People across Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable have been warned they face a summer of unemptied bins as refuse workers could walk out over a 30% pay rise demand.

Members of the GMB union working for Canenco - the council-owned firm running waste collections and street cleaning - will tomorrow begin voting on whether to push forward with three months of industrial action in May, June and July.

GMB bosses say workers - who last year received an 8% pay rise secured by a separate union, Unison - need higher wages to cope with the cost-of-living-crisis, claiming many are being forced to use food banks to make ends meet.

But the leader of Canterbury City Council has branded the demands an "insult" to taxpayers, while others claim the move is a power play by GMB to hijack ongoing negotiations between Canenco and Unison.

GMB estimates it will be balloting about 80 frontline Canenco staff for two weeks, with any support for strike action likely to cause months of disruption to bin collections.

The union's regional organiser, Gary Palmer, has warned the dispute could end up with "rubbish on the streets of Canterbury".

"Canenco has left our members no choice but to take this next step," he told KentOnline.

"Ignoring the pay claim and refusing to negotiate with the GMB, whom its staff have chosen to fight its corner, is a mistake; one of course they might decide to address.

"But I don’t hold out much hope of that based on our early interactions with the management to date.

"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."

The city council says its bin lorry drivers are paid an average of £26,399 - plus a £2,000 retention bonus - while those loading the trucks receive £21,690.

A 30% rise would see these base salaries rise to £34,319 and £28,197 respectively.

"What evidence does it have to justify this outrageous demand?"

Last year Canenco negotiated an 8% pay increase with Unison, which this year is itself fighting for a 20% hike.

But GMB's Mr Palmer says wages remain poor for what is a historically "low-paid role".

He says strike action can "possibly be avoided" if Canenco is "willing to meaningfully negotiate a pay settlement acceptable to GMB Union members".

"But, to be clear, our members have had enough and therefore this can’t be an issue that drags on for weeks and weeks," he said.

"The ball is in management's court, as well as the consequences, if they drop it."

City council leader Ben Fitter-Harding says pay and conditions of staff working for Canenco are of "great importance" to him.

"That's why, last year, it negotiated with the recognised union, Unison, and agreed an 8% pay increase," he said.

"This reflected the pressure Canenco employees, like many others, are under during a time when inflation is high.

"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.

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

"What evidence does it have to justify this outrageous demand?

"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."

GMB's Mr Palmer responded to the Conservative leader's comments, calling for Canenco bosses to welcome the union to the negotiating table.

"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," he said.

"If the pay, terms and conditions are so dear to him, why would he be shocked that they have valued themselves rightly of a pay increase of 30%?

"GMB would have hoped that he would personally have understood that Canenco employees also provide a vital service to the council residents; in fact, waste and recycling services are probably the most visible of all of them.

"As we have told the company from the start, GMB remain ready to negotiate.

"The company instead have blown hot and cold with us. If the dispute is not resolved, and ends up with rubbish on the streets of Canterbury, the fault will lay with Canenco management, not our members.

"But to be clear, a 3 or 4% rise is simply not going to cut it. There is now from the start of the ballot to any potential walk out - about a five-week period - the company have to seek to negotiate a settlement, plenty of time if they have the will to do so.

"Perhaps as leader of the council and friend of the staff at Canenco he could give the company's management team a nudge in the right direction to get around the table so we can get this resolved."

Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies says disruption to waste collection services is "the very last thing our residents want to see".

"We urge Unison, the GMB and Canenco to work towards an amicable agreement that secures a fair deal for both Canenco staff and hard-pressed council taxpayers," he said.

Canenco director David Maidman added: "Over the years we have worked constructively on pay and other issues with Unison which currently holds the recognition agreement for the majority of our staff.

"We are aware of the GMB’s position and are open to discussions about them joining existing negotiations over pay.”

Deputy leader of the local Labour group, Pip Hazelton, says she has “every sympathy” with working people who are struggling with the cost-of-living-crisis as wages “haven’t been keeping pace with inflation”.

But she added: “The sort of industrial action over the summer is clearly not something we would want to see at the height of summer and the tourist season.

“If there is any prospect of bins being left unemptied and parks and streets being left dirty, I would urge Canenco to speak to their union.

"The city council needs to make sure our bins are collected and our streets are kept clean so we have a clean and hygienic environment.”

The councillor also defended the GMB’s 30% pay rise demand, as “each party has a starting point”.

“It is only through sitting and talking, some sort of compromise will be reached," she said.

Local Lib Dem leader Michael Dixey says he is unsure of GMB's membership within Canenco and hopes any threats to strike are "empty".

"I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen because it would be disastrous, and 30% is totally unrealistic," he said.

"I think strike action in some circumstances is justified but I think threatening this when there are still negotiations going on is irresponsible.

"I wonder if it is more inter-union than about money."

Earlier this year, a planned bin workers' strike in Ashford was called off at the last minute after an 11th hour deal was secured by GMB with waste firm Biffa.

The union cancelled the walk-outs just days before they were due to take place following an improved pay offer, despite claiming the increase could have been better.

GMB says its membership has continued to grow at Canenco and includes the majority of HGV drivers, so it is "confident any action would have a significant impact on service provision".

Regional organiser Mr Palmer says its intentions are pure.

"We are not looking to poach the members of any sister union and were in fact offered recognition at the company in the place of Unison and turned it down," he said.

"Any suggestion we are more interested in game-playing rather than winning a decent wage for our members must have been made by someone who hasn't seen our results from Wealden, Brighton, Eastbourne, Ashford and countless other local authorities along the south coast."

A spokesman for Unison said: "Unison is the recognised union for workers at Canenco and we are currently in negotiations with the employer in good faith over pay.

"We hope to reach a pay settlement this year which will be acceptable to members."