting in Wincheap at 9am today.

But in the eleventh hour the GMB union said its striking members will no longer march, choosing instead to put the latest offer to a ballot on Monday.

A GMB spokesman says: "Canenco offered an improved pay offer yesterday evening and we decided to pass the pay offer to the members this morning and give them the weekend to consider it.

"We will then be balloting the membership first thing on Monday morning. As a show of good faith, we have therefore cancelled the march."

Previously bin crews were permitted to go home as soon as their round was complete in an arrangement designed to reward efficiency known as “job and knock”.

However, if the GMB members accept the council's offer they will be required to work their contracted hours.

The pay increase, set to cost an extra £300,000 to be found from efficiency savings at Canenco, is also not being offered until January 2024 but will be applied to staff both in the GMB and Unison, and those not in unions.

GMB members are currently considering the offer and there will be an official ballot on Monday morning.

Canterbury City Council leader Cllr Alan Baldock said: “Canenco has done a great job in demonstrating that a deal can be reached without any impact on council services or waste collections.

“We have to say this very clearly to the GMB ‘this is it – there is no other offer on the table’.

“Accept both the money and the new approach to working and let’s get this resolved.

“We would also stress that throughout this strike, the GMB has been very keen to compare what happens at other councils.

“From our research, this deal does reflect those working practices in neighbouring districts and the January start time for the uplift is again in line with other districts.

“And for residents, there will be no change in the service they receive, other than their collection may be at a slightly different time in the day.”

The council has been clear that the money for the pay uplift will come from cost-cutting measures made to Canenco’s existing budget.

To do this they say efficiency will be improved as staff are expected to work their full contracted hours.

Additionally, round sizes will be increased but the council assures that the workload will be fairly allocated.

As a result fewer crews and vehicles will be required to run the service.

No redundancies are planned and the council has said the reduced staff count will come from less frequent use of agency workers and choosing not to replace staff who leave in the coming months.