Bin workers, street cleaners and park maintenance workers in Liverpool are set to strike over pay.
Members of Unite employed by Liverpool Streetscene Ltd, Liverpool Council's refuse and street cleaning arm, will begin a walk-out on Monday January 23 until Saturday January 28 in a row over pay.
The 80 plus workers are principally employed in refuse collection, street cleaning and parks and cemeteries. They are responsible for collecting household waste as well as public bins. Other key responsibilities include street cleaning and the maintenance of parks and cemeteries around the city.
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While Unite members are set to go on strike, the GMB union which also represents refuse workers in Liverpool is not currently set to take action so bins around the city will still be collected with some expected disruption.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members play a crucial role in keeping Liverpool clean and they deserve a fair days’ pay. LSSL and Liverpool council can’t sweep this issue under the carpet any longer. Our members at LSSL will be receiving Unite’s total support throughout this dispute.”
The workers are seeking a pay increase of 4% and an additional £1,000 to offset the cost of living crisis. Many of the roles they undertake are lowly paid, for example refuse drivers, who must hold a HGV licence, are only paid £14.71 an hour.
LSSL is officially a private enterprise but it is wholly owned by Liverpool Council. Unite said this means pay rates are linked to local government National Joint Council "green book" pay scales. The workers’ pay demand is in addition to the pay increase they received as part of the green book settlement for 2022/23.
Unite regional officer Brian Troake said: “Unite’s members are taking industrial action as a last resort, as LSSL have refused to address their concerns about the decade long pay restraint and the cost of living crisis.
“Strike action will inevitably cause considerable disruption to refuse collection and other services across Liverpool but this dispute is entirely of LSSL’s own making.”
A spokesperson for Liverpool Street Scene Services Ltd said: “We are surprised and disappointed at the proposed industrial action Unite are intending to take. We have always worked in partnership with them and the majority union for our staff, GMB, so it is sad to hear that Unite have adopted to take this approach when the national pay award, via the NJC, was agreed and awarded to their members back in November 2022.
“This rise of £1,925 equates to a £1 per hour increase with an additional 4% for any additional allowances, meaning all our staff have seen their annual salary rise between 7%-12%. Those working various shift patterns also benefitted from the increased hourly rate on their weekend and irregular hours working. In recognition of their performance everyone was also given an extra day’s holiday for the coming year.
“Outside of any inflationary pay awards, our staff continue to receive competitive rates of pay for the roles undertaken when benchmarked locally and nationally against comparable roles, drivers, HGV drivers and operative positions, as well as generous terms and conditions .
“All of these points have been made to Unite and we continue to talk to the union in the hope a resolution can be found.”
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