After 12 days of strike action, Canterbury’s bin workers addressed the city council directly last night.

Refuse staff told how they’re “continually chasing our tails”, to make ends meet, and called for the authority to accept their pay demands.

The GMB union accuses the Labour - Lib Dem council of “going to war” with its workers, but the council insists their demands are not affordable.

Striking workers held a demonstration outside the Guildhall in Westgate Gardens yesterday, before attending Canterbury City Council’s (CCC) monthly full meeting.

Speaking to a packed hall, driver Craig Prickett said: “I live in Herne Bay with my two children and my wife and the strike hasn’t only affected you, it’s affected me as well, I’ve got rubbish piling up the same as you guys.

“This is the first time I’ve been on strike as well as many of my colleagues.”

“Our job is hard, physical work as I’m sure you can all imagine,” he continued.

“A working class man or woman should be able to provide for their family and still be able to enjoy the odd meal out and a few of life’s simple pleasures.

“Instead, we’re continually chasing our tails to try and earn and make ends meet.

“Nobody should be working in a full-time hard job like ours and be struggling to put food on the table and that’s why we’ve decided to take strike action.”

Mr Prickett also presented a petition, calling for CCC to meet their requests.

Refuse workers at Canenco - the company owned wholly by the council but managed at arms-length - have been on strike since July 5.

Demanding £15 an hour for drivers and £12 for loaders, workers have refused what the council says is its final offer, and have confirmed strike dates up to August 20.

About a quarter of Canenco’s workers have been striking.

Members of Unison - the recognised union at CCC- earlier this month accepted an offer of £14.45 an hour for drivers and £11.61 for loaders.

This increase applies to GMB members as well, and has been backdated from April. Drivers were previously on £12. 58 an hour and loaders received £10. 66.

Bin worker of seven years Pete Goldfinch told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) outside the meeting, that “We came out as individuals, we’ve now grown into a family, and with GMB behind us the family’s got bigger and stronger.

“We’re happy to carry on as long as need be.”

GMB regional organiser Frank Macklin, referring to the Labour and Liberal Democrat council, said: “We don’t get how people who would normally stand on a picket line with us have gone to war, that’s the only way we can describe it.”

He continued: “For us our door will always be open, we never walk away from negotiations, we still hope next week hopefully we’ll get back round the table with Canenco but one thing’s for certain is these guys are getting stronger as the days go by.

“And they’re getting stronger because they’re getting a lot of public support.

“As a card carrying Labour member for many years I cannot tell you how disappointed I am.”

In the meeting, council leader Alan Baldock (Lab) spoke of the authority’s financial woes.

CCC is “engulfed by huge interest payments on more than £180 million pounds of debt, accrued by previous administrations buying into dreams,” he said.

“When we opened the coffers as our administration there was nothing there for anything other than the bare bones of basic services.

“The council must by law fund its waste collection from pretty much its council tax. What it can’t do is borrow money or sell things it owns like property for example to fund a wage increase in the middle of a financial year.

“To fund the £300,000 needed to increase all the Canenco salaries across all the grades equitably and retain pay parity to match the GMB members’ unresolved demands is not affordable – not affordable because that would mean cutting services and charging more for some services as well.”

The strike goes on, with today (July 21) the 13th day of strike action.