Street service workers in Bexley end industrial strike but residents will face weeks of delays
Bin workers in Bexley have called their strike to an end – but residents will face weeks of delays.
The extended industrial dispute that affected street services in Bexley officially ended yesterday (September 2).
The strike was suspended last week following lengthy talks at ACAS between Serco and Unite, the union that represents some of the staff employed on the contract.
Staff are now working to catch up and will be working on Saturday because of the bank holiday.
For this reason, there will be now be no special collections of materials at car parks tomorrow (Saturday September 4).
It will take several weeks to collect the backlog of materials that built up during the dispute.
Because of the quantities involved, the collection vehicles need to return to their depot at intervals during the day to empty their contents, which means that collections are taking longer than usual.
Garden waste collections resumed on Tuesday after the service was suspended during the dispute.
But crews are collecting exceptionally high volumes of garden waste and it will take longer to empty the bins of all residents who pay for the service.
The council have said they will be contacting these customers about subscription charges and the extension of their contracts.
For the time being, food waste collections are still suspended and residents are being urged to continue to put food waste in green lidded bin until further notice.
Residents can take their recycling to one of the many mini recycling sites in the borough.
Cleaning of residential roads has also resumed now that staff have returned to work.
The deal includes a one off £750 payment for 19 staff, contract changes that will reduce pay disparities and steps to prevent the weaponization of the drug and alcohol policy.
Unite also announced an agreement with Countrystyle Recycling, who will take over the Bexley street cleaning and refuse collection contract from Serco in October, that will see pay rates dramatically improve.
The agreement with Countrystyle Recycling will see the lowest paid workers receive a pay rise of 11 per cent with rates increasing to £11.50 an hour, above the real London Living Wage of £10.85, as well as pay rises for staff on other grades.
Some drivers, previously on £22,000 a year because of Serco’s failure to pay workers according to stipulated pay scales, will see their wages increase to more than £30,000 when they transfer to Countrystyle.
The deal with Countrystyle also sees staff receive an extra five days annual of leave as well as 12 weeks of industrial injury sick pay that was denied them by Serco.
Unite regional officer Tabusam Ahmed said: “Our members refused to be cowed by the immense pressure put on them by Serco and Bexley council. Nobody wanted to take strike action but both Serco’s and Bexley council’s actions left them no other choice.
“Fortunately, an agreement has now been reached and Unite looks forward to working productively with both Serco and Bexley council now the strikes are over.
“But this dispute should be a lesson to Bexley council that workers who deliver services on behalf of the local authority cannot just be abandoned and ignored because they are outsourced to private companies who have race to the bottom employment practices.
“The agreement with Serco is a major win for our members, as is the agreement with Countrystyle, both of which were achieved due to strong union organisation.
“The fact that Bexley refuse staff are now moving from the worst comparable pay rates in London to some of the best is a prime example of why workers looking to improve their wages and conditions should join Unite.”
The latest information on services is available on the Council’s website and is shared on social media – https://www.bexley.