GMB confirm two week Adur & Worthing bin strike to go ahead from Monday
Council officers can make deals with whoever they wish, but any agreement to halt industrial action by GMB members would have to be made with GMB, say Union
GMB union can confirm that the two week strike action for waste, recycling and street cleansing within Adur & Worthing Councils will go ahead from Monday [14 March].
The strike is regarding members’ pay concerns, and despite the union providing the council with three weeks’ notice, there has been no movement towards formal negotiations which may have halted the action.
Mark Turner, GMB B50 Branch Secretary, said: “For all the council’s PR attempts, public letters and press releases, the simple fact is that if they don’t negotiate formally with their staff's union of choice, the dispute will commence on the 14th and will continue until they do.
“GMB remain ready to enter formal talks to avoid a lengthy dispute, although if Paul Brewer remains true to form, the council will just want a chat.
“Coffee and biscuit chats isn’t the way we do business when discussing our members’ pay, terms and conditions, and any document signed by other parties is worthless as far as GMB is concerned, especially when it doesn’t actually represent a workforce’s best interests.
“The failure to involve GMB in negotiations will mean that the responsibility for the effects of any action by workers falls entirely on the doorstep of the council’s Chief Executive Catherine Howe and Director for Digital, Sustainability & Resources Paul Brewer and, should they fail to get involved, every currently elected councillor in Adur & Worthing.”
Gary Palmer, GMB Regional Organiser, said: “Although we are pleased that our sister union has signed off a deal that was acceptable to their members, our members expectations are higher than that.
“Council officers can make deals with whoever they wish, but any agreement to halt industrial action by GMB members would have to be made with GMB.
“We are, as always, happy to end this formal dispute, but this would have to be through formal negotiations and a formal agreement, as a chat won’t cut it.
“We have patiently waited for the call that means real negotiations can commence on our members’ pay concerns, and we’ve headlined our demands to the council in the hope that we might start formal talks and yet have received nothing in return
“From Monday, GMB we will be even easier to get hold of as we’ll be on the picket line with our members. Both Catherine and Paul are welcome to visit us to hear first-hand just how their pay deal has been received.”
