Union bosses have warned that if bin workers’ wage demands are not taken seriously, we could see rubbish piling up in Kent’s streets this summer.

Here, Rhys Griffiths sets out everything you need to know about the dispute – and where refuse collectors could go on strike…

WHY ARE BIN WORKERS THREATENING INDUSTRIAL ACTION?

The men and women who collect our rubbish and keep our cities, towns and villages clean are certainly not the only workers to be engaged in disputes with bosses over the need for pay to rise amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis which has seen inflation soar, prices spike and wages fail to keep pace. Train drivers, nurses, teachers and doctors have all staged high-profile industrial action in the past year. In other parts of the country, bin workers have also staged walk-outs which have led to piles of waste going uncollected.

“It seems to have kicked off in the waste sector,” says Gary Palmer, a regional organiser for the GMB union.

“People are just recognising their own true worth, and are actually saying ‘I now want a pay level that reflects the work that I do and I feel that I'm worth’.

“People have just had enough. Most of our members on the lowest pay scales are the least able to afford to carry on just taking it on the chin on a day-to-day and weekly basis.”

Waste collection can be a tough, physically-demanding job that sees workers out in all weathers.

The union says staff are historically among the lower-paid in the public sector, and some have been forced to turn to food banks to make ends meet as the price of groceries and utility bills have become significantly more expensive in recent times.

Mr Palmer says: “Let's make no bones about this - even if inflation comes down as the government has predicted it doesn't mean prices are going to come down. It just means they're not going to go up as much. in the end food will cost more. It's just not going to go up as much.”

HOW MUCH ARE BIN WORKERS PAID AT PRESENT?

According to the government’s national careers service website, bin workers are paid on average between £17,000 a year for new starters, up to around £25,000 for more experienced workers. These salaries can also depend on whether you are working as a loader – who brings the waste to the bin lorry – or if you are a qualified HGV licence holder who drives the vehicle itself.

We attempted to find out the average yearly salary for both loaders and drivers in each of Kent’s council areas, but unfortunately this proved difficult because of the nature of how waste services are delivered across the county. Some councils, such as Thanet, provide bin collection themselves in-house. others, such as Canterbury, use an arms-length subsidiary to manage waste. whereas some councils, such as Maidstone and Dover, contract out the work to private sector firms such as Biffa and Veolia.

We approached all 13 of the local councils which have waste management responsibilities to their taxpayers, and many were unable to disclose salary information because the work is contracted out to third-party firms. at time of writing, none of these private businesses were willing to disclose what they pay loaders and drivers collecting waste in Kent.

A spokesman for Biffa simply said: “Unfortunately, we will be unable to assist you with the story you’re writing.” Veolia also declined to comment on the wages it pays.

What we do know is that salaries vary across the county, and the GMB union has said it does not seek the imposition of one standard rate across every area.

It says it recognises that each local authority is different in character, and pay will vary. but we do know that in Sevenoaks, for example, loaders can be paid between £22,631 and £23,857 per year, whereas in Canterbury similar workers are paid £21,690 on average.

However, the GMB has previously argued for pay deals of at least £15 per hour for loaders and £20 per hour for drivers, which it has described as the "minimum standard" that any such worker should be paid in 2023. As an example, Medway council says its waste staff are currently paid £11.42 per hour for loaders and £13.95 per hour for drivers. what kind of increase are the unions seeking for their members?

Despite the GMB identifying what it says should be a “minimum standard” on pay for bin workers, every industrial dispute is by its very nature unique to the workforce and the employer involved in the negotiation. For example, in Canterbury the union is said to be pushing for a hefty pay increase of 30% – which would see salaries for drivers and loaders rise to £34,319 and £28,197 respectively. This would be significantly more than similar roles are currently being paid in other parts of the county.

In Folkestone and Dover, where waste services are provided by private contractor Veolia, the union is seeking an even more dramatic increase – demanding HGV drivers have their hourly rate increased by 48% to the £20 per hour mark and loaders see wages go up 47% to £15 per hour.

Last month a threatened strike by bin workers in Ashford was called off after members accepted a pay deal which will see drivers collect back pay of almost £2,500, and loaders more than £1,000, in addition to commitments on future pay rises.

Mr Palmer does not believe anyone has the right to tell the bin workers the increases they are demanding are too high.

He says: “We go in to negotiate based purely on the fact of what our members say they think they're worth.

“For instance, I think somebody worked out that it works out at about 40%-plus down at Veolia down in Folkestone and Dover.

“People look at that and say ’that’s ridiculous’. I don't care. That's what our members have said they want, to work it out, to bring them up to £20 an hour for drivers and £15 an hour for loaders.

“That's my side. That's who I'm looking to represent, and that's what we're going to do to the best of our ability. And until people take us seriously, then they're going to find the rubbish piling up in the streets.”

WHERE IN KENT COULD WE SEE STRIKES?

The GMB is currently engaged in pay disputes in three parts of the county – each with a different model for delivering waste services. results of a ballot of members on potential industrial action in Thanet – where services are managed in-house – are expected today. There is also potential for strike action in Canterbury, where workers are employed by arms-length provider Canenco, and in Folkestone and Dover, where bin workers are employed by private firm Veolia.

People across Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable have been warned they could face a summer of unemptied bins, with GMB members being consulted on whether to push forward with three months of industrial action in may, June and July.

In the neighbouring districts of Folkestone and Dover, where bin workers have voted in favour of industrial action, strikes were originally planned to last two weeks but “members have indicated to [the union] that they're prepared to go out and stay out until the dispute is resolved to their satisfaction”.

WHAT WOULD THE IMPACT BE FOR RESIDENTS IN AREAS WHERE STRIKES GO AHEAD?

In the worst case scenario, households and businesses could see rubbish pile up as it goes uncollected during any strike action which sees bin workers down tools.

Referring to the ongoing pay row in Canterbury, Mr Palmer told KentOnline: "Unless we do get around the table to talk, then unfortunately Kent's UNESCO world heritage site – which I believe is consistently one of the most-visited cities in the UK – is potentially going to see the effects of a halt to kerbside collections of residents' rubbish throughout the summer months."

HAVE THERE BEEN STRIKES ELSEWHERE IN THE COUNTRY AND WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME?

During similar disputes in Brighton and Scotland, huge piles of rubbish were seen in the streets as a result of the industrial action. Such scenes here in Kent could prove a particular blight on the summer, a time when the county is at its most popular with visitors.

The Brighton and Hove bin strike ended in October 2021 after the council ratified an improved pay deal for waste collectors – which also led to an increase in the pay of council workers in other departments across the city. HGV drivers had taken 13 days of strike action, and a further 30 days of planned walk-outs were cancelled once a deal was struck between the union and the council. Residents reported horrendous smells across Brighton and Hove as a result of uncollected waste piling up in the streets. Jamie Lloyd, deputy chair of Brighton & Hove City Council's environment, transport and sustainability committee, told the BBC the strike had caused “an appalling situation” for the city.

Last year a dispute in Scotland began in the capital, Edinburgh, but saw strikes spread to other parts of the country, eventually affecting around two-thirds of Scotland’s councils. Tourists visiting Edinburgh for the city’s famous arts festival spoke of their shock at the mess piling up in the streets, as people continued to add more rubbish to already-overflowing bins during the industrial action. The dispute was eventually resolved with an offer of a 10% pay rise for the lowest paid staff.

WHAT DO UNIONS HAVE TO SAY TO THE THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS WHO WOULD BE AFFECTED?

“Refuse and recycling provide the most visible service any authority can provide to its residents,” Mr Palmer says. “There's no other service like it.

“The binmen, they're actually seen as magicians really, by residents, because you put your bin out of a morning, you go off and do your daily task, you go to work, or you go shopping, and you come back and the bin’s empty.

“You just don't give it another thought that somebody's had to pick up your rubbish – no matter how smelly, how dirty, how heavy it might be – and get rid of it for you.

“When they do get appreciated is the day the bin gets left out without being emptied. Then all hell breaks loose, first thing they do they contact the council, ‘my bin’s not been emptied, what's going on?’.

“If you can actually be affected by a service that much then you should appreciate the people delivering it deserve a better rate of pay, and that's what we're saying. Strikes will always be our last resort. It’s got to be. A strike is only used to bring people to the table to seriously discuss pay terms and conditions.

“We never set out to upset residents - why would we do that? And remember, many of our members who are in these services actually live locally, so it will be their bins as well that are not being emptied, it will be their streets, it's their city. They don't want to see it as an almighty mess.

“So we're very aware that there is of course a fallout for the residents, but we always say to the residents we appreciate that and if you want to help, if you want to get it resolved, then contact your councillors, it’s as simple as that. Make the councillors themselves, or the companies they contract to, get around the table and negotiate.”

HOW HAVE POLITICAL LEADERS REACTED TO THE THREAT OF DISRUPTION?

The leader of Canterbury City Council, Conservative Ben Fitter-Harding, has branded the union’s demands an "insult" to taxpayers.

He has said pay and conditions of staff working for the council’s arms-length provider, Canenco, are of "great importance" to him – and points to an 8% pay increase negotiated with recognised union Unison last year.

"For the GMB to charge in this year to demand a 30% pay increase against an increase in council tax of just 2.99% is, quite frankly, an insult to everyone else in the district who is grappling with the cost of living,” the Tory leader said in response to the latest wage demands.

"Is the GMB suggesting vital council services be closed so that money can be diverted to Canenco to pay its wage bill instead?

"It seems to me the GMB is hell-bent on trying to cause inconvenience to our district's residents and influence the outcome of an election rather than doing the decent thing and working with Canenco to ensure a fair outcome for all."

Mr Palmer said: "If the leader of the council has such an interest in the staff at Canenco he should be concerned that many of these workers are using food banks and getting into debt just to make ends meet on a weekly basis.”