Brighton and Hove binmen’s union boss holds strike talks with council

Talks aimed at averting a strike by binmen in Brighton and Hove are due to take place this morning (Tuesday 8 April).

They will be led by Mark Turner, of the GMB union, and Geoff Raw, the executive director of environment, development and housing at Brighton and Hove City Council.

The talks revolve around changes to the binmen’s rounds which were introduced in October last year.

The binmen say that they are being expected to do too much with too few staff and too few vehicles.

Since the rounds were reorganised there has been almost a constant backlog which worsened after Christmas.

Mr Turner said: “We’ve told them on a number of occasions that they are at least one to two vehicles short.

“If we can’t resolve these issues in a reasonable timeframe then we’ll move to a (strike) ballot.

“That’s the only tool our members have got.

“They’re taking a lot of criticism but this is not a problem of their making. Their morale is down.

“They’re having to do more to earn the same as this time last year.”

The binmen and street cleaners went on strike last year over changes to pay and allowances which left most of them worse off.

If the talks fail to resolve the differences between the GMB and the council, the union can hold a ballot once it has given the council seven days’ notice.

And if members vote to strike, the union also has to give seven days’ notice.

With Easter just under a fortnight away, any strike is unlikely to start until the middle of May.