Striking binmen to march on Brighton and Hove council HQ

Binmen and street cleaners are to march through Brighton and Hove the day after they start a week-long strike.

They will be led by the GMB union general secretary Paul Kenny from the CityClean depot in Hollingdean to King’s House in Hove.

They voted to strike after the council proposed changes to their allowances which will leave most of them facing cuts in take-home pay.

The council has offered to compensate them for their losses and leader Jason Kitcat said that further changes would bring opportunities to boost their earnings in future.

Councillor Kitcat said that the changes were needed so that the council met its legal obligations under equal pay laws.

He said that the council’s overall pay bill would rise but it was not affordable to bring in the changes so that no one lost out.

The GMB said that dozens of members would lose up to £4,000 a year. The council said that very few would lose such a large sum. Most would lose about £1,000 a year.

The binmen and street cleaners are due to start their strike on Friday (14 June) and marching on King’s House on Saturday (15 June).

They plan to meet at the CityClean depot in Upper Hollingdean Road at 11.30am and set off at noon.

Their route will take them down Lewes Road to St Peter’s Church, up Trafalgar Street, down Queen’s Road to the Clock Tower, along Western Road and down Grand Avenue.