'Excellent result' for Keynsham bin workers

Around 100 waste workers employed by Bath and North East Somerset council will receive a 10 per cent pay increase in a deal negotiated by Unite, the UK’s leading union.

Loaders and LGV drivers employed at the Ashmead Road and Midland Road depots in Keynsham will see an immediate 10 per cent uplift in pay. All other waste service workers will see their pay grade increased by one level.

The deal is on top of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) offer for council workers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland of £1,925 for 2022. The workers will shortly be balloted on whether or not to accept the LGA’s offer but will receive the locally negotiated pay rise regardless of the outcome.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “This is an excellent result for our members at Keynsham and shows that local authority workers do not just have to abide by the wage structure dictated by the LGA. Our public sector workers deserve to be paid and treated decently and Unite will always fight to defend their jobs, pay and conditions.”

The deal at Bath and North East Somerset council was negotiated without the need for strikes.

Unite regional officer Andy Worth added, “Due to the strength of union membership within the workforce, waste services workers were able to go through the industrial action process to trigger negotiations. Following successful talks under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas, Unite was able to secure a regrade of all waste service employees, including a 10 per cent increase for loaders and LGV drivers.”

By Ryan Fletcher