An initial 2-week bin strike – which could be the first of many – WILL go ahead in June as members of the GMB union vote in favour of industrial action over pay.
The ballot result, which saw 90.5% vote for strike action on a ballot turnout of 77.8%, means that the first day of action will commence Monday 13th June for 2 weeks.
It is likely that waste and recycling won’t be collected from the kerbside between 13th and 27th June, leading to weeks of rubbish sitting around in people’s houses and in gardens. Those with communal bin stores are likely to be hit hardest.
Further notices are being issued should Amey continue to refuse to engage and negotiate with the GMB as their own employee’s union of choice, meaning more bin strikes could take place during the hottest months of the year.
The impact on Lynnbottom and Afton Marsh is unclear at this stage – but both are run by Amey.
The dispute comes about with the failure of the Island waste contractor’s refusal to match the pay expectations of their own hard-working staff, namely £12.50 per hour for loaders/pickers, £13.25 for cage drivers and all driver/grab operatives, and £15.00 an hour for HGV drivers.
Gary Palmer, GMB regional organiser, has said:
“The pay claim presented by the GMB on behalf of its members, which has to date been ignored, is simply one which members feel is more representative of a rate for the work they deliver in collecting the Island’s residents rubbish efficiently and effectively on a day-to-day basis.
“Amey has and continues to make two mistakes, the first is they are ignoring their own employee’s choice of the GMB union to represent their pay claim, as regardless of any disputed recognition status between us, GMB are not going away, and their staff have backed GMB to take forward their pay claim.
“The other is to continue to undervalue their employees pay to maintain their own profits for shareholders.
“Our members and importantly their staff are struggling economically, they are working as hard as they can, but they face in work poverty decisions on what they can afford to spend daily, leaving them stressed because no matter how hard they work they just continue to fall further into further debt weekly.
“The huge business profits Amey makes from its contract with The Isle of wight council, all disappear nationally, yet it’s their workers who all live on the island, who if they get a decent and fair pay rise will spend that pay increase locally in shops and business based on the island subsequently boosting the local economy.
“Right now, this strike is going to happen, but it can be avoided if Amey were to seek to enter meaningful talks with the GMB to resolve the current pay issue, if not though any and all consequences regarding the island kerbside refuse and recycling collections and any effect on the upcoming Isle of Wight Festival lies solely with them”.
UPDATE MONDAY – The Isle of Wight Council has issued a statement on the proposed Amey industrial action.
It’s said:
“The Isle of Wight Council, and waste service provider Amey, are disappointed to hear the outcome for industrial action, following the GMB Trade Union ballot of their members.
“It should be noted that the strike ballot only related to their staff who are members of the GMB union, not all of the waste workforce. Should industrial action take place, the first day of action by GMB members will commence Monday 13th June for 2 weeks.
“We want to ensure that disruption to services is minimised during this period. Amey will continue to engage in discussions with their employees and will strive to make sure minimal impact to their services is seen during any industrial action.
“We would like to thank all employees for their continued support to the waste service here on the Isle of Wight”.
They have my support. I know it will mean that rubbish will pile up, but unfortunately it’s the only way companies will listen. I wonder how much the MD of amey gets, compared to the workers?
If Amey paid them properly then it wouldn’t be happening. Let’s hope they get the pay they deserve. Cowes week after if they don’t get a good deal.
Excellent, that will mean we will get a CT rebate, if the wonders of County Hall can work out to whom and how much. Perhaps it would be safer if we all adjusted our payments ourselves.
Is that like the CT rebate we got for 2020 when nearly all council services were closed and most worked from home! They still took the money and put it up the next year!
Don’t forget, a two week bin collection strike equals a two week council tax strike
Im in favour of the strike but its going to be hell collecting the back log off rubbish after the strike
Wait to be offered a huge bonus to collect it like they did on the big island
I support them but any excess rubbish will be burnt in the garden… can’t wait.
This does actually take the piss if these wages are true & really got my support with this as they really work hard & should be a given that their wages should be upped.
Hope you guys get what you deserve.
Our bin men are brilliant,give them the pay rise they deserve,where would we be without them
So if Amey don’t full fill the contract they have with IWC then we should get refund, paying for a service that is not given is fraudulent, IWC should done some checking before giving contract to Amey – Why is Waste outsourced any how ?. Like Island Roads, having to hire their road signs/traffic lights etc. Lot’s of money wasted and going to company CEOs and shareholders.
The bin men are going to have a lot of hard work to catch-up on after the strike,LMFAO
Perhaps an opportunity to create less waste.
Tell that to the people who produce all the junk Mail that gets delivered through the letterbox and to the producers of excessive product packaging!
Sadly We will see lots of fly tipping, however, I do support the workers, good luck to them….I couldn’t do that job, especially in the winter months..
All these problems stem from the 80’s when thatcher started to sell the UK off to her rich mates. I worked on the bins for two years around that time, it was hell. I 100% support the bin men.
She has caused so many problems, Look at the railways Look at the ferrys in fact all transport. I remember coming to the island on a fast train from waterloo a then faster service than today to be greeted at pompey by the old ferrys which run in the roughest of conditions and never broke down. Thing just worked in the 80’s. Privitisation has ruined this country
I get that the cost of living has risen significantly and I support them BUT it’s not as though they come down your path and collect the bins and chuck em over their backs like they used too, they wheel it a couple of feet to the wagon and the machine does the rest, they hardly empty the bins if the lids open an inch, so they leave a yellow sticker…which means you have to go another couple of weeks in the mean time your rubbish piles up and a lot of people don’t drive to take it to the tip or you have to pay someone to clear it for you, there’s a minimum wage which they’re above and it’ll affect council tax bills(like we need that right now)!
The longer they strike the less support they’ll get from households, more complaints to the council as more people will be burning it in their gardens (most waste can’t be burnt), environmental hazards, the streets will then have to cleaned cause the foxes and badgers will rip open the bags and rubbish will be EVERYWHERE! Nappies, cat litter wastes, dog shit…it’s not the bin collectors fault as such but the union needs to stop forcing these strikes, most of the members don’t want this as it’s them that gets the brunt of the peoples wrath!
Not from me, Mertle! Show us how it’s done then. The whole swinging it on yer shoulder business. Especially the bags with glass, needles, nappies, spent COVID tests…. ‘Love to see you do a day on the dust.
More fly tipping coming to The Isle of Wight then !!!!!!!!
Although I feel for them ,there are others in the same boat , bills food etc are all the same for everyone !!!!!
If everyone went on strike where would we be ?????
I know also wages go up costs go up it’s a vicious circle…
Less to spend ,businesses go bust …..
Will they still be getting paid even though they’re striking?
No, not even those who did not vote to strike. I bet they really love democracy.
They get paid if they go in.
No they don’t get paid whilst out on strike, those who voted no or non members who choose to go in to work do get paid.
As each employee will be in breach of their contract of employment, sack them and re-employ with those who would jump at a chance of a non-qualified weekly / monthly paid job.
Thatcherism still alive, What a sad individual.
Thatcher has recently had a statue erected in her honour… don’t think there will be one for Corbyn or Blair
Literally no breach of contract, every person in the UK, union member or not has a lawful right to withdraw their labour. Whilst the conservatives put in and continue to try and put in laws to quash striking, there are still laws that protect workers who do.
You need to do a bit of research on employment law.
A strike is a form of industrial action. Although each employee will be in breach of their contract of employment the union and its officials calling the strike will be protected against legal action, provided the strike (or other form of industrial action) has been called in accordance with the law.
Look up Gov.uk which states the legal position if you want the facts….
That is a reasonable offer as they are providing an important service. I presume by the end of the 2 week period Amey may actually wake up and realise the request is very reasonable. Like Boyjo states I wonder just how much those in the air con/heated office, with toilets, tea and coffee etc within easy reach, not to mention other perks get per hour. Get in the real world Amey and pay a decent living wage. Be interesting to see their account books and do they have share holders?
As usual it’s the public that will suffer. we all want more money but unfortunately life is not like that.
Don’t give into the militant unions otherwise it will happen again next year.
Good on them i know how it is to be living on a crappy wage but i won’t be leaving it in my garden and if the fox’s have at it on the pavement i won’t be picking it up either
You don’t need to pick it up at all. There’s an ongoing free tip in North Road, Shanklin. Council are quite happy leaving that to build up. Just drive along there and look at it all spreading across the pavement.
This will also be the time that the IOW festival is taking place. Who will dispose of the rubbish from there on a daily basis or do they use private companies? Even then will the tips be open to receive this?
This is what happens when public services are privatised, huge profits for the contracts and bad pay for the staff that do the hard work and are not appreciated, for the hard work those bin men do they should be on at least £20 an hour, privatisation of public services is a failure that costs every one other than the shareholders
Totally correct. Then once privatised still pay for a Waste Department to supposedly be in charge of it but actually do naff all. Big salaries and safe public jobs with big pensions. But do naff all.
So you’re telling me I needn’t have bothered with college AND uni, and still get cushy wages after throwing a hissy fit?
Looks like I wasted 5 years of my life.
This is what happens with privatisation of public services huge contract profits for the shareholders poor pay for the staff, those bin men should be on at least £20.00 an hour
and you will pay higher council tax, to fund the higher contract value paid to amey by the council -work it out will you
I will be dumping all my rubbish on the street and leaving it there until they collect it – no sorting, nothing and there won’t be anything with my name on it, in it
I will deliver mine to the Council offices …..
I pay my council tax I want my services !!!!!
And it’s not only bin boys that are feeling the pinch it’s everyone that works hard ….
Everyone’s bills have gone up and food etc etc etc …..
Can’t say it enough times !!!!
Why. Years ago they came up your garden path collected the rubbish.
Now we wheel it to the road side. They wheel it to the lorry what is difficult about that.
Hardly back breaking.
They no longer come up your path, so they can cover more area not so they have an easier day. Why do people fail understand this, their days are just as long and just as hard. But by taking from the street instead of your garden they can cover more area, the company can employ less people use less vehicles make bigger profits to give to shareholders.
The bin men who empty my bins are fabulous and they have my support.
I would like to say I support them, but when I moved to my new house I left my bins at the bottom of my drive, a car length, nothing more, my waste was left there and I was wondering why? I rang the council to be told that they don’t go on people’s property and for the bins to be put out, fair enough, 2 weeks later I put my bins out at the end of my drive, to the side so I could still get my car in and out, later on the day when I come home my bins had been emptied, but just left in the middle of the driveway blocking the car from going in, just literally dumped there, not together or anything, meaning I now had to stop my car on a bend
To put my bins back, they want a rise, but can’t be bothered to do the job properly in some cases, and another time I had a metal bin it there for 2 months and everyweek someone different would say something different like next week for that. Half don’t seem to know themselves.
It’s not the ruse – it’s the desire to be paid the same as their mainland colleagues isn’t it?
So Waste collectors are paid less than their mainland people are.
Perhaps we should do this for other workers such as teachers , police . magistrates as they do the same work as the mainland staff
One rule should apply across the board for living and working on the island
Right behind you all
Magistrates don’t get paid, they are volunteers.
So I see a lot of support for this strike on here, fair do.
Just remember though, when the rubbish piles up and your neighbours have to start burning it, dont go hammering on their door complaining!
They do a good job they should get the money
We pay more for our Council Tax than comparable areas such as Fareham on the nearby mainland yet workers such as the bin men are paid at low “isle of Wight” rates. Why is this?
Everyone is feeling the pinch, not just the bin lot, if my bins don’t get collected I’ll drop them off outside the gates to Lynnbottom until service resumes.
I hope my council tax will be getting covered by Amey during this period aswell I’m not paying for a service I’m not getting. And people need to remember that any pay rise they get will mean a council tax rise for us.
Does this mean that my council tax will be reduced as I will not be receiving the service that I have contracted into ? I sympathise with and the hard working Amey workers, I have absolutely no complaints about the mm at all
REALLY!!!!, don’t pay them more as they can’t do their job properly as I am disabled and wheelchair bound and so I pay to have a assisted collection and they can’t even do that right!
they will either collect the waste then leave the bin six doors down and so I have to call family or friend to help get my bin back or they miss my bins altogether.
either Amey can’t train their staff or the people that job there have a don’t care mood